Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas
Encyclopedia
Saad ibn Abī Waqqās was an early convert to Islam
in 610-11 and one of the important companions
of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
. Sa'd was the seventeenth person to embrace Islam at the age of seventeen. He is mainly known for his commandership in the conquest of Persia in 636, governorship over it, and diplomatic sojourns to China
in 616 and 651.
clan of the Quraysh tribe
, and was a cousin to Aminah Bint Wahb
, mother of Muhammad. He was seventeen years old when he accepted islam.
.
Sa'ad relates:
This was referenced in the Qur'an
ic verse 31:14-15
.'
to offer prayer with the prophet Muhammad, when a group of polytheists
observed them. They began to abuse and fight them. Sa`ad beat a polytheist and shed his blood, reportedly becoming the first muslim to shed blood in the name of islam.
He fought at the battle of Badr with his young brother Umayr. Being only in his early teens, Umayr was denied access to battle, but after struggling and crying, he was later given permission by the Prophet to fight in battle. Sa`d returned to Medina
alone; Umayr was one of the fourteen Muslims who died in the battle.
At the battle of Uhud, Sa`d was chosen as an archer together with Zayd, Sa`īb (the son of Uthmān ibn Mazūn) and others. Sa`d was among those who fought in defense of Muhammad after some Muslims had deserted their positions. Muhammad honoured him by declaring him one of the best archer
s of that time. During the battle, the Prophet gathered some arrows for him.
, and he had only a daughter during this period. Sa'ad said:
at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah
and Battle of Nahāvand. He was later appointed governor of Kufa
and Nejd during the caliphate
of Umar.
Some narrations state that although Umar deposed him from his post as governor, he recommended that the caliph
who succeeded him reinstall Sa'd, since Umar had not deposed Sa'd due to any treachery.
He was one of six people nominated by Umar ibn al-Khattab for the third caliphate
.
S'ad has been traditionally credited by Chinese Muslims
with introducing Islam to China
in 650, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang
, although modern secular scholars don't find any historical evidence for him actually travelling to China.
relevant to the Umayyad tradition of cursing Ali
.
He outlived all ten blessed companions, and died a wealthy man at the age of eighty, in the year 664.
s regard him as one of the ten to whom paradise was promised
.
One Sunni source states:
To urge him on [during Uhud], the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said:
"Shoot, Sa'ad ...may my mother and father be your ransom." However, Ali ibn Abi Talib said that he had not yet heard the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) promising such a ransom to anyone except Sa'ad Bin Malik. Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 389.
was born in 594 CE is mainly remembered as a statesman, commander and
diplomat as Sa’d served the Prophet
and the first four Caliphs known
as Rashidun Caliphs earnestly. He was the Caliphate’s governor
of Kufa
in 637-38, and of Busra in 638-644, 645-646. Sa’d also led the embassy
sent by Caliph Usman to Tang Emperor Kao-tsung of China
in 651 who
also exchanged embassies with Emperor Harsha of Kanauj in 640s. Sa’d
died at the age of eighty in 674 at Aqiqa and was buried in Madinah.
From obscurity as a maternal uncle of Prophet Muhammad, he rose to
imminence by dint of hard work, selflessness, wide-traveling and broad
outlook. As his activities showed, Sa’d was keen to interact with
different peoples and nations, and believed that mutual interactions,
free flow of ideas and trade among nations and empires were beneficial
to all at stake. Old Chinese sources (records of Tang dynasty
, 618-906
CE) reveal much of Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas’ sojourn to East Asia
in
general and to China in particular where the diplomacy and missionary
of the time went hand in hand.
abi Waqqas are- the Tangshu (唐书Tang History, pub.945 CE), the Ming
Geography (Ta-Ming-i-t’ing Chi 大明一統志 pub.1461) and the Minshu ( 閩書,
Fujian provincial Gazetteer, pub. 1620 ).
The sources state that Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas arrived in China twice and
Tang records reveal that the second visit, after a gap of twenty-five
years, was when he (Sa’d) headed a 15-member embassy sent by Caliph
Usman Tang King Gaozhong (Kao-Tsung), by sea route; the Arab
emissaries landed Canton, and reached Chang
‘an (capital)
on 25 August 651.
Multiple Chinese sources inform that his father (Abi Waqqas aka king
Abi Waqqas or Malik abi Waqqas), came to China thrice- in 586 CE
(pre-Islamic period), 628 CE and 634 CE. Following the foot-step, Sa’d
too was a keen traveler and arrived in China twice- in 618 and 651.
Sa’d embraced Islam early in 611 CE at the of seventeen and he was
among more than hundred Sahabas (Companions of the Prophet) who were
dispatched to Abyssinia
by Prophet Muhammad to avoid the virulent
Quraish opposition and persecution in 615. Four Sahabas including Sa’d
did not return (from Abyssinia to Madinah till 622 as others did) and
they were later discovered to have sailed off to China. Sa’d was
accompanied by his father Abi Waqqas in his 615-18 trip and that Abi
was dead in China in-between 629 and 635 and was buried there; but
much confusion has been made between Abi Waqqas and Sa’d ibn abi
Waqqas, prompting many to believe (“learn”) that Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas
was buried in China and that “his tomb” still lies there in Canton.
The tomb if any belonged to Abi Waqqas.
While in Manipur
(northeast India
) annals, ‘Sa’d’ was noted as ‘Sadik’
(seemingly a more familiar name), a name attributed to a Muslim
preacher in the reign of Manipur king Naophang Ahal (594-624 CE).Sa’d
and three other Sahabas sailed from Abyssinia to Chittagong
from where
they took the land journey to next destination. As is Arab tradition
to write names with those of immediate ancestors in suffix in the
form of family tree, Sa’d is written in Arabic accounts as Sa'd ibn
Abi Waqqas Malik ibn Uhayb ibn 'Abdu Manaf ibn Zuhra ibn Kilab ibn
Murra ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy al-Qurashi az-Zuhri (as he belonged to the
Zuhri clan of the Quraish).
Dru C. Gladney
(1987) wrote: “The Lingshan tombs are primarily those
of two Muslim saints said to have been sent to China by the Prophet
Muhammad, who were buried in their present location before the Yuan
dynasty. According to He Qiaoyun’s Minshu (c. 1620), the two saints
buried in Quanzhou
are Imam Sayid and Imam Waggas (Waqqas) from
Medina. They were two of four foreign Muslims said to have visited
southern China during the Tang Emperor Wu De’s reign (618-26). Fujian
provincial and local municipal publications proudly proclaim Quanzhou
as the site of the third most important Islamic holy grave and the
fifth most important mosque in the world” (quoting Yang Hongxun,
1985).
Gladney further writes: “Wahb Abu Kabcha is said to be buried in the
Guangzhou’s famous ‘Bell tomb’. The fourth saint is buried in
Yangzhou
.”
Old Manipuri accounts note that two Muslim preachers Sadik Para
Koireng and Qutwan Khan arrived and preached in Manipur in the reign
of Naophang Ahal i.e, Naophangba I wherein ‘Para Koireng’ and ‘Khan’
are suffix titles. J.C Higgins (1933) and Dr. John Parrat (1998)
wrote: “The first Muhammadans, the Aribam family, came to Manipur in
the time of Naophangba”.
During the nascent stage of Islam (614-15 CE), an increasing Quraish
persecution of the adherents of Islam compelled the Prophet to advise
more than a hundred Muslims (Sahabas)- including women (Shaybat) to
take shelter (hijarat) in Abyssinia (Ethiopia), then ruled by a
friendly Christian king Najashi and that the Muslims went to Abyssinia
in two batches in 613/4 and 615.
The Muslims returned to Arabia by 622 but the Record of the
immigration to Abyssinia noticed that some Sahabas, including Sa’d ibn
abi Waqqas did not return. It was only after Sa’d’s return to Arabia
in 623 it became known that that Sa’d accompanied by three other
Sahabas sailed off from Abyssinia in 615 to extend their hijrat to
China. Around this time in 630s and 640s, Harsha Vardhan ruled in
central India with capital at Kanauj and Bhaskavarman reigned in
Kamrup
(in Assam
) as Buddhist pilgrim Huen Tsang from China who was in
India (630-44) noted in his accounts. The sojourn of Sa’d is
ironically comparable to that of Huen Tsang who also visited India
without informing the Chinese king or others but he (Huen Tsang) was
much applauded and decorated, once back home, for his memorable and
productive journey as the latter collected several texts of Buddhism
which he furnished to king Tai-Tsung. But hardly any of Sad ibn abi
Waqqas’ overseas and diplomatic accounts survive in Arabic texts when
the Caliph’s library was sacked and torched during the political
upheaval as Muawiyah was about to succeed Ali
in 660.
Emperor Harsha
had a good diplomatic relation with China. D. Devahuti
(1970) noted: “According to our sources Harsha took the initiative in
opening diplomatic relations with T‘ai Tsung. It is stated that, on
assuming the title of ‘the king of Magadh’ in A.D. 641, Harsha sent an
envoy to China. Neither the Indian sources nor even Hsuan-tsang’s
‘Records’ or the ‘Life’ refer to or suggest any special career in AD
641 with regard to Magadha. It seems to us that the simple fact of the
use of the title ‘the King of Magadh’ by Harsha in the royal documents
carried by his envoy to China in AD 641 has happened to be so recorded
in the Chinese sources as to give the impression that a noteworthy
event such as the assumption of a new title by Harsha took place in
that year. Harsha preferred to be known as the King of Magadh rather
than the King of Kanauj, especially in a foreign communication, and
for all we know in some hitherto undiscovered internal records as
well, is understandable in the light of the reputation that Magadha
had come to enjoy as the seat of imperial power from pre-Mauryan
days.”
India (al-Hind) or China (as-Sin) were no strangers to the Arabs as
they already travelled by both land and sea silk-routes to the India
n,
Chinese
and Sumatran coasts before the birth of the Prophet in 570 CE.
Prophet Muhammad metaphorically stated: “I get cool breeze from the
side of al-Hind”. Another pronouncement (hadith) is: “Go unto China if
to seek knowledge as education (learning) is obligatory for all
believers” (reported by Anas ibn Malik
- the sahaba, and later by
Baihaqi and Ibn Adi in their books).
Once Sa’d and other Sahabas sailed off by sea from Abyssinia in the
Indian Ocean and then towards the Bay of Bengal
landing at Chittagong
from where they could reach china by land-route via the NE India and
Upper Burma route or by sea route through the Malacca
Strait rounding
the Malay Archipelago
. Sa’d chose to proceed by land route from
Chittagong and those Arabs evidently confused the Chin Hills
(adjoining Manipur and Burma) with Chin (China). Sa’d and the
companions including his father Abi Waqqas, Jahsh, Jafar ibn Abu Talib
arrived in Manipur hinterland and preached for some time in
Kamrup-Cachar-Manipur region till 616 where many individuals from the
Pang tribe embraced Islam who were later known as Pangals. Chinese
gazetteer Manshu recorded that Imam Waggas (i.e. Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas)
and Imam Sayid arrived in around 618 in Wu-De’s reign. On geographical
(locational) ambiguity to those early voyagers, the following details
may suffice to explain.
G.P Singh noted, the Arabs even if they knew China (Sin) since ancient
time, their geographers, traders and explorers often faced difficulty
being confused with similar names as Chin (Hills) which lied in
eastern frontier Manipur (of Northeast India), the Chin Hills being
extended from the Upper Burma (Shan) to the Arakan coast in western
Burma.
So, some sea-faring Arab preachers and merchants instead landed in
Arakan or Chittagong port (in the Bay of Bengal) rather than the
Canton port of China. This happened to Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas who landed
in Chittagong port in 615-16 instead of a Chinese coast; similarly
Muhammad al-Hanafiyya landed in Arakan in 680-81 coming via the
Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean. Both landed in Chin Hills (aka Kuki
Chin domains) and later they realized that the real China (as-Sin of
Arabs) was still far away.
Singh added: “While describing the countries of eastern India
including Pragjyotisa, he (Alberuni, 1030 CE) refers to the Cina
,
Kirata
and Suvarnabhumi
and further makes it clear that Cina is Chin
Hills (Burma) bordering Manipur.”
“James Tayl“James or is of the firm opinion that “the country of Cina
described as adjacent to Kamrupa on the east can be no other than the
eastern part of the valley of Assam”.
McCrindle also noted: “After having made a thorough investigation into
the classical sources, I have come to the conclusion that Sina or
Sinae corresponds to Assam and Thina or ‘This’ to China proper”.
N.N. Acharya also noted: "Alberuni in his Kitab-ul-Hind mentions the
various countries of Eastern India, namely Pragjyotisha, Lohitya,
Udayagiri
, Paundra, Kirata, China and Subarbabhumi. The land of
Udayagiri may be identified with Manipur. Similarly, the reference to
China evidently means the Chin Hills on the borders of Manipur."
these cities (Yang-chou and Canton) were confined to maritime trade
because the majority of them were merchants. There were also Islamic
disciples who came to China with the intention to preach. In the reign
of Wu-te (AD 618-626), four Islamic disciples were dispatched to China
to spread the Muhammadan faith. Of these four, one was posted in
Canton, one in Yang-chou and the other two were stationed in
Ch'uan-chou”. At that time the Quran was not even fully revealed but
Sa’d was evidently in possession of some 50-60 verses of the Quran
that was enough to preach the Prophethood of Muhammad, a monotheistic
belief in the Oneness of God (Allah). The Chinese king allowed them to
preach and practice Islam in the kingdom.”
Dr. Md. Yusuf Ali & Abu Sadat Nurullah (1999) noted: “The advent of
Islam in Bengal is said to be in around year 620 CE (around 10th year
of prophethood). Mujaddith Imam
Abadan Marwazi, wrote that the Companions of the Prophet like Abu
Waqqas Malik ibn Wahaib, Qays bin Huzayfah, ‘Urwa ibn Athathah, Abu
Qays ibn al-Hārith and some other Companions, in the seventh year of
prophet hood, went on a voyage from Ethiopia (after the first
migration) towards China. During their long journey on the ocean for
nine years, they stopped over at the ports of Bengal. By their
influential characters, many a one accepted Islam there. This is
inconsistent with Chinese record, and the year being attributed to
Sa’d’s presence in Chittagong in 620 seems to be his stopover on his
return journey.
The Chinese geographical account mentioned that Abi Waqqas went to
China in around 600 CE, some say in 586 CE even before the Prophethood
period but his name (Abi Waqqas) seems to be confused with Sa’d as
the latter was called Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas in Arabic pattern.
C.L. Pickens transliterated: “Sahib Sa'd Wakkas came to China in the
years of K'ai Huang (581-601 AD) of the Sui Dynasty
; says the ‘Great
Ming Geography’ (Ta-ming i-t'ung chih) which was commenced in AD 1370
and published in AD 1461.”
Derk Bodde also points out: “As per Great Ming Geography (大明一統志 ),
during the period of Kai-Huang (開皇), Sa-ha-pa Sa-a-ti Wo-ko-ssu a man
from Medina, first arrived in China”.
Abi Waqqas was also once addressed by the Caliph Umar
as Waheeb when
Umar called Sa'd ibn abi Waqqas as Sa'd ibn Waheeb. Actually, Sa’d was
Prophet’s maternal cousin while Abi Waqqas was Prophet’s maternal
cousin. However, Sa’d was also addressed as his uncle by the Prophet
as records and tradition point out.
Subodh Kapoor (2004) in the Encyclopedia of Islam wrote “Chinese
tradition says that Islam found its way into the country (China) by
sea. It recalls of a maternal uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, named
Wahb Abu Kabsha who landed at Canton
in AD 628 or 629, bearing
presents from Muhammad to the emperor of China, together with an
invitation to embrace Islam
, and who then proceeded to His-an-fu.
Other reports say that the earliest message was brought by Sa’d ibn
Abi Waqqas whose tomb
may be seen in Canton.
Kabsha means “lord of the mountain”; here no doubt that Abi Waqqas was
also known as Abi Waqqas Mallik or king Abi Waqqas given his status,
wealth and influence. By Chinese records and tradition, when Sa’d
arrived in China for the second time, he brought a full copy of the
Quran, but Quran was not fully revealed by 632, the year of the
Prophet’s decease. So, it was Abi Waqqas (not Sa’d himself) who went
to China in 628-9 CE. Indeed Chinese (Hui) accounts maintain Sa’d ibn
abi Waqqas was dead due to sudden illness when he just started to
leave the shore for home and so his body was brought back on shore and
was buried at a Canton cemetery which still lies with a decorated tomb
but the year of death was given as around 635 but Sa’d (ibn abi
Waqqas) was actively in Arabia, was the commander of Persian conquest
in 636 CE, left active service in 648 but Caliph Usman chose Sa’d ibn
abi Waqqas to lead an Arab embassy of 15 members, in reciprocation to
an earlier embassy to the Caliph, that reached China in 651 and Sa’d
returned after some years to Arabia where he was dead in Atiq
(Madinah) in 674 and buried in Madinah. So, the one who was dead in
635 was Abi Waqqas whose is the tomb existing still in Canton that has
been much venerated.
certain S'ad, son of Vaqqas, or Wahab, the son of Abu-Kabshah, was the
first Muslim who reached Canton by sea, as early as 629 AD.” E.J.
Brill's 'First Encyclopedia of Islam noted: "Thiersant (1878) mentions
the name Wahb Abu Kabsha in addition to Sa'd ibn Abu Wakkas. The
legends have been collected by Thiersant and more critically by
Deveria, in Origine".
said to be maternal cousins of the Prophet and alleged to be buried in
Canton”. This has been succinctly summed up by T.W. Arnold (1896)from
Chinese sources as :
“It is at this period, at the commencement of the Tang dynasty
(618-907), that mention is first made of the Arabs in the Chinese
annals. The Chinese chroniclers speak of the arrival in Canton of a
great number of strangers from the kingdom of Annam
, Cambodia
, Medina
and several other countries." That these men were certainly Arabs and
also Muslims may be determined from the details given of their habits
and religious observances:" These strangers worshipped the heaven
(i.e. God), and had neither statue, idol nor image in their temples.
The kingdom of Medina
is close to that of India: in this kingdom
originated the religion of these strangers, which is different to that
of Buddha
. They do not eat pork or drink wine and they regard as
unclean the flesh of any animal not killed by themselves. They are
nowadays called Hoey-hoey (Hui Hui). They had a temple called the
temple of the Blessed Memory (i.e. the mosque built by Wahab ibn Abi
Kabshah), which was built at the commencement of the Thang dynasty. At
the side of the temple is a large round tower, 160 feet high, called
Kang-ta (the undecorated tower. These strangers went every day to this
temple to perform their ceremonies. After having asked and obtained
the Emperor's permission to reside in Canton, they built magnificent
houses, of a different style to that of our country. They were very
rich and obeyed a chief chosen by themselves." It is impossible to
tell with certainty (and the Chinese Muhammadans themselves can only
offer conjectures on the matter), who was the leader of this colony in
Canton. In their traditional accounts his name is variously given as
Sarta
, Sa-ka-pa, (this name is important, as pointing to the fact that
he was a Sahabi, or companion of the Prophet), or Wang-ka-ze, but in
each case he is stated to have been a maternal uncle of Muhammad.
M.Dabry de Thiersant identifies him with Wahab ibn Abi Kabshah, who is
said to have stood in that relationship to the Prophet; and he
considers that the following account, derived from native Muhammadan
sources and disentangled from among the legends and other
embellishments that have gathered round the story of their great
founder, may be taken to represent the main historical facts of his
life. In the year 628 AD (AH 6, called in Arabian history, the year of
the missions), Wahab ibn Abi Kabshah was sent by the Prophet to China
to carry presents to the Emperor and announce to him the new religion.
He was graciously received in Canton, and permission granted him to
build a mosque, and the right of freely professing their religion in
the empire was given to him and his co-religionists. After the
accomplishment of his mission, he returned to Arabia in 632, but to
his great grief found that the Prophet had died that same year. He
must have stayed in Arabia a short time, because when he set out again
for China, he took with him a copy of the Qur'an, which was first
collected by the order of Abu Bakr in the eleventh or twelfth year of
the Hijrah (A.D. 633-4). He died on his arrival at Canton, exhausted
by the fatigues of his journey, and was buried in one of the suburbs
of the city, where his tomb is still an object of reverence for all
the Muhammadans of China. Around the mosque built by their founder,
the little colony of Arab traders grew and flourished, living in
perfectly friendly relations with their Chinese neighbours, their
commercial interests being identical. They appear to have lived for
some time as a foreign community, for an Arab merchant (about the
middle of the ninth century) says that at that time the Muhammadans of
the city of Canton had their own qadi, and did not pray for the
Emperor of China, but for their own sovereign. This Muslim community,
thus settled in Canton, speedily multiplied, partly through new
arrivals, partly by marriage with the Chinese and by conversions from
among them. In 758, however, they received an important addition to
their numbers in 4,000 Arab soldiers who had been sent by the Caliph
Al Mansur to help the Emperor Sah-Tsung in crushing a rebellion that
had broken out against him.”
Kapoor further notes: “The tradition attaches special importance to an
expedition of 4,000 Muslim troops which the Khalifah (Caliph) Mansur
is said to have sent to assist the Emperor in a struggle with rebels
(AD 755). The emperor permitted to settle them in the chief cities of
the country. They took Chinese wives and became the progenitors of the
numerous and important Muslim community in China.”
The embassy of Sa’d in 651 to the Tang capital has been elaborately
recorded in both Old Tang History (Chiu T'ang Shu 舊唐書/旧唐书, 198.28b )
and New Tang History (Hsin T'ang Shu 新唐书, 221.19a ) records. When
Sa’d commandeered the Arab conquest of Persia in 636, the Persian
king appealed to China for help but to no avail. Then the prince
Phiruz, son of the last Sassanid king Yezdgird fled and took shelter
in China again in 650 pleading for help. The Tang monarch Gaozong ,
known to the Arabs as Yung Wei (永徽 Yǒng Huī) , in view of the changing
political and geographical scenario, sent an embassy to caliph Usman
in Makkah in 650 and the Chinese side was informed that Persia had to
live in the Caliphate that would send a governor for the now Islamised
land. And a return ambassadorial reciprocation was agreed upon.
According to Tang histories, an Arab embassy from Caliph Usman
(described as the fourth king) arrived at Tang court in 651 CE which
was in the second year of Emperor Yong-hui.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in 610-11 and one of the important companions
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
of the Islamic prophet
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. Sa'd was the seventeenth person to embrace Islam at the age of seventeen. He is mainly known for his commandership in the conquest of Persia in 636, governorship over it, and diplomatic sojourns to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in 616 and 651.
Family
Born in 595 (Makkah), Sa'd was from the Banu ZuhrahBanu Zuhrah
Banu Zuhrah is a clan of the Quraish tribe.Akhnas ibn Shariq al-Thaqifi and the Banu Zuhrah where with the Meccan as part of the escort that preceded the battle of Badr, but since he believed the caravan to be safe, he did not join Quraish on their way to a festival in badr...
clan of the Quraysh tribe
Tribes of Arabia
Tribes of Arabia refers to Arab clans hailing from the Arabian Peninsula.Much of the lineage provided before Ma'ad relies on biblical genealogy and therefore questions persist concerning the accuracy of this segment of Arab genealogy...
, and was a cousin to Aminah Bint Wahb
Aminah bint Wahb
Aminah bint Wahb was the mother of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.-Biography According to Islamic History:The daughter of Wahb ibn 'Abd Manaf ibn Zuhrah ibn Kilab ibn Murrah, Aminah was born in Mecca. She was a member of the Banu Zuhrah clan in the tribe of Quraysh who were descendants of Ibrahim ...
, mother of Muhammad. He was seventeen years old when he accepted islam.
Conversion to Islam
He was one of the first to accept IslamTiming of Sahaba becoming muslims
Among Muslims, the timing of Sahaba becoming Muslims is of importance. Because Muhammad was not a Sahaba, he is not included.-Introduction:After the Muslim conquests began, a Muslim's standing in the Islamic state depended on his services to the community, and especially on the length of time he...
.
Sa'ad relates:
This was referenced in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
ic verse 31:14-15
Luqman
Luqman was a wise man for whom Surat Luqman , the thirty-first sura of the Qur'an, was named. Luqman is believed to be from Africa...
.'
Battles
In 614, the muslims were on their way to the hills of MeccaMecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
to offer prayer with the prophet Muhammad, when a group of polytheists
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
observed them. They began to abuse and fight them. Sa`ad beat a polytheist and shed his blood, reportedly becoming the first muslim to shed blood in the name of islam.
He fought at the battle of Badr with his young brother Umayr. Being only in his early teens, Umayr was denied access to battle, but after struggling and crying, he was later given permission by the Prophet to fight in battle. Sa`d returned to Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
alone; Umayr was one of the fourteen Muslims who died in the battle.
At the battle of Uhud, Sa`d was chosen as an archer together with Zayd, Sa`īb (the son of Uthmān ibn Mazūn) and others. Sa`d was among those who fought in defense of Muhammad after some Muslims had deserted their positions. Muhammad honoured him by declaring him one of the best archer
Archer
An archer is a person who uses a bow and arrow; a practitioner of archery.- People with the surname Archer :* Jeffrey Archer, an English author and former politician.* Archer , the surname...
s of that time. During the battle, the Prophet gathered some arrows for him.
Farewell Pilgrimage
He fell ill during the Farewell PilgrimageThe Farewell Pilgrimage
The Farewell Pilgrimage was the last and only Hajj pilgrimage the Islamic prophet Muhammad participated in, in 632 CE .-Preparations:...
, and he had only a daughter during this period. Sa'ad said:
During Caliph Umar (r.a)'s era 634–644
Sa`d also fought under Umar's command against the Sassanid armySassanid army
The birth of the Sassanid army dates back to the rise of Ardashir I , the founder of the Sassanid dynasty, to the throne. Ardashir aimed at the revival of the Persian Empire, and to further this aim, he reformed the military by forming a standing army which was under his personal command and whose...
at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah
Battle of al-Qadisiyyah
The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah was fought in 636; it was the decisive engagement between the Arab muslim army and the Sassanid Persian army during the first period of Muslim expansion. It resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia, and was key to the conquest of Iraq...
and Battle of Nahāvand. He was later appointed governor of Kufa
Kufa
Kufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....
and Nejd during the caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
of Umar.
Some narrations state that although Umar deposed him from his post as governor, he recommended that the caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
who succeeded him reinstall Sa'd, since Umar had not deposed Sa'd due to any treachery.
He was one of six people nominated by Umar ibn al-Khattab for the third caliphate
The election of Uthman
Uthman ibn Affan, the third caliph, was chosen by a council meeting in Medina, in northwestern Arabia, in .The second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, was stabbed by an angry Persian slave named Feroz...
.
During Caliph Uthman(r.a)'s era 644–656
Uthman carried out Umar's recommendation and appointed Sa'd as governor of Kufa.S'ad has been traditionally credited by Chinese Muslims
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
with introducing Islam to China
Islam in China
Throughout the history of Islam in China, Chinese Muslims have influenced the course of Chinese history. Chinese Muslims have been in China for the last 1,400 years of continuous interaction with Chinese society...
in 650, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang , personal name Li Zhi , was the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683...
, although modern secular scholars don't find any historical evidence for him actually travelling to China.
During Muawiyah(r.a)'s era 661–664
Sa'd was mentioned in a hadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
relevant to the Umayyad tradition of cursing Ali
Umayyad tradition of cursing Ali
The Umayyad tradition of cursing Ali was performed in state-controlled mosques from 657 to 717 CE.Muawiyah I, after the stalemate of the Battle of Siffin, began the custom of including a curse against Ali from the pulpit in Damascus...
.
He outlived all ten blessed companions, and died a wealthy man at the age of eighty, in the year 664.
Sunni view
Sunnī MuslimSunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
s regard him as one of the ten to whom paradise was promised
Hadith of the ten promised paradise
The prophet Muhammad, in a Hadith accepted by Sunni Muslims, specified ten of his companions who were promised paradise. Those companions named in this Hadith are referred to by Sunnis as The Ten Promised Paradise...
.
One Sunni source states:
To urge him on [during Uhud], the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said:
"Shoot, Sa'ad ...may my mother and father be your ransom." However, Ali ibn Abi Talib said that he had not yet heard the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) promising such a ransom to anyone except Sa'ad Bin Malik. Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 389.
Diplomatic Sojourns
Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas ( سعد بن أبي وقاص Sa'd, son of Abi Waqqas) whowas born in 594 CE is mainly remembered as a statesman, commander and
diplomat as Sa’d served the Prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
and the first four Caliphs known
as Rashidun Caliphs earnestly. He was the Caliphate’s governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of Kufa
Kufa
Kufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....
in 637-38, and of Busra in 638-644, 645-646. Sa’d also led the embassy
sent by Caliph Usman to Tang Emperor Kao-tsung of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in 651 who
also exchanged embassies with Emperor Harsha of Kanauj in 640s. Sa’d
died at the age of eighty in 674 at Aqiqa and was buried in Madinah.
From obscurity as a maternal uncle of Prophet Muhammad, he rose to
imminence by dint of hard work, selflessness, wide-traveling and broad
outlook. As his activities showed, Sa’d was keen to interact with
different peoples and nations, and believed that mutual interactions,
free flow of ideas and trade among nations and empires were beneficial
to all at stake. Old Chinese sources (records of Tang dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, 618-906
CE) reveal much of Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas’ sojourn to East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
in
general and to China in particular where the diplomacy and missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
of the time went hand in hand.
In China and India
The Chinese sources that inform us of the overseas career of Sad’d ibnabi Waqqas are- the Tangshu (唐书Tang History, pub.945 CE), the Ming
Geography (Ta-Ming-i-t’ing Chi 大明一統志 pub.1461) and the Minshu ( 閩書,
Fujian provincial Gazetteer, pub. 1620 ).
The sources state that Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas arrived in China twice and
Tang records reveal that the second visit, after a gap of twenty-five
years, was when he (Sa’d) headed a 15-member embassy sent by Caliph
Usman Tang King Gaozhong (Kao-Tsung), by sea route; the Arab
emissaries landed Canton, and reached Chang
Chang
- Groups of people :* Chang , a Chinese surname* Chang Naga, a tribe of Tuensang, Nagaland, India- Individuals :* Chang , a Korean surname* Chen Chung Chang, mathematician* Edmond E...
‘an (capital)
on 25 August 651.
Multiple Chinese sources inform that his father (Abi Waqqas aka king
Abi Waqqas or Malik abi Waqqas), came to China thrice- in 586 CE
(pre-Islamic period), 628 CE and 634 CE. Following the foot-step, Sa’d
too was a keen traveler and arrived in China twice- in 618 and 651.
Sa’d embraced Islam early in 611 CE at the of seventeen and he was
among more than hundred Sahabas (Companions of the Prophet) who were
dispatched to Abyssinia
Abyssinia
Abyssinia may refer to:* Ethiopia, the modern nation* Ethiopian Empire, a historical nation* SS Abyssinia, 1870 Canadian Pacific steamship* HMS Abyssinia , British armoured ship* Abyssinia * Abyssinia...
by Prophet Muhammad to avoid the virulent
Quraish opposition and persecution in 615. Four Sahabas including Sa’d
did not return (from Abyssinia to Madinah till 622 as others did) and
they were later discovered to have sailed off to China. Sa’d was
accompanied by his father Abi Waqqas in his 615-18 trip and that Abi
was dead in China in-between 629 and 635 and was buried there; but
much confusion has been made between Abi Waqqas and Sa’d ibn abi
Waqqas, prompting many to believe (“learn”) that Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas
was buried in China and that “his tomb” still lies there in Canton.
The tomb if any belonged to Abi Waqqas.
While in Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
(northeast India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) annals, ‘Sa’d’ was noted as ‘Sadik’
(seemingly a more familiar name), a name attributed to a Muslim
preacher in the reign of Manipur king Naophang Ahal (594-624 CE).Sa’d
and three other Sahabas sailed from Abyssinia to Chittagong
Chittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
from where
they took the land journey to next destination. As is Arab tradition
to write names with those of immediate ancestors in suffix in the
form of family tree, Sa’d is written in Arabic accounts as Sa'd ibn
Abi Waqqas Malik ibn Uhayb ibn 'Abdu Manaf ibn Zuhra ibn Kilab ibn
Murra ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy al-Qurashi az-Zuhri (as he belonged to the
Zuhri clan of the Quraish).
Dru C. Gladney
Dru C. Gladney
Dru C. Gladney, recent President of the Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College, is currently Professor of Anthropology at Pomona College. Gladney is the author of four books and more than 100 academic articles and book chapters on topics spanning the Asian continent. He received his Ph.D. in...
(1987) wrote: “The Lingshan tombs are primarily those
of two Muslim saints said to have been sent to China by the Prophet
Muhammad, who were buried in their present location before the Yuan
dynasty. According to He Qiaoyun’s Minshu (c. 1620), the two saints
buried in Quanzhou
Quanzhou
Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city in Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders all other prefecture-level cities in Fujian but two and faces the Taiwan Strait...
are Imam Sayid and Imam Waggas (Waqqas) from
Medina. They were two of four foreign Muslims said to have visited
southern China during the Tang Emperor Wu De’s reign (618-26). Fujian
provincial and local municipal publications proudly proclaim Quanzhou
as the site of the third most important Islamic holy grave and the
fifth most important mosque in the world” (quoting Yang Hongxun,
1985).
Gladney further writes: “Wahb Abu Kabcha is said to be buried in the
Guangzhou’s famous ‘Bell tomb’. The fourth saint is buried in
Yangzhou
Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across...
.”
Old Manipuri accounts note that two Muslim preachers Sadik Para
Koireng and Qutwan Khan arrived and preached in Manipur in the reign
of Naophang Ahal i.e, Naophangba I wherein ‘Para Koireng’ and ‘Khan’
are suffix titles. J.C Higgins (1933) and Dr. John Parrat (1998)
wrote: “The first Muhammadans, the Aribam family, came to Manipur in
the time of Naophangba”.
During the nascent stage of Islam (614-15 CE), an increasing Quraish
persecution of the adherents of Islam compelled the Prophet to advise
more than a hundred Muslims (Sahabas)- including women (Shaybat) to
take shelter (hijarat) in Abyssinia (Ethiopia), then ruled by a
friendly Christian king Najashi and that the Muslims went to Abyssinia
in two batches in 613/4 and 615.
The Muslims returned to Arabia by 622 but the Record of the
immigration to Abyssinia noticed that some Sahabas, including Sa’d ibn
abi Waqqas did not return. It was only after Sa’d’s return to Arabia
in 623 it became known that that Sa’d accompanied by three other
Sahabas sailed off from Abyssinia in 615 to extend their hijrat to
China. Around this time in 630s and 640s, Harsha Vardhan ruled in
central India with capital at Kanauj and Bhaskavarman reigned in
Kamrup
Kamrup
Kamrup district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India, named after Kamarupa, a name by which Assam was previously known in ancient times. The district, however, is now a small western part of Assam, with a distinctive native Kamrupi culture and dialect . The distinctive...
(in Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
) as Buddhist pilgrim Huen Tsang from China who was in
India (630-44) noted in his accounts. The sojourn of Sa’d is
ironically comparable to that of Huen Tsang who also visited India
without informing the Chinese king or others but he (Huen Tsang) was
much applauded and decorated, once back home, for his memorable and
productive journey as the latter collected several texts of Buddhism
which he furnished to king Tai-Tsung. But hardly any of Sad ibn abi
Waqqas’ overseas and diplomatic accounts survive in Arabic texts when
the Caliph’s library was sacked and torched during the political
upheaval as Muawiyah was about to succeed Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
in 660.
Emperor Harsha
Harsha
Harsha or Harsha Vardhana or Harshvardhan was an Indian emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 AD. He was the son of Prabhakara Vardhana and younger brother of Rajya Vardhana, a king of Thanesar, Haryana...
had a good diplomatic relation with China. D. Devahuti
(1970) noted: “According to our sources Harsha took the initiative in
opening diplomatic relations with T‘ai Tsung. It is stated that, on
assuming the title of ‘the king of Magadh’ in A.D. 641, Harsha sent an
envoy to China. Neither the Indian sources nor even Hsuan-tsang’s
‘Records’ or the ‘Life’ refer to or suggest any special career in AD
641 with regard to Magadha. It seems to us that the simple fact of the
use of the title ‘the King of Magadh’ by Harsha in the royal documents
carried by his envoy to China in AD 641 has happened to be so recorded
in the Chinese sources as to give the impression that a noteworthy
event such as the assumption of a new title by Harsha took place in
that year. Harsha preferred to be known as the King of Magadh rather
than the King of Kanauj, especially in a foreign communication, and
for all we know in some hitherto undiscovered internal records as
well, is understandable in the light of the reputation that Magadha
had come to enjoy as the seat of imperial power from pre-Mauryan
days.”
India (al-Hind) or China (as-Sin) were no strangers to the Arabs as
they already travelled by both land and sea silk-routes to the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n,
Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Sumatran coasts before the birth of the Prophet in 570 CE.
Prophet Muhammad metaphorically stated: “I get cool breeze from the
side of al-Hind”. Another pronouncement (hadith) is: “Go unto China if
to seek knowledge as education (learning) is obligatory for all
believers” (reported by Anas ibn Malik
Anas ibn Malik
Anas bin Malik ibn Nadar al-Khazraji Al-Ansari was a well-known sahabi of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.He was an Ansar of the Banu Khazraj . He is not to be confused with Malik ibn Anas. Anas ibn Malik, the last of the Companions of the Prophet died at al-Basrah in 93 AH aged 103.-Muhammad's...
- the sahaba, and later by
Baihaqi and Ibn Adi in their books).
Once Sa’d and other Sahabas sailed off by sea from Abyssinia in the
Indian Ocean and then towards the Bay of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
landing at Chittagong
from where they could reach china by land-route via the NE India and
Upper Burma route or by sea route through the Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
Strait rounding
the Malay Archipelago
Malay Archipelago
The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....
. Sa’d chose to proceed by land route from
Chittagong and those Arabs evidently confused the Chin Hills
(adjoining Manipur and Burma) with Chin (China). Sa’d and the
companions including his father Abi Waqqas, Jahsh, Jafar ibn Abu Talib
arrived in Manipur hinterland and preached for some time in
Kamrup-Cachar-Manipur region till 616 where many individuals from the
Pang tribe embraced Islam who were later known as Pangals. Chinese
gazetteer Manshu recorded that Imam Waggas (i.e. Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas)
and Imam Sayid arrived in around 618 in Wu-De’s reign. On geographical
(locational) ambiguity to those early voyagers, the following details
may suffice to explain.
G.P Singh noted, the Arabs even if they knew China (Sin) since ancient
time, their geographers, traders and explorers often faced difficulty
being confused with similar names as Chin (Hills) which lied in
eastern frontier Manipur (of Northeast India), the Chin Hills being
extended from the Upper Burma (Shan) to the Arakan coast in western
Burma.
So, some sea-faring Arab preachers and merchants instead landed in
Arakan or Chittagong port (in the Bay of Bengal) rather than the
Canton port of China. This happened to Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas who landed
in Chittagong port in 615-16 instead of a Chinese coast; similarly
Muhammad al-Hanafiyya landed in Arakan in 680-81 coming via the
Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean. Both landed in Chin Hills (aka Kuki
Chin domains) and later they realized that the real China (as-Sin of
Arabs) was still far away.
Singh added: “While describing the countries of eastern India
including Pragjyotisa, he (Alberuni, 1030 CE) refers to the Cina
CINA
CINA is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts multicultural programming at AM 1650 in Mississauga, Ontario.Approved by the CRTC on April 23, 2007, the station is owned by Neeti Prakash Ray and began testing at 1650 kHz in late 2008....
,
Kirata
Kirata
The Kirāta is a generic term in Sanskrit literature for people who lived in the mountains, particularly in the Himalayas and North-East India and who are postulated to have been Mongoloid in origin. It has been theorized that the word Kirata- or Kirati- means people with lion nature. It is derived...
and Suvarnabhumi
Suvarnabhumi
Suvarnabhumi or Suvannabhumi meaning the "Golden Land" or "Land of Gold", is a term coined by the ancient Indians which refers broadly to Lower Burma, Lower Thailand, Lower Malay Peninsula, the Sumatra, but more generally accepted to refer more specifically to Lower Burma...
and further makes it clear that Cina is Chin
Hills (Burma) bordering Manipur.”
“James Tayl“James or is of the firm opinion that “the country of Cina
described as adjacent to Kamrupa on the east can be no other than the
eastern part of the valley of Assam”.
McCrindle also noted: “After having made a thorough investigation into
the classical sources, I have come to the conclusion that Sina or
Sinae corresponds to Assam and Thina or ‘This’ to China proper”.
N.N. Acharya also noted: "Alberuni in his Kitab-ul-Hind mentions the
various countries of Eastern India, namely Pragjyotisha, Lohitya,
Udayagiri
Udayagiri
Udayagiri is the name of many places in India, among them:*Udayagiri Fort, one in Tamil Nadu and the other in Andhra Pradesh...
, Paundra, Kirata, China and Subarbabhumi. The land of
Udayagiri may be identified with Manipur. Similarly, the reference to
China evidently means the Chin Hills on the borders of Manipur."
Arab merchants
He Qiaoyun ( Minshu, 1620) wrote: "Activities of Persians and Arabs inthese cities (Yang-chou and Canton) were confined to maritime trade
because the majority of them were merchants. There were also Islamic
disciples who came to China with the intention to preach. In the reign
of Wu-te (AD 618-626), four Islamic disciples were dispatched to China
to spread the Muhammadan faith. Of these four, one was posted in
Canton, one in Yang-chou and the other two were stationed in
Ch'uan-chou”. At that time the Quran was not even fully revealed but
Sa’d was evidently in possession of some 50-60 verses of the Quran
that was enough to preach the Prophethood of Muhammad, a monotheistic
belief in the Oneness of God (Allah). The Chinese king allowed them to
preach and practice Islam in the kingdom.”
Dr. Md. Yusuf Ali & Abu Sadat Nurullah (1999) noted: “The advent of
Islam in Bengal is said to be in around year 620 CE (around 10th year
of prophethood). Mujaddith Imam
Abadan Marwazi, wrote that the Companions of the Prophet like Abu
Waqqas Malik ibn Wahaib, Qays bin Huzayfah, ‘Urwa ibn Athathah, Abu
Qays ibn al-Hārith and some other Companions, in the seventh year of
prophet hood, went on a voyage from Ethiopia (after the first
migration) towards China. During their long journey on the ocean for
nine years, they stopped over at the ports of Bengal. By their
influential characters, many a one accepted Islam there. This is
inconsistent with Chinese record, and the year being attributed to
Sa’d’s presence in Chittagong in 620 seems to be his stopover on his
return journey.
The Chinese geographical account mentioned that Abi Waqqas went to
China in around 600 CE, some say in 586 CE even before the Prophethood
period but his name (Abi Waqqas) seems to be confused with Sa’d as
the latter was called Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas in Arabic pattern.
C.L. Pickens transliterated: “Sahib Sa'd Wakkas came to China in the
years of K'ai Huang (581-601 AD) of the Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
; says the ‘Great
Ming Geography’ (Ta-ming i-t'ung chih) which was commenced in AD 1370
and published in AD 1461.”
Derk Bodde also points out: “As per Great Ming Geography (大明一統志 ),
during the period of Kai-Huang (開皇), Sa-ha-pa Sa-a-ti Wo-ko-ssu a man
from Medina, first arrived in China”.
Abi Waqqas was also once addressed by the Caliph Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
as Waheeb when
Umar called Sa'd ibn abi Waqqas as Sa'd ibn Waheeb. Actually, Sa’d was
Prophet’s maternal cousin while Abi Waqqas was Prophet’s maternal
cousin. However, Sa’d was also addressed as his uncle by the Prophet
as records and tradition point out.
Subodh Kapoor (2004) in the Encyclopedia of Islam wrote “Chinese
tradition says that Islam found its way into the country (China) by
sea. It recalls of a maternal uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, named
Wahb Abu Kabsha who landed at Canton
Canton
- Administrative divisions :* Canton , territorial/administrative subdivision in some countries, notably Switzerland* Township , known as canton in Canadian French- China :...
in AD 628 or 629, bearing
presents from Muhammad to the emperor of China, together with an
invitation to embrace Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and who then proceeded to His-an-fu.
Other reports say that the earliest message was brought by Sa’d ibn
Abi Waqqas whose tomb
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
may be seen in Canton.
Quran in China
This Wahb is the Waheeb (i.e., Abi Waqqas as mentioned above). AbuKabsha means “lord of the mountain”; here no doubt that Abi Waqqas was
also known as Abi Waqqas Mallik or king Abi Waqqas given his status,
wealth and influence. By Chinese records and tradition, when Sa’d
arrived in China for the second time, he brought a full copy of the
Quran, but Quran was not fully revealed by 632, the year of the
Prophet’s decease. So, it was Abi Waqqas (not Sa’d himself) who went
to China in 628-9 CE. Indeed Chinese (Hui) accounts maintain Sa’d ibn
abi Waqqas was dead due to sudden illness when he just started to
leave the shore for home and so his body was brought back on shore and
was buried at a Canton cemetery which still lies with a decorated tomb
but the year of death was given as around 635 but Sa’d (ibn abi
Waqqas) was actively in Arabia, was the commander of Persian conquest
in 636 CE, left active service in 648 but Caliph Usman chose Sa’d ibn
abi Waqqas to lead an Arab embassy of 15 members, in reciprocation to
an earlier embassy to the Caliph, that reached China in 651 and Sa’d
returned after some years to Arabia where he was dead in Atiq
(Madinah) in 674 and buried in Madinah. So, the one who was dead in
635 was Abi Waqqas whose is the tomb existing still in Canton that has
been much venerated.
First Muslim
A.M.A. Shushteby (1938) noted:“According to Chinese tradition, acertain S'ad, son of Vaqqas, or Wahab, the son of Abu-Kabshah, was the
first Muslim who reached Canton by sea, as early as 629 AD.” E.J.
Brill's 'First Encyclopedia of Islam noted: "Thiersant (1878) mentions
the name Wahb Abu Kabsha in addition to Sa'd ibn Abu Wakkas. The
legends have been collected by Thiersant and more critically by
Deveria, in Origine".
Tang dynasty
Lilian Canraig noted: “As both Sa’d ibn abi Waqqas and Ibn Wahab aresaid to be maternal cousins of the Prophet and alleged to be buried in
Canton”. This has been succinctly summed up by T.W. Arnold (1896)from
Chinese sources as :
“It is at this period, at the commencement of the Tang dynasty
(618-907), that mention is first made of the Arabs in the Chinese
annals. The Chinese chroniclers speak of the arrival in Canton of a
great number of strangers from the kingdom of Annam
Annam
Annam may refer to:* A name of Vietnam used prior to 1945.* Annam , a former subdivision of French Indochina, now the central region of Vietnam*Annam , a female given name of Arabic origin...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Medina
and several other countries." That these men were certainly Arabs and
also Muslims may be determined from the details given of their habits
and religious observances:" These strangers worshipped the heaven
(i.e. God), and had neither statue, idol nor image in their temples.
The kingdom of Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
is close to that of India: in this kingdom
originated the religion of these strangers, which is different to that
of Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
. They do not eat pork or drink wine and they regard as
unclean the flesh of any animal not killed by themselves. They are
nowadays called Hoey-hoey (Hui Hui). They had a temple called the
temple of the Blessed Memory (i.e. the mosque built by Wahab ibn Abi
Kabshah), which was built at the commencement of the Thang dynasty. At
the side of the temple is a large round tower, 160 feet high, called
Kang-ta (the undecorated tower. These strangers went every day to this
temple to perform their ceremonies. After having asked and obtained
the Emperor's permission to reside in Canton, they built magnificent
houses, of a different style to that of our country. They were very
rich and obeyed a chief chosen by themselves." It is impossible to
tell with certainty (and the Chinese Muhammadans themselves can only
offer conjectures on the matter), who was the leader of this colony in
Canton. In their traditional accounts his name is variously given as
Sarta
Sarta
Sarta is a Palestinian town located in the Salfit Governorate in the northern West Bank, 22 kilometers Southwest of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of approximately 2,610 in mid-year 2006....
, Sa-ka-pa, (this name is important, as pointing to the fact that
he was a Sahabi, or companion of the Prophet), or Wang-ka-ze, but in
each case he is stated to have been a maternal uncle of Muhammad.
M.Dabry de Thiersant identifies him with Wahab ibn Abi Kabshah, who is
said to have stood in that relationship to the Prophet; and he
considers that the following account, derived from native Muhammadan
sources and disentangled from among the legends and other
embellishments that have gathered round the story of their great
founder, may be taken to represent the main historical facts of his
life. In the year 628 AD (AH 6, called in Arabian history, the year of
the missions), Wahab ibn Abi Kabshah was sent by the Prophet to China
to carry presents to the Emperor and announce to him the new religion.
He was graciously received in Canton, and permission granted him to
build a mosque, and the right of freely professing their religion in
the empire was given to him and his co-religionists. After the
accomplishment of his mission, he returned to Arabia in 632, but to
his great grief found that the Prophet had died that same year. He
must have stayed in Arabia a short time, because when he set out again
for China, he took with him a copy of the Qur'an, which was first
collected by the order of Abu Bakr in the eleventh or twelfth year of
the Hijrah (A.D. 633-4). He died on his arrival at Canton, exhausted
by the fatigues of his journey, and was buried in one of the suburbs
of the city, where his tomb is still an object of reverence for all
the Muhammadans of China. Around the mosque built by their founder,
the little colony of Arab traders grew and flourished, living in
perfectly friendly relations with their Chinese neighbours, their
commercial interests being identical. They appear to have lived for
some time as a foreign community, for an Arab merchant (about the
middle of the ninth century) says that at that time the Muhammadans of
the city of Canton had their own qadi, and did not pray for the
Emperor of China, but for their own sovereign. This Muslim community,
thus settled in Canton, speedily multiplied, partly through new
arrivals, partly by marriage with the Chinese and by conversions from
among them. In 758, however, they received an important addition to
their numbers in 4,000 Arab soldiers who had been sent by the Caliph
Al Mansur to help the Emperor Sah-Tsung in crushing a rebellion that
had broken out against him.”
Kapoor further notes: “The tradition attaches special importance to an
expedition of 4,000 Muslim troops which the Khalifah (Caliph) Mansur
is said to have sent to assist the Emperor in a struggle with rebels
(AD 755). The emperor permitted to settle them in the chief cities of
the country. They took Chinese wives and became the progenitors of the
numerous and important Muslim community in China.”
The embassy of Sa’d in 651 to the Tang capital has been elaborately
recorded in both Old Tang History (Chiu T'ang Shu 舊唐書/旧唐书, 198.28b )
and New Tang History (Hsin T'ang Shu 新唐书, 221.19a ) records. When
Sa’d commandeered the Arab conquest of Persia in 636, the Persian
king appealed to China for help but to no avail. Then the prince
Phiruz, son of the last Sassanid king Yezdgird fled and took shelter
in China again in 650 pleading for help. The Tang monarch Gaozong ,
known to the Arabs as Yung Wei (永徽 Yǒng Huī) , in view of the changing
political and geographical scenario, sent an embassy to caliph Usman
in Makkah in 650 and the Chinese side was informed that Persia had to
live in the Caliphate that would send a governor for the now Islamised
land. And a return ambassadorial reciprocation was agreed upon.
According to Tang histories, an Arab embassy from Caliph Usman
(described as the fourth king) arrived at Tang court in 651 CE which
was in the second year of Emperor Yong-hui.
External links
- Sahaba.net: Sa`d ibn Abî Waqâs
- http://www.alinaam.org.za/fazaail/umar.html
- http://www.muslimaccess.com/sunnah/seerah/10a.htm