They brought news that the Shi'a of Mada'in and Basra were coming.

They brought news that the Shi'a of Mada'in and Basra were coming. However, when they saw the state of the battle they knew that there was little that could be done. The three men took part in the battle; one of them was killed, the second wounded and Si'r b. Abi Si'r, although wounded, made good his escape. After 'Abd al‑Rahman b. Sa'd b. Nufayl was killed, leadership went to 'Abd al‑Rahman b. Wal(in) who in turn was killed.

There was now only one of the five original Shi'a leaders left alive, Rifa'a b. Shaddad. He decided that they had done enough fighting and that they should resist until dark and then make good their escape. Although this idea was resisted by many as an act of unbelief, it was followed by the majority of the few who remained53 . The defeated, shattered Shi'a forces made their way back. On their way they were met by the Shi'a of Mada'in and Basra who had been coming to join them.

They stopped at Qarqisiyya for three days where they tended the wounded and then they returned to Kufa54 . The Tawwabin represent yet another link in the chain of Shiite martyrs. The chain begins in the political turmoil of Kufa with the murder of 'Ali b. Abi Talib. It is fol lowed by the death of Hujr b. 'Adi. On the plains of Karbala', it reaches its high point with the martyrdom of the isolated and deserted al‑Husayn.

Those of the Tawwabin who followed the example of al‑Husayn by giving up their lives, did so to atone for their earlier desertion of him. Previous…