Demise
Hazrat Sa‘d (ra) bin Ubadah passed away in Horan in Syria, almost two and half years after Hazrat Umar (ra) had been elected as the Khalifa. According to Allama ibn Hajjar Asqalani, he passed away in Busra, a town situated in Syria and was the first town conquered by the Muslims in Syria. There is another narration which states how the people of Medina learnt about his demise. It states that in the intense heat of the afternoon, some of the boys who were jumping into the wells of Bi‘r-e-Munabbah or Bi‘r-e-Sakan, heard someone say:
قَدْ قَتَلْنَا سَیِّدَ الْخَزْرَجِ سَعْدَ بْنَ عُبَادَہ
وَرَمَیْنَاہُ بِسَھْمَیْنِ فَلَمْ نُخْطِ فُؤَادَہ
“We have killed Sa‘d (ra) bin Ubadah, chieftain of the Khazraj. We shot two arrows aiming for his heart, which did not fail to strike their target.”
The boys became frightened and could never forget that day. The people found his body the very same day he passed away. Sa‘d (ra) was sitting answering the call of nature when he was killed and died straight away.
Hazrat Sa‘d (ra) passed away during the Khilafat of Hazrat Umar (ra), however there are varying opinions regarding the exact year of his demise. According to some, he passed away in 14 AH while others state 15 AH and 16 AH as well. Hazrat Sa‘d (ra) grave is located in a village called Manaiha which is situated in the southern area close to Damascus.
(Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 423, Sa‘d (ra) bin Ubadah Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, 2012) (Al-Isaba Fi Tamyeez al-Sahaba, Vol. 3, p. 56, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2005) (al-Isti‘ab Fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahaab, Vol. 42 p. 164, ar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, 2002)