Saad was known to have a charismatic and populist relationship with the residents of Sidon and the adjacent Palestinian refugee camps, according to historian Samir Khalaf.

[6] According to the Maarouf Saad Cultural Center, he received his primary education at the Sidon Evangelical School and attended the Universal College of Aley, graduating in 1929.

In the second half of the decade he became a staunch political follower of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was seen by the general Arab population as the paramount leader of the pan-Arabist movement at the time.

[6] Saad was among many Lebanese notables from the United National Front opposition coalition to have visited Damascus and congratulated UAR President Nasser on the union's formation.

[9] Saad used his Lebanese support base and allied Palestinian militias to gather arms and organize a defense of Sidon from government control, which he accomplished with ease.

With over 1,000 militiamen under his command, Saad led successful skirmishes against pro-government forces and prevented all government attempts at entering Sidon for the five-month duration of the crisis.

[6] Saad regarded the 1958 crisis a "popular armed uprising", claiming the opposition was forced into it after initially advocating a general strike to pressure Chamoun to step down from the presidency.

In Sidon, Saad gained a reputation for being a staunch opponent of discrimination and promoter of a comprehensive peace and social justice in the country.

A general strike in the area was declared as protest to Saad's detention and calls by incensed residents for the closing of guerrilla offices in Sidon were made.

He alleged that Prime Minister Saeb Salam's support for Bizri in retaliation for Saad's participation in anti-government protests prior to the election caused his defeat.

[14] That year, Saad founded the Popular Nasserite Organization, a group espousing Arab nationalism and socialism in the tradition of Nasser,[5] who died in September 1970.

Pressured by his popular base,[11] Saad organized a general strike and large demonstrations against Protéine's announced move on 26 February 1975.

[11] Saad's killing brought his family and the PNO widespread public sympathy and boosted their reputation among the Lebanese left and the Sunni Muslim community.

[17] It is more generally accepted that the attack on a Palestinian bus by Phalangist militiamen a few weeks after Saad's death marked the beginning of the civil war.

He lost to the Future Movement candidate in 2009, but stayed the secretary-general of the PNO and maintained an active Nasserist presence in the city of Sidon within the broad March 8 coalition in Lebanese politics.