Sa'd ibn Mu'adh

Saʿd ibn Muʿādh ibn al-Nuʿmān al-Awsī al-Ashhalī was the chieftain of the Banū ʿAbd al-Ashhal, one of the most powerful clans of the Aws tribe in Madinah, and one of the greatest of the Anṣār. He accepted Islām at the hands of Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr (the Prophet's ambassador to Madinah before the Hijrah) and his conversion brought his entire clan into Islam.

At the Battle of Badr (2 AH), he was among the most resolute voices of the Anṣār when some hesitation arose after the Muslims discovered they were facing the full Qurayshī army rather than just the caravan. In one account, when the Prophet ﷺ consulted his Companions, Saʿd stood and gave a speech of powerful commitment: 'O Messenger of Allah, we believe in you and we testify that what you have brought is the truth. We have given you our oaths and our covenants to hear and obey. Go forward, O Messenger of Allah, with what Allah has commanded you, we are with you. By Allah, if you were to cross this sea, we would cross it with you.' The Prophet ﷺ was visibly moved and his expression brightened.

Saʿd was also the commander of the Prophet's guard post (ʿArīsh) at Badr, standing watch over the Prophet ﷺ throughout the battle with drawn sword.

He is perhaps best known in the Seerah for his ruling on the fate of Banū Qurayẓah (5 AH), whose men he sentenced to death and whose women and children he sentenced to captivity after they broke their treaty with the Muslims during the Battle of the Confederates. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'You have judged by the command of Allah from above the seven heavens.' Saʿd died shortly after from a wound sustained during the siege, and Jibrīl came to the Prophet ﷺ at night to announce his death, saying that the Throne of the Merciful had trembled at it.