Rasulullah (saw) used to speak about one particular person in his family. He said, “Let he who has someone that he looks up to look at who my uncle is. My uncle is Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas (ra).”  Having embraced Islam at the age of 17, Sa’d (ra) was always regarded as a serious and intelligent man. Rasulullah (saw) loved Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas (ra), he adored him and he counted him amongst the ten who were guaranteed Paradise. In fact Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas (ra) was given the guarantee of Paradise on more than one occasion. He was given the guarantee of Paradise in the Battle of Badr. Rasulullah (saw) once guaranteed him Paradise individually.

Rasulullah (saw) gave Sa’d (ra) a very special gift and made dua to Allah SWT to accept Sa’d’s (ra) dua. Everything Sa’d (ra) would make dua for was answered by Allah SWT. Sa’d (ra) was a governor in Iraq under the Caliphate of Umar ibn Khattab (ra) and at other times he led delegations in Iraq. On once occasion someone cursed Ali (ra) in his presence and Sa’d (ra) said, “Don’t curse Ali or I will curse you.” The person continued to curse Ali (ra) and Sa’d made dua against that man. There are various narrations that say a beast of the kind never seen before came into Iraq and it stomped this man to death.

There is a special quality – amongst many – we can learn from Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas (ra). He lived for a long time. He lived to see the fitnah that took place when Uthmaan (ra) was murdered and the fitnah that would follow after that. Although he was someone who was in line to become Khalifah, he decided to avoid the negativity.

Reference: https://jamiat.org.za/sahaba-series-sad-bin-abi-waqqas-ra/