in fact, Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn al-Najjar (d. 643/1245) credited the inscription at the Great Mosque of al-Madinah to Sa‘d himself, whom he identified as a mawla of Huwaytib b. ‘Abd al-‘Uzza, a member of Quraysh and a Companion, who died at al-Madinah in 54 / 674, in the caliphate of Mu‘awiya b. Abi Sufyan (41-60/661-80). Sa‘d is also mentioned in the dictionary of nisbahs compiled by Abu Sa‘id ‘Abd al-Karim b. Abi Bakr al-Sam‘ani (d. after 562 / 1167), where he is identified as sahib al-masahif, from which the nisbah of his own mawla, Ziyad al-masahifi, was taken.
The authority cited was Ibn Abi Hatim (240-327 / 854-938), who in turn cited his father (d. 277 / 890). Ziyad was supposed to have transmitted ahadith to Bukayr b. Mismar al-Zuhri (d. 153/770) in al-Madinah, which is consistent with the chronological position of Sa‘d.
Although none of these reports can be traced back earlier than the mid-ninth century, it is nonetheless possible to pursue the matter farther.
To begin with, Huwaytib was a member of the clan of ‘Amir b. Luayy and converted to Islam only after the battle of Hunayn. He was said to be one of sixteen Quraysh who knew how to write in the time of the Prophet.)

در حقيقت، ابوعبدلله محمد بن نجار معتقد است که مسئوليت کتيبه مسجد النبي به عهده خود سعد مولي حويطب بن عبد‌العزي (عضوي از قريش و صحابي پيامبر که در سال 54 در زمان خلافت معاويه در مدينه در‌گذشت) بوده است. همچنين در الأنساب ابوسعيد عبدالکريم ابن‌أبي‌بکر سمعاني آمده است: زياد مولى سعد المصاحفي قال ابن أبى‌حاتم: زياد مولى سعد صاحب المصاحف روى عن ابن‌عباس روى عن بکير بن مسمار سمعت أبى يقول ذلک. ^۱ سعد با لقب «صاحب المصاحف» معرفي شده است و زياد کسي است که احاديث بکير بن مسمار را در مدينه انتقال داده که اين مطلب با طبقه سعد نيز سازگار است.
اگرچه تاريخ اين گزارشات را نمي‌توان قبل از اواسط قرن نهم دانست، لکن مي‌توان اين موضوع را بيشتر و دورتر دنبال کنيم؛ براي آغاز، حويطب عضوي از قبيله امير بن لؤي بوده که اسلام را بعد از نبرد حنين پذيرفت. وي يکي از 16 قريشي بود که در عهد پيامبر قادر به نوشتن بودند.