(Friday Sermon - March 15, 2019 )

Background and Participation in Battles

Hazrat Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubaid participated in all the battles alongside the Holy Prophet^(sa) including the Battles of Badr, Uhud and Khandaq. His name has also been reported as Saeed. He was known by the title of Qari and also commonly known as Abu Zaid.

Hazrat Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubaid is counted amongst those four companions from the Ansar who collated the Holy Quran during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet^(sa). His son, Umair bin Sa‘d was a governor in one of the regions of Syria during the caliphate of Hazrat Umar^(ra). According to one narration, Hazrat Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubaid used to lead the prayers in the Quba mosque during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet^(sa). He was also appointed to lead the prayers during the caliphates of Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra) and Hazrat Umar ^(ra). Hazrat Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubaid was martyred during the Battle of Qadisiyyah in 16 AH. He was sixty-four years of age at the time of his martyrdom.

Battle of Jisr

Abdur Rahman bin Abu Laila narrates that during the Battle of Jisr, which took place in 13 AH, the Muslims were defeated and suffered a great loss and Hazrat Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubaid had to retreat from the battle. Upon his return, Hazrat Umar^(ra) asked Hazrat Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubaid that if he had the desire to go for Jihad in Syria. For Muslims had been brutally attacked there and suffered greatly. If he agreed, he should go there as the enemy had become brazen due to the injury and bloodshed caused to the Muslims.

Hazrat Umar^(ra) further added that perhaps he would be able to heal the scar of humiliation owing to their defeat. This is because he had retreated from the Battle of Jisr and the Muslims had suffered a great loss. Hence, Hazrat Umar^(ra) said to him that if he wished to remove the scar of the humiliation and defeat, there was a battle taking place towards Syria as well. However, Hazrat Sa‘d^(ra) replied that he would not go to any other land besides the land from where he had fled or returned unsuccessfully. Furthermore, he said, “I will only go after the enemy, who succeeded in what they set out to do against me.” In other words, he referred to the enemy that had become victorious in the battle against him. Hence, Hazrat Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubaid returned to Qadisiyyah and was martyred in combat.

Abdur Rahman bin Abu Laila relates that Hazrat Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubaid addressed the people and said, “We will fight the enemy tomorrow and we shall be martyred. Therefore, you should neither wash the blood from our body, nor dress us in any other clothes for burial besides the clothes we are wearing.” (Usdul Ghaba, Vol. 2, p. 445, Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubaid, Dar-ul-Kutb Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003) (Al-Tabqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 349, Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubaid, Dar-ul-Kutb al-Ilimiyya, Beirut, 1990) (Al-Asaba Fi Tameez Al-Sahaba, Vol. 3, p. 57, Sa‘d^(ra) bin Ubaid, Dar-ul-Kutb Al-Ilimiyya, Beirut, 1995)

The Battle of Jisr was fought in 13 AH on the bank of the Euphrates between Muslims and Iranians. The commander-in-chief of the Muslims was Hazrat Abu Ubaid Saqfi ^(ra), whereas the commander-in-chief of the Iranians was Bahman Jadhawiyah. The number of the Muslim army was 10,000, whereas the Iranian army numbered 30,000 and they also had 300 elephants.

During the course of the battle, the opposing armies met at the Euphrates, which proved to be an obstacle in the battle and thus fighting ceased between the two armies for some time. This continued to the extent that a Jisr – that is a bridge – was constructed over the Euphrates with both parties being in agreement to it. Due to this very bridge, it is known as the Battle of Jisr. Once the bridge was completed, Bahman Jadhawiyah sent a message to Hazrat Abu Ubaid^(ra) saying, “Will you cross the bridge and come to us or will you permit us to cross it?” Hazrat Abu Ubaid^(ra) was of the opinion that the Muslim army should cross the river and fight the opposing army. However, the leaders of the army, which included Hazrat Saleet^(ra), were against this opinion. Nevertheless, Hazrat Abu Ubaid^(ra) crossed the Euphrates and attacked the Iranian army. The battle continued in this manner for a short period.

A short while later, Bahman Jadhawiyah saw his army scattered around. He saw that the Iranian army was retreating upon which he ordered the elephants to be moved to the front. As a result of the elephants moving to the front, the rows of the Muslims were broken and became disorganised. The Muslim army began to scatter to different places. Hazrat Abu Ubaid^(ra) said to the Muslims, “O servants of Allah! Attack the elephants and cut off their trunks.” Having said this, Hazrat Abu Ubaid^(ra) himself advanced and attacked an elephant and cut off its trunk. Seeing this, the remaining army also quickly began to fight. They cut off the trunks and feet of several elephants and killed those that were riding on them. Coincidentally, Hazrat Abu Ubaid^(ra) came face to face with an elephant and he struck his sword and cut off its trunk. However, he was trampled under its feet and was martyred. Following the martyrdom of Hazrat Abu Ubaid^(ra), seven men, one after the other, grabbed hold of the Islamic flag and each one was martyred during the battle. The eighth individual was Hazrat Musanna^(ra) who grabbed hold of the Islamic flag and intended to launch another valiant attack. However, the rows of the Muslim army were unorganised and having seen seven of their leaders being martyred one after the other, people began to disperse in different directions and some jumped into the river. Hazrat Musanna^(ra) and his companions continued to fight courageously. In the end, Hazrat Musanna^(ra) was wounded and whilst continuing to battle against the enemy, he crossed the river and returned. Muslims suffered a great loss during this incident. Four thousand Muslim men were martyred, whereas six thousand Iranian soldiers were killed. (Tarikh ibn Khuldoon, translated by Hakim Ahmad Hussain Al-Abadi, Vol. 3, pp. 270-273, Dar-ul-Isha’at Karachi, 2003)

The reason why the Battle of Jisr occurred in the first place was because the Iranians launched continuous attacks against the Muslims. Therefore, in order to stop these attacks, permission was sought to fight.