Army of 'Umar ibn Sa'd Arriving in Karbala - Today in Muharram Day 3

Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim. On this day, the third of Muharam in the year 61 after Hijra, the army of 'Umar Ibn Sa'ad arrived in Karbala. 'Umar Ibn Sa'ad Ibn Abi Waqqas az-Zuhri, was the main commander of the army of 'Ubayd Allah Ibn Ziyad who was Yazid's governor in Kufa. He was well known for his hatred to Ahl ul-Bayt, and even his father before him, who was governor of Kufa for a while, was removed after the Kufans had reached a boiling point in their complaints against him. 'Umar Ibn Sa'ad led an army of 4000 soldiers. Having been promised if he shows his loyalty to Yazid he will become the governor of Ray.

He was the first brigade to arrive in Karbala and of course, he wasn't the last. 'Umar Ibn Sa'ad was the first to shoot an arrow towards the camp of Imam Husayn alayhi as-salam, just wanting to gain more of Yazid's approval, which is exactly why he had said: ishaduli 'inda al-amir inni awwalu min ar-rama [all must be my witness that I was the first to shot an arrow]. His heartless evilness did not stop at that, as he was the one who gave the command to the horsemen to trample over the blessed bodies of the Shuhada after the battle.

He is among those who we curse by name when we recite the Ziyara of Imam Husayn: "Allahumma la'an Yazida khamisa, wa la'an Ubayd Allah Ibn Ziyad wa Ibn Marjana, wa 'Umar Ibn Sa'ad, wa Shimran, wa 'aala Abi Sufiyan, wa aala Ziyadi wa aala Marwan, ila Yawm al-Qiyamah.

Al-hamdu lil-Lah, not only did 'Umar Ibn Sa'ad not get what he was promised, he was also among the first killed by the brave Mukhtar.

Wa al-hamdulil-Lahi Rabbi al-'Alamin.