Sa'eed ibn Zayd, (Arabic: سعيد بن زيد), was one of the Ṣaḥābah (Arabic: الصحابة "companions"), the companions of Muhammad. He is also nicknamed "Abu-al-Aawar". He was from the one of The Ten Promised Paradise.
Family
- Sa'eed bin Zayd was the son of Zayd ibn Amr.
- Khattab ibn Nufayl was the father of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Sunni Caliph.
- Sa'eed's grandfather, Amr ibn Nufayl was the brother and also the stepfather of Khattab ibn Nufayl, since Sa'eed's great grandmother (who was also his grandmother) married one of her sons (Sa'eed's grandfather) after becoming a widow. Thus, Sa'eed's grandmother and great grandmother were the same woman; she came from the Fehm tribe known as San'a.
- Before Islam, Sa'eed's father, Zayd ibn Amr was a hanif, a follower of the monotheistic tradition of Abraham, and hence never worshipped idols nor ate meat slaughtered in the name of idols. The Quraysh harassed him for this, and his uncle Khattab ibn Nufayl became one of his main tormentors.
- Sa'eed eventually married Fatimah bint al-Khattab, and both became Muslims and hid their faith from Umar, the wife's brother, until the wife managed to contribute to Umar becoming a Muslim as well.
During the lifetime of Muhammad
History record that Sa'eed ibn Zayd was a pious man and he never did anything throughout his life against the teachings of Muhammad. It is a said that ‘Sa'eed always covered Muhammad keeping himself ahead and in front of him in battle and always stood behind him in prayers. He took part in a number of battles, even after the death of Muhammad, for the sake of Islam, and fought very bravely.
He participated in all of the battles in which Muhammad participated personally with the exception of the battle of Badr.Muhammad had sent Talha and Sa'eed ibn Zayd to get information on the movement of the Quraysh army. They missed the Quraysh army and by the time they returned, the battle had been won by the Muslims. However, both of them were given their share of the war trophies of the battle.
During the time of the Caliphs
Sa'eed ibn Zayd was offered the office of a Governor on account of his courage and administrative abilities, but he did not accept it.
Once he was appointed Governor of Damascus without his consent. He wrote to Abu ‘Ubayda, “I am unable to offer such a sacrifice. You will perform Jihad while I will be deprived of it. Please send someone else to replace me as soon as you receive this letter. I am coming to you soon.” Later, he fought as an ordinary soldier in all the battles which were waged for the cause of Islam.
He is said to have passed the rest of his life in perfect peace and did not ever incline towards the mundane pleasures of life.
He disliked taking oaths. Once he had to attend a court of law in connection with a suit. The judge asked him to speak on oath. He withdrew his case and abandoned his claim. His submission to faith, his fear of Allah, and his services for the cause of Islam, earned him the glad tidings from Muhammad during his lifetime that he would enter the Eternal Gardens in the life hereafter.
Death
He died aged seventy in 671AD
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
