عمر بن سعد

Army of Yazid

‘Umar ibn Sa‘d

Commander at Karbala

He weighed a worldly post against his conscience — and chose the post.

‘Umar ibn Sa‘d was given command of the army gathered on the plain of Karbala. He opened negotiations with the Imam and seemed willing to find a peaceful settlement.

But when Ibn Ziyad threatened to strip him of his command — and of the governorship he had been promised — he chose to fight. He ordered the siege tightened, and it was he who loosed the first arrow to begin the battle.