laugh on the Day of the Trench until his molars were visible.
A man stood before him with a shield, while Saʿd was an archer. The man kept repeating certain words, twisting the shield about and covering his forehead. Saʿd fitted an arrow for him; when the man lifted his head, Saʿd shot and did not miss this spot—meaning his forehead. The man toppled over and kicked up his legs, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ laughed at what he did until his molars were visible (1).
Yahya al-Qattān and several others transmitted from Ṣadaqah ibn al-Muthannā, who said: My grandfather Riyaḥ ibn al-Ḥārith told me that al-Mughīrah was in the Grand Mosque with the people of Kufa. A man from Kufa came, faced al-Mughīrah, and began to curse and revile.
Saʿīd ibn Zayd said, “Whom is this man insulting, O Mughīrah?”
He replied, “He is insulting ʿAli ibn Abi Ṭālib.”
Saʿīd said, “O Mughīr ibn Shuʿayb, O Mughīr ibn Shuʿayb! Do you not hear the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ being cursed in your presence, yet you neither object nor correct it? I testify before Allah—with ears that heard and a heart that retained from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and I have never fabricated a lie about him—that he said: ‘Abu Bakr is in Paradise, ʿUmar is in Paradise, ʿAli is in Paradise, ʿUthmān is in Paradise, Ṭalḥah is in Paradise, al-Zubayr is in Paradise, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān is in Paradise, and Saʿd ibn Mālik is in Paradise; the ninth of the believers is in Paradise, and if I wished to name him I would do so.’”
The people in the mosque clamored, imploring him, “Companion of the Messenger of Allah, who is the ninth?”
He said, “You have put me under oath by Allah—and Allah is mighty—I am he, and the tenth is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. By Allah, a single scene at which a man was present with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is better than any deed one of you might do, even if he were granted the lifespan of Noah.” (2)