InshaAllah today we’re going to start with a very special Sahabi whose father was a very special man. The father of Saeed ibn Zaid ibn ‘Aimr ibn Nufayl. A man who understood from the very start that there is something wrong with this entire picture that we see here with Quraish in Mecca with all these idols and things of that sort. He was someone who rejected shirk at an early age and argued with his people. He was the nephew of al-Khattab, the father ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu and he consistently argued against his people until al-Khattab persecuted him and beat on him and Zaid radiyaAllahu ta’ala ‘anhu tried to go to other places to try and find the truth. Zaid passed away before the Prophet (SAWS) received revelation. So Saeed ibn Zaid, he asked the Prophet (SAWS) “You know my father and you know what happened with him. What is his situation?” And the Prophet (SAWS) said, “I have seen on the Day of Judgment that when every nation stands behind its Prophet, Zaid ibn ‘Amir ibn Nufayl radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu will be standing as a nation on his own.”
Now, Saeed himself was also a very special individual. He accepted Islam right from the beginning at the age of 19. In fact, the scholars say he accepted Islam even before Dar Al-Arqam. His teacher was Khabbab ibn al-Aratt radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu and he married Fatimah bint al-Khattab, the sister of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu. Fatimah radiyaAllahu ta’ala ‘anha, according to many of the scholars, was the second woman to accept Islam after Khadija radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anha.
Now what makes this Sahabi so special? Saeed radiyaAllah ‘anhu was someone who loved service. He loved serving with the Prophet (SAWS). He loved the feeling of struggle and the feeling of dust on his face and sand on his face. In fact, he said radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu that to witness a battle alongside the Prophet (SAWS) and to have dirt covering your face and to be in the heat of the battle is more beloved than to have a lifetime of good deeds even if you lived the life of Nuh (AS). So he witnessed every battle alongside the Prophet (SAWS) except for one, and that was the battle of Badr. Now you might be wondering, why would he miss Badr if he accepted Islam even before Dar il-Arqam in Mecca? And the answer is that he and Talha ibn ‘UbaidAllah were sent to Al-Sham (Damascus) to scout where Quraish was attacking from and by the time they made it back the Battle of Badr had already been completed. RasoolAllah (SAWS) still counted Talha and Saeed radiyaAllah ‘anhuma from the people of Badr, the veterans of Badr. So he witnessed every battle with the Prophet SAWS.
In fact, he had a reputation, even during the times of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, Saeed was known as the guy that would always charge first in battle. He was the “head of the knights” in most battles. So he was always the guy that would charge forth. And you can imagine, subhanAllah, when the Muslims were usually outnumbered 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 or 5 to 1, when they were usually in a very low situation, how much fearlessness and courage that had to take to be able to be the first one to always charge.
Saeed radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu in particular served in the Battle of Yarmouk under Khalid ibn al-Waleed radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu, which was one of the fiercest battles that the Muslims ever had. Khalid radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu appointed Saeed as the head of the “center” of the army in Yarmouk. And Saeed radiyaAllah ‘anhu did something very powerful. He called out to Abu ‘Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah and said, ‘اني قد عزمت على الشهادة’ “Oh Abu ‘Ubaidah, I have come determined to be a martyr today.” And so he send to Abu ‘Ubaidah and asked him, “What would you like me to tell the Prophet (SAWS) if I meet him?” So Abu ‘Ubaidah said to Saeed, “If you see the Prophet (SAWS) give him my salam and give the salam of the Muslims to him,” ‘وقل له يا رسول الله جزاك الله عنا خيرا وإنا قد وجدنا ما وعدنا ربنا حقا’ “And say to him Oh Messenger of Allah may Allah SWT reward you on our behalf and we have found what our Lord has promised us to be true.” And what he was referring to was the spread of Islam all over the world. And Saeed radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu said fear was removed from my heart on that day. I never had fear in my heart again.
And subhanAllah, though he was determined that day for al-Shahada, Allah (SWT) allowed him to live that day through the Battle of Yarmouk. And in fact, he was responsible for the army that went to Damascus. And finally ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab actually appointed Saeed as the governor of Damascus.
Now I want you to think about this for a moment. A man like Saeed ibn Zaid who has been serving all his life. A man who is used to being covered in dirt and used to being in the battle field. How must it have felt being in Damascus at that time? And Damascus, and we ask Allah (SWT) to restore its glory, Allahumma ameen. Damascus at that time was the most developed society in the world. It had hight buildings and beautiful gardens and was known for its progress and affluence. And Saeed would live in the palace of Caesar. Saeed who was used to always being in dirt and sand and being on the battle field. Saeed radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu would walk out every single day onto the balcony of that palace and he would look out for 3 months and he would say to himself, ‘I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t want this.’ SubahnAllah. ‘This isn’t what I love doing. I love service. I love being in the path of Allah (SWT).” So he sent a letter to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu and he said, “Oh Amir al-Mu’mineen. I am not going to abandon or leave the struggle to you and the rest of the Companions while I sit in this palace. So whenever you receive this letter know that I am on my way to you. Please send someone to whom my post is more befitting because I can’t take this.” So Saeed radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu wanted to remain in constant service to Allah (SWT). He did not want that luxury or to be sitting in that palace.
We can learn something very powerful and profound from that. Saeed radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu teaches us that as Muslims we should always love to be in the field. What I mean by that is that we should always love to be amongst those that are serving the homeless. We should always love to be the guys that are cleaning up the bathroom. We should want to be the people that are serving up the food; the people that are doing the dirty work, the stuff that nobody else wants to do. We should always love to be in a sense of service. So think about this for yourself. When you’re sitting in a gathering, when you’re in a masjid, when you’re in a convention, when you’re with your family at home, wherever you are, are you in service or are you sitting comfortably? As a believer, you recognize that you don’t have time to waste so you want to get as many good deeds as possible.
And so Sa’eed continued his entire life, although he could have relaxed and talked about how great his life was to the rest of the Companions, to the Taabi’een, to his children. He decided to continue in service of Allah (SWT). Now there’s a twist to all of this, Sa’eed radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu in the year 673 would die without being in service. So Sa’eed radiyaAllah ta’ala ‘anhu went to salaat al-Fajr one morning and he seemed completely fine. He came back after salaat al-Fajr and put his hands behind his head and he passed away peacefully as he took a nap.
Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas and Abdullah ibn ‘Umar radiyaAllahu ‘anhuma would be the people take the body of Saeed and was him and pray on him. And both of them tell us of a very beautiful account. This was that whenever they came to perfume the body of Saeed ibn Zaid with Al-Hanoot- a type of perfume, they found that his body already had the sweetest of smells. SubhanAllah. It was as if Allah (SWT) was telling us and saying to Saeed radiyaAllahu ‘anhu ‘your service has been accepted even if you didn’t die in the field and you didn’t die with dirt on your face.’ As long your intention was to be in service, Allah (SWT) will surely accept your service.
So next time make sure that you take full advantage of your situation. Make sure that you’re the one that is out there taking care of the people and striving in the way of Allah (SWT). We ask Allah to grant us the quality of service and to accept our service for His sake. Allahumma Ameen.
LIFE 