Taken from: Men Around the Messenger By Khaalid Muhamamd Khaalid
Sa'iid Ibn 'Aamir
Greatness Under Worn-out Garments
Sa'iid was one of the outstanding Companions of the Prophet (SAWS). He was one of the most distinguished unknown pious Companions. It was natural that he, like all Muslims, would accompany the Prophet (SAWS) in all his expeditions and battles; he did not turn his back on Allah's Prophet (SAWS) in peace or war time. Ever since he embraced Islam and gave his allegiance to the Prophet (SAWS), he consecrated his life, existence, and destiny to the service of Islam. Al the great virtues of obedience, asceticism, dignity, humbleness, piety, and pride thrived inside this pure and kind man.
If we were to judge him by his outer looks, we will not do him justice, for he was 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 stood aloof from the splendor and ornament of life. Yet, it lurked there beyond his modest appearance and worn-out garments. A pearl hidden inside a shell.
When Umar Ibn al-Khattab searched for someone to take the position of the qualified governor of Syria, he chose Sa'iid Ibn Aamir. Sa'iid 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?" Sa'iid was instantly convinced.
Hence, Sa'iid traveled with his wife to Syria. They were newlywed. Ever since his bride was a little girl, she had been exquisitely blooming beauty. 'Umar gave him a considerable sum of money at the time of his departure. When they settle 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 asked,, "But if he loses it?" Sa'iid said, "I will make him guarantee that amount will be paid notwithstanding." She answered, "All right then."
Of course, Sa'iid went out and bought the necessities for his life. Then he gave all his money to 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 anted 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 his 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 soul 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 earth, he 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." He said this in a calm andunderstanding way. His wife was peaceful and knew she had to follow Sa'iid's example and adopt herself to his rigid, ascetic, and pious way of life
The people of Syria loved and obeyed Sa'iid. 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".
One day , as Umar (RA) was visiting Homs, he asked its people who gathered around him for their opinion of Sa'iid. Some made complaints of him that were blessings in disguise, for they unveiled and impressively great man.
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 day sin every month in which he doesn't leaver his house at all. Fourth, he faints every now and then, and this annoys us although he can't help it."
Umar was silent for a while for he was secretly supplicating Allah saying, "Allah I know that he is one of Your best laves. Allah, I beseech You not to make me disappointed in him. He asked 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 (SWT). 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 faint fits is that I saw my own eyes Khubaib Al-Ansaariy being slain in Mekkah. 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 all the splendors and ornaments of life in return for exposing the Prophet (SAWS) 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 (RA) 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.
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 heart the Prophet (SAWS) 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 the people." "