Imam Husayn Shrine

The Imam al Husayn Shrine (Arabic: مَقَام الإِمَامُ الْحُسَيْن اِبْن عَلي, romanized: Maqām al-ʾImām al-Ḥusayn ʾibn ʿAlī) is the mausoleum of Husayn ibn Ali and Shi'ite mosque, located in the holy city of Karbala, in the Karbala Governorate of Iraq. Husayn was a grandson of Muhammad.

The tomb of Husayn is one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, outside of Mecca and Medina. Many people make pilgrimages to the site. Every year, millions of visitors come to the city to observe Ashura. This is a special day for all Muslims to remember Husayn.

Description

The Imam Husayn Shrine has beautiful wooden gates with glass decorations and a big courtyard with rooms called "iwans". The grave of Husayn is under a golden dome, protected by a special metal mesh called a zarih. In March 2013, they finished updating this metal mesh around his grave. Nearby is the Al Abbas Mosque. There were talks about changing the dome, but many people wanted to keep its old look.

The zarih of the shrine.

The dome is covered in gold and is 27 metres tall. The shrine has a large area with ten gates and many rooms used for learning. Inside, you can find the grave of Husayn and the graves of his friends and family from the Battle of Karbala.

History

Husayn bought a piece of land after arriving in Karbala' from the Bani Asad tribe. He and his family, known as the Ahl al-Bayt, are buried there, in an area called al-Ḥā'ir, where the shrines now stand. Over time, many Muslim rulers helped build and expand the shrines, but sometimes armies destroyed them.

Even though some rulers tried to stop people from visiting the site, it grew into a busy city. Construction began again under the Abbasid caliphs. There were times when rules made it hard for people to visit, but later rulers allowed and encouraged visits. One ruler even built houses and markets around the shrine and protected the area with walls.

In 1016/1017 CE, a fire damaged parts of the shrine, but it was repaired soon after.

Timeline

The following events are in chronological order, stating instances that widely involved the shrine, impressing its construction, renovation and series of extremist activities that reduced its structure and killed pilgrims from time to time.

Year		Event
AH	CE	Event
61	680	10 October: Husayn is said to have been buried on this day. It was Bani Asad who, after the departure of Ahl al-Bait, assembled at the grave of Husayn. Historical accounts provide little light on the first builder of the shrine. It is assumed that Bani Asad was also the first, who erected a tent upon the grave of Husayn. A Shaikh of Bani Asad lit a candle at the grave and planted a berry tree a few feet away from the side of the head of the grave, to indicate the grave of Husayn.
65	684	A shrine was built by Mukhtar ibn Abu 'Ubayd ath-Thaqafi on the spot and a dome was created over the grave. Over the dome he fixed a green flag. Two entrance gates were made for the shrine. He also settled several families around the enclosure.
132	749	Another dome was erected over the shrine and additional two gates for entrance were made at the mausoleum during the reign of Abbasid Caliph As-Saffah.
140	763	During the reign of Caliph al-Mansur, the roof along with the domes were destroyed.
158	774	The demolished roof was rebuilt during the reign of Caliph al-Mahdi.
171	787	During the reign of Caliph Harun ar-Rashid, the mausoleum was destroyed and the Berry tree that stood besides the grave of Husayn was cut down. Even then people kept visiting the grave of Husayn, guided by the traces of the 'Tree of the Berry', which covered the grave. Harun al-Rashid could not tolerate this, and ordered the tree to be cut off from the roots, with the intention to wipe out the sign of the grave of Husayn and stop the practice of visiting the grave.
193	808	The mausoleum was reconstructed during the reign of Caliph al-Mamun for political advantage against Al-Amin.
236	850	Caliph al-Mutawakkil destroyed the mausoleum and ordered the nearby land, including the grave, to be ploughed. The shrine was destroyed four times from 232 AH until 246 AH.
247	861	Caliph al-Muntasir reconstructed the shrine with an iron pillar build a roof over the grave. Under instruction of Al Muntasir, new houses were built around the shrines.
273	886	Once again the mausoleum was destroyed on the order of Abbasid political and military leader Talha al-Muwaffaq ibn Jafar al-Mutawakkil or by al-Muktafi bi-lah.
280	893	The shrine was rebuilt by the Alid council and two minarets were constructed on either side of the grave. Two entrance gates for the shrine were also constructed.
307	977	A sepulcher was constructed within the shrine using teak wood, by the Buwayhid emir 'Adhud ad-Dawlah. Surrounding galleries were also constructed. He also constructed the city of Karbala by making houses and the city boundary. 'Imrān ibn Shahin at that time also constructed a mosque adjacent to the shrine.
407	1016	Fire destroyed the shrine. The vizier Hasan ibn Fadl rebuilt the structure.
620	1223	The sepulcher was renovated by an-Nasir li-Din Allah.
757	1365	The dome and walls of the shrine were reconstructed by Sultan 'Uways ibn Hasan Jalayiri. He also raised the walls of the enclosure.
780	1384	The two minarets were reconstructed of gold by Sultan Ahmad ibn 'Uways. The courtyard was also extended.
920	1514	The Safavid shah of Iran Ismail I, constructed a sarcophagus of inlaid glass work over the real grave.
1032	1622	Abbas Shah Safavi renovated the sarcophagus with brass and bronze and also the dome with Kashi tiles.
1048	1638	Sultan Murad IV whitewashed the dome.
1155	1742	Nadir Shah Afshar decorated the shrine and offered expensive gems to the treasury of the shrine.
1211	1796	Aghā Muhammad Shāh Qājār covered the dome with gold. He also decorated the Min'ar and gold plated it.
1216	1801	Wahhabis under Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Saud attacked Karbala, damaged the shrine and looted the sepulchre.
1232	1817	Fat'h 'Alī Shāh Qājār reconstructed the screens by plating with silver. He also replated the dome with gold and therefore repaired the damage caused by the Wahhabis.
1283	1866	Nāsir ad-Dīn Shāh Qājār broadened the courtyard of the mausoleum.
1358	1939	Syedna Taher Saifuddin, of the Dawoodi Bohra community presented a set of solid silver screens with gold which were attached to the shrine. This set is made of 500 gold coins (each coin consisted 12 grams weight) and 200 thousand coins of silver, beautified with precious gems.
1360	1941	The western minaret was rebuilt by Syedna Taher Saifuddin. He spent a considerable amount gold plating all the Min'ar.
1367	1948	A road was built around the shrine by the then administrator of Karbala City, Sayyid Abd al-Rasul al-Khalsi. He also broadened the courtyard of the shrine.
1411	1991	Major damage to the shrine occurs as the city experiences violent reprisals by the army of Saddam Hussein after an uprising against his regime following the Persian Gulf War.
1415	1994	Repairs to the shrine from the damage done in 1991 are completed.
1425	2004	2 March: At least six explosions occurred during the 'Āshūrā' commemorations, killing 178 people and wounding 500.
1425	2004	15 December: A bomb detonated near the gate of the shrine, killing at least 7 people and injuring 31 others.
1426	2006	5 January: Suicide bombers among the crowd between the two shrines, killed at least 60 people and injured more than 100.
1428	2007	14 April: A suicide attack 200 m (660 ft) from the shrine killed at least 36 people and injured more than 160 others.
1428	2007	December: Construction work began on building a roof over the courtyard of the shrine, with hopes of creating a second floor and expanding the shrine.
1429	2008	17 March: A female suicide bomber detonated herself in the market near the shrine, killed at least 42 people and injured 58 others.
1429	2008	11 September: A bomb was detonated 800 m from the shrine, killing one woman and injuring 12 others.
1430	2009	12 February: A bomb blast killed 8 people and wounded more than 50 others during the commemoration of Arba'een.
1431	2010	Attacks aimed at pilgrims attending the commemoration of Arba'een: 1 February: A female suicide bomber detonated herself, killing 54 people and injuring more than 100 others. 3 February: A bomb blast killed at least 23 people and injured more than 147. 5 February: A double bomb-blast, or a combination of a bomb-blast and mortar attack killed at least 42 people and left 150 injured.
1433	2012	Construction of a roof covering the courtyard around the shrine was completed, as pilgrims are increasing every year measures to enhance their experience are being taken.
1441	2019	10 September: 31 people were killed and approximately 100 more were injured in Karbala stampede during Ashura.