Does any of us know this man or have any of us ever heard his name before? Most probably, the majority of us, if not all, have not heard his name mentioned before. I imagine that you wonder, who is Sa'id Ibn Aamir? Well, you are about to embark on a journey back in time so as to find out all that there is to be known about this great man(may Allah be pleased with him)..

This young man Sa'id Ibn 'Aamir Al-Jumahi, may Allah be pleased with him, was one of the thousands who had gone to At-Tan'eem, on the outskirts of Makkah, in answer to the call of the chieftains of the tribe of Quraysh, to witness the death of Khubayb Ibn 'Adiyy, may Allah be pleased with him, one of the companions of Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ). They had just captured him by means of treachery.

With time men from other regions came together forming a huge crowd all walking behind Quraish leaders Abu Sufyan and Safwan ibn Umayyah to the execution spot. The expectation was high and the lust for blood known with the Quraish mushrikun was fully reactivated. Sa'id al-Jumahi RA who had pushed into the crowd with a youthful vigor found a vantage position in a place directly facing Khubaib RA who was already at the execution point.

The leaders of Quraish decided to take the life of this noble personality in the presence of all the Makkan as a way of showing their total hatred for Islam and the Muslims and as a warning to the convinced minds among the Maccan.

They were called to witness the type of torture and painful death that would be their lots if they abandon the religion of their ancestors. They were also to avenge themselves upon Muhammad SAW through him, and by his death take revenge for those of them who had fallen at the battle of Badr.

When the swelling crowd had all gathered at the execution point the tall, youthful Sa'eed, may Allah be pleased with him, stood looking down at Khubayb, may Allah be pleased with him, as he was being set forward to be killed. Through the shouts of the women and children, he heard his calm, steady voice saying: "If you would allow me to make two Rak'ahs (units) of prayer before my death, then do so."

Sa'eed, may Allah be pleased with him, watched as the whole atmosphere went solemn and spiritual as Khubaib RA calmly turned towards the direction of Kaabah, and how lovely, how composed and how perfectly measured are those invaluable two Rakaats of ibn Khubaib RA in the midst of thousands of Kuffar, Subhanallah!!

Then Sa'eed, may Allah be pleased with him, saw him turn towards the leader of the people saying: "I swear by Allah if you did not think I was taking too long for prayer out of fear of death I would pray much more."

Then Sa'eed, may Allah be pleased with him, witnessed his own people as they mutilated Khubayb, may Allah be pleased with him, hacking him into pieces as they said: "Would you like Muhammad to be in your place, and for you to be safe in his place?" He heard his answer as the life bled out of him: "By Allah I would not wish to be safe and secure with my wife and children, if Muhammad were to be pricked by a thorn because of it."

The shouts of the people became howls, their arms waving in frenzy as they shouted : "Kill him! Kill him!"Sa'id al-Jumahi RA watched all these horrible happenings with grief.

Then he saw Khubayb, may Allah be pleased with him, raise his vision from where he was crucified, to the heavens and he heard him say: "Our God! Count their numbers and exterminate them. Leave not one of them," as he breathed his last, leaving his body riddled with countless gashes and stabs.

Then Quraysh returned to Makkah and, in the great rush of events, which followed, forgot about Khubayb, may Allah be pleased with him, and his death. However, Sa'eed, may Allah be pleased with him, who was rapidly maturing, was unable to forget Khubayb, for a moment.

In the killing of Khubaib RA and his heroic response in defense of the cause he believed. Sa'id al-Jumahi RA discovered some salient points to reflect upon in a very deep way.

Khubayb, may Allah be pleased with him, had made Sa'eed, aware of something he had not known before. He had taught him that true life is one of belief and fighting until death for the sake of one's belief. He had also taught him that strong faith could do marvels and work miracles. Finally he had taught him that a man who could inspire in his followers the love that Muhammad( may Allah exalt his mention ) had inspired, must be a prophet sent from heaven.

Thus Sa'eed's heart opened to Islam and he then set out for Medina Munawwar where he became a constant companion of the Prophet ( may Allah exalt his mention ) and joined him in the battle of Khayber, and in subsequent military endeavors.

When the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) left this worldly life to be with his Lord, Sa'eed, may Allah be pleased with him, remained loyal to each of the blessed Prophet's successors, the Caliph Abu Bakr and the Caliph 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them. He was a living example of a believer who had bought the life of the hereafter by giving up this world. He preferred pleasing Allah and wanted His reward more than any wish of the mind or the body.

When the Commander of the Faithful Umar Al-Khattab dismissed Muawiyah from his position as governor of Homs in Syria, he exerted himself in searching for someone who was qualified to take over his position and at long last he appointed Sa'id as the new governor of Homs.

As Sa'id bin Amir Al Jumahi RA set out for Homs Saidina Umar Al Khattab RA offered him money for his journey and his immediate needs. This, he turned down with the polite excuse that the money in the Baitul Mal (the public treasury) would be enough for his needs.

So he went to Homs, and it was not long before travelers from Homs, people who were trustworthy came to see the Commander of the Faithful, may Allah be pleased with him. He told them,

"Write the names of the needy citizens so that we can give them assistance."

They gave him a list, and on it was the name of Sa'eed Ibn 'Aamir, may Allah be pleased with him. Surprised, he asked them which Sa'eed this was, and they said: "Our governor." "Is your governor poor?" 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, asked. "Yes indeed," they answered. "Many days go by between one time when he cooks in his home and the next."

Greatly moved, 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, wept until his tears were splashing down on his beard. Then he collected one thousand dinaars and put them in a bag and sent them to Sa'eed, may Allah be pleased with him.

When the delegation brought the bag to Sa'eed, may Allah be pleased with him, he looked in it and when he found it to be money, he pushed it away saying: "Surely we belong to Allah and to him shall we return,"

He said it with such fear and scream that those within ear-short would think that a misfortune has suddenly descended.

His wife overhearing came running in alarm, saying: "What has happened, Sa'eed? Has the khalifah died?" "

"Worse than that,' Sa'id bin Amir Al Jumahi RA replied.

'Have the Muslims been overcome in a battle?'

'Something more terrible than that'.

'The material attraction of this world has come to corrupt my Akhirah and cause disorder in my home'.

'Then get rid of it', said the wife not knowing that her husband was referring to some money just delivered.

'Will you help in this?' Sa'id bin Amir Al Jumahi RA asked. The blessed wife agreed and the money was distributed to many of the needy ones around.

Not long afterwards, 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, went to Syria to inspect for himself the living conditions of the people. He went to Hims, which was nicknamed "Little Kufah," because its inhabitants, like those of the original Kufah, were always complaining about their officials and their governors.

When he arrived, the citizens came out to pay their respects to him, at which time he asked them whether they like their new governor. They indicated their intention to mention four basic weaknesses of the Amir that would require urgent attention.

Saidina Umar Al Khattab RA said: 'I shall bring you and him together so that you can freely lay your allegations and he would be free to bring his defense – I used to have great confidence about him and I pray to Allah SWT that my opinion of him will not be damaged and my confidence misplaced.'

A meeting was convened in the morning with Saidina Umar Al Khattab RA, the Amir-ul Muminin and Sa'id al-Jumahi RA in attendance. Saidina Umar Al Khattab RA called on the representatives of the people to bring forward their complaints one after the other while Sa'id al-Jumahi RA put up his defense.

The first complaint against the governor, Sa'id al-Jumahi RA are:

He only comes out to attend to people when the sun was already high.

'What will you have to say to this?' Saidina Umar Al Khattab RA said looking towards Sa'id al-Jumahi RA.

To this allegation, Sa'id al-Jumahi RA was silent for a moment before answering: 'I never wanted to speak about this, but here it seems that I must. My wife does not have a servant to help her with the family, so I get up early every morning, knead the dough for them, wait a while for it to rise, and bake the bread for them. Then I make my ablutions and go out to the people'.

'What is your second complaint?' Saidina Umar Al Khattab RA asked.

'He does not answer any night call. He leaves all affairs till next morning.' They said.

Sa'id RA answered: 'I did not wish to make this public either, but I have made daytime for their affairs and the night to spend in worship of Allah".

Then came the third 'misdeed' of the exalted Sa'id bin Amir Al Jumahi RA.

'For one whole day every month he would not come out at all to meet the people.' They said.

To this, the governor, Sa'id al-Jumahi RA responded saying:

'I do not have a house-help (a servant) O Amir-ul Muminin nor do I have any other clothes except what I am putting on right now. I wash it by hand once a month, and it takes it a whole day to dry so that I can put it on and go out again.'

Any other complaint about him?' Saidina Umar Al Khattab RA asked.

'Yes, he faints and loses consciousness at the state meetings.' They said.

In response Sa'id bin Amir Al Jumahi RA said:

'I was a witness to the gruesome and extremely merciless killing of Khubaib bin Adiy RA before I embraced Islam. I saw the Quraish cutting him into pieces alive and asking him in the process; 'Would you like Muhammad to be in your place?' to which Khubaib RA replied, 'I would not wish to be saved and secure among my family while a thorn hurts Muhammad SAW'. By Allah! Any time I remember that day and my failure to come to his rescue, I would be gripped with the fear of Allah's punishment for this negligence of mine and then lose consciousness.'

At this point, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Praise be to Allah who has not disappointed me in you." Then he had one thousand dinaars sent to his home to take care of his needs. When Sa'eed's wife saw them, she said to him: "Praise be to Allah who has made us no longer in need of your help at home. Buy us some provisions, and hire us a servant."

Shall I get you something better than that?" he asked. "What could that be?" she asked.

He answered: "We will give it to the one who can return it for us, when we need it most."

Confused she said: "I still do not understand." He said, "We shall lend it, as a beautiful loan, to Allah." She said, "Now I understand, and He shall repay it many times over."

On the spot, he divided the money into portions, and sent someone in his household to distribute it among widows, orphans, and the poor.

May Allah be pleased with Sa'eed for he was generous to others even when he was in extreme need.

Sa'id met Allah with a pure record, pious heart, and honourable 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.