Sa'id ibn Zayd

Among the Ten Promised Paradise

Sa’id ibn Zayd was of Banu Adi, the clan of Umar, and the son of Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl — the hanif who had abandoned idolatry before Islam. Among the very first to believe, Sa’id is counted among the ten given the glad tidings of Paradise (see Virtues in the Hadith).

The Home Where Umar’s Heart Turned

Sa’id was married to Fatima bint al-Khattab, Umar’s own sister, and both had embraced Islam early. His early faith cost him dearly: it is recorded that when Sa’id — Umar’s cousin and brother-in-law — accepted Islam, Umar bound him with ropes in the days before his own heart was opened. 1 Seerat-e-Mustafa · Vol 1 · pp. 96 — Idris Kandhlawi — Umar ties Sa'id ibn Zayd with ropes when he embraces Islam, before Umar's own conversion. Yet it was in Sa’id’s house — when Umar burst in to find his sister reciting the Qur’an — that Umar’s fury melted and he was guided to Islam, a turning point in the history of the faith. 2 Al-Farooq · pp. 41 — Shibli Nomani — Sa'id ibn Zayd and his wife Fatima (Umar's sister) were early Muslims; the scene of Umar's conversion at their home.

A Narrator of the Prophet’s ﷺ Warning

When a woman named Arwa wrongly accused him of seizing part of her land, Sa’id bore witness to a stern warning he had heard from the Prophet ﷺ:

مَنْ أَخَذَ شِبْرًا مِنَ الأَرْضِ ظُلْمًا فَإِنَّهُ يُطَوَّقُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ

”Whoever takes a hand-span of land unjustly will have it hung around his neck, down to seven earths, on the Day of Resurrection.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 3198 · Book 59, Hadith 9 · USC-MSA: Vol. 4, Book 54, Hadith 420 · narrated by Sa’id ibn Zayd

Virtues in the Hadith

He was named among the ten to whom Paradise was promised in the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime:

Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3747 · Book of Manaqib · In-book: Book 49, Hadith 144 · narrated by Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf · graded Sahih (Darussalam)