One of the ten Sahaba promised Jannah, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas by Shoayb Ahmed

Introduction

The Sahaba or Companions of the Prophet Muhammad hold an exceptionally important place in Islam by virtue of the fact that they are the first recipients of revelation and they enjoyed the blessed company of the Prophet. In addition, once they accepted Islam, they were fortunate to have been favoured by the gaze of love and mercy of the Prophet. They are included in the statement of the Prophet when he said: “The best era is my era, then those who follow them and then those who follow.”

So it is thus natural that any Muslim will strive to learn about these illustrious personalities and for those who have the means to travel, they make an additional effort to locate their graves and supplicate for them.

It is important to note that much of the early history of the Prophets and the early days of Islam was transmitted orally. There was a time when story-telling became popular and these story-tellers would often fabricate or add pieces of information to spice historical events and make it more appealing to their listeners. Some of these stories were even found in some books of Tafsir.

With time, the Muslim scholars devised the system of isnad (chain of transmission) through which they verified every narration or report. This system involved a detailed study and scrutiny of the narrators’ personality and credibility. This was established through verifying his teachers (shuyukh) and the strength of his memory and his ability to retain information for long periods. In this regard the illustrious scholar, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak said: “The isnad is part of the religion. If it were not for the isnad, then any person could have said anything.”

The Muslim World is unanimous on the authenticity of Sahih al-Bukhari. It is regarded as the second most authentic book after the Quran. This largely due to the stringent criteria adopted by Imam al-Bukhari in accepting Hadith from individuals. This science developed and there were many accomplished and renowned scholars throughout Islamic History who authored voluminous books on the biographical information of narrators commencing from the life of the Prophet, the Sahaba and the subsequent generations. Some of these scholars and their works are indispensable in the study of Hadith and its related sciences as well as in Islamic history. Some of these scholars are: Ibn Sa’d (d. )al-Hafiz Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani (d.852 A.H), al-Hafzi al-Dhahabi (d. 748 A.H) and al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir (d.774 A.H). 

The works of these scholars has been used to answer the following questions with regard to this illustrious Sahabi.

There is much discussion about Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas being buried in China. However, as a rule, if anyone makes a claim, then this must be supported by proof.

The first record of Muslims with China is during the time of the third Khalifah, Uthman ibn Affan in 651. Muslims reached the ports of Canton (Khanfo or Khansa) and there is masjid there known as Masjid Dhi al-Minarah. They also reached Shanghai.

There are reports that state that the first Muslim to enter China was a man known as Ibn Hamza who could have been one of the Sahaba. He arrived with about 3000 people. However, this has not been verified. There are some other reports that indicate that a man from the Quraysh from the progeny of Hubar ibn al-Aswad travelled to China.

The army under Qutaybah ibn Muslim al-Bahili conquered Kashghar in 96 A.H (715) during the time of al-Walid ibn Abdul Malik.

 The death & burial of Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas:

The last of the 10 promised Jannah to pass away. During the period of internal disagreement between the Sahaba, Sa’d chose to avoid all the conflict and did not participate in the Battle of the Camel and neither in Siffin.

His son Mus’ab ibn Sa’d said that his father’s head was on his lap when he (Sa’d) was in his last moments before passing away. The son cried. Sa’d saw this and said to his son: “Don’t cry because Allah will not punish me and I am from the people of Jannah.”

His daughter, Aishah bint Sa’d said that her father sent 5000 gold coins to Marwan as hi Zakat and when he passed away, he left behind 250 000.

Al-Zuhri reports that when his death was close, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas requested that he be shrouded in an old woolen cloak (jubbah) because this is what he wore on the Battle of Badr and he kept it aside for this day.”

He died in 56 A.H in the valley of al-Aqiq on the outskirts of Madinah and his body was carried to al-Masjid al-Nabawi where the Janazah Salat was performed. This has been reported by Imam Malik ibn Anas.

Ibn Shihab was asked if it was disliked to carry the deceased from one place to be buried in another? He replied: “Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas was carried from al-Aqiq to Madinah.”

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar said that Sa’d preferred isolation towards the end of his life and spent his time in his palace on the side of Hamra al-Asad. (a place a few miles away from Madinah)

Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr reports from Aishah (wife of the Prophet Muhammad) that when Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas passed away, the wives of the Prophet requested that his body be brought to the masjid. This was done and when the body was brought the wives made Salat/dua for him after which the body was taken out from Bab al-Jana’iz (the door of the Haram from which the deceased used to be taken). Some people even objected to this practice of bringing the deceased into the masjid. Aishah responded: “How quick are people to criticize that which they have no knowledge about. They found fault with our practice of bringing the body into the masjid but didn’t the Prophet perform Janazah Salat on Suhayl ibn Bayda in the masjid?”

A similar narration is reported by Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib from Ali ibn Husayn.

In another narration from Bukayr ibn Mismar and Ubaydah bint Nabil from Aishah bint Sa’d (Sa’d’s daughter) who said: “My father died in his palace in al-Aqiq, about 10 miles from Madinah. His body was carried by the men to Madinah where Marwan ibn al-Hakam (governor of Madinah at the time) led the Janazah Salat. This was in the year 55 A.H and he was over 70 years old.”

 The grave that is in China and is attributed to Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas could be:

1. Someone else who bore a similar name or perhaps someone from his family. As the years progressed people forgot and the most famous Ibn Abi Waqqas is Sa’d and that’s how it has been preserved in this way. Chinese and other historians confirm that the structure was built in the 7^th
2. It is common in the Muslim World to have graves and maqams. These are two different things. So, perhaps there is a maqam in China but the grave is in Madinah. The famous Shaykh Yusuf of Macassar has a grave in Cape Town and another in Lakiung in Indonesia
3. Which of the historians have confirmed that Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas actually travelled to China?

Bibliography:

Abu al-Fida Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, Dar al-Rayyan, Cairo, 1988, vol.4/75-81

Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Hajr al-Asqalani, al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Egypt, 1907, vol.2/33-34

Shakib Arsalan, Hadir al-Alam al-Islami, Dar al-Fikr, Beirut, 1973, vol.2/219-285

Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Uthman al-Dhahabi, Siyar A’lam al-Nubala, Dar al-Fikr, Beirut, 1997, vol. 3/58-78

Muhammad ibn Sa’d ibn Mani’al-Hashimi al-Basri, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, 1990, vol.3/101-110

Shawqi Abu Khalil, Atlas Duwal al-Alam al-Islami, Dar al-Fikr, Damascus, 2003, p. 168-170