By: Jamiatul Ulama
Source: Jamiatul Ulama
In the time of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) there was a Sahabi called Sa’ad al Aswad as Sulumi (radiallahu anhu). He came to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) one day and said, “Oh Messenger of Allah, will I also enter into Jannah?”
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said, “Of course you will enter into Jannah if you are a believer.” “But me, I’m regarded as low amongst the believers,” said Sa’ad al Aswad (radiallahu anhu). “Oh Sa’ad, for you is the same reward as everybody else,” replied the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam).
“Then why hasn’t anybody given me their daughter to marry?” enquired Sa’ad. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) told him to go to Ibne Wahhab, one of the leaders of Madinah who had just embraced Islam. Ibne Wahhab’s daughter was known for her beauty. “Oh Sa’ad, go to his home and tell Ibne Wahhab that I have sent you to request his daughter’s hand in marriage.”
Sa’ad (radiallahu anhu) was elated and made his way to the house of Ibne Wahhab. He knocked on the door and Ibne Wahhab opened. Sa’ad (radiallahu anhu) said, “The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) has sent me to request your daughter’s hand in marriage.” Ibne Wahhab said,
“You? My daughter? Don’t you know that my daughter is known for her beauty in Madinah?” Ibne Wahhab told him to leave.
Ibne Wahhab’s daughter overheard the exchange between her father and Sa’ad (radiallahu anhu) and told her father to wait. “This is a request of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Where will we be if we turn down a request of the Messenger of Allah?” Turning to Sa’ad, she told him to go to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and tell him she would marry him.
Sa’ad was happy and returned to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) who performed the nikah. Sa’ad (radiallahu anhu) had to give four hundred dirhams as the dowry. “Four hundred dirhams? Oh Messenger of Allah, I have never seen four hundred dirhams.”
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) told him to go to Ali (radiallahu anhu), Abdurrahman ibn Awf (radiallahu anhu) and Uthmaan (radiallahu anhu), “Tell each of them to give you two hundred dirhams.” Ali (radiallahu anhu), Abdurrahman ibn Awf (radiallahu anhu) and Uthman (radiallahu anhu) each gave him two hundred dirhams and more.
Sa’ad took the money and before going to his wife he decided to stop at the market place and buy some presents for her. All of a sudden the call of jihad came. The narration mentions that Sa’ad (radiallahu anhu) stood still and looked into the heavens and said, “Oh Allah, I will buy with this wealth something which is pleasing unto thee.” So he bought a horse and a sword and he went into the battlefield. He covered his face because he knew if the Messenger of Allah (sallalahu alayhi wasallam) saw him he would send him back.
The Sahabah began to ask about the man entering the battlefield with his face covered. Ali (radiallahu anhu) said, “Leave him, he has come to fight. Leave him.” Sa’ad (radiallahu anhu) joined the battle and when his horse was struck he fell off. The narration mentions that Sa’ad (radiallahu anhu) stood up and Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) saw his dark skin and the Messenger of Allah said, “Oh Sa’ad, is that you?”
He said, “May my mother and my father be sacrificed for you Oh Messenger of Allah, it is Sa’ad.”
“Oh Sa’ad, there is no other abode for you but Jannah,” Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said to him. Sa’ad (radiallahu anhu) became elated and he jumped into the battlefield. After a while the call that Sa’ad had been martyred came.
The narration reads that Rasulullah (sallalahu alayhi wasallam) ran into the battlefield and he took the head of Sa’ad (radiallahu anhu) and placed it on his blessed thigh and the tears of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) were flowing and falling on the face of Sa’ad. After a while Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) began to smile and he turned away.
A Sahabi, Abu Lubaba bin Munzir (radiallahu anhu) said, “Oh Messenger of Allah, I’ve seen you do something today I’ve never seen you do before. First you cried, then you smiled, and then you turned away.” Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said, “I cried because my beloved companion passed away and I saw his sacrifice and his love for me. But then when I saw the status by Allah that he has reached the haudh (cistern).”
Abu Lubaba asked what the haudh was. “It is a well, a fountain from which is a person drinks, he will never be thirsty after. It is sweeter than honey and whiter than milk. When I saw his status, by Allah I began to smile. Then I saw his wives in Jannah, they were running towards him with so much eagerness that their shins were being exposed and I looked the other way.”
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) turned to the Sahabah and asked for Sa’ad’s horse and sword. He said, “Take this to his wife and tell her that this is her inheritance and also inform her that Allah has given Sa’ad wives in Jannah who are even more beautiful than she is.”
Sa’ad al Aswad as Sulumi (radiallahu anhu) was a man who a while before the incident wasn’t sure that he would attain Jannah. He had no status in society but look at his status by Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala. He lived and he died, not for power, women, wealth, or prestige, but for the love of Allah alone.
