سعيد بن زيد
Sa'id ibn Zayd
Son of a Seeker of Truth
Quick Facts
Birth
c. 593 CE, Makkah
Tribe
Quraysh — Banu Adi
Relationship
Brother-in-law of Umar
Major Role
Early believer; the key to Umar's Islam
Death
c. 671 CE (51 AH), near Madinah
Son of Zayd ibn Amr, a Hanif who rejected idols before Islam, Sa'id inherited his father's search for truth. He and his wife Fatimah — Umar's sister — were the doorway through which Umar came to faith.
Biography Timeline
A Father Who Sought God
His father Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl rejected idolatry and sought the pure religion of Ibrahim, dying before the mission began. Sa'id grew up already turned away from idols.
Early Islam & Umar
Sa'id and Fatimah accepted Islam early. It was on discovering them reciting the Qur'an that Umar's heart softened and he went to embrace the faith — a turning point for the whole community.
Service & Later Life
He took part in the campaigns after Badr and in the opening of the Levant, living a quiet, upright life. He died near Madinah around 671 CE, one of the last of the Ten.
Authentic Narrations
ورد أن النبي ﷺ سمّى عشرة من أصحابه من أهل الجنة: أبو بكر، وعمر، وعثمان، وعليّ، وطلحة، والزبير، وعبد الرحمن بن عوف، وسعد بن أبي وقاص، وسعيد بن زيد، وأبو عبيدة بن الجراح.
“It is reported that the Prophet ﷺ named ten of his companions as people of Paradise: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Talha, al-Zubayr, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Sa'id ibn Zayd, and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah.”
Jami' al-Tirmidhi (Sahih)
Historical Sources
- ✦Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat
- ✦Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah