"Ibn Ziyad announced a public meeting in the main Masjid of Kufah and made a speech and immediately distributed money among the soldiers and then went to Nukhaylah. He camped there, and ordered Ibn Namr al‑Tamimi and Hajjaj Ibn Abjar and Shimr Ibn Dhil‑Jawshan and Shibth Ibn Rab’i to go and join ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d. Shibth (one of those who wrote letters inviting the Imam) announced that he was sick.
Ibn Ziyad called him and told him, “You want to play a double trick. If we succeed, you will tell us you were sick and could not help us. To Husayn’s people you will say you helped them. Come here so I can see for myself. My people tell me you are not sick.”
When Ibn Ziyad saw him, he did not see any sign of sickness and ordered him to go immediately. After that, He ordered five hundred troops under the leadership of Zijr Ibn Qays at the gate of Kufah to prevent other people from leaving and helping the Imam.
However some were able to go. One of them was Amir Ibn Abi Salamah al‑Dalani who crossed the gateway. When they tried to stop him, he fought with them and was able to reach Karbāla’ and fight to protect Imam Husayn.
By this time, Shimr left for Karbāla’ with 4,000 troops, Yazid Ibn Rikab with 2,000, Hosayn Ibn Numayr with 4,000, Shibth Ibn Rab’i with 1,000, Kalb Ibn Talha with 3,000, Hajjaj Ibn Abjar with 1,000, Madhair Ibn Rahinah with 3,000, and Nasr Ibn Harshah with 2,000 fighters. By the 6th day of the month of Muharram, there were 20,000 troops under the leadership of ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d, and Ibn Ziyad kept sending more troops until the total was 30,000 soldiers."
