“By Allah, I used to lead them exactly as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ led the prayer, without omitting a single element of it (1). When I led the night (ʿIshāʾ) Prayer I would make the first two units unhurried (2) and lighten the last two.”
ʿUmar said, “That is what we expected of you, Abū Isḥāq.” He then sent a man—or a group of men—with him to Kūfah to ask its people about him. The envoy left no mosque without enquiring, and everyone spoke well of Saʿd, until he entered the mosque of Banū ʿAbs. There a man named Usāmah ibn Qatādah, known as Abū Saʿdah, stood up and said, “Since you have put us under oath (3): Saʿd does not accompany the expeditionary detachment (4), he does not distribute (the spoils) equally, and he is not fair in judgment.”
Saʿd said, “By Allah, I shall invoke three prayers: O Allah, if this servant of Yours is lying, seeking nothing but show and fame, then prolong his life, prolong his poverty, and expose him to temptations.” After that, whenever the man was asked, he would say, “A doddering old man, sorely tried; Saʿd’s supplication has struck me.”
ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, who narrated from Jābir ibn Samurah, said, “Later I saw him; his eyebrows had drooped over his eyes from extreme old age, yet he would accost the slave-girls in the streets, pinching them.” Agreed upon.
1514 – ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr reported that Saʿīd ibn Zayd ibn ʿAmr ibn Nufayl (may Allah be pleased with him) was sued by Arwā bint Aws before Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam. She claimed that he had taken part of her land. Saʿīd said, “Would I take anything of her land after what I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?” Marwān asked, “What did you hear from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?” He replied, “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘Whoever wrongfully takes even a handspan of land will have it hung around his neck through seven earths.’” Marwān said, “I require no further evidence after this.” Saʿīd then prayed, “O Allah, if she is lying, blind her sight and kill her on her own land.” She did not die until her eyesight had gone.