An exact birth date for Sa'd ibn Mu'adh is not securely established. Classical biographical material reports that he was about thirty-seven years old when he died in 5 AH. That age permits only an approximate pre-Hijrah birth reconstruction and does not justify a precise Gregorian birth date. No exact day or month should therefore be presented as certain.
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh
PER-000401
Companion
Probable
Shared cemetery point
Cross-tradition historical
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Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, may Allah be pleased with him, was chief of Banu Abd al-Ashhal, a leading figure of Aws and one of the most influential Ansari leaders of early Muslim Madinah. Classical sira connects his conversion before the Hijrah with the mission of Mus'ab ibn Umayr; after Sa'd accepted Islam, Islam spread rapidly through Banu Abd al-Ashhal. He later took part in Badr, Uhud and the Battle of the Trench and became a central political and military leader among the Ansar.
The Battle of the Trench placed Madinah under severe pressure. The Qur'an describes enemies coming from different directions, eyes turning with fear, hearts reaching the throats and the believers being violently shaken. Sahih al-Bukhari records cold, exhaustion and hunger during the digging of the trench; Jabir reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had gone without food for three days and tied a stone to his stomach. Classical tafsir explains that the crisis became even more dangerous when Banu Qurayza, who had a treaty with the Prophet, broke that agreement and supported the Confederates, creating the possibility of danger from another direction while the large enemy force stood beyond the trench. During this battle Sa'd was struck in the medial vein of his arm, and the Prophet had a tent erected for him in the mosque so that he could be cared for nearby.
After the Confederates withdrew, Banu Qurayza were besieged and eventually surrendered accepting the judgment of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh. Their earlier alliance with Aws helps explain why Sa'd, chief of Aws, was accepted as arbitrator. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim preserve his ruling directly: their fighters were to be killed and their women and children taken captive; the Prophet affirmed his judgment. The ruling is most clearly understood within its immediate military sequence: the siege of Madinah, treaty-breaking during the emergency, surrender and accepted arbitration. Later numerical estimates are not necessary to explain the core event. Sa'd's trench wound later reopened and caused his death in 5 AH. Sahih al-Bukhari also preserves the famous statement that the Throne of the Most Merciful shook at the death of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh.
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh died in Medina in 5 AH from the wound he received during the Battle of the Trench. Sahih al-Bukhari records the injury to his medial arm vein and the later fatal bleeding. Classical chronology places his death shortly after the Banu Qurayza arbitration, approximately in late Dhu al-Qa'da or early Dhu al-Hijja of 5 AH. A commonly transmitted biographical age is about thirty-seven years, but the exact day of death is not securely established.
Location type: Verified shared cemetery association; exact individual grave point not established. Sa'd ibn Mu'adh was buried in Jannat al-Baqi in Medina. Ibn Sa'd and al-Dhahabi preserve reports that the Prophet Muhammad prayed over him and that companions participated in his burial there. The cemetery identification is strong, but no reliable modern evidence isolates Sa'd's exact individual grave position within Jannat al-Baqi. Any structured map reference for this profile should therefore represent Jannat al-Baqi as a shared cemetery location only, not Sa'd's precise grave.
Biography and historical profile
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh was an Ansari leader of the Aws, specifically Banu Abd al-Ashhal, and is usually identified as Sa'd ibn Mu'adh ibn al-Nu'man with the kunyah Abu Amr. His standing in Medina preceded Islam, and later Muslim sources remember him as one of the principal chiefs of the Aws.
His immediate family is unusually well documented. His father was Mu'adh ibn al-Nu'man, his mother was Kabsha bint Rafi', and Ibn Sa'd identifies his wife as Hind bint Simak ibn Atik. Two sons, Amr and Abd Allah, are securely named. No complete daughter list was established.
Sa'd's conversion belongs to the decisive pre-Hijrah mission of Mus'ab ibn Umayr in Yathrib. In the classical sira narrative, Usayd ibn Hudayr and Sa'd encountered Mus'ab's teaching, accepted Islam, and Sa'd then addressed his own clan. Banu Abd al-Ashhal are reported to have embraced Islam broadly after his conversion. The exact speeches belong to sira transmission, but the conversion setting and Sa'd's resulting leadership role are well established in classical biography.
His acceptance of Islam helped change the balance of the Medinan community before the Prophet's migration. As a major Aws leader, Sa'd brought social authority into the emerging Muslim alliance and became one of the central Ansari figures in the city.
Classical biographies place Sa'd at Badr, Uhud and the Battle of the Trench. His participation in these campaigns reflects both his leadership among the Ansar and his direct role in the military defense of the Medinan community.
The Battle of the Trench was the most severe crisis of the final period of his life. A large confederate force gathered against Madinah, while the trench prevented cavalry and infantry from entering from the exposed side. The Qur'an describes the moment in striking terms: enemies came from different directions, eyes turned with fear, hearts reached the throats, and the believers were tested and shaken with a mighty shaking.
The hardship was physical as well as psychological. Sahih al-Bukhari describes the Muhajirun and Ansar digging in a cold morning while suffering exhaustion and hunger. In another report, Jabir says that during the digging the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had a stone tied to his stomach because they had eaten nothing for three days. The defenders therefore faced cold, hard labor, shortage of food and continuous military vigilance at the same time.
Classical tafsir adds another strategic danger behind the Qur'anic description of fear. Banu Qurayza had a treaty with the Prophet and held fortifications on another side of Madinah. Ibn Kathir relates that during the siege they broke that agreement and supported the Confederates. With the main enemy army already outside the trench and women and children sheltered in the fortified parts of the city, the possibility of hostility from another direction made the crisis much more dangerous.
During this same battle Sa'd was struck by an arrow in the medial vein of his arm. Sahih al-Bukhari records that the Prophet had a tent erected for him in the mosque so that he could be visited and cared for nearby. The wound remained serious and would later become the direct cause of his death.
The external siege of Madinah ended when the Confederates withdrew, but the Banu Qurayza question remained. Qur'an 33:26-27 describes the fate of the People of the Book who had supported the Confederates, although it does not name Sa'd. Banu Qurayza were then besieged and eventually surrendered accepting Sa'd ibn Mu'adh's judgment. Classical sources explain that they had been allies of Aws before Islam and Sa'd was chief of Aws, making his selection intelligible within the tribal relationships of the time.
Sa'd was brought while still suffering from his trench wound. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim state that the Prophet told the Ansar to stand for their leader and then informed Sa'd that Banu Qurayza had surrendered to his judgment. Sa'd ruled that their fighters were to be killed and their women and children taken captive, and the Prophet affirmed his ruling. The decision is clearest when kept inside the full sequence preserved by the sources: Madinah under a major confederate siege, fear, hunger and exhaustion among the defenders, the breaking of an existing treaty during that military emergency, the withdrawal of the external army, surrender by Banu Qurayza, and their own acceptance of Sa'd as arbitrator. The strongest hadith wording concerns the fighters; later numerical estimates are not needed to understand the core event.
Sa'd's wound did not heal permanently. Sahih al-Bukhari records continued bleeding, and classical chronology places his death shortly after the Banu Qurayza judgment in 5 AH. The same wound received during the Trench campaign was therefore the direct cause of his death.
The most famous report connected with his death is preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari: the Prophet stated that the Throne of al-Rahman shook at the death of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh. Tirmidhi preserves a funeral-context parallel and grades it hasan sahih. The report belongs to the canonical virtue tradition surrounding Sa'd and should not be reduced to a later saintly legend.
Classical biographical literature also preserves an age of about thirty-seven years at death. This allows only an approximate pre-Hijrah birth reconstruction and should not be converted into an exact modern birth date.
Sa'd's funeral was remembered as a major public event among the Companions. Ibn Sa'd and al-Dhahabi preserve reports that the Prophet prayed over him and that companions participated in preparing and entering his grave.
His burial is securely associated with Jannat al-Baqi in Medina. This cemetery-level identification is supported by multiple classical reports and is much stronger than any claim to a surviving individually marked grave.
The exact point of Sa'd's grave within al-Baqi is not reliably recoverable from the sources reviewed. The historically responsible conclusion is therefore clear: Sa'd ibn Mu'adh was buried in Jannat al-Baqi, but the precise individual grave location remains unlocalized.
His immediate family is unusually well documented. His father was Mu'adh ibn al-Nu'man, his mother was Kabsha bint Rafi', and Ibn Sa'd identifies his wife as Hind bint Simak ibn Atik. Two sons, Amr and Abd Allah, are securely named. No complete daughter list was established.
Sa'd's conversion belongs to the decisive pre-Hijrah mission of Mus'ab ibn Umayr in Yathrib. In the classical sira narrative, Usayd ibn Hudayr and Sa'd encountered Mus'ab's teaching, accepted Islam, and Sa'd then addressed his own clan. Banu Abd al-Ashhal are reported to have embraced Islam broadly after his conversion. The exact speeches belong to sira transmission, but the conversion setting and Sa'd's resulting leadership role are well established in classical biography.
His acceptance of Islam helped change the balance of the Medinan community before the Prophet's migration. As a major Aws leader, Sa'd brought social authority into the emerging Muslim alliance and became one of the central Ansari figures in the city.
Classical biographies place Sa'd at Badr, Uhud and the Battle of the Trench. His participation in these campaigns reflects both his leadership among the Ansar and his direct role in the military defense of the Medinan community.
The Battle of the Trench was the most severe crisis of the final period of his life. A large confederate force gathered against Madinah, while the trench prevented cavalry and infantry from entering from the exposed side. The Qur'an describes the moment in striking terms: enemies came from different directions, eyes turned with fear, hearts reached the throats, and the believers were tested and shaken with a mighty shaking.
The hardship was physical as well as psychological. Sahih al-Bukhari describes the Muhajirun and Ansar digging in a cold morning while suffering exhaustion and hunger. In another report, Jabir says that during the digging the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had a stone tied to his stomach because they had eaten nothing for three days. The defenders therefore faced cold, hard labor, shortage of food and continuous military vigilance at the same time.
Classical tafsir adds another strategic danger behind the Qur'anic description of fear. Banu Qurayza had a treaty with the Prophet and held fortifications on another side of Madinah. Ibn Kathir relates that during the siege they broke that agreement and supported the Confederates. With the main enemy army already outside the trench and women and children sheltered in the fortified parts of the city, the possibility of hostility from another direction made the crisis much more dangerous.
During this same battle Sa'd was struck by an arrow in the medial vein of his arm. Sahih al-Bukhari records that the Prophet had a tent erected for him in the mosque so that he could be visited and cared for nearby. The wound remained serious and would later become the direct cause of his death.
The external siege of Madinah ended when the Confederates withdrew, but the Banu Qurayza question remained. Qur'an 33:26-27 describes the fate of the People of the Book who had supported the Confederates, although it does not name Sa'd. Banu Qurayza were then besieged and eventually surrendered accepting Sa'd ibn Mu'adh's judgment. Classical sources explain that they had been allies of Aws before Islam and Sa'd was chief of Aws, making his selection intelligible within the tribal relationships of the time.
Sa'd was brought while still suffering from his trench wound. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim state that the Prophet told the Ansar to stand for their leader and then informed Sa'd that Banu Qurayza had surrendered to his judgment. Sa'd ruled that their fighters were to be killed and their women and children taken captive, and the Prophet affirmed his ruling. The decision is clearest when kept inside the full sequence preserved by the sources: Madinah under a major confederate siege, fear, hunger and exhaustion among the defenders, the breaking of an existing treaty during that military emergency, the withdrawal of the external army, surrender by Banu Qurayza, and their own acceptance of Sa'd as arbitrator. The strongest hadith wording concerns the fighters; later numerical estimates are not needed to understand the core event.
Sa'd's wound did not heal permanently. Sahih al-Bukhari records continued bleeding, and classical chronology places his death shortly after the Banu Qurayza judgment in 5 AH. The same wound received during the Trench campaign was therefore the direct cause of his death.
The most famous report connected with his death is preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari: the Prophet stated that the Throne of al-Rahman shook at the death of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh. Tirmidhi preserves a funeral-context parallel and grades it hasan sahih. The report belongs to the canonical virtue tradition surrounding Sa'd and should not be reduced to a later saintly legend.
Classical biographical literature also preserves an age of about thirty-seven years at death. This allows only an approximate pre-Hijrah birth reconstruction and should not be converted into an exact modern birth date.
Sa'd's funeral was remembered as a major public event among the Companions. Ibn Sa'd and al-Dhahabi preserve reports that the Prophet prayed over him and that companions participated in preparing and entering his grave.
His burial is securely associated with Jannat al-Baqi in Medina. This cemetery-level identification is supported by multiple classical reports and is much stronger than any claim to a surviving individually marked grave.
The exact point of Sa'd's grave within al-Baqi is not reliably recoverable from the sources reviewed. The historically responsible conclusion is therefore clear: Sa'd ibn Mu'adh was buried in Jannat al-Baqi, but the precise individual grave location remains unlocalized.
Historical importance and legacy
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh is historically important because his conversion helped transform the religious and political structure of pre-Hijrah Yathrib. As a major Aws leader and chief of Banu Abd al-Ashhal, his acceptance of Islam brought powerful social support to the early Muslim community and accelerated the spread of Islam among his people.
His participation in Badr, Uhud and the Trench placed him at the center of the major military struggles of the Madinan period. The Trench is especially important for understanding him: the Qur'an describes overwhelming fear, while authentic hadith records hunger, cold and exhaustion among the defenders. Sa'd's own severe wound was received in that same defense, directly linking the final part of his life to the siege crisis.
The Banu Qurayza arbitration belongs to the aftermath of this military emergency rather than to an isolated courtroom episode. Classical tafsir places their treaty-breaking inside the Confederates' siege, while Bukhari and Muslim directly establish their surrender to Sa'd's judgment and his ruling concerning their fighters and dependants. Reading the event in this sequence makes the historical gravity of Sa'd's role and judgment much clearer.
The report that the Throne of al-Rahman shook at his death gives Sa'd a distinctive place in the canonical virtue literature of the Companions. Because the wording is preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari and corroborated elsewhere, it belongs to the strongest source layer of his posthumous memory.
Finally, Sa'd's verified burial in Jannat al-Baqi connects him to the earliest sacred cemetery of Medina. The fact that his exact grave point cannot now be identified is historically important in its own right: a shared cemetery association can be secure even when the location of an individual grave within it has been lost.
His participation in Badr, Uhud and the Trench placed him at the center of the major military struggles of the Madinan period. The Trench is especially important for understanding him: the Qur'an describes overwhelming fear, while authentic hadith records hunger, cold and exhaustion among the defenders. Sa'd's own severe wound was received in that same defense, directly linking the final part of his life to the siege crisis.
The Banu Qurayza arbitration belongs to the aftermath of this military emergency rather than to an isolated courtroom episode. Classical tafsir places their treaty-breaking inside the Confederates' siege, while Bukhari and Muslim directly establish their surrender to Sa'd's judgment and his ruling concerning their fighters and dependants. Reading the event in this sequence makes the historical gravity of Sa'd's role and judgment much clearer.
The report that the Throne of al-Rahman shook at his death gives Sa'd a distinctive place in the canonical virtue literature of the Companions. Because the wording is preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari and corroborated elsewhere, it belongs to the strongest source layer of his posthumous memory.
Finally, Sa'd's verified burial in Jannat al-Baqi connects him to the earliest sacred cemetery of Medina. The fact that his exact grave point cannot now be identified is historically important in its own right: a shared cemetery association can be secure even when the location of an individual grave within it has been lost.
Family relationships
Sources
The Qur'an | Revelation of Allah | Surah al-Ahzab 33:26-27 | https://quran.com/33/26-27 | Qur'anic event context for the People of the Book who supported the confederates; Sa'd is not named in the versesJami' al-Bayan an Ta'wil Ay al-Qur'an | Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari | Tafsir of Qur'an 33:26 | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/tabary/sura33-aya26.html | identifies Banu Qurayza and explicitly narrates referral of their judgment to Sa'd ibn Mu'adh
Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim | Isma'il ibn Umar Ibn Kathir | Tafsir of Qur'an 33:26 | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/katheer/sura33-aya26.html | classical tafsir context for Banu Qurayza, Sa'd's wound, prayer and arbitration
Sahih al-Bukhari | Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari | Hadith 463, Book of Prayer | https://sunnah.com/bukhari:463 | canonical account of Sa'd's Trench wound, treatment in a mosque tent and fatal bleeding
Sahih al-Bukhari | Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari | Hadith 3043, Book of Jihad | https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3043 | Banu Qurayza accept Sa'd's judgment; Prophet tells Ansar to stand for their chief and affirms his ruling
Sahih al-Bukhari | Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari | Hadith 4121, Book of Maghazi | https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4121 | independent Bukhari placement of the Banu Qurayza arbitration in the post-Ahzab campaign
Sahih Muslim | Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj | Hadith 1768a, Book of Jihad and Expeditions | https://sunnah.com/muslim:1768a | independent sahih parallel for Banu Qurayza surrender and Sa'd's judgment
Sahih al-Bukhari | Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari | Hadith 3803, Merits of the Ansar | https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3803 | highest-grade core of CAND-0098: Prophet states that the Throne of al-Rahman shook at Sa'd's death
Jami' al-Tirmidhi | Muhammad ibn Isa al-Tirmidhi | Hadith 3848, Virtues of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh | https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:3848 | funeral-context parallel for the Throne statement; Tirmidhi grades it hasan sahih
Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma al-Rijal | Yusuf al-Mizzi | Vol. 10, p. 301, entry 2225 | https://islamweb.net/ar/library/content/1001/2388/ | exact lineage, Abu Amr kunyah, Aws leadership, mother Kabsha, conversion chronology, Badr/Uhud/Trench and death
Siyar A'lam al-Nubala | Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi | Sa'd ibn Mu'adh biography | https://islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/6297/ | conversion through Mus'ab, Banu Abd al-Ashhal Islamization, family, military career, death and burial synthesis
Siyar A'lam al-Nubala | Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi | Companion volume, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, around pp. 289-290 | https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/68/ | Ibn Sa'd/Waqidi material on age, Prophet's funeral prayer and explicit burial in al-Baqi
Al-Isti'ab fi Ma'rifat al-Ashab | Ibn Abd al-Barr | Vol. 2, p. 603, entry 958 | https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/1080/979/ | Companion biography: exact lineage, mother, conversion through Mus'ab, Badr/Uhud/Trench and death from wound
Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra | Muhammad ibn Sa'd | Vol. 3, displayed p. 321 | https://ablibrary.net/book_content/b/17773/321 | wife Hind bint Simak, sons Amr and Abd Allah, family continuation and conversion through Mus'ab
Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra | Muhammad ibn Sa'd | Women's section, Hind bint Simak, displayed p. 247 | https://www.masaha.org/book/view/2061/page/247 | independently confirms Hind's marriage to Sa'd, her earlier marriage to Aws and sons Amr and Abd Allah
Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya | Isma'il ibn Umar Ibn Kathir | Year 5 AH, death of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh | https://islamweb.net/ar/library/content/59/350/ | death chronology after Ahzab/Qurayza and classical funeral/death reception
Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya | Isma'il ibn Umar Ibn Kathir | Beginning of Islam of the Ansar | https://www.islamweb.net/amp/ar/library/content/59/220/ | detailed Ibn Ishaq narrative of Mus'ab, Usayd and Sa'd's conversion
Sahih/Rijal narrator dossier | Sunnah.com | Sa'd ibn Mu'adh narrator 17772 | https://sunnah.com/narrator/17772 | consolidated rijal evidence for exact identity, mother, battles, fatal wound, Banu Qurayza and canonical reports
Project Miracle Master Person Map | Internal project registry | CAND-0098 / PER-000401 | internal project registry | exact project identity mapping: Sa'd ibn Mu'adh and the Prophetic report that the Throne shook at his death
Project Jannat al-Baqi cemetery anchor | PERSON-V4 geography standard | Jannat al-Baqi shared cemetery point | https://www.google.com/maps?q=24.467120610807285,39.61336728379692 | structured cemetery anchor only; not an exact individual grave coordinate
The Qur'an | Revelation of Allah | Surah al-Ahzab 33:10-12 | https://quran.com/33/10-12 | describes the fear, surrounding pressure and severe testing during the Confederates' siege of Madinah
Sahih al-Bukhari | Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari | Hadith 4099, Book of Maghazi | https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4099 | cold, exhaustion and hunger while the Muhajirun and Ansar dug the trench
Sahih al-Bukhari | Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari | Hadith 4101, Book of Maghazi | https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4101 | Jabir reports three days without food during the trench digging and the Prophet tying a stone to his stomach
Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim | Isma'il ibn Umar Ibn Kathir | Tafsir of Qur'an 33:10 and 33:26 | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/katheer/sura33-aya10.html ; https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/katheer/sura33-aya26.html | classical context for the Confederates' siege, Banu Qurayza treaty-breaking and subsequent arbitration
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