سَعْد
Boy Arabic origin Saʿd
Companion“Happiness, good fortune”, the opposite of ill luck
Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas, one of the ten promised Paradise, was “the first of the Arabs to shoot an arrow in the cause of Allah” (al-Bukhari 3728); at Uhud the Prophet ﷺ told him: “Shoot, may my father and mother be your ransom!” (al-Bukhari 4055). When Saʿd ibn Muʿadh, chief of the Aws, died, the Prophet ﷺ said: “The Throne shook at the death of Saʿd ibn Muʿadh” (al-Bukhari 3803).
Saʿd is the very noun of the root s-ʿ-d: it means “happiness, good fortune, good omen”, and lexicographers contrast it with nahs, “ill luck”. It is one of the oldest Arabic names; it should not be confused with Saʿid, “happy”, or with Masʿud, “fortunate”, from the same family. The Quran uses the root for the blessed: “As for those who are made happy, they will be in Paradise” (11:108).
The name Saad does not appear as such in the Quran, but its root (س ع د) occurs 2 times. Examples:
وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ سُعِدُوا۟ فَفِى ٱلْجَنَّةِ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ رَبُّكَ عَطَآءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍ ١٠٨
And as for those who were [destined to be] prosperous, they will be in Paradise, abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except what your Lord should will - a bestowal uninterrupted.
يَوْمَ يَأْتِ لَا تَكَلَّمُ نَفْسٌ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ فَمِنْهُمْ شَقِىٌّ وَسَعِيدٌ ١٠٥
The Day it comes no soul will speak except by His permission. And among them will be the wretched and the prosperous.
All the words of the root س ع د in the Quran (2 occurrences)
إِنِّي لأَوَّلُ الْعَرَبِ رَمَى بِسَهْمٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، وَكُنَّا نَغْزُو مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَمَا لَنَا طَعَامٌ إِلاَّ وَرَقُ الشَّجَرِ، حَتَّى إِنَّ أَحَدَنَا لَيَضَعُ كَمَا يَضَعُ الْبَعِيرُ أَوِ…
نَثَلَ لِي النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم كِنَانَتَهُ يَوْمَ أُحُدٍ فَقَالَ " ارْمِ فِدَاكَ أَبِي وَأُمِّي "
" اهْتَزَّ الْعَرْشُ لِمَوْتِ سَعْدِ بْنِ مُعَاذٍ "
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Saad in particular: the general rules of Islam apply.
Read the rules for choosing a name
This page is an aid to reflection, not a fatwa. For a personal case, ask a person of knowledge.
