Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 58 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (73) - Saeed bin Al-Aas, may God be pleased with him
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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The Mawaddah Association is pleased
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to present to you
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"Portraits from the Lives of the Companions"
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by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
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may Allah have mercy on him.
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Sa'id Ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with him.
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Sa'id Ibn al-'As al-Umawi al-Qurashi
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was a Companion deeply rooted in glory,
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of illustrious nobility.
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His grandfather, Sa'id,
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used to be called "Dhu al-Taj" (The Crowned One),
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because whenever he wore a turban,
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no one from Quraysh would wear
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a turban of the same color as his
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until he took it off,
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out of deep respect for him and veneration
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of his stature.
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His father, al-'As Ibn Sa'id,
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was a chieftain among the chieftains of Quraysh,
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and one of their foremost leaders.
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He fought alongside the polytheists
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in the Battle of Badr,
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together with his brother 'Utbah,
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and both were killed there.
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Al-'As met his death
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at the hands of 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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When his father and uncle were slain at Badr,
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Sa'id
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was only two years of age.
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Thereupon, 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan took him under his guardianship,
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may Allah be pleased with him,
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owing to the close bonds of kinship
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that tied him to the young boy.
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Thus, Sa'id Ibn al-'As grew up
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under the care of the generous, devout,
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constantly prostrating Possessor of the Two Lights,
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'Uthman Ibn 'Affan,
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and was raised under the watchful eyes of 'Uthman's wives,
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Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum,
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the daughters of the Master of the Messengers,
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Muhammad Ibn 'Abdullah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Thus he inherited glory from generation
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to generation,
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and imbibed noble Prophetic characteristics
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and magnificent morals
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from their sweetest
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and purest springs,
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drawing Islam from its most abundant
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and robust sources.
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He recited the Qur'an alongside the close companion
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of the Book of Allah, 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan,
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and received it fresh
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and tender from the mouth of the Prophet,
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peace be upon him.
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He was among the people whose dialect was most similar
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to that of the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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He was also among the twelve
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men who transcribed
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the Qur'an during the era of 'Uthman
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and taught it to the people.
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Marks of leadership appeared upon Sa'id Ibn al-'As
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ever since
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he was a young youth.
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It is related that a woman once vowed
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to give a precious cloak
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she owned to the most noble of the Arabs;
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they said, "Give it to this boy,"
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meaning Sa'id Ibn al-'As.
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Thereafter, luxurious garments
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were named
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"al-Sa'idiyyah" after him.
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And indeed,
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they were completely right
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when they foresaw for Sa'id Ibn al-'As
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that eminent leadership
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and unmatched generosity.
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For Sa'id Ibn al-'As governed
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provinces for the Muslims,
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led armies on their behalf,
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and achieved great conquests for them;
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Allah conquered Tabaristan and Jurjan at his hands.
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He remained
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a governor appointed by 'Uthman
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over the city of the Messenger,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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until the wronged Caliph fell as a martyr,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Yet the trait that predominated
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in Sa'id Ibn al-'As
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was magnanimity and generosity,
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to the extent that Mu'awiyah Ibn Abi
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Sufyan nicknamed him "The Generous Man
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of Quraysh."
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For Allah bestowed abundance upon Sa'id Ibn al-'As
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without measure,
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and Sa'id bestowed it upon the servants of Allah
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without measure as well.
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Many splendid accounts
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have been related about him
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in this regard,
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and extraordinary, captivating stories
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have been told of him that filled the pages of history
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with praise and radiance.
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Among these is
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that Sa'id Ibn al-'As used to tie up
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purses of money every Friday
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and place them before
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the needy worshippers,
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so that when they finished their prayer,
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they would take them, rejoicing
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in them without having to beg.
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A man from among the reciters
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used to attend his gathering
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and learn the Book of Allah from him.
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He fell into poverty and suffered severe
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destitution.
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His wife said to him,
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"Our governor, Sa'id Ibn al-'As,
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is renowned for generosity.
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If only you would mention your condition to him,
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perhaps he might grant you something."
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He replied, "Woe to you!
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Do you want me to strip away my dignity?
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By Allah, I will not do so!"
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Yet his need continued to grow dire,
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and his wife persisted
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in urging him to ask,
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until he came to the gathering of Sa'id
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Ibn al-'As as he was
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accustomed to doing every time.
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When the people departed,
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the man remained sitting in his place.
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Sa'id turned to him
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and said, "I presume you remain seated
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for a need?"
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The man remained silent.
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Sa'id said to his servants,
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"Leave us."
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When they left, he said to him,
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"None remains except you and me,
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so state your need."
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The man remained silent.
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So he extinguished the lamp and said to him,
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"May Allah have mercy on you,
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you cannot see my face now,
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so state your need."
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He said, "May Allah rectify the affairs of the governor!
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Destitution has afflicted us,
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and I wanted to mention it to you,
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but I felt too ashamed."
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Sa'id said, "Take it easy!
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When morning comes, go meet my agent, so-and-so."
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In the morning,
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the man met the agent of
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Sa'id Ibn al-'As,
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who said to him, "The governor
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has ordered something for you,
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so bring someone to help you carry it."
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He replied, "I have no one to carry it."
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He then went back to
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his wife, blamed her, and said,
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"You drove me to forfeit
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my self-respect before Sa'id Ibn al-'As,
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and he only ordered something for me
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that requires someone to carry it!
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I do not see that he ordered for me
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anything other than flour or food;
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had it been money,
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it would not have required someone to carry it,
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and he would have handed it directly to me!"
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The woman said,
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"Whatever he gives you, we are
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in dire need of it, so go take it!"
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The man returned to the agent,
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and the agent said,
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"I informed the governor that
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you have no one to carry
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his gift to you,
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so he ordered these three servants
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to carry it with you."
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The man walked ahead of them,
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and when they reached the house,
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upon the head of each
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of them was ten thousand dirhams!
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He said to the servants,
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"Put down what you are carrying and depart."
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But they said,
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"The governor has gifted us to you as well;
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for he never sends a servant
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with a gift to anyone
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except that the servant himself becomes part of
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the gift!"
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A Bedouin once came to Sa'id Ibn al-'As,
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so he ordered five hundred for him.
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So his agent asked him,
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"Five hundred dirhams,
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or dinars?"
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He replied, "I had intended to give you
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five hundred dirhams;
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but since the thought crossed your mind
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that they might be dinars,
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then give him five hundred dinars."
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When he received the money,
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the Bedouin sat down and began to weep.
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Sa'id asked him,
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"What is the matter with you? Did you not receive it?"
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He said,
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"Yes, by Allah!
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Rather, I weep for the earth:
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how can it bury a man like you?"
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Sa'id used to advise his son 'Amr,
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"O my son,
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offer your kindness spontaneously
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without being asked.
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For if a man comes to you,
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you can almost see the blood draining from his face
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out of modesty and shame;
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or he comes taking a great risk,
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not knowing whether you will grant his request or turn him away.
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By Allah, even if you were to give him all you possess,
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you would still not fully compensate him for that."
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And when death approached Sa'id ibn al-'As,
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he gathered his sons
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and said to them:
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"O my sons, let not
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my companions lose anything by my death except the sight of my face.
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Maintain ties with them just as I used to
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maintain ties with them; continue
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their stipends just as I used to grant them;
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and spare them the hardship
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of asking. For indeed, when a man
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asks for his need,
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his limbs tremble
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and his heart quivers with dread.
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By Allah, a man tossing and turning restlessly
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on his bed,
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seeing you as worthy of fulfilling his need,
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bestows a greater favor
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upon you than anything you could ever give him."
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When he passed away,
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his son, 'Amr ibn Sa'id—
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known as al-Ashdaq—
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went to Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan
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in Damascus to inform him
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of his father's death.
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Mu'awiyah wept and recited the verse of returning to Allah,
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and asked, "Did
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your father leave behind any debt?"
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He replied, "Yes."
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He asked, "And how much is it?"
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He said, "Three hundred thousand dirhams."
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Mu'awiyah said,
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"It is upon me to pay it."
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'Amr replied, "He instructed me
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not to settle his debt except from the proceeds
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of his own lands."
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So Mu'awiyah purchased a land from him
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equal to the amount of the debt.
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'Amr ibn Sa'id then returned
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to Medina
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and instructed a herald to announce among the people:
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"Whoever is owed a debt,
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let him come to his son 'Amr to collect it."
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A young man came to him
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carrying a piece of leather
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on which was written in his favor:
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"Twenty thousand."
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'Amr asked, "How did this debt become due
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against my father?"
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The young man replied,
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"Your father was leaving the governor's
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residence after having been dismissed from office,
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so I followed him, walking alongside him.
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When he saw me, he asked,
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'Do you have a need?'
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I replied, 'No,
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but I simply wished to be with you
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at this hour.'
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He said,
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'May Allah be with you.'
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Then he said, 'O my nephew,
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bring me an inkpot and a piece of leather.'
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So I brought them to him,
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and he wrote down twenty thousand for me,
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and said,
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'O my nephew, when our
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harvest comes, we will pay that to you.'"
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So 'Amr paid him
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the money and added to it
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a generous extra amount.
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Whoever leaves behind the likes of 'Amr ibn Sa'id
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has not truly died.
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May Allah be pleased with the generous and noble soul,
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the memorizer of the Book of Allah,
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Sa'id ibn al-'As,
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and may Allah illuminate his grave.
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Sa'id ibn al-'As was
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the most similar among the people
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in his manner of speech to the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Let us proceed to the next account.