Sa'd ibn ar-Rabi

The Brother to Abd al-Rahman

Sa’d ibn ar-Rabi was an Ansari naqib at the Pledge of Aqaba. When the Prophet ﷺ bound the Muhajirun and Ansar in brotherhood, he paired Sa’d with Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf. Sa’d said to him: “I am the wealthiest of the Ansar — take half my wealth. And I have two wives; choose the one you wish, and I shall divorce her for you.” Abd al-Rahman answered with the famous words asking only to be shown the way to the marketplace. 1 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 1 · pp. 377–378 — Kandhlawi — Sa'd ibn ar-Rabi offers Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf half his wealth and one of his wives; Abd al-Rahman asks for the marketplace.

The Fragrance of Paradise at Uhud

At Uhud, the Prophet ﷺ sent Zayd ibn Thabit to seek him out. Zayd found Sa’d among the slain, with seventy wounds on his body, scarcely breathing. He sent his salaam to the Prophet ﷺ, said he could already smell the fragrance of Paradise, and entrusted Zayd with a final word: “Tell my Ansari brothers that they will have no excuse before Allah if the disbelievers reach His Messenger ﷺ while a single one of them still has the strength to blink an eye.” Then he died. 2 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 1 · pp. 503–504 — Kandhlawi — Sa'd ibn ar-Rabi found at Uhud with seventy wounds; his dying message to the Ansar; 'the fragrance of Paradise'. Years later, Abu Bakr would spread his own cloak for Sa’d’s daughter and say of him: “She is the daughter of one who is greater than you or I — he has prepared his abode in Paradise while we yet live.” 3 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 2 · pp. 455–456 — Kandhlawi — Abu Bakr's tribute to Sa'd ibn ar-Rabi before his daughter.