Sa'id ibn al-'As
| Sa'id ibn al-'As | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Kufa | |
|
In office 649–655 |
|
| Monarch | Uthman |
| Preceded by | Al-Walid ibn Uqba |
| Succeeded by | Abu Musa al-Ash'ari |
| Governor of Medina | |
|
In office 669–674 |
|
| Monarch | Mu'awiya I |
| Preceded by | Marwan ibn al-Hakam |
| Succeeded by | Marwan ibn al-Hakam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Medina |
| Died | 678/79 Al-Arsa, near Medina |
| Children | Amr al-Ashdaq |
| Parents | Al-'As ibn Sa'id (father) |
Saʾīd ibn al-ʿĀs ibn Umayya (died 678/679) was the Muslim governor of Kufa under Caliph Uthman (r. 644–656) and governor of Medina under Caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680). Like the aforementioned caliphs, Sa'id belonged to the Banu Umayya clan of Quraysh.
During his governorship of Kufa, Sa'id led military campaigns in Azerbaijan and near the Caspian Sea. However, he had to contend with dissent from some of the Kufan elite, led by Malik ibn al-Ashtar. The dissent was largely driven by Sa'id and Uthman's policy of consolidating ownership of the productive Sawad lands of Iraq into the hands of the Quraysh and Muslim veterans from Medina. Sa'id had the dissidents exiled, but during a visit to Medina, rebels in Kufa led by Yazid ibn Qays al-Arhabi took control of the city.
After his ouster from Kufa, Sa'id aided in the defense of Uthman's house from attack by Egyptian rebels, but Uthman was killed nonetheless and Sa'id was wounded. He declined to fight alongside the Banu Umayya and Aisha against Caliph Ali (r. 656–661) during the First Fitna, an act for which he was favorably remembered in Islamic historiography. He was appointed governor of Medina by the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I in 669, but replaced by Marwan ibn al-Hakam in 674. Sa'id then retired to his estate outside the city where he died. One of his sons, Amr al-Ashdaq, succeeded him as leader of his clan.
Sa'id was the only son of his father, al-As ibn Umayya, a pagan warrior of the Quraysh who was killed by the early Muslims in the Battle of Badr in 624. They belonged to the A'yas clan of the Banu Umayya, a sub-clan of the Quraysh. Sa'id was likely an infant when his father was slain. According to historian Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Sa'id "speedily achieved great prestige in Islam not only as the leader of an aristocratic family group, but also for his liberality, eloquence and learning". He gained particular favor under his kinsman, Caliph Uthman (r. 644–656), and married two of the latter's daughters, Maryam and Umm Amr. He also married a daughter of Marwan ibn al-Hakam, another member of the Banu Umayya. Probably around 652–654, Uthman appointed Sa'id to help canonize the modern-day Qur'an, a task he shared with Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Harith and Zayd ibn Thabit.
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