by Abu Dharr (Opinion, Crescent International Vol. 56, No. 3, Dhu al-Qa'dah, 1447)
The next one from among the Muhajireen and a participant in the six-member commissioning council that was tasked with agreeing on a khalifah to succeed ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab is Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas. In the tribal labyrinth of Makkah, Sa‘d hailed from the same kinfolk as ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf. Sa‘d was one of the first followers of the Prophet (ﷺ) during the early days of Islam in Makkah. He was known to have sacrificed considerably for Allah (الله سُبْحَانَهُۥ وَتَعَالَىٰ), the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Islamic community. It is reported that he was the first in Islam to shoot an arrow. He took part in the battle of Badr along with his younger brother ‘Umair who was honored as a shaheed in that pivotal battle.
Sa‘d fell ill in al-Madinah and the Prophet (ﷺ) paid him a visit and expressed a du‘a for his wellbeing and health. In the days and years after the Prophet (ﷺ) passed away, Sa‘d was to be found in and valiantly engaged in the frontlines of the battle of al-Qadisiyah. He is known as the hero of al-Qadisiyah and the vanquisher of Kisra (philosopher and king Khosrow, of Persia).
Sa‘d was one of the six who were nominated by ‘Umar to assume the position of Islamic leadership. It was ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf who disqualified Sa‘d in the same manner that ‘Abd al-Rahman disqualified himself from the highest office in the ummah.
And like ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf, Sa‘d had multiple wives from diverse tribes; from the tribe of Quraish he was married to one wife belonging to his family background.
There is information circulating in some history books that Sa‘d favored Imam ‘Ali as the leader of the Muslims. Maybe? It is also reported that ‘Umar advised that whoever is going to become the khalifah after him should task Sa‘d with an administrative/governmental position. Thus, when ‘Uthman became the khalifah he appointed Sa‘d as the governor of al-Kufah – a position he retained for over a year. After that ‘Uthman relieved him of his duties and replaced him with al-Walid ibn ‘Uqbah.
From all that we know, Sa‘d was loyal to ‘Uthman. It cannot be stated with certainty how Sa‘d felt towards ‘Uthman when the latter relieved him of his duties as governor of al-Kufah. Was he upset or composed?
When opposition to ‘Uthman picked up momentum, Sa‘d did not appear in the vehement protests but that is not to say that he may have expressed loyal opposition to ‘Uthman. When the opposition turned fierce, ferocious Sa‘d appeared to have been not taking sides.
We cannot say that he contributed to the polarization of opinions during ‘Uthman’s last days in office as khilafah or thereafter. Later on he was asked: why don’t you get regimentally involved [in this Islamic civil strife?] He answered: Unless you present me with a sword that tells me this is a war between committed muslims and committed kafirs I will not fight.
In all the battles and wars prior to that, Sa‘d did not hesitate to sacrifice life and limb for the cause of Allah (الله سُبْحَانَهُۥ وَتَعَالَىٰ). When he felt that internal civil conflict is a “grey area” he excluded himself from military duty.
When Sa‘d died he did not leave behind a fortune compared to some other companions.
Next we dwell on al-Zubair ibn al-‘Awwam. He was a close relative of the Prophet (ﷺ). He was the son of Safiyyah bint ‘Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet’s paternal aunt. Al-Zubair’s paternal aunt was the Prophet’s wife Khadijah, the matron of the committed Muslims.
That made al-Zubair the cousin of Fatimah—the Prophet’s daughter. Al-Zubair was also related to Abu Bakr as he married Abu Bakr’s daughter Asma’ (Dhat al-Nitaqain). This put al-Zubair at a cozy and comfortable relationship with the Prophet (ﷺ) as he was his brother-in-law.
Al-Zubair and the Prophet (ﷺ) married the daughters of Abu Bakr. The former married Asma’ while the Prophet was married to ‘A’ishah, Asma’s sister.
Since his childhood, al-Zubair was known to be strong, determined and courageous. He was also one of the early pioneering Muslims in Makkkah. He participated in the battle of Badr and all other battles and wars that the Prophet (ﷺ) attended. He was also one of two mounted soldiers at the battle of Badr.
After the Prophet (ﷺ) passed on, al-Zubair stayed in al-Madinah during the reign of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. He did not leave except with permission from ‘Umar or to go to Hajj. ‘Umar appointed him to the six-member council that was tasked with working out who the new leader of the ummah will be.
He did not show any obvious inclination towards the two main competitors ‘Uthman and Imam ‘Ali. Al-Zubair seemed to have had confidence in ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf and his reasoning and good sense. After ‘Uthman became the khalifah he showed some affection or leaning towards al-Zubair.
In his Tabaqat, the Seerah biographer Ibn Sa‘d says that ‘Uthman gave al-Zubair 600,000 [dinars or dirhams?]. As a result, al-Zubair began to seek out the best ventures or investments for which he was told it was property acquisition. So he purchased land in ‘Iraq and he purchased land in Egypt. Ibn Sa‘d also mentions that al-Zubair was averse to having people entrust him with their wealth.
With time, al-Zubair’s wealth ballooned into a fortune so much so that his name was worked into short well-known traditional sayings about wealth accumulation. His moneymaking and business related activities subjected him to the ebbs and flows of successful and unsuccessful undertakings. At one time he had accumulated considerable debt due to which he instructed his son at the time of the battle of al-Jamal to pay off his substantial debt. Al-Zubair’s son paid off his father’s debt which is reported to have been 2.5 million dirhams.
This writer is aware that some of the information about the affluent companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) does not circulate and the reason for that may be to try to avoid the impression that wealth is corruptive and thus the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) became dishonest or demoralized.
This fear of objective information coupled with a reactionary “flight of fancy” produces the sectarianism that we have been suffering from for a long time. Let us take control of our nerves and discipline ourselves to live with the actualities of our history…
There is enough information that tells us that al-Zubair’s wealth—after his debt was paid off and the rest inherited by his heirs—was between 35 million dirhams on the lower end and 52 million on the higher end… An in-between figure of 40 million dirhams is also mentioned.
This should come as no surprise if we realize that al-Zubair had extensive dealings in Egypt (Alexandria) and ‘Iraq (al-Basrah) as well as al-Kufah, in addition to eleven domiciles in al-Madinah, add to that the agricultural and other investment profits.
Knowing that, we can understand why al-Zubair initially was not one to express opposition to ‘Uthman’s “free market” policies. When ‘Uthman was under siege in his own house it was ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubair who was in charge of ‘Uthman’s residence security. ‘Uthman entrusted ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubair to pass on his will and testament specifying how ‘Uthman’s assets (estate) are to be distributed after death.
Be that is it was, al-Zubair remained peacefully disapproving of some of ‘Uthman’s administrative and political decisions along with other members of the Muhajireen and Ansar. We may sum it up by saying that al-Zubair was a “back seat” critic of not many of the decisions that were made in the office of the khalifah.
‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, and al-Zubair ibn al-‘Awwam are in spite of everything included in the ayah:
Certainly, they who are securely committed to Allah, and who have forsaken the state-of-affairs of evil [in Makkah] and are striving hard in Allah’s cause – these are the ones who may look forward to Allah’s grace; for Allah is much-forgiving, tremendously merciful [Surat al-Baqarah, verse 218].
