When news reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that Abu Sufyan was approaching, he consulted his companions.Abu Bakr spoke, but he turned away from him.Then Umar spoke, and he turned away from him as well.Then Saad bin Ubada stood and said, "Is it us you mean, Messenger of Allah? By the One in whose hand is my soul, if you ordered us to plunge our horses into the sea, we would plunge them in. If you ordered us to drive them to Bark al-Ghimad, we would do so."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then summoned the people, and they set out until they camped at Badr. The water-carriers of Quraysh came upon them, and among them was a black slave belonging to the Banu Hajjaj, whom they captured. The companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ began questioning him about Abu Sufyan and his companions.He would say, "I have no knowledge of Abu Sufyan, but here are Abu Jahl, Utba, Shayba, and Umaya bin Khalaf."When he said this, they would beat him, and he would then say, "Yes, I will tell you. This is Abu Sufyan."But when they left him alone and questioned him again, he would say, "I have no knowledge of Abu Sufyan, but Abu Jahl, Utba, Shayba, and Umaya bin Khalaf are among the people."When he said this, they would beat him again. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was standing in prayer, and when he saw what was happening, he finished his prayer and said, "By the One in whose hand is my soul, you beat him when he tells you the truth and let him be when he lies to you."Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "This is the place where so-and-so will fall," placing his hand on the ground here and there. Not one of them fell anywhere other than the spot where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had placed his hand.
أن رسول الله ﷺ شاور حين بلغه إقبال أبي سفيان قال: فتكلم أبو بكر، فأعرض عنه، ثم تكلم عمر، فأعرض عنه، فقام سعد بن عبادة فقال: إيانا تريد؟ يا رسول الله! والذي نفسي بيده! لو أمرتنا أن نخيضها البحر لأخضناها، ولو أمرتنا أن نضرب أكبادها إلى برك الغماد لفعلنا، قال: فندب رسول الله ﷺ الناس، فانطلقوا حتى نزلوا بدرا، ووردت عليهم روايا قريش، وفيهم غلام أسود لبني الحجاج فأخذوه، فكان أصحاب رسول الله ﷺ يسألونه عن أبي سفيان وأصحابه؟ فيقول: ما لي علم بأبي سفيان، ولكن هذا أبو جهل وعتبة وشيبة وأمية بن خلف، فإذا قال ذلك، ضربوه، فقال: نعم، أنا أخبركم، هذا أبو سفيان، فإذا تركوه، فسألوه فقال: ما لي بأبي سفيان علم، ولكن هذا أبو جهل وعتبة وشيبة وأمية بن خلف في الناس، فإذا قال هذا أيضا ضربوه، ورسول الله ﷺ قائم يصلي، فلما رأى ذلك انصرف، قال: والذي نفسي بيده لتضربوه إذا صدقكم وتتركوه إذا كذبكم. قال: فقال رسول الله ﷺ: هذا مصرع فلان قال: ويضع يده على الأرض، ههنا وههنا. قال: فما ماط أحدهم عن موضع يد رسول الله ﷺ.
Muslim narrated it in Jihad wal-Siyar (1779:83), from Abu Bakr bin Abu Shayba, who said, Affan told us, Hammad bin Salama told us, from Thabit, from Anas, and he related it as mentioned.His saying, "the water-carrying camels of Quraysh," means the camels on which they used to draw water. His saying, "none of them drew back," means none of them moved away.Ibn Ishaq mentioned that the one who said that was Saad bin Muaz, and he transmitted his statement, which was, "We have believed in you and trusted you, and we bear witness that what you have brought is the truth, and we have given you our pledges and covenants on this, to hear and obey. So proceed, Messenger of Allah, with what you intend, for we are with you. By the One who sent you with the truth, if you were to lead us into this sea and wade into it, we would wade into it with you, and not a single man among us would hold back. We do not dislike the thought of meeting our enemy tomorrow. We are steadfast in war, truthful in battle. Perhaps Allah will show you through us something that will delight your eye. So march with us, with the blessing of Allah."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was delighted by Saad's words, and it energized him. Then he said, "March on and rejoice, for Allah has promised me one of the two groups, and by Allah, it is as if I can now see the places where these people will fall."Sirah of Ibn Hisham (1/615).Saad bin Muaz is Ashhali Ansari, the chief of Aws, and it is agreed without dispute that he was present at Badr. As for Saad bin Ubada, he is Ansari Khazraji, one of the deputies (nuqaba), and there is disagreement about whether he was present at Badr. Muslim confirmed it, as did Bukhari in Tarikh al-Kabir, and likewise Waqidi, Madaini, Ibn Kalbi, and Abu Ahmad Hafiz mentioned it in his book al-Kuna. But Ibn Uqba and Ibn Ishaq did not mention it. See al-Istiab.I say, if it is established that Saad bin Ubada was present at Badr, then perhaps the speaker was Saad bin Muaz, followed by Saad bin Ubada, since each of them was among the leaders of the Ansar.