It is narrated from Muhammad bin Umar (al-Waqidi) that the father of Sayyiduna Sa'id bin Zayd bin Amr bin Nufayl (may Allah be pleased with him), Zayd bin Amr bin Nufayl, had abandoned the (polytheistic) religion of his people, Quraysh. He died while Quraysh were building the Ka'bah, and that was five years before revelation began to come to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said about him: "He will be raised (on the Day of Resurrection) as a nation by himself." Sayyiduna Sa'id bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) had already believed before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the house of al-Arqam and invited people to Islam there. Sa'id bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) took part in the Battles of Uhud and the Trench (Khandaq) and in all the battles with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but he was not present at the Battle of Badr.

Abd al-Malik bin Zayd narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Sa'id bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away at al-Aqiq; then he was carried on (men's) shoulders to Madinah and buried there. Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas and Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) went down into his grave. This was in the year 50 or 51 AH, and at the time of his death he was a little over seventy years old. Muhammad bin Umar (al-Waqidi) states that his mother was Fatimah bint Ba'jah bin Umayyah (from Khuza'ah).