1 of 2 · Before and after the Hijrah · The fortress of Banu Sa'idah, Madinah
Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah رضي الله عنه
A Chief with an Open Table
Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah led the Banu Sa'idah of the Khazraj, and was counted among the twelve naqibs, the representatives chosen from the Ansar at 'Aqabah to take responsibility for their people before the Prophet ﷺ. He was known for a generosity that matched his standing: his family's home kept a standing meal for the poor and the guests of the town.
The reports say that his household sent a dish to the Prophet ﷺ's rooms from time to time, whatever the season. Sa'd was also one of the few Companions known for carrying a standard of the Ansar in the Prophet's campaigns, and he was a man of strong feeling, quick to speak.
He also felt a pang when the Prophet ﷺ named the best houses of the Ansar and listed his own fourth. The Prophet ﷺ told him that being named among the best was itself a great good. It shows both the pride of a chief and the way the Prophet ﷺ settled hearts.
Wealth and rank are well used when they keep a table open for others, and a good word can steady a proud heart.
What do you have that could keep a table open for someone this week?
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3789 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 2511 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (the pledge at 'Aqabah)Historical report
- Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-KubraHistorical 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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