Men Around The Messenger
SA'IID IBN 'AAMIR: Greatness Under Worn-out Garments
Does
any of us know this man or have any of us ever heard his name before? Most
probably, the majority of us, if not all, have heard his name mentioned before.
I imagine that you wonder, who is Sa'iid lbn 'Aamir? Well, you are about to
embark on a journey in time so as to find out all that there is to be known
about this "happy" ("Sa'iid" means "happy ") man,
so fasten your seat belts.
In short, Sa’iid was one of
the outstanding Companions Prophet (Sallallaho alyhi wasallam), notwithstanding
the fact that his name seldom, if ever, mentioned. He was one of the most
distinguished unknown pious Companions. It was natural that he, like all Muslims
would accompany the Prophet (Sallallaho alyhi wasallam) in all his expedition
battles, for as a believer, he could not lag or turn his back on Allah’s
Prophet (Sallallaho alyhi wasallam) in peace or wartime. Shortly before the Conquest
of Khaibar, Sa'iid submitted himself to Islam. Ever since he embraced Islam and
gave his allegiance to the Prophet (Sallallaho alyhi wasallam) consecrated his
life, existence, and destiny to the service of Islam. All the great virtues of obedience, asceticism, dignity,
humbleness, piety, and pride thrived harmoniously inside this pure and kind
man.
In our attempt to unveil his greatness, we must bear in that, in most
cases, appearance contrasts with reality. If we judge him by his outer looks,
we will not do him justice, for he was definitely ill favored as regards his
appearance. He had dusty uncombed hair. Nothing in his looks or appearance
distinguished him from poor Muslims. If we are to judge his reality by his
appearance, we will see nothing impressive or breath taking. But if we dive
deep into his inner self beyond his outer appearance, we will see greatness in
the full meaning of the word. His greatness aloof from the splendor and
ornament of life. Yet, it lurked beyond his modest appearance and worn-out
garments. Have you ever seen a pearl hidden inside its shell? Well, he was much like this
hidden pearl.
When
the Commander of the Faithful 'Umar Ibn Al- Khattaab dismissed Mu'aawiyah from
his position as governor of Homs in Syria, he exerted himself in searching for
someone who was qualified to take over his position.
Undoubtedly, 'Umar's
standards of choice of governors and assistants were highly cautious,
meticulous, and scrutinizing. He believed that if a governor committed a sin,
error, or violation, two people would be asked to account for it before Allah:
'Umar and the governor, even if this governor were in the farthest corner of
the earth. His standards of estimation and evaluation of governors were highly
subtle, alert, and perceiving. Centuries before the advent of Islam, Homs was a
big city that witnessed, one after the other, the dawn and eclipse of many
civilizations. Besides, it was a vital trade center. The attractions of the
vast city turned it into a place of seduction and temptation. In 'Umar's
opinion only an ascetic, devout, and repentant worshiper would be able to
resist and renounce its attractions.
'Umar
suddenly realized that Sa'iid Ibn 'Aamir was the man he was looking for and
cried out, "Sa'iid Ibn 'Aamir is the right man for this mission." He
summoned him. Sa'iid was offered the governorship by the Commander of the
Faithful, but he refused saying, "Do not expose me to Fitnah (trials and
affliction)." 'Umar then cried out, "By Allah, I will not let you
turn me down.
Do you lay the burdens of your trusteeship and the caliphate upon my
shoulders, then you refuse to help me out? " Instantly, Sa'iid was
convinced of the logic of 'Umar's words. Indeed, it was not fair to abandon or
avoid their obligation towards their trusteeship and towards the caliphate and
lay them on 'Umar's shoulders. Moreover, if people like Sa'iid Ibn 'Aamir renounced
the responsibility of rule, then 'Umar would definitely have a hard time to find a man who was
highly pious and righteous enough be entrusted with such a mission.
Hence, Sa'iid traveled with
his wife to Syria. They were newly wed. Ever since his bride was a little girl,
she had been an exquisite blooming beauty. 'Umar gave him a considerable sum of
money at the time of his departure.
When they settled down in
Syria, his wife wanted to use this money, so she asked him to buy appropriate
garments, upholstery; and furniture, and to save the rest of it. Sa'iid said to
her, "I have a better idea. We are in a country with profitable trade and
brisk markets, so it would be better to give this money to a merchant so as to
invest it." She said, "But if he loses it?" Sa'iid said, "I
will make him a guarantee that the amount will be paid notwithstanding." She
answered, "All right then ."
Of course, Sa'iid went out
and bought the necessities for an ascetic life, then gave all his money in
voluntary charity in Allah's cause to the poor and those in need. Time went by,
and every now and then his wife would ask him about their money and their
profits and he would answer, "It is a highly profitable trade."
One day, she asked him the same question before one of his relatives who
knew what he had done with the money. His relative smiled, then he could not
help laughing in a way that made Sa’iid’s wife suspicious. Therefore, she
prevailed on him to tell her the truth. He told her, "Sa'iid on that day
gave all his money in voluntary charity in Allah's cause." Sa'iid's wife
was broken-hearted, for not only had she lost her last chance to buy what she
wanted but also lost all their money. Sa'iid gazed at her sad, meek eyes
glistening with tears that only added more charm and grace to her eyes; yet
before he yielded to this fascinating figure, he perceived Paradise inhabited
by his late friends and said, "I had companions who preceded me in ascending
to Allah and you will not deviate front the path they have taken, not for the
world." He was afraid lest her excelling beauty should make her disobey
him; therefore he said as if he were talking to himself; "You know that
Paradise is filled with Houris, fair females with wide and lovely eyes as
wives for the pious, who are extremely lovely. If one of them had a peep at the
earth, she would illuminate it with her light that combines the light of both
the earth and the moon. So you should not blame me if I chose to sacrifice your
love for their love and not vice versa." Throughout his talk, he was calm,
pleased, and satisfied. His wife was peaceful, for she realized that she had no
choice but to follow Sa'iid's example and adopt herself to his rigid, ascetic,
and pious way of life.
Homs,
at that time was called the second Kufa. The reason behind this was that its
people were easily stirred and swayed to revolt against their governors. Homs
was named after Al-Kufa in Iraq, which was notorious for endless mutiny and
uprisings.
Although,
the people of Homs were given to mutiny, as we have already mentioned, Allah guided
their hearts to His righteous slave Sa'iid. Thus, they loved and obeyed him.
One day, 'Umar said to him,
"I find it rather strange that the people of Syria love and obey
you." Sa'iid answered, "Maybe they love me because I help and
sympathize with them."
Despite the love of the
people of Homs for Sa'iid, their innate rebellious disposition got the better
of them. Hence, sounds of discontent and complaint began to be heard, thus
proving that Homs was not called the second Kufa in vain. One day, as the
Commander of the Faithful was visiting Homs, he asked its people who gathered
around him for their opinion of Sa'iid. Some made complaints against him which
were blessings in disguise, for they unveiled an impressively great man.
'Umar asked the criticizing group to state their complaints one by one.
The representative of the group stood up and said, "We have four
complaints against Sa'iid: First, he doesn't come out of his house until the
sun rises high and the day becomes hot. Second, he does not see anyone at
night. Third, there are two days in every month in which he doesn't leave his house at
all. Fourth, he faints; every now and then, and this annoys us although he
can't help it."' The man sat down and 'Umar was silent for a while for he
was secretly supplicating Allah saying, "Allah, I know that he is one of
Your best slaves. Allah, I beseech You not to make me disappointed in
him." He summoned Sa'iid to defend himself. Sa'iid replied, "As for
their complaint that I do not get out of my house before noon, by Allah I hate
to explain the reason that made me do that, but I have to do so. The reason is
that my wife does not have a servant, so I knead my dough, wait for it to rise,
bake my bread, perform ablution and pray Duha, then I go out of my house."
'Umar's face brightened as he said, " All praises and thanks be to
Allah." Then he urged him to refute the rest of the allegations. Sa'iid
went on, '' As for their complaint that I do not meet anyone at night, by
Allah, I hate to say the reason, but you force me to. Anyway, I have devoted
the day to them and consecrated the night for Allah. As for the third complaint
that they do not see me two days per month, well, I do not have a servant to
wash my garment and I have no spare one. Therefore, I wash it and wait for it
to dry shortly before sunset, then I go out of my house to meet them. My defence
against the last complaint of the fainting fits is that I saw with my own eyes
Khubaib Al-Ansaariy being slain in Makkah. The Quraish cut his body into small
pieces and said, 'Do you want to save yourself and see Muhammad in your place
instead?' He answered, 'By Allah, I will not accept your offer of setting me
free to return to my family safe and sound, even if you gave me all the
splendors and ornaments of life in return for exposing the Prophet (Sallallaho alyhi wasallam) to the least annoyance, even if it was a prick of
a thorn.' Now; every time this scene of me standing there as a disbeliever,
watching Khubaib being tortured to death and doing nothing to save him flickers
in my mind, I find myself shaking with fear of Allah's punishment and I
faint."
These were Sa'iid's words, which left his lips that were already wet
from the flow of his pure and pious tears. The overjoyed 'Umar could not help
but cry out, "All praises and thanks be to Allah Who would not make me disappointed
in you!" He hugged Sa'iid and kissed his graceful and dignified forehead.
What a great guidance must
have been bestowed on those outstanding men! What an excellent instructor
Allah's Prophet (Sallallaho alyhi wasallam) must have been! What a penetrating
light must have emanated from Allah's Book! What an inspiring and instructive
school Islam must have been! I wonder if the earth can take in so much of the
piety and righteousness of those fortunate men. I presume that if that
happened, then we would no longer call it the earth but rather Paradise. Indeed
the "Promised Paradise."
Since it is not time for
Paradise yet, it is only natural that those glorious superior men who pass by
life are but few, very few. Sa'iid Ibn 'Aamir was definitely one of those
superior Muslims.
His position allowed him a
considerable salary, yet he took only enough money to buy the necessities for
himself and his wife and gave the rest in voluntary charity in the way of
Allah. One day, he was urged to spend this surplus on his family and relatives,
yet he answered, "Why should I give it to my family and relatives? No, by
Allah, I will not sell Allah's pleasure to seek my kinfolks' pleasure."
He was later urged, "Spend more money on yourself and on your
family and try to enjoy the lawful good things." But he always answered,
"I will not stay behind the foremost Muslims after I heard the Prophet (Sallallaho
alyhi wasallam) say, 'When Almighty Allah gathers all people on the Day of
Reckoning, the poor believers will step forward in solemn procession. They will
be asked to stop for reckoning but they will answer confidently: We have
nothing to account for. Allah will say: My slaves said the truth. Hence, they
will enter Paradise before all other people.' "
In A.H. 20, Sa'iid met Allah with a pure record, pious heart, and honourable
history. He yearned for so long to be among the foremost Muslims; in fact, he
consecrated his life to fulfil their covenant and follow in their footsteps. He
yearned for so long for his Prophet (Sallallaho
alyhi wasallam) and instructor and his pure and repentant comrades. He left all the
burdens, troubles, and hardships of life behind. He had nothing but his pious,
ascetic, awesome, and great inner self. These virtues made the balance of good
deeds heavy rather than light. He impressed the world with his qualities rather
than with his conceit.
Peace be upon Sa'iid Ibn 'Aamir. Peace be upon his life and
resurrection. Peace be upon the honorable and obedient Companions of the
Prophet and blessings and peace be upon him.