Part 24

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 necesseties 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 from 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 atnight. 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 defense 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 (PBUH) 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, | find myself shaking with fear of Allah's punishment and | 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 (PBUH) 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 (PBUH) 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 honorable 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 (PBUH) 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.

(1) HAMZAH IBN ‘ABD AL-MUTTALIB The Lion of Allah and The Martyr of Martyrs

After a day full of work, worship, and entertainment, the people of Makkah fell into a deep sleep. The people of the Quraish were turning in their beds except for one who forsook his bed of sleep. He used to go to bed early, rest for a few hours, then wake up in great anxiety for the expected appointment with Allah. He went to the praying corner in his room to supplicate to his God. Whenever his wife awakened upon hearing the voice of his long supplications, she shed tears out of warm sympathy and asked him not to take it so hard and to get some sleep. He only answered her in tears, "The time for sleep is over, Khadiijah." At that time Muhammad was not yet a serious problem for the Quraish, although he had started to draw

their attention as he started to spread his call secretly; those who believed in him were still quite few.

There were people among the non-believers who loved and respected him. They yearned to declare their belief in him and become one of his followers, but their fear of the prevailing norms and the pressure of inherited traditions prevented them. Among them was Hamzah Ibn *Abdul Muttalib, the Prophet's paternal uncle who was at the same time his brother through fosterage (i.e. they had been breast-fed by the same woman).