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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Hidden Truth about Karbala Chapter 19: Yazid’s forces gather at Karbala Ibn Ziyad had given strict orders to surround and compel Imam Husayn (a.s.) to proceed to Kufa where a large army was assembled. However, Imam Husayn never allowed them to succeed in their plan. He proceeded to take a different route and arrived at Karbala.

On the second of Muharram, the year 61 AH when Imam Husayn pitched his camp at Karbala, al-Hurr also pitched his camp a little distance from Imam Husayn’s camp. Al-Hurr wrote to Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad stating that Imam Husayn (a.s.) had finally pitched his camp and settled at Karbala and appeared to have no plan to proceed to Kufa. Had Imam Husayn (a.s.) proceeded to Kufa, it would have been construed as his seeking to fight the forces of Ibn Ziyad who had already gathered there.

By pitching his camp at Karbala, Imam Husayn (a.s.), forever, removed even the remotest chance of an allegation that he was the aggressor since he sought the stationary army of ibn Ziyad. By making ibn Ziyad to change his plans and send his army to Karbala, Imam Husayn (a.s.) showed who was the aggressor and who was after whom.

Secondly, by avoiding going to Kufa, Imam Husayn (a.s.) forestalled the possible allegation that since he knew that a huge army had gathered and was for him at Kufa, it was suicidal to proceed to Kufa. Lastly sitting at a neutral place, Imam Husayn (a.s.) kept the door for negotiations open, as could be seen in the following pages. If at all it can be called a ‘battle’, the battle of Karbala was extremely unequal and one sided.

On the one side, when Imam Husayn (a.s.) pitched his camp in Karbala on the second of Muharram the year 61 AH, there were only few hundreds of persons, including ladies, children, teenagers, old men and only a few able (to fight) persons.

According to some historians, there were five hundred cavalry and about a hundred infantry in the camp of the Imam Husayn.[^1] Some companions of the Imam (a.s.) suggested that it was possible to defeat al-Hurr’s army of the thousand men before any additional forces arrived. The Imam (a.s.) refused, saying that the Ahlul Bayt never commenced any hostility.

Instead, Imam Husayn (a.s.) wrote and sent letters to Sulayman bin Surad, al-Musayyab bin Najaba, Refa’ah bin Shaddad, Abdullah ibn Wal and other known adherents of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.).