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DR. SA'EED OF IRAN
1863-1942
I want to bring you a brief picture
of a national who led an exemplary life and was greatly used of the Lord. His name is Dr. Sa'eed. The title of the books from which most of
this material is taken is Dr. Sa'eed of
Iran, with the subtitle Kurdish
Physician to Princes and Peasants, Nobles and Nomads, and also The Beloved Physician of Teheran.
Dr. Sa'eed was born on June 1, 1863 in the Kurdistan
portion of Iran
into a strongly fanatical Muslim family of the Sunni sect. The name Sa'eed means "happy" or
"fortunate." He came from a long line of
mullahs, who are the leaders of prayer in the mosque and also the teachers of
the Islamic faith. His father saw that
he was a very keen, bright young boy; and he was raised in the strictest manner
of Islam. As a very small boy of four,
he had already memorized a number of chapters of the Koran.
One of the teachings of Islam is that at the age of four
years, four months, and four days, a boy is to begin instruction in memorizing
the Koran. Every Muslim family that has sons desires to have them memorize the
Koran. The family hires an Islamic teacher to oversee this training. It is
usually conducted during the farming off-season, when there is not so much work
to be done. The teacher takes these boys from village to village, sometimes
spending a considerable number of days in a village. During the daytime the
students go out with their begging bowls (small metal bowls) and beg from the
villagers. It is thought to be meritorious to give to these Koranic
students-sometimes money and sometimes food, which they return to their teacher
as a means of supplying their physical needs while they are being taught the
Koran. While they are about the village, they also collect firewood. Toward
evening they usually gather with their teacher under a large tree or in some
sheltered place. As dusk comes on, they build a fire and gather around the
blaze of the fire that supplies them light. With the Koranic wooden writing
slate, they are taught to write portions of the Koran in the classical Arabic and
then memorize them together-usually at the top of their voice. This goes on for
hours. In many areas of the world, the students have no knowledge of the
classical Arabic, so it is as if one is memorizing the Koran in an unknown
language. Sa'eed was also especially
skilled linguistically, and at a very young age had already learned not only
the Kurdish language but also Persian, Arabic and, a little later, Syriac. He was a very diligent student and a very
learned young lad with a retentive memory.
His father died when Sa'eed was 13 years of age. Sa'eed was already highly regarded by the
Islamic community of his hometown. Even
at that young age, he was placed in the position of his father as a mullah, a
teacher and a cleric, and was able to wear the distinctive white turban of an
Islamic teacher and scholar.
There were, in his hometown, some Armenians and Roman
Catholics who professed to be Christians, but he saw the lifestyle of these
"Christians" and was turned against Christianity because of it. Among other things, Islam teaches that
alcohol is forbidden; yet he saw some of those who called themselves Christian
drinking freely, getting drunk, and leading very ungodly lives. This further prejudiced him against
Christianity. But he had a great longing
for peace of heart, which he had not yet found in Islam.
His first contact with a truly born-again believer came
when he, at the age of 17, was encouraged in a very kind and gentle way by a
visiting Assyrian national pastor to study the Bible, comparing it with the
Koran. This he did studiously, but in
secret for fear of being found out by other members of his family. He had a brother named Kaka who was six years
his senior. Although not nearly as bright
and talented as Sa'eed, he, too, was a very fanatical and devout Muslim.
After a number of months of spiritual struggles and intense
searching of the Scriptures, comparing them with the Koran, Sa'eed came to
faith through the effective witness of this Christian pastor. As previously mentioned,
Sa'eed was linguistically talented. During
these days of indecision prior to his conversion, he learned Hebrew in order to
better understand the Old Testament in its original writings. The Koran teaches that the original
Scriptures had been contaminated and corrupted by Christians; so Sa'eed wanted
to read the Scriptures in the original language.
The pastor stayed in Sa'eed's hometown more than a year before
returning to his own village. After the
pastor left, Sa'eed felt very much alone.
He continued his duties as a mullah, calling the prayer time from the minaret
and teaching Islamic doctrines to the students in his mosque school; but in
secret, he read the Bible and spent much time in prayer. He lived, in a sense, a very deceptive
life. To the outside, he was a devout
Muslim; but in his heart he knew that he had put his faith in Jesus
Christ.
He no longer said the prescribed prayers and oftentimes
did not even show up to lead the mosque prayers. In their place he recited, in
his own heart, the Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed. He had had no
instruction as to how to communicate with the Lord in believing prayer.
Because of many threats on his life, from which he
miraculously escaped death at the hands of his fanatical townspeople, he began
to question whether he should follow the Christian way and was persuaded by
many to turn back to Islam. But he found
no peace in such thoughts. He was
encouraged when a Catholic merchant returned from Russia
to his hometown. This merchant, a
God-fearing and broadminded man, was very knowledgeable about the Bible. When Sa'eed told the man that he had put his
faith in Christ, he was asked this very difficult question: "Are you willing to give up your own people
and the honor you have among them and, if necessary, leave your home? If not, you had better keep away from
Christianity." Sa'eed, deeply moved by
this solemn warning, replied, "Neither honor, nor my people, nor the benefits
of this world, nor even loss of life can make me forsake Christ, my Savior and
my Guide to eternal life."
Sa'eed's older brother Kaka began to realize what was
transpiring in the life of his younger brother and threatened to kill him. On one occasion when he had drawn a pistol to
shoot Sa'eed, a Muslim friend wrestled the gun away. It was wintertime and desperately cold with
deep snow on the ground, but Sa'eed was forcefully thrown out of his own home
by his older brother. He found refuge in
the homes of some very poor and common people but was hounded by the
townspeople with many a threat of death.
On one occasion Kaka waited in ambush with a loaded gun in order to kill
Sa'eed; but the Lord redirected Sa'eed's path, and he did not come by the site
of the ambush. Later, somewhat reconciled
to his brother, Kaka helped him flee from his hometown.
Sa'eed learned in a very real way the meaning of the words
of Christ when He said, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and
mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own
life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26). A similar passage is found in Mark's Gospel,
chapter 10, verses 29 and 30, where Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, There
is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother,
or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall
receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and
mothers, and children, and lands, with
persecution: and in the world to come eternal life."
In his study of the Word of God, he knew it was the Lord's
command that he should be baptized and that the Lord's Table was to be
observed. There being no missionary or pastor to baptize him or to serve the
Lord's Supper, he felt compelled to baptize himself by immersion, which he
proceeded to do in a bathtub. He also observed the Lord's Table by himself,
following the order as revealed in 1 Corinthians 11.
He fled many miles from his home to a town where there
were American missionaries and was given the position of language teacher to an
American missionary. He was with him for
some time and grew in faith through this contact. It was in this setting that he also learned
English. During this time of association
with missionaries, he became acquainted with a missionary doctor who tested his
profession by making him a stable boy.
He learned a great deal of a medical nature and became skilled in this
area of learning. He saw that medicine
was an effective way of reaching Muslims with the Gospel.
Because of his consistent, godly walk, even his older
brother Kaka became softer to the Gospel and, in due time, became a Christian
also. Kaka was an evangelist for many
years, passing out Gospel literature and engaging people in conversation concerning
faith in Jesus Christ.
Another crisis in Sa'eed's life occurred when he, a former
Muslim mullah, married the daughter of the Assyrian pastor who had led him to
the Lord and was now the national pastor of this new location. He had fallen in
love with the daughter. She was a devout Christian and a very faithful helpmeet
to Sa'eed through more than 50 years. There was an outcry both among the
Assyrian Christians and the Muslims, for neither felt that a former Muslim
should marry a Christian. The Assyrian Christians looked upon Sa'eed with some
reservation because he had not been a Christian for a significant period of
time. However, defying both opinions, in a very public meeting in which both
Christians and Muslims were present, he was baptized a second time-again
arousing the fanaticism of the Muslims, for baptism is a sign of a final break
with Islam; and there were still some Assyrian Christians who were not
convinced of his true faith in Jesus Christ. Death threats came from the Muslim
community and were very real. This baptism (2nd) and marriage
stirred up a mob of Muslim fanatics that threatened the young couple. Some
Muslim friends of Sa'eed who were in high positions quelled the riot.
During this time, Sa'eed became very ill and promised the
Lord that he would no longer conceal his faith.
Through some missionary contact, he eventually went to Europe
to recover his health. He spent some
months in Scandinavia and then proceeded on to England,
where he became associated with a very godly physician and family in London
and studied medicine in several hospitals for two-and-a-half years. He then
returned to Iran.
Dr. Sa'eed did not want to be supported with foreign
funds, feeling that the Muslim people would accuse him of apostatizing for
financial reasons if he did; so he remained independent of any mission or
outside financial help. He had an active
medical practice and personal witness to each of his patients, expounding the
Word of God and praying with them. He received many offers to serve in high
positions as physician to some of the outstanding leaders of Iran. On one occasion, he spent nearly six months
traveling as physician with an outstanding nomadic tribal chieftain who, with
his clan of over 5,000 people and tens of thousands of camels, cattle, goats,
sheep, donkeys and other animals, were migrating from one area of pasturage to
another. Through it all, he had many
opportunities and was bold in taking them to witness of Jesus Christ.
At one time Sa'eed was asked to be court physician to the
king but declined. He wanted to be
available to all-prince or peasant, noble or nomad. He was called to many parts of Iran
to treat outstanding tribal chieftains, traveling extensively through very
hostile areas where he had been threatened with death. The Lord always disarmed these adversaries by
Sa'eed's clear unfailing testimony of faith in Jesus Christ. Because of his outstanding skill and
reputation, Dr. Sa'eed had many opportunities to share his faith with high and
low and did so courageously, oftentimes at great personal discomfort and in very
real danger from fanatical Muslims who wished to kill him.
Later, Dr. Sa'eed was able to return to England
for restoration of his health and for medical studies in areas where he felt
deficient. It was during this time that
he became acquainted with some of the most outstanding English physicians of
that day. He was highly regarded for his medical skill and knowledge. Some of these contacts continued throughout
the remainder of his life. It was at
this time that he was awarded his M.D. degree.
Although Dr. Sa'eed's brother Kaka could no longer
communicate with people because he had become extremely deaf, he continued his
tract ministry, passing out Gospel literature, until his death at the age of
84.
Dr. Sa'eed was a deeply spiritual man with many talents.
His rugged independence is best exemplified in his search for the truth. While searching the Scriptures, he saw the need for believing
prayer and spent much time praying. He
had a very bold evangelistic spirit and was never one to be silent for fear of
offending someone but ever ready to give a witness of his faith in Jesus
Christ. Once he had come to real faith
in Christ, he could not be silent. When
in confrontation with Muslim scholars, he at times silenced them with his
profound knowledge of the Koran, the Bible, and other religious writings. He was fluent in eight languages: Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, Syrian, Persian,
English, Hebrew, and Armenian.
Another trait that characterized him was his generous
treatment of his enemies. Many who had
reviled and threatened to kill him were shown the same gentle, kind treatment as
those who were his close friends. When
his wife of many years passed away, he was extremely lonely. One of his sons
was an architect and had built a lovely home for them; but his wife Rebecca
lived in that new home for only one year.
Sa'eed's daughter Sarah came to live with him and helped
care for him following the death of his wife.
During his latter years, he limited his medical practice and spent a
great deal of time in study and in writing.
Although his strength was abating, his mind was sharp; and he continued
to study the Word of God and to write books into his latter years.
When he was well past 70, Sa'eed was arrested and put in
prison in Teheran for almost 100 days; but finally, much to the joy of his many
friends and family, he was finally released without trial. Members of his family had begun to leave Iran.
Two sons had immigrated (one to America
and one to England),
and his only daughter was left living permanently in Iran. They had celebrated his 79th
birthday, a joyous occasion, but his physical strength was waning. When he arose on the 29th of July 1942, his daughter
saw that he looked haggard. He said he
had not had a good night. He gathered
his books together into his favorite corner of the veranda where he liked to
study and write and then took his morning walk.
Upon his return, he was in great pain and asked a grandson to run to the
hospital for a stretcher to carry him to the American mission hospital just a
mile from their home. He was taken to
the hospital and prepared for surgery; and while preparations were being made
for the operation, he died on the operating table.
The next day a large crowd of people of all faiths and
ranks attended the funeral service conducted by some American missionaries. It was a victorious time.
This is a thrilling story of how one man, putting his
trust and confidence in the Lord, was greatly used to live Jesus Christ in a
very hostile environment in which his life was continually being
threatened. His life is the story of one
who showed to the world the transforming power of the blood of Jesus Christ.
JAD
8/11/04
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