Anas ibn al-Nadr

A Vow After Badr

Anas ibn al-Nadr was an Ansari of Banu Najjar — uncle of Anas ibn Malik, the Prophet’s ﷺ servant, who was named for him. He bitterly regretted having missed Badr, and said to the Prophet ﷺ: “I was absent from the first day Allah set against the disbelievers. If Allah ever gives the Muslims another chance, He will see what I do.” 1 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 1 · pp. 492 — Kandhlawi — Anas ibn al-Nadr regrets missing Badr and vows Allah will see his deeds at the next opportunity.

’I Smell Paradise Beyond Uhud’

At Uhud, when the Muslims wavered, he said: “O Allah, I dissociate myself from what the disbelievers do, and ask Your pardon for what these (Mu’minun) do.” Passing Sa’d ibn Mu’adh, he declared:

“By the Lord of an-Nadr — I can smell the fragrance of Paradise coming from Uhud!”

He then charged into the enemy and fought until he was martyred. Sa’d would later say: “I could not have done what he did.” His body bore more than eighty sword, spear and arrow wounds, and was so disfigured that only his sister could identify him — by his fingertips. The Companions held that the verse of Surah al-Ahzab (33:23), “Among the believers are men true to what they pledged to Allah,” was revealed for men like him. 2 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 1 · pp. 492–493 — Kandhlawi — Anas ibn al-Nadr 'I smell Paradise beyond Uhud'; his martyrdom; recognised only by his sister by his fingertips; the verse of Surah al-Ahzab.