Essam Tazir received a Philosophy Degree after he attended Cairo University; it was there that he met his roommate Sayid Jarrah. Essam would later meet and marry a woman named Zahraa, she was later killed when a stray bomb detonated when she was shopping for a dress. When the authorities arrive to claim the truck, Sayid is informed that Essam would be cremated when his body was released. Sayid decides to have his flight changed to the next day to give his friend a proper Muslim burial.