Desire to Exact Revenge on his Own Brother

During the Battle of Uhud, Hazrat Sa‘d (ra) was among those few companions who remained steadfast alongside the Holy Prophet (sa) in the moment of confusion.

(Khutbat-e-Tahir [Jalsa Salana speech prior to his Khilafat in 1979], p.337)

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (rh) mentioned the following incident during the Battle of Uhud of Utbah bin Abi Waqas, the brother of Sa‘d bin Abi Waqas (ra) who was fighting on the side of the idolaters and who launched an assault on the Holy Prophet (sa):

“Utbah was that wretched person who launched a fierce attack upon the Holy Prophet (sa) and broke two of his lower teeth and greatly wounded his blessed countenance. When ‘Utbah’s brother, Sa‘d bin Abi Waqas (ra) who was fighting for the Muslims heard of this malicious act of Utbah, he was filled with the desire to exact revenge. He said, ‘The eagerness I had to kill my brother was perhaps greater than any other desire I had in my life. Whilst breaking through ranks of the enemies, twice I went out in search of this evildoer to make him perish at my own hands and thus satisfy my heart’s desire. But every time he saw me, he would avoid me similar to the evasion of a fox. The third time I wished to advance through, the Holy Prophet (sa) very graciously said to me, “O servant of Allah, do you desire to lay down your life?” and thus I ended my pursuit in accordance with the wish of the Holy Prophet (sa).’”

(Khutbat-e-Tahir, [Jalsa Salana speech prior to his Khilafat in 1979] p. 346)