Sa'd

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (RA), whose full name was Sa'd ibn Malik ibn Uhayb al-Zuhri, was from the Quraysh of Mecca and was one of the earliest Muslims — by his own account, the third or seventh person to embrace Islam. He was about sixteen or seventeen years old when he accepted Islam. He is one of the ten companions explicitly promised Paradise by the Prophet ﷺ (al-ashara al-mubashshara). He was a skilled archer and the Prophet ﷺ said of him: 'Shoot, Sa'd — may my mother and father be ransom for you' — a distinction not given to any other companion. He was the commanding general of the Muslim forces at the pivotal Battle of al-Qadisiyyah in 14–15 AH, which led to the collapse of the Sasanian Persian empire and the opening of Iraq and Persia to Islam. He later served as the first governor of Kufa. He narrated approximately 270 hadiths and passed away around 55–58 AH, reportedly the last of the ten promised Paradise to die.