71 – ʿUmar ibn Shabbah told me: A transmitter related to me, from Umayya ibn Khālid, from Waddāḥ ibn Khaythama, who said:

“ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ⦗71⦘—may Allah have mercy on him—ordered me to release everyone who was in prison, so I set them all free except Yazīd ibn Abī Muslim. He thereupon vowed to spill my blood.

By Allah, I was in Ifrīqiyyah when word reached me that Yazīd ibn Abī Muslim had arrived, so I fled from him. He sent men after me, I was seized, and I was brought before him.

He said to me, ‘Waddāḥ?’ I replied, ‘Waddāḥ.’ He said, ‘By Allah, I have long asked Allah to give me power over you.’ I answered, ‘And by Allah, I have long sought refuge with Allah from your evil.’

He retorted, ‘By Allah, Allah has not protected you! By Allah I will kill you, by Allah I will kill you, by Allah I will kill you! If the Angel of Death were to race me to seize your soul, I would beat him to it. Bring me the sword and the leather mat (nīṭʿ).’

The mat was brought; I was made to sit upon it and was bound, and a man stood over my head with a drawn sword. Then the prayer was called, so he went out to pray. While he was in prostration, the soldiers’ swords struck him down. A man came to me, severed my bonds with his sword, and said, ‘Go!’”