The Conversion of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh and Usayd ibn Hudayr

When Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr began preaching in the house of Asʿad ibn Zurārah, word reached the leaders of the tribes. Two of the most powerful young leaders of the Banū ʿAbd al-Ashhal, Saʿd ibn Muʿādh and Usayd ibn Ḥuḍayr, were close friends and the ones the tribe looked to after the decimation of the senior leadership in the Battle of Buʿāth.

Saʿd ibn Muʿādh learned of Muṣʿab's presence and said to Usayd: "This new religion has come to our city, and my cousin Asʿad is housing the man who's spreading it. Since he's my cousin, I feel awkward going myself. Go and expel this man, who is he to preach against the religion of our forefathers?"

Usayd picked up his spear, a sign of war, and marched to Asʿad's house. Asʿad saw him coming and warned Muṣʿab: "This is one of our leaders. Have sincerity, something is about to happen." Usayd arrived speaking angrily: "Why have you come to our land? Are you here to brainwash the weak-minded among us? To take our women and children away from our ways? Leave, if you value your life."

Muṣʿab responded with the calm that only Imān brings, the calm of a man who knew he had something true to offer. He said: "Why don't you sit and listen to what I have to say? If you find it agreeable, then good. If not, I will stop." This was a very bold offer. He was essentially telling an armed man who had come to kill him: listen to me, and if you don't agree, I'll leave. Usayd found the offer reasonable. He sat down.

Muṣʿab preached the basic message of Islam, the Oneness of Allāh, the Prophethood of Muḥammad ﷺ, the life of righteousness. Usayd's heart opened. Within minutes of arriving to expel Muṣʿab, spear in hand, he said: "What you have said makes complete sense to me. How does one embrace your faith?"

Muṣʿab said: "Do Ghusl (ritual bath), say the Shahādah, and pray two rakʿahs." He did. He converted.

Then Usayd said: "There is a man who sent me. If you can convince him, you will have no opposition left among us." He returned to Saʿd. When Saʿd saw him approaching, he said immediately, before Usayd had spoken a word: "This is not the same man who left us." The Imān of Tawḥīd had changed him visibly. The light of Lā ilāha illā Allāh shows on a person's face.

Usayd said to Saʿd: "I spoke with them. You should go yourself." Then to add urgency, he said: "I have heard that the tribe of such-and-such intends to kill Asʿad because he is housing this man, and because you are doing nothing while he is your cousin." This stirred Saʿd's tribal instincts, he took his weapons and marched.

Saʿd addressed his cousin Asʿad: "Had you not been my cousin, these weapons would not be hanging at my side. Get rid of this guest. Tell him to leave our land." Muṣʿab stepped forward immediately: "Same offer. Sit and listen. If you don't agree, I will stop and leave." The calmness of the offer made Saʿd pause. A man who is genuinely confident in what he is offering does not tremble.

Muṣʿab recited Sūrat al-Zukhruf:

حم وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ

(Ha-Meem. By the clear Book.)

The Quran is the miracle, not just intellectually but spiritually, aesthetically, in its very sound. Saʿd ibn Muʿādh heard it directly from Muṣʿab's mouth and it completely transformed him. He said: "How does one convert?" Muṣʿab told him. He washed, took the Shahādah, prayed two rakʿahs, and was Muslim.

With the conversion of Saʿd and Usayd, the entire Banū ʿAbd al-Ashhal, their clan, converted to Islam. These two were their leaders; the tribe followed without hesitation. This was the largest mass conversion in the Makkī period: an entire clan embracing Islam in a single moment because their leaders embraced it first.