2 of 2 · 5 AH / 627 CE · Madinah, then al-Baqi'
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh رضي الله عنه
The Throne That Shook
Sa'd's wound reopened after the judgment, and he died of it a short time later. The Prophet ﷺ attended his burial. People remarked how light the bier seemed. The Prophet ﷺ said that was because a great number of angels had come down to carry it, such as had not descended before.
He is also the subject of a saying in both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim: that the Throne of the Most Merciful shook at the death of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh. Scholars have explained this in different ways, either as the joy of the Throne's bearers at his arrival, or as a sign of the esteem in which Allah held him. They agree it is an honour given to almost no one.
On another occasion some silk garments were given to the Prophet ﷺ and the people admired their softness. He told them that the handkerchiefs of Sa'd in Paradise were better than these. Sa'd was about thirty-seven when he died, and the Ansar mourned the best of their leaders.
A short life lived wholly for Allah can weigh more in heaven than a long one spent half-heartedly.
If your life were measured by weight, not length, what would you add to it?
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3803 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 2466 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2615 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-KubraHistorical report
- al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'Historical report
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
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