Explanation

This incident is one of the extraordinary favors (karamāt) that the compiler—may Allah have mercy on him—cites in Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn. It is the report transmitted by Jābir ibn Samurah about the story of Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ—may Allah be pleased with him.

Saʿd was renowned for having his supplications answered; he was mustajāb al-daʿwa, meaning that Allah had granted him the honor of accepting his prayers whenever he called upon Him. The Commander of the Believers, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, appointed him governor over the people of Kūfah. When the Muslims conquered Iraq they founded garrison cities, the most famous of which were Basra and Kūfah. ʿUmar set governors over these new centers, assigning Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ to Kūfah.

In time the people of Kūfah complained to ʿUmar about him, even alleging that he did not know how to pray. This despite the fact that he was a venerable Companion whom the Prophet ﷺ had promised Paradise. ʿUmar therefore summoned him. When Saʿd arrived, ʿUmar said, “The people of Kūfah have complained about you, claiming that you do not pray well.”

Saʿd replied that he led them in the very prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, mentioning in particular the ʿIshāʾ prayer—apparently, Allah knows best, the one the complainants had specified. “I lead them exactly as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed; I never depart from that,” he said. “In the night prayer I lengthen the first two rakʿahs and shorten the last two.”

ʿUmar answered, “That is what we expected of you, Abū Isḥāq,” thereby clearing his name. Such was indeed the presumption about Saʿd: that he performed the prayer well and led his community in the Prophet’s manner. Even so, ʿUmar sought verification, recognizing the weight of his responsibility. He therefore dispatched several men to Kūfah to inquire about Saʿd and his conduct. Those men