Sayid Hassan Jarrah (Arabic: سعيد جراح) was a middle section survivor of Oceanic Flight 815 and a former Iraqi Republican Guard torturer. A courageous man and a competent leader, Sayid maintained a conservative manner which reflected his strength and spirituality.

Sayid spent much of his adult life searching for his love, Nadia, and trying to atone for his past. On the Island, his skills and leadership played a key role in his group's survival. Sayid worked to find the source of a distress signal and met the woman who sent it out. He developed a relationship with Shannon, another survivor, and was devastated by her accidental death. Sayid proved very useful in the survivors' fight against the Others, first interrogating one who they trapped and later helping Kate and Locke rescue Jack.

Sayid was one of the Oceanic Six, who publicly escaped the Island. He reunited with Nadia, but when a hit-and-run driver killed her, Sayid joined Benjamin Linus as a hitman against Widmore to avenge her death. Afterwards, he did charity work in the Dominican Republic, but Ilana forced him aboard Ajira Airways Flight 316, returning him to the Island. Sayid found himself in 1977, where the DHARMA Initiative captured him, believing him a Hostile. He escaped and unsuccessfully tried to kill young Ben, whose father then shot him. After he returned to 2007, he died, but the Man in Black resurrected him and recruited him to his side. After this, Sayid lived in the Man in Black's group in an almost blank-like state. After speaking with Desmond, he broke out of this state and was later redeemed when he sacrificed himself aboard Widmore's submarine, exploding while carrying the Man in Black's bomb.

In the flash-sideways, he was reunited with his island lover, Shannon Rutherford, and along with their friends, they moved on.

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Before the crash

Childhood

Sayid Jarrah was born around 1967 in Tikrit, Iraq, the son of a celebrated Iraqi hero. While in school, a girl named Nadia from a wealthy family regularly pushed Sayid into the mud out of affection, but Sayid misunderstood her advances and ignored her. ("Solitary")

Sayid once killed a chicken for his older brother, who hesitated when asked by their father to do so; Sayid's father commented, "At least one of my sons will be a man someday." ("He's Our You")

After finishing school, Sayid attended Cairo University.

Military career

Sayid served as a Communications Officer in the Iraqi Republican Guard for five years. He learned crucial skills but engaged in morally questionable acts, including an as-yet unexplained incident in Basra.



Sayid sees Nadia for the first time since their childhood. (" Solitary ")

U.S. forces captured Sayid's base during Operation Desert Storm when he was a mulazim awwal (1st lieutenant), equivalent to a U.S. major general. An American sergeant major assigned Sayid, the unit's only English-speaker, to interrogate his own commanding officer. When Sayid evaded this task out of loyalty, Kelvin Inman, a DIA operative, showed him a video of his officer's nerve gas attacking his home village. Sayid then tortured his CO, giving the testimony he received to the Americans, who paid him significantly before releasing him. ("One of Them")

The Republican Guard promoted Sayid to the rank of Ra'id (Major) in the Intelligence division, where he tortured and interrogated military prisoners. He began questioning his loyalties, though when forced to interrogate Nadia, who had joined an insurgent group. When his superior officer, ordered her execution, Sayid killed him to help her escape, shooting himself as well and giving her his gun. He refused to flee with Nadia, fearing for his family. She left him her photo with the Arabic inscription; "You will see me in the next life, if not in this one." ("Solitary")

Intervening years

Sayid left Iraq in 1997 and spent the next several years searching for Nadia, never staying in a single location for more than a few months. ("The Greater Good")

He spent some time in Paris cooking for a small restaurant, but though he used the alias Najeev and claimed to be Syrian, he couldn't escape his past. One of his torture victims recognized him, and her husband kidnapped him by pretending to hire him as a chef. Imprisoned in their basement, Sayid first protested his innocence but then privately confessed to his victim, who forgave and released him after telling him a story about her cat. ("Enter 77") He left Paris soon after before he could learn the local language. ("Pilot, Part 2") ("Whatever the Case May Be") Years later, he considered returning to Paris for his first wedding anniversary. ("The Incident, Part 2")

Flight 815

In 2004, Sayid was arrested in Heathrow Airport and delivered to CIA and ASIS officials. The agents offered him Nadia's whereabouts if he infiltrated his college roommate's Sydney terrorist cell and convinced him to martyr himself to further their investigations. If he refused, they threatened to detain Nadia indefinitely overseas. Sayid agreed, but he revealed his betrayal at the last minute to his roommate, who immediately shot himself. Sayid delayed his flight to Nadia in California so he could arrange a proper Muslim burial. ("The Greater Good")

In Sydney Airport the following day, Sayid met Shannon and asked her to watch his bag. She instead reported him to airport security as an "Arab man" who'd left a bag unattended. After interrogation, airport security released him with apologies, and he successfully boarded Flight 815. He sat in the last seat in business class and spent takeoff looking at photos of Nadia. ("Exodus, Part 2")



On the Island

Days 1–44 (Season 1)

After the crash, Sayid made a signal fire and asked Charlie to help. The next day, Sawyer accused him of being a terrorist and the US Marshal's prisoner. But Sayid's early contributions, which his military background facilitated, soon proved him a vital member of the group. He fixed the plane's transceiver and led an expedition to high ground to receive a signal. There, he picked up a French signal. He deduced that it had looped for 16 years, and asked the group to withhold this information from the others. ("Pilot, Part 1") ("Pilot, Part 2") ("Tabula Rasa") Later, Sayid attempted to locate the signal's origin, but Locke knocked him unconscious and smashed his equipment. ("The Moth") ("The Greater Good")

A few days later, after wild boars entered the fuselage, Sayid disagreed with Jack's plan to burn the bodies. Sayid and Kate, who'd developed a friendship, started to police the Island after water disappeared, initially blaming Sawyer. Sayid stopped a fight between Jin and Michael and insisted that Jin be handcuffed till he could figure what had happened. Later, Sayid disagreed with Jack's plan to move to the caves, believing in the signal fire's importance.("Walkabout") ("White Rabbit") ("House of the Rising Sun")

When he suspected Sawyer of hoarding Shannon's asthma medicine, Sayid tortured him, injuring his arm. Sayid later learned Sawyer was innocent and left the beach on a solitary journey of redemption. ("Confidence Man")

Sayid followed a cable from the beach into a trap and hung for hours until Danielle Rousseau cut him loose. She tortured and interrogated him about her daughter's whereabouts, and Sayid told her of the crash about hearing her distress signal. Rousseau found a photo of Nadia, and Sayid said she was dead, because of him. Later, Rousseau showed Sayid her music box and Sayid fixed it. She then told Sayid about the Others. Sayid escaped, stealing Rousseau's maps and notes, and hearing whispers coming out from the jungle. ("Solitary")

Sayid returned to camp and told Jack and Sawyer they were "not alone", which eased his and Sawyer's conflict. ("Raised by Another") ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues") He enlisted Shannon's help translating Rousseau's maps, and though they discovered only song lyrics, they developed a relationship, which included a date at an isolated beach. ("Whatever the Case May Be") ("Do No Harm") Shannon's brother initially objected to the relationship. Sayid delivered the eulogy at his funeral. ("Hearts and Minds") ("Do No Harm")

Shannon asked Sayid to kill Locke, whom she blamed for Boone's death, but he refused and later stopped her from doing it herself. The two temporarily broke up. ("The Greater Good") Rousseau came to camp and kidnapped Aaron, and Sayid led Charlie into the Jungle in pursuit. They successfully rescued the baby, and a worried Shannon embraced him on his return. ("Exodus, Part 2") ("Exodus, Part 3")

Days 45–67 (Season 2)

Sayid repaired the Swan's computer when it broke, and he later discovered thick concrete reminiscent of Chernobyl in its foundations. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith") ("Orientation") Shannon began seeing visions of Walt, but Sayid remained skeptical. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith") He continued his efforts to comfort her over Boone's death though by building her a beautiful tent where they made love. Soon after, they shared a vision of Walt. As Shannon ran towards it, Ana Lucia mistook her for an Other and shot her. Sayid held her as she died. ("Abandoned")

He then tried to attack Ana Lucia, but Mr. Eko stopped and fought him, and Sayid was eventually knocked out by Ana Lucia. The tail section survivors then tied him to a tree. Ana and Sayid talked, and given the chance, Sayid refused to kill her. They returned to camp, Sayid carrying Shannon's body. ("Collision")



Sayid returns to camp with Shannon's body. (" Collision ")

He spoke the next day at her funeral, saying he loved her. ("What Kate Did") Sayid led the effort to extinguish a fire Charlie set. ("Fire + Water") The following day, he fixed the tail-section radio for Hurley, and when he later asked to play it for Libby, Sayid recommended the beach he and Shannon had visited. ("The Long Con") ("Two for the Road")

When Danielle believed she had trapped an Other, she came to Sayid first. They took "Henry Gale" to the Swan, and Locke convinced Sayid to interrogate him. The prisoner claimed he'd buried his wife on the island, but Sayid saw through the lies, recalled Shannon's death and attacked him till Jack pulled him off. Later Sayid sat on the beach with Charlie. Sayid told him that there was a man in the hatch and he knew he was an Other because he felt no guilt for what he did to him. He then asked Charlie if he had forgotten about what the others did to him. ("One of Them")

Sayid, Ana Lucia and Charlie checked out Henry's story by trekking to his wife's supposed grave. They found a grave, but Sayid dug through it, finding the real Henry Gale's body. ("The Whole Truth") ("Lockdown") Sayid interrogated the prisoner till he admitted being an Other, and Ana-Lucia had to intervene to stop Sayid from shooting him. ("Dave") Michael returned to camp after time with the Others, and Sayid realized he had "been compromised." On their way to Libby and Ana Lucia's funeral, Sayid told Jack of his suspicions of Michael's motives and told him he was working on a plan. At the funeral, a sailboat appereared just offshore. ("Three Minutes")

Sayid, Jack, and Sawyer swam out to the boat and discovered a drunken Desmond inside. Sayid used the boat to configure a plan. He told Jack while his group went on land he could travel by sea quicker and scout out The Others. When he asked Desmond if he could use the boat he admitted he did not know how to sail. Jin came along to sail and Sun came to translate. While sailing they discovered the ruins of The Statue of Taweret. Sayid commented that he did not know which was more odd, that the rest of it was missing, or that the foot only had four toes. Sayid sailed to the Others' camp and found it deserted, an apparent hatch masking only a wall of rock. Sayid created a signal fire as planned and returned to the Elizabeth when the discharge occurred. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1") ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2")

Days 68–91 (Season 3)

Believing his friends captured, Sayid tried luring the Others to a second signal fire at the Pala Ferry, but they attacked by sea and took the Elizabeth. ("The Glass Ballerina")

Back at the camp, Sayid joined Locke's mission to the Pearl, patching an unknown station's feed till an eye-patched man briefly appeared on a monitor. They found Eko mortally wounded when they left the station, and though skeptical, Sayid followed Locke's party on a journey guided by Eko's stick, where he discovered the Flame station. He correctly guessed that its occupant (who shot him) was an Other, that others lived in the station and that a trap door led to a secret basement. He and Kate captured Mikhail, who identified Sayid and told him that he was not on "the list" because he is "weak and frightened." Sayid noted underground cables on Mikhail's map connecting the Flame and the Barracks on the other side of the Island. The group encountered the sonic fence, and Sayid realized its purpose. ("The Cost of Living") ("Enter 77") ("Par Avion")

The party reached the Barracks, and the Others tied up Sayid and Kate in a playground. He met Alex and identified her as Danielle's daughter. When the Others left the Barracks, he mistrusted his suspicion continued when they returned to camp. He and Sawyer accosted her, and she confronted him with her knowledge of a hereto unmentioned incident ("The Man from Tallahassee") ("Left Behind") ("One of Us") Sayid later learned about Naomi's arrival, and he tried to use her satellite phone. After Sawyer told Sayid that Juliet was Ben's mole, Sayid shared the news about Naomi with others. ("The Brig") ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

Jack and Juliet explained their plan to ambush the Others though, and Sayid convinced Jack to lead the survivors to the radio tower while he Jin and Bernard stayed behind with to plant dynamite at the camp. ("The Man Behind the Curtain") ("Greatest Hits")

Sayid successfully killed several Others, but one disarmed him because he could save Jin, who'd been taken hostage. He resisted interrogation, and when Ben ordered their deaths, their captors shot the ground in a mock execution. Hurley arrived in a van to save them, and Sayid tripped an Other and snapped his neck with his legs. Sayid, Jin and Bernard joined Hurley, Sawyer and Juliet on the beach.("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1") ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 2")

Days 91–108 (Season 4)

Desmond told Sayid what Charlie had learned in the Looking Glass, and Sayid warned against calling Jack in case their "rescuers" monitored their communications. They met Locke on the way to Jack, and Sayid confronted him about blowing up the sub, but when Jack attacked him for killing Naomi, Sayid separated the two. Despite mistrusting the rescuers, he stayed with Jack's group when the survivors split, where he gathered guns with Juliet. The two fired shots at Miles Straume and Daniel Faraday, who were holding Jack and Kate, and Sayid informally interrogated them. The group found Frank Lapidus and his helicopter, and Sayid declared the aircraft fit to fly. ("The Beginning of the End") ("Confirmed Dead")

Sayid offered to retrieve Charlotte from Locke's group in exchange for a place on the helicopter. Miles and Kate went with him. He went to the Barracks with Miles and Kate and found Hurley tied up in a closet, where Locke had left his as bait. Sayid discovered Ben's secret room then left, and Locke captured him. Sayid offered Miles in exchange for Charlotte then returned to the helicopter and left with Frank, Desmond, and Naomi's body. ("The Economist")

Desmond's consciousness began traveling through time, and Sayid calmed him and contacted the Island. The crew locked the pair in a room, but they escaped, and Sayid repaired sabotaged radio equipment so Desmond could call his girlfriend and anchor his consciousness. ("The Constant") Desmond and Sayid spent time again confined before meeting the Captain, then encountered Michael, who was using the alias "Kevin Johnson". Sayid initially withheld Michael's identity and confronted him in private, but he outed him to the Captain after hearing his full story. Keamy's men returned, and Sayid, knowing they planned to kill those on the island, boarded a raft to ferry people to the boat. On the island though, he handed the raft to Daniel and pursued Jack and Sawyer, who were chasing the helicopter. Richard Alpert and some Others captured him and Kate at gunpoint. ("Meet Kevin Johnson") ("Cabin Fever") ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")

Richard agreed to let them leave the island if they helped rescue Ben. After ambushing Keamy's team, Sayid tackled and fought Keamy until Richard gunned him down. Sayid and Kate found Sawyer, Jack, Hurley and Frank at the helicopter and they flew to the Kahana, where they refueled and patched a leak before taking off again. The Kahana exploded, and they turned back to the island, but it vanished. Sayid tossed out an inflatable life raft, and they crashed into the ocean. They drifted till they reached a boat. A week later, they paddled the raft to the island of Sumba. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")



After leaving the Island

2005

After leaving the Island, Sayid became a member of the group known as the Oceanic Six. Nadia found him after their conference and the two later married. The couple attended Hurley's surprise birthday party and Christian Shephard's funeral service. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1").

After nine months - described later by Sayid as the happiest time in his life - they were walking in Los Angeles discussing their upcoming anniversary when a man asked Sayid for directions. Nadia crossed the street and was hit by a car. ("The Incident, Part 1") Five days later, Sayid held her funeral in Iraq and caught Ben spying on him. Ben said one of Widmore's men killed Nadia, and Sayid later found him holding Ben at gunpoint and killed him. Seeking further revenge, Sayid asked for other victims. ("The Shape of Things to Come")

2006–2007



Sayid is taken care of by Ben, after killing Elsa. (" The Economist ")

Sayid came to work for Benjamin Linus -- tracking down and killing Charles Widmore's employees, allegedly to protect the other Oceanic 6 members. ("He's Our You") One such mission occurred in Seychelles, where Sayid shot a fellow golfer. In a mission in Berlin, he initiated a relationship with a target's employee. She too though was using him for information, and a confrontation killed her and wounded Sayid. ("The Economist") After he killed the final target), Ben ended their partnership. ("He's Our You")

Cut loose, Sayid traveled to the Dominican Republic and worked for a charity organization. A wheelchair-bound John Locke visited him, urging him to return to the Island, but Sayid refused. Ben visited him as well, saying John had died, and that a man was watching Hurley. Sayid arrived at Santa Rosa Mental Institute and killed the man and convinced Hurley to leave the institute for a safe house. ("The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham") ("He's Our You") ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")

There, he confessed working for Ben but advised Hurley to do the opposite of whatever Ben suggested. He detected intruders, tossed one over the balcony and impaled another on a knife set, but not before a dart hit him. The tranquilizers were enough to put Sayid unconscious for over 42 hours, during which Hurley took the sedated Sayid to his mansion, then asked his father to drive him to Jack's hospital. Jack treated Sayid, who then attacked the doctor upon awakening. Shortly afterwards, Sayid attacked an assassin disguised as a nurse. Once Jack drives Sayid back to Hurley's home, they find Ben, and though hostile, Sayid decides to accompany his former contractor as he met his lawyer. The two drove to a dock where they met Jack, Kate and Sun. ("Because You Left") ("The Lie") ("The Little Prince") Tired of Ben's lies, Sayid left the group. ("This Place Is Death")

Soon after, Illana found Sayid drinking in a Los Angeles bar. She seduced him, then pulled out a gun, claiming to represent his Seychelles victim's family. She took him aboard Ajira 316 in handcuffs. Sayid noticed other members of the Oceanic Six at the gate and tried unsuccessfully to convince Illana to take a later flight. When Ben boarded, he suspected Ilana worked for him. In the air, the plane hit turbulence, and a bright light surrounded the survivors. ("He's Our You") ("316")

Back on the Island

1977 (Season 5)



Sayid, back on the Island, is mistaken for a Hostile. (" Namaste ")

Like several Ajira Flight 316 passengers, Sayid appeared on the Island in 1977, where Radzinsky and the rest of the DHARMA Initiative believed he was a Hostile. Jin and Radzinsky locked him inside the Flame, and Sawyer arrived and interrogated him. Sawyer offered to integrate him into DHARMA, but Sayid refused. Later on, a young boy brought him a sandwich, introduced himself as Ben Linus and promised him to help him escape. A later visit angered the boy's father, who slammed him into the bars. Horace and Radzinsky threatened to take the interrogation to the next level, and took Sayid is then taken to Initiative's interrogator, who drugged him. Under the influence, Sayid shared knowledge of the island and revealed he'd traveled from the future, first worrying then angering his captors. They returned him to his cell and voted to execute him. Sawyer tried to help him escape, but Sayid turned him down, wishing to stay and kill young Ben. Ben distracted the security team with a burning van and freed Sayid, who escaped into the jungle, knocked out Jin, stole his gun and shot Ben. ("Namaste") ("He's Our You")

Two days later, Sayid saw Jack, Kate, Richard Alpert, Eloise Hawking and Erik in the jungle. He shot Erik, who was aiming at Kate, and Jack explained his plan to detonate "Jughead". They traveled through an underwater tunnel to the bomb's chamber, where Sayid extracted its thermonuclear core. To travel through the barracks, he suggested donning DHARMA jumpsuits, but Roger Linus spotted him anyway and shot him. Hurley picked up Sayid and Jack in a van and took them to the Swan site. Though gravely wounded, Sayid rigged the bomb so it would detonate on impact. ("Follow the Leader") ("The Incident, Parts 1 & 2")

2007 (Season 6)

Sayid remained injured from Roger's bullet after the survivors traveled forward to 2007. Hurley and the rest rushed him to the temple stream, but he died after the Others submerged him. Hours later though, he returned to life. The Others dragged him to another room, where Dogen tortured him. Lennon called the ordeal a "test" and that he had "passed". Later, Jack tried to give him a pill from Dogen, and Sayid, trusting Jack, agreed. Jack then changed his mind and later told Sayid he'd learned the pill was poison. ("LA X, Parts 1 & 2") ("What Kate Does") ("Lighthouse")

Confronted, Dogen told Sayid the test proved evil had taken over him. Dogen then fought and almost killed Sayid, but stopped and instead gave him a knife and a mission to assassinate the Man in Black.

Sayid encountered the Man in Black in the jungle in Locke's form and stabbed him in the chest. The Man in Black was unfazed and said Dogen had tried to con Sayid into going to his death. The Man in Black then cryptically offered anything Sayid wanted in exchange for his help, though the one thing Sayid wanted had "died in his arms", alluding to Shannon or Nadia. Sayid returned to the Temple and told the Others to leave or die. He then met again with Dogen, drowned him in the spring and slit Lennon's throat right after. Ben entered the room and told Sayid there was still time to leave, but Sayid simply replied, "Not for me." The Monster rampaged through the Temple. After, Sayid walked through the carnage, joined the Man in Black's new group and walked off into the jungle. ("Sundown")

Sayid traveled across the Island with the rest of the Man in Black's group until they eventually set up camp in a clearing in a coastal forest. Claire tried to kill Kate, who screamed for Sayid's help, but he remained passive; Sayid said he was incapable of feeling anything at all. The Man in Black left the camp in his care, and Widmore's men shot him with a dart. The next day Sayid and the Man in Black traveled to Hydra Island. Sayid remained behind, killed two men and took their prisoner - Desmond ("Ab Aeterno") ("The Package") ("Happily Ever After")

He delivered the prisoner to the Man in Black, who later dropped him in a well and asked Sayid to kill him. He disobeyed when Desmond suggested killing him might disappoint the very person Sayid joined the Man in Black to gain. ("Everybody Loves Hugo") ("The Last Recruit")

Sayid turned off the Hydra Island power generator, deactivating the sonic fence and letting the Man in Black free Hurley's group from a cage. Sayid then rejoined the group in the jungle and helped shoot Widmore's men as the group commandeered his submarine. In the sub, Jack discovered a bomb, and Sayid analyzed it, using his munitions knowledge one last time. Sawyer then accidentally activated the bomb. Sayid told Jack Desmond's location and told him he'd replace Jacob then carried the bomb away from the others to the back of the submarine. The bomb exploded, killing him. ("The Candidate")

Post-death

Flash sideways

Sayid was a former Republican Guard torturer and worked for an oil company. He flew to Los Angeles to see Nadia, but believing he didn't deserve her, he'd "pushed" her to his brother Omer, who were now married with children.



Sayid and Nadia receive news about Omer at the hospital. (" Sundown ")

Aboard Flight 815, Sayid kicked in a lavatory door to help a flight attendant and save a passenger who'd locked himself inside. He ran into a fellow passenger at baggage claim the took a cab to Nadia and Omer's house, where he met them and their two children Eva and Sam. A call took Omer from dinner early, and the children, looking for presents, found a picture of Nadia in Sayid's bag. That night, Omer asked his help against loan sharks, capitalizing on Sayid's feelings for Nadia. As in life, his love for Nadia pushed him toward violence, but Sayid told Omer he was "not that man" anymore. The next day, Omer was attacked, and Nadia urged Sayid not to take revenge. The men responsible came to Sayid though and brought him to a restaurant to meet the loan shark - Martin Keamy. Keamy tried to get him to pay Omer's debt, but Sayid used one of the men as a human shield then shot Keamy and the other henchman. Leaving, he found a prisoner in the freezer, and after some thought, he gave him a box cutter to free himself. A camera caught him fleeing the carnage, and the tape eventually reached the LAPD ("LA X, Parts 1 & 2") ("Sundown") ("The Package") ("The Last Recruit")

Sayid returned to Omer and Nadia's house and packed to flee. Nadia asked what he had done, then a police detective knocked on the door. Sayid ran out the back door but Det. James Ford tripped him up, held him at gunpoint and arrested him. He met Desmond Hume while in custody. Later, while Sayid, Desmond, and Kate Austen were being brought from holding to prison, Desmond offers to help him escape in exchange for a future favor. Sayid agreed with facetious gravity. The escorting officer freed them, and Hugo Reyes arrived, handing her a bribe. Hurley then drove Sayid to the Flightline Motel and offered him a tranquilizer gun to remind him of their previous adventures there. Sayid refused. Hurley abducted a victim and they drove next to a bar's parking lot. Two men emerged from a bar fighting, followed by a woman who fell to the ground. Sayid ran to her aid, and as they touched, they remembered each other and their lives. Overjoyed that they had found each other, Shannon and Sayid shared a passionate kiss. They went next to the church and sat together as a bright light covered them. ("The Last Recruit") ("What They Died For") ("The End")

Character analysis

Of all the survivors, Sayid is the one who committed the most crimes, from torture to murder. He does so almost always in cold blood, or out of anger (when he avenged his wife.) He is often brought to violence and doesn’t hesitate to kill in order to protect or avenge. He also tortured many characters, and (ironically) showed genuine fear when he was tortured himself. Despite his brutal nature, he was usually impeccably polite and courteous and was a passionate man who protected his loved ones.

Still, Sayid has absolutely no pride in his acts. He tries to fight his murderous nature and seeks redemption through helping people as much he can, and therefore played a major role in the series. Sayid tried to put his past behind him numerous times but just can’t wash the blood off his hands. Nevertheless, he acted very sociably and politely to his mates, and when he couldn’t suppress his violence, tried to put it to their advantage.

After contracting the sickness, Sayid stated that he couldn’t feel anything: pain, anger, etc.; he had an even easier time killing and was emotionless. Yet, he proved that his humanity didn’t disappear: he spared Desmond and sacrificed himself for his friends.

Skills

If Jack is a man of science, and Locke is a man of faith, Sayid is a combination of the two. He believes in facts and evidence but is driven by faith in his own intuition. Sayid is portrayed as a man of many skills. The importance of his skills, primarily, comes from its role in the storyline, in which it is often employed in revealing new secrets of the Island. Many times, a secret was unfolded, as a result of an event triggered by one of these skills. Through the introduced secrets, new threads in the storyline are created that eventually help in its development.





Muslim faith

Sayid is Muslim, though how devout is uncertain. It seems, however, that his faith is a strong factor in helping him atone for what he did in his past. On the Island, he is seen occasionally practicing a number of Islamic rituals or taking faith-inspired actions. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1") He is seen praying Shahada L? ilaha illal-L?h, Muhammadun ras?lula-L?h ("There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of God") when he is tied upside down. ("Solitary") Whether Sayid's faith would play a role in the coming events, and complement that played by Locke or Mr. Eko, is still a matter of question. The issue of how devout he is has been made unclear by a few lines. In "I Do", he says to Locke "I believe in what I can see" concerning the existence of "the Monster". While he is clearly religious, he often seems skeptical of characters such as Locke and Mr. Eko, their faith in the Island, and how significant some of the more fantastical happenings are.

Contradicting his Islamic faith (and his dedication to Nadia), Sayid and Shannon have premarital sex, which is forbidden in Islam. As well, he is seen drinking MacCutcheon whisky in a bar prior to meeting Ilana, also forbidden in Islam. He once again was about to have sex with Ilana before she apprehended him. ("He's Our You") In addition, after Nadia is struck by a car when crossing the street ("The Incident, Part 1"), he is seen wearing a gold ring, which is also forbidden in Islam. According to Islam, men should not wear anything gold.

Additional casting

Anthony Keyvan played a young Sayid in "He's Our You". In the casting call he was described as "Young boy, 8, must speak Arabic. Quiet and thoughtful who loves his older brother and is protective of him, can do what his father asks calmly and coolly."[1]



Trivia

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Sayid Jarrah/Theories

How was Sayid seemingly resurrected?

See also





References



