Sa'id ibn al-As
Muslim military leader and governor (died 678/679) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sa'id ibn al-As ibn Abi Uhayha (Arabic: سعيد بن العاص بن أبي أحيحة, romanized: Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀs ibn Abī Uḥayḥa; 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 Umayyad clan of the Quraysh.
Sa'id ibn al-As | |
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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 | |
Died | 678/79 Al-Arsa, near Medina |
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Children | Amr al-Ashdaq
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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-Harith. 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 A'isha 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, al-Ashdaq, succeeded him as leader of his clan.