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One day, both Abu Bakr and `Umar commented on his generosity saying, "If we let this lad give
free rein to his generosity, he would exhaust his father's wealth." When Sa'd Ibn `Ubaadah heard about
what they had said, he cried out, "Abu Quhaafah and Ion Al khattaab should not have tried to encourage
my son to become a miser!"
One day, he lent a debtor who was experiencing hard times a large sum of money. At the appointed
time for repayment, this man went to repay his debt to Qais yet he refused saying, "I never take back
anything that I have given.'
Human nature is unchangeable. Both generosity and courage are inseparable. Indeed, genuine
generosity and courage are like twins: neither is found on its own. If you meet a generous man who is not
courageous, then be certain that what you have seen is not real generosity but a mere superficial pretence.
On the other hand, if you find someone who is courageous but not generous, then be certain that what
you have seen is not courage but a mere impetuous and reckless whim. Qais Ibn Sa'd held the reins of
generosity with his right hand along with courage and valor. It seems as if he was meant by these lines of
poetry:
If a flag was hoisted in celebration of glory
Then it must have been held by the right hand of an Arab.
His valor was outstanding in all the battles in which be fought when the Prophet (PBUH) was alive
and even after his death.
When courage depends on honesty rather than craftiness, and on straight forwardness and
confrontation rather than prevarication and maneuvering, then there must be difficult and endless trouble
and intolerable hardships for its possessor. Ever since Qais threw aside his incredible skill of cunning and
maneuvering and held onto his straightforward and conspicuous courage, he felt relieved and content,
notwithstanding the problems he had to confront and the obligations he had to fulfill
Genuine courage stems solely out of its possessor's conviction. This conviction is not affected by
desire or whim, but rather by truthfulness and honesty with himself.
Hence, when the conflict between `Aliy and Mu'aawiyah started, Qais sat alone trying to side with
the one whom he believed to be in the right. Then as soon as he decided that `Aby was right, he did not
hesitate to stand by his side with admirable pride, valor, and fearlessness.
Qais was one of the fearless heroes of As-sifiin, Al-jamal and An-Nahrawaan. He carried the
Ansaar's standard and cried out, "The standard that I'm carrying now is the same one that I used to carry
when we marched for war with the Prophet (PBUH) and had jibriil as our reinforcement. Any man who
has no one but the Ansaar on his side is a lucky man."
Imam `Aliy assigned him to govern Egypt. Now, Mu'aawiyah's eyes were always set on Egypt, as he
considered it the most precious stone in his prospective crown. Therefore, no Sooner had Mu'aawiyah
heard that Qais was to govern Egypt than he lost his self-control and was gripped by apprehensions lest
Qais should stand forever in his way to rule Egypt, even if he achieved a decisive victory over imam
`Aliy. Hence, he used all his cunning methods and unscrupulous tricks to defame Qais before `Aliy.
Finally, Imam `Aliy ordered him to leave Egypt. Qais had a legitimate chance to use his cleverness,
for he realized that Mu'aawiyah must have incited `Aliy against him through his sly and crafty tricks
after he had failed to win him over to his side. He aimed at inciting Imam `Aliy against Qais by casting
doubts on his loyalty to him. Therefore, the best answer to Mu'aawiyah's evil plots was to show more
loyalty to `Aliy and what he represented. This loyalty was not a mere pretence or a means to an end on
Qais's part, but rather his firm conviction and belief. Therefore, he did not feel for a moment that he was
dismissed from his position, for Qais considered the governorship and all other positions as a means to
the ultimate end, namely, to serve his faith and religion. He dedicated himself to the service of the truth.