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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Mukhtar a Biograghy Chapter 14 - The Tawwabun's Mission Now, when the Tawwabun could not find Ubaydallah Ziyad personally with the Umar Jaru's group, Sulayman Surad Khuzai and his group of about four and a half thousand return to Kufa, where he recruits more men to a total of about sixteen thousand.

On 1 Muharram 65 AH, the Tawwabun under Sulayman Surad Khuzai camp at Nukhaila, just out of the Kufaboundary; Sulayman sees that of the sixteen thousand recruited, only about three thousand are actually present; he goes back into Kufa with the message of "Ya ala siratil Hussein" and manages to rally another one and half thousand volunteers, making a total force of about four and a half thousand men.

Before setting off in earnest to hunt down Ubaydallah Ziyad, the Tawwabun go to Kerbala where they spend a whole day and night in lamentations and Ziyarat; as the Tawwabun leave Kerbala for Damascus, Ubaydallah Ziyad leaves Damascus for Kufa.

The Tawwabun reach Qarqisiya at night, where Zufar Haris (who ran away from the purge of Ubaydallah Ziyad in Damascus) is now the ruler of Qarqisiya; Sulayman sends his deputy Mosayab Najaba to tell Zufar that they have not come to invade Qarqisiya, but are on their way to find Ubaydallah Ziyad; Zufar is happy that Ubaydallah Ziyad is being hunted down and orders the shopkeepers to open at night and stock up the Tawwabun free of charge.

Ubaydallah Ziyad's group is 300,000 strong total, including an advance party of 100,000; the Tawwabun are 4,500 men. The two groups meet at Ayn al-Warda where the battle occurs. The first round of battle lasts for two days between the Tawwabun and the advance party of Ubaydallah Ziyad. The second round of battle between the Tawwabun and the whole of Ubaydallah Ziyad’s army lasts for seven days.

In Sulayman's group of the remaining 75 men, are the five commanders who are to take up the position of Chief Commander in the case of the previous commander's death: Sulayman Surad Khuzai, Mosayab Najaba, Abdulla Saad, Abdulla Walin, Rufa' Shadad.