the Quran, teaching it and writing it]. (1) Among these twelve were Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and Zayd ibn Thabit.

Later ʿUthman appointed Saʿid as his deputy over Kufah after dismissing al-Walid ibn ʿUqbah. Saʿid went on to conquer Tabaristan and Jurjan. When the people of Adharbayjan broke their treaty, he marched against them and captured the province. After ʿUthman’s death he kept apart from the civil strife, taking no part in either the Battle of the Camel or Ṣiffin. Once authority had settled with Muʿawiyah he travelled to him; Muʿawiyah reproached him, he offered his excuses, and the Caliph accepted them—after a very long exchange. Muʿawiyah then appointed him governor of Madinah twice and dismissed him twice in favour of Marwan ibn al-Ḥakam. Saʿid himself never cursed ʿAli, whereas Marwan did.

He transmitted hadith from the Prophet ﷺ, from ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, ʿUthman, and ʿAʾishah. In turn his two sons—ʿAmr ibn Saʿid al-Ashdaq and Abu Saʿid—as well as Salim ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar, ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr, and others related from him. None of his narrations appear in the Musnad or in the six canonical books.

Saʿid’s conduct was praiseworthy and his inner state sound. He would often gather his companions every Friday, feed them, clothe them in fine garments, send abundant gifts, presents, and cloth to their homes, and tie up purses which he placed before needy worshippers in the mosque.

Ibn ʿAsakir said: He owned a house in Damascus that was afterwards known as the house of Naʿim in the environs of al-Dimas. He later returned to Madinah, remaining there until he died. He was generous, open-handed, and much praised.

Ibn ʿAsakir then cited some of Saʿid’s hadith through Yaʿqub ibn Sufyan: “Abu Saʿid al-Juʿfi narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Ajlah narrated to us; Hisham ibn ʿUrwah narrated to us, from his father, that Saʿid ibn al-ʿAs said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘The best of you in Islam are those who were the best of you in the Time of Ignorance.’ (2)

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar also related: ‘A man narrated to me, from ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Aban, who said: Khalid ibn Saʿid narrated to me, from his father, from Ibn ʿUmar: A woman came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with a cloak and said, “I have resolved to give this garment to the most honoured Arab.” He replied, “Give it to this youth,” meaning Saʿid ibn al-ʿAs, who was standing there. For this reason such garments came to be called al-Saʿīdiyyah. (3)’

Al-Farazdaq composed the following lines in Saʿid’s praise:
‘You see the illustrious chiefs of Quraysh—
when grave events in the turns of time arise—
Standing, their gaze fixed upon Saʿid,
as though through him they behold a new moon.’ (4)

It is also reported that ʿUthman removed al-Mughirah from the governorship of Kufah and appointed Saʿid ibn al-ʿAs in his place (5); he later deposed him and installed al-Walid ibn