According to another report, al-Mukhtār said one night 1: “Tomorrow I shall kill a man with large feet, deep-set eyes, and arched brows; the believers and the angels who draw near (to Allah) will rejoice at his death.” Al-Haytham ibn al-Aswad was present and sensed that he was referring to ʿUmar ibn Saʿd, so he sent his son al-ʿUryān 2 to warn him. ʿUmar replied, “How can that happen after all the pledges and covenants he has given me?” For when al-Mukhtār first arrived in Kufa he behaved kindly toward its people and wrote ʿUmar ibn Saʿd a guarantee of safety—unless he should commit some offense.
Abū Mikhnaf 3 relates that Abū Jaʿfar al-Bāqir used to say: “What al-Mukhtār meant was: unless he goes into the privy (kanīf) and relieves himself there.”
Even so, ʿUmar ibn Saʿd became uneasy; he began moving from quarter to quarter until he finally returned to his own house. News of his movements reached al-Mukhtār, who declared, “No, by Allah, there is a chain around his neck that will drag him back; even if he tried to escape, he would not be able.” 4
At daybreak he dispatched Abū ʿAmra to him [Abū ʿAmra entered and said, “The governor summons you.” ʿUmar rose] 5 but tripped over his robe, whereupon Abū ʿAmra struck him with his sword and killed him. He then brought the head, hidden beneath his cloak, and placed it before al-Mukhtār. Al-Mukhtār said to ʿUmar’s son Ḥafṣ—who was sitting there—“Do you recognize this head?” He said, “We belong to Allah and to Him we return; yes, and life holds no good after him.” Al-Mukhtār replied, “You have spoken truly,” and ordered that he, too, be beheaded; his head was set beside his father’s.
Al-Mukhtār then proclaimed, “This one is for (the blood of) Ḥusayn, and this for ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn the Elder. They are not the same! By Allah, were I to kill three-quarters of Quraysh on his account it would not equal so much as a fingertip of his.”
It is said that ʿUmar was present with his father at the battle of Dūmat al-Jandal. 6
It is also said that he was the first to lance the pavilion of Ḥusayn. 7
Another report states that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib once said to him, “O ʿUmar ibn Saʿd, what will you do when you are made to stand where you must choose between Paradise and Hell?” 8
Al-Wāqidī 9 remarked: “Not one of those who witnessed the killing of Ḥusayn or took part in it remained but that he was punished in this world by death or affliction, and in the Hereafter by torment. One of the most remarkable things is that Ḥusayn (may Allah be pleased with him) left no child except ʿAlī—”