Ismail ibn Musa Menk Sa d Ibn Abi Waqqas

Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas - The Youngest of the Ten Promised Paradise

Opening and Introduction

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful.

Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulillah, wa ala alihi wa ashabihi ajmain. We praise Allah. We send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), his household, his companions.

May Allah bless everyone of us. May Allah bless the ummah and may Allah bless humanity at large. Ameen.

The Ten Promised Paradise

My brothers and sisters, we are speaking about the ten who were given news of paradise by Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in one gathering. So there were many who were told by Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that they would be from among those in heaven, in jannah, actually in paradise. And from among them, ten were in one gathering.

And I will be speaking to you about the youngest, the one who passed away the last of the ten. His name was Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas radiyallahu anhu. But he was an uncle of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), even though he was 23 to 25 years younger.

I'm sure it happens in some cases where you find people are much younger and they say, that's my uncle, that's my aunt, that's my grandmother. Subhanallah. Technically, because he was the second cousin of the mother of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), he was known as an uncle and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) loved him.

So much so that he used to say, who from among you can show me that they have an uncle as good as mine? And he would point at Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas radiyallahu anhu. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas radiyallahu anhu was a lovely person. He had great character and conduct.

The Miracle of His Conversion to Islam

And what is amazing is when he accepted Islam, it was through a miracle. Many of us, we go to sleep, subhanallah, we see a dream, and we get up and it starts worrying us. And sometimes we take the dreams too seriously.

You know, a dream is normally connected to your thoughts and your worries. A lot of the dreams, most of them don't have a meaning. It's just your worries, your thoughts, the ideas you have, something you might have seen without you really noticing that your brain and your system has already registered that.

But sometimes we have a dream that bothers us and it repeats itself. And sometimes you have a dream and you start seeing things that you saw in your dream. And subhanallah, if it does have meaning, it's for you and your benefit.

People see dreams and they start thinking that we need to change the whole world. Hang on, you need to change yourself first. May Allah grant us goodness.

The Importance of Good Company

So Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas radiyallahu anhu, he had some good friends even though they were older than him. And I said yesterday in Birmingham and I'm repeating it here, my brothers and sisters, the biggest favor you could do yourself is to improve the quality of friends you have. Biggest favor.

If you have a circle of friends who have high standards, good morals and values, and they're concerned about pleasing the Almighty, they're concerned about the hereafter, you will be a beautiful person. If they speak well, they stay away from vulgar language, they have good habits, you will develop those habits without an effort. And if they have bad habits, you will develop the bad habits.

So this is something very important. And Allah speaks about it even in the Quran:

And the Day the wrongdoer will bite on his hands [in regret] he will say, "Oh, I wish I had taken with the Messenger a way. Oh, woe to me! I wish I had not taken that one as a friend."

The one who did wrong, the wrongdoer, will actually be chewing his hands, which means he will be regretting so much and he will say or she will say, I wish that I had chosen the path of the messenger and I wish that I didn't have such and such a person as a friend of mine because that person led me astray.

What does this mean? This means in our lives, we have people who either show us the right path or the wrong path and if we make them friends, they have an impact upon us.

Sa'd's Circle of Friends

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas radiyallahu anhu was friends with Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyallahu anhu even though he was 20 years or slightly more older than him, but they were friends. He got along with them.

He was concerned. He was a friend of Ali ibn Abi Talib radiyallahu anhu. Beautiful. He was a friend of Zaid ibn Harithah.

Zaid ibn Harithah was a slave before he was freed by Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and Khadijah bint Khuwaylid radiyallahu anha.

The Dream That Changed Everything

So he saw a dream, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. In the dream, he was in the darkness, drowning in darkness, a lot of darkness, and suddenly he saw the moon in his dream. And you know when you have a dark night, we come from Africa, we know perhaps a little bit more than you about the darkness of the night because of the electricity problems that we face, masha'Allah.

So the dark night, the moonlight brings a lot of light. You will be surprised as to how much it brings. It lights your path.

He saw the moon and there were people seated around the moon. Subhanallah. Who were they? He saw Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyallahu anhu seated at the moon. He saw Ali ibn Abi Talib radiyallahu anhu seated at the moon. He saw Zaid ibn Harithah radiyallahu anhu seated at the moon. And he was amazed, he was impressed, and he wanted to go and sit with them. He got up from his sleep, subhanallah.

His dream came to an end and he decided this is not an ordinary dream. Let me go and find out. In the meantime, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyallahu anhu was also concerned about speaking to his friends about Islam.

Abu Bakr's Da'wah Efforts

Speaking to his friends about Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He was such a great man, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyallahu anhu that when the goodness came to him, he accepted it, but he wanted it for everyone else. So he started reminding his best buddies and friends. He says, you know what, Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is definitely a Nabi of Allah.

He's a Prophet of Allah. Why don't you accept this message? Look at what he is saying. He is not calling towards himself, rather he is calling towards the Maker alone.

He is calling towards the Maker alone, subhanallah. And he is asking us to give up bad habits and bad morals and values, and calling us to worship Allah, subhanallah. So they started accepting one by one.

The Seventh Person to Accept Islam

Six people had accepted Islam. How many? Six in total. Not yet many.

You had Khadijah bint Khuwaylid radiyallahu anha, and the three names I mentioned, and two others, subhanallah. Six people had accepted Islam. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas radiyallahu anhu, as he is approaching Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyallahu anhu, this man starts telling him, you know what, Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is the messenger of Allah. He's come with goodness, and we have accepted Islam, myself, and this person, and this person, and he started mentioning the names.

And Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas radiyallahu anhu is saying, you know what, I saw a dream. And he knew immediately the meaning of the dream is that I need to also join these people. The moon depicted Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Those who were seated around were real men whom he knew.

So he says, take me to Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was seated. He spoke to a few of these men, subhanallah, and they accepted Islam. So that was the story of how he became a Muslim.

Lessons from Dreams

He saw it in a dream. Many of us see the dreams, right? Sometimes Allah sends us a message through that dream to change our ways and habits. Sometimes it's a reminder for us, but we don't realize.

My brothers and sisters, if a dream that you've had, even if it was a nightmare, if it has not made you closer to Allah, then there's no point in relating it or getting excited about it or becoming sad about it. Sometimes we become sad about a dream. For what? If it was not going to change you, why sad? That sadness should draw you closer to Allah.

This is why when you see a nightmare, you're supposed to seek the protection from the devil. You're supposed to turn the other side. Perhaps, subhanallah, the sunnah has taught us even to give a charity if you could.

May Allah grant us goodness. So he was the seventh person who accepted Islam. And I explained to you how Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyallahu anhu was connected to it and how the dream was also a part of that.

The Test with His Mother

Now when he declared his Islam, guess what happened? And it happens to a lot of those who revert to Islam. His mother, who was very very close to him, decided, no way, no, no. We've heard some bad story about Muhammad peace be upon him.

I will never accept this, impossible. And you know what? In order to make sure that he leaves Muhammad peace be upon him, because she didn't have much knowledge. She did not have knowledge about Islam.

She only heard what was being said by some of the people in Quraysh, which was all negative. So she says, I'm not going to eat, I'm not going to drink, until you quit. Trying to blackmail him.

And so what happened? He said, oh my mom, you know what? You don't eat, you don't drink, it's your loss. I'm not quitting. I know this is right.

I know what we used to do and what we're doing now, I've become a much better person, purified myself, no bad habits, I worship my maker alone, and I'm getting closer to my maker, not even to this man Muhammad peace be upon him. I don't render acts of worship, but rather they are for Allah, alone.

The mother says, I'm not eating or drinking.

And a few days later she was literally on her deathbed. So the son says, you know, my mother, even if you were to die a hundred times, you would only harm yourself. I'm going nowhere, you're not going to stop me.

The Quranic Verse Revealed

And Allah revealed verses, connected to the story of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas radiyallahu anhu with his mom:

But if they endeavor to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them but accompany them in [this] world with appropriate kindness.

And the goodness to your parents is a duty, even if they are not Muslim. The only time that you will disobey their instruction is when they order you to do something wrong, to do something that will be a transgression, to do something against the command of Allah.

That is when you excuse yourself from that particular command, but you keep on being kind to them in every other way. So respect to your parents and kindness to your parents is absolutely an instruction of Allah. And here the verse came down at the time, right at the beginning in Makkah al-Mukarramah of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas radiyallahu anhu with his mother.

And he used to say this verse was revealed because of me, subhanAllah. So the lesson we learn is our parents are very important, no matter what. We respect them, we are kind to them.

Important Note About Abuse

Yes, I do know some people say, what happens if my father molested me? Astaghfirullah. In that particular case, things change. You have to protect yourself.

May Allah make us responsible people. You have to protect yourself. In that particular case, you may want to distance yourself depending on what happened.

So Islam does not teach us that if you have been abused or molested, etc. that you need to keep on maintaining a relationship even if it was your own father or a relative. I'm just making that clear because unfortunately it's on the rise, very sadly.

May Allah grant us all protection. Ameen. So the respect of parents, insha'Allah, extremely important.

Learning from the Promised Paradise

We all need to learn. The reason why we need to learn is, this man was told you are from paradise. We are

looking at his life in order for us to adopt what he had so that we can also insha'Allah be from among those who will earn Jannatul Firdaus and insha'Allah we'll be gathered in paradise.

Then later on, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) made a hijrah to Madina Munawwara Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu) was also from among them who made hijrah to Madina Munawwara because of time, I'm not going to go into all those details, but something very interesting.

The Prophet's Special Du'a for Sa'd

He participated in the battles, in the battles with Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and the Prophet peace be upon him said a prayer for him. He said a du'a for him.

On the day of Uhud, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) says:

O Allah, straighten his arrow and answer his supplications. (Bukhari)

Straighten his arrows and answer his supplications. Now, the reason why I mention this is because both things happened.

Whenever he took aim, he always got the target without a single failure through his life. It was the du'a, the supplication of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Secondly, anytime he supplicated unto Allah, it was accepted, subhanAllah.

The One Whose Du'as Were Answered

He was known as mustajab ud-da'wa. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu). He was known as the one whom, when he called out to Allah, it was granted.

And this shows us that there are people from amongst us, perhaps whom, whenever they call out to Allah, Allah gives it to them. But they don't call out to Allah for silly things. Imagine if I was mustajab ud-da'wa or you, what would we say? You have a problem with someone, O Allah, fix him up.

You know, you have a problem, I think a lot of the in-laws wouldn't even exist. May Allah forgive us. And some people, even their parents, they would say, O Allah, take them away.

And they would be gone. That's why Allah doesn't give it to us because sometimes we abuse the issue of supplication. When you call out to Allah, use good words.

The Proper Way to Make Du'a for Enemies

You know, we have people who don't like Islam at all. People who've harmed Islam, for example. Rather than say, O Allah, destroy them.

Don't you think it is more godly and it is more befitting for a believer to say, O Allah, guide them, soften their hearts, let them come through. That's what the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him did. There were enemies of Islam, such as Umar ibn Khattab (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu), before he reverted.

And who was the other man? Abu Jahl. Abu Jahl was known as Amr ibn Hisham. So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) says:

O Allah, strengthen Islam through one of the two Umars. (Tirmidhi)

O Allah, these two enemies give strength to Islam by letting them see the light and coming into the fold. Subhanallah, moments later, you find the story of Umar ibn Khattab (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu). We will hear it today, inshallah. And he came through and he declared his shahada.

How many of us are prepared to try this blessed prayer for those who don't like us, to say, O Allah, soften their hearts. O Allah, bring them forth. O Allah, you know, resolve this matter between us, soften their hearts.

Rather, we have a problem where when you have a little issue with someone, we say, O Allah, destroy them. O Allah, break them. O Allah, finish them up.

And what's happening? We are praying that against them and they are praying that against us. Hence, we see the destruction we're in today. May Allah grant us guidance.

A Lesson About Fitna

It's a very beautiful point. If you actually think about it, use your supplication in a good way. So, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) actually made this prayer for Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu). It's reported that only once did he use it in what we would term perhaps a way that caused a little bit of negativity, perhaps.

Negativity in one way and positivity in another. At the time of the dispute between Ali ibn Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu) and Talha ibn Ubaidillah, Zubair ibn Awam and some of the others, there was a man who kept blowing into this fitna, into this problem, trying to make it big. So Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu), he was always pure in his heart.

And he says to this man, don't do this, it's dangerous. What you're doing is you're causing a fitna between people. Listen carefully.

You're causing a problem between people. How many of us do that? We love it sometimes. We just hear something, we go and say to this one, say to that one, and when the two fight, we say, yes, yes, yes.

That's it, you know. It's good because we don't like both of them sometimes. May Allah forgive us.

That sometimes become our nature. No, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu) went to this man and said, you know what? Stop it. It's not supposed to be this way.

You're not supposed to be creating a problem or making a problem bigger. If you want, you resolve it. Never ever address a matter in a way that makes it bigger.

If it was a problem, the man refused. So Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu) raised his hands and they say the people around him knew that this man, whatever he says is done. He says, O Allah, stop him in whatever way you wish.

Now that's not a negative du'a. Few days later, the man passed away. Allahu Akbar.

Or it's reported, it's one narration, same day, he was attacked by an animal and he went. Now, his death was written, but the people say, look, don't mess. Subhanallah, may Allah grant us ease.

The Wisdom in Allah's Answering Du'as

May Allah grant us ease. May Allah make us from among those whom whenever we call out supplication that is truly beneficial, may He accept it. And if it is detrimental for us, may it not be accepted.

Sometimes we make a du'a for something detrimental. You know, a person comes to me sometimes, say, pray that Allah fulfills my dreams. And I say, what's your dreams? Your dream might be to go and commit a big, big act that is totally unacceptable.

And where am I going to say, O Allah, let him fulfill his dreams. I'm not that way. Or you might want to pinch, you might want to steal, you might want to just plan a big robbery and you're making me say, O Allah, help him.

Come on. So it's important for us to know that when you ask Allah, you must say, O Allah, if it is beneficial for me, if it is helpful, grant me. Sometimes you desperately want to get married to someone and it doesn't happen.

It's better for you, perhaps Allah knows that the future holds something for you that would be otherwise had you married this person. Because Allah knows what would happen even if... You know, it's amazing how the knowledge of Allah works. Let me quickly mention it.

He knows what has happened in the past. He knows what is happening and He knows what will happen. But more impressive than all of that is, He knows what will not happen if it were to happen.

How it would have happened. He knows that. Subhanallah.

So Allah knows, had you been married to this person, then this is what would have happened. But because you didn't, so that did not happen. So Allah will protect you from it.

And this is in Surah Al-Kahf. When Allah speaks about the story of Musa (عليه السلام - alayhi as-salaam) with Al-Khidr, certain things happened. And then Al-Khidr explains to Musa (عليه السلام - alayhi as-salaam) that the reason why this happened is because I was told by Allah had I left the situation it would have been even worse.

So in this way, what I'm saying is we call out to Allah. Oh Allah, can I have this and can I have that in particular. And then we blame Allah for not making it happen when Allah was doing you a favor by blocking it because He knew that in the future this would have been dangerous and detrimental for you.

So therefore, thank Allah. Thank Allah. May Allah make things easy for us.

The Farewell Pilgrimage and Illness

Let's move on. You know there was something known as the farewell pilgrimage. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had gone for the pilgrimage.

It was the only pilgrimage he had done. Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqas (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu) fell ill during the time of Hajjatul Wada. And you know something amazing about the Muhajireen, a lot of them were quite wealthy.

From among them, Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqas (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu) was a wealthy man. And he only at that time, he was still quite young. He only had one daughter. He only had a daughter.

The Teaching About Inheritance

So he says, O Messenger, peace be upon him. As you can see I'm on my deathbed.

Very interesting. I'm on my deathbed. And I only have one daughter and I've got so much money, so much wealth.

What is she going to do with it? Can I give it to charity because she's already wealthy? He must have done whatever for her. He says, can I give it all for charity? He says, no. Don't give it all for charity.

So then he says, well can I give three quarter of it away? He says, no. Well then can I give half of it away? The Prophet, peace be upon him, says, Give only a third away in charity. And that is more than enough.

Then he continues to explain. He says:

(Bukhari)

Indeed, if you leave your inheritors wealthy, it is better than leaving them poor, begging from people. (Bukhari)

If you were to leave your dependents wealthy, it is better for you than leaving them poor in a way that they will go around begging from people yet you were wealthy.

Do you know what this means? So many things. Number one, charity begins at home. Subhanallah.

You're a wealthy person. Well, make sure that your kids and make sure your family members, your relatives are all okay because you have wealth. What's the point of giving the whole world and your family is poor? People do that.

One small misunderstanding, that's it. I'm not giving. No.

There are examples in the life of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq where the verses were revealed to say you should not do that. If you're a person of honor, when you have a dispute with someone, that should not stop you from donating in a charitable cause. Why? Because you were doing it for Allah, not for them.

But when you give for them, you'll stop giving. If I'm giving you for you, the day I have a problem with you, I stop giving you. But if I'm giving you for Allah, the day I have a problem with you, I continue because I was always doing it for Allah anyway.

Sa'd's Unexpected Long Life

It's something very interesting. So, this man, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas (رضي الله عنه - radiyallahu anhu), he then decided that he's writing up a will, one third for charity, the rest will go to my daughter. Subhanallah.

The rest will go to my daughter. Because of the instruction of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). But guess what happened? He did not pass away. He lived on.

He lived on so long after that, that he was the last to pass away from the ten who we are talking about that were given paradise. And he was one of the last from among the muhajireen to pass away. He was 80 years old when he passed away, and he was 23 years younger than Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) or 25, according to the two dates we have.

So you can imagine how long he lived, mashallah. And yet there was a time when he was very young, when he thought he's really going. It happens to us, doesn't it? With us, the sad reality is you just have a little cough, I'm going, I'm going, that's it.

Make peace with everyone. It's good because at least you start making peace. But the problem is as soon as you get better, you say, no, that peace was only connected to the fact that I thought I was going to die.

We're back at war. May Allah forgive us. We need to make sure that we make amends.

A Lesson About Life and Death

You don't know when you're going to go, nor do I. How many times medicine or doctors have told us that, you know what, 24 hours remaining, 48 hours remaining, and they've lived on 48 years, 24 years thereafter. It has happened. I'm sure we have living examples in our midst of that.