Mustafa Yalcin, recalled him like this:

"...They suddenly took us from Canakkale, and sent us to the Eastern Front. We were in the Eighth Division in Kars, and at our head was Molla Said. Bands of Russians and Armenians were attacking us ceaselessly.

"At that time, Molla Said used to teach us concerning religious matters. Every night he used to teach us. At Hasankale [Pasinler] we fought against the Russians mercilessly with Molla Said. Before, the Hoca used to wear a turban, but while fighting he would wear what we called a `felt hat'.

"At that point I was wounded at Hasankale and drew back. I received this shrapnel wound on my hip, look, it is still open.... I would have died long before but Molla Said wrote out a prayer for each of four of us. We hung them round our necks, and no bullets hit us. At that time there were a hundred infidels firing on one Muslim. In the end I was wounded and they took me back. Molla Said continued to fight. They treated me in Konya, then sent me to the Western, Austrian, Carpathian, and Galician Fronts.

"Molla Said was an heroic person. At the front, he used to lead the attacks on horseback. He was a good shot. He did not go into the trenches. Once, Molla Said was told that some units were about to break up. He immediately removed the cause of their differences, and made sure that they did not disperse. He explained things wonderfully well, it was as though he could cast a spell on people.

"Then during that hell-like war he was writing a book. His students used to write down what he dictated. He was an excellent horseman. They used to heave out great rocks and roll them down on the Russians. He used to say to us: `Do not be frightened of anything, a Muslim's belief is stronger than any power.' Every night he used to read to us from the books he had written. I could not understand much because I am not educated, but whenever I saw Molla Said, my courage soared. He was formidable person, but he acted most kindly towards us."