The governor of Kufa and chief administrator...

The governor of Kufa and chief administrator, Ubaidullah bin Ziyad, ordered the way to Kufa blocked and the traffic into and out of the city closed so that no one could contact Imam Hussein (a.s.) or find the chance to join him. He sent the head of his police, al- Husayn bin Numair al-Tamimi, to carry out his orders. Al-Husayn encamped at al- Qadisiyyah and deployed his troops on the main road to Kufa.

The troops were widely positioned in an area extending from al-Qadisyyah to Khaffan, and from al-Qadisiyyah to Qatanah and the mountain of La'la'. The plan to prevent people from entering and leaving Kufa was a successful for the most part. Only a handful of brave ones managed to reach Imam Hussein (a.s.) during his journey. The messengers whom Imam Hussein (a.s.) had sent to Kufa had all been captured and martyred.

Even the deaths of Muslim and Hani were not known to him until these few men had managed to escape from Kufa and inform him. At a place called Zubalah he heard of the martydom of both Muslim bin Aqeel and Hani bin Urwah. He gathered his companions and the members of his family and disclosed to them the news of the Kufans' failing of him. "Our Shi'ah have deserted us," he told them.

"Those of you who prefer to leave us, may do so freely and without guilt." Some people had joined Imam Hussein (a.s.) in Mecca feeling sure that with the support of the Kufans he would be victorious and become the new caliph.

When they heard this news they dispersed from him right and left until there were only left with him those close companions and his family members including the women.(57) Deep inside Iraq, Imam Hussein (a.s.) came face to face with a great army led by al-Hurr bin Yazid al-Riyahi. He chose a good, fortified place and encamped there. The Ummayyad commander encamped, in a military broad line, in front of the camp of Imam Hussein (a.s.).

Imam Hussein's (a.s.) army Wag, by then, facing the hostile army, but they were protected, from the rear, by the mountain of Dhi-Hasm. Obviously the enemies could not lay siege to them or surround them. Tension was already mounting between the two camps facing each other. When it was midday, and the time for midday prayer entered, Imam Hussein (a.s.) ordered one of his companions to recite the call to prayer. He began to address the two sides.

He conveyed to them his viewpoints concerning the general situation in the Islamic homeland.