A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SHRINE OF
IMAM HUSSAIN
 

Yasin T. al-Jibouri

yasinaljibouri@yahoo.com

Waves of visitors have never stopped coming to Kerbala from the time of the Umayyads, who incurred the Wrath of the Almighty when they massacred the family of His Prophet’s grandson, and that of the Abbaside caliphs, who did all they could to prevent the construction of his shrine, till the time when the faithful were finally able to build the precinct despite the hardships and difficulties imposed on them. It befits this text to familiarize the reader with Kerbala.

Two main roads lead the visitor to Kerbala. One is from the Iraqi capital Baghdad, through Mosul, and the other is from the holy city of Najaf. Upon reaching Kerbala, the holy place would draw the visitor's attention to its magnificent minarets and domes that shine due to the light of their lord. At the city's entrance, the visitor finds a row of houses decorated with wooden columns, and while proceeding further towards the holy mausoleum, he sees architecture similar, to some extent, to modern ones. Upon reaching the holy shrine, one finds himself in front of a boundary wall that surrounds wooden gates covered with glass decorations. When one enters one of those gates, he enters a precinct surrounded by small rooms called "iwans". The holy grave is located in the middle of the precinct, surrounded by square shaped structures each of which is called "rawaq". The grave itself is located in the middle of the grave site with golden windows around it very beautifully illuminated. It really is a great site to see.

"KERBALA": DERIVATION & MEANING

There are many opinions among different researchers about the origin of the word "Kerbala". Some have pointed out that "Kerbala" has a connection to the "Kerbalato" language, while others attempt to derive the meaning of the word "Kerbala" by analyzing its spelling and language. They conclude that it originates from the Arabic word "Kar Babel" which was a group of ancient Babylonian villages that included Nainawa (Nineveh), Al-Ghadiriyya, Karbella, Al-Nawawees, and Al-Heer. This last word is now known as Al-Haa’ir; it is here that Imam Hussain's grave is located. The traveler Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179 – 1229 A.D.), author of Mujma’ al-Buldan, had pointed out that the meaning of "Kerbala" could have several explanations one of which is that the place where Imam Hussain ‎(‎ع‎)‎ was killed is made of soft earth,  "al-Kerbalat". Other writers made the connection between the name and the disastrous event which painted the desert with blood, so the word "Kerbala" was said to be comprised of two Arabic words: "Karb", which means grief and sorrow, and "Balaa", which means affliction. But Kerbala was known by this name even before the arrival of Imam Hussain (ع).

KERBALA’S POPULARITY

Kerbala was at first an uninhabited place and did not witness any construction activity, although it was rich in water and fertile soil. Following the tenth of Muharram of 61 AH (October 10 according to the Julian or the 13^th according to the Gregorian calendar, 680 A.D.), after the martyrdom of Imam Hussain ‎(‎ع‎)‎, people from far away as well as tribes living nearby started visiting the holy grave. Many of those who came stayed behind and/or asked their relatives to bury them there after their demise. Despite many attempts by successive rulers, such as Haroun “al-Rashid” (763 – 809 A.D.) and “al-Mutawakkil ala Allah” Ja’far ibn al-Mu’tasim Billah (821 – 861 A.D.), to put restrictions on the development of this area, it has nonetheless spread as time passed by to become a city.

The historian Ibn Qawlawayh[1] has indicated that those who buried Imam Hussain ‎(‎ع‎)‎ made a special and rigid construction with signs marking the grave perhaps due to their knowledge of real attempts at the time at defacing it. Higher and bigger constructions above the grave started during the regime of the first Abbaside ruler, “Abul-Abbas” Abdullah ibn Muhammed al-Saffah (the latter title meaning “the blood shedder”) (721 – 754 A.D.), who was busy battling the Umayyads for power. But Haroun al-Rashid later on put heavy restrictions in order to prevent people from visiting the grave. During the time of Al-Ma’mun son of Haroun al-Rashid (786 – 833 A.D.), construction around the grave resumed until the year 236 A.H./851 A.D. when the Abbaside ruler “al-Mutawakkil ala Allah” Ja’far ibn al-Mu’tasim (821 – 861 A.D.) ordered the destruction and interring of the grave, then the filling of the pit with water... His son, al-Muntasir, who succeeded him in 861 and who is suspected of having killed him, allowed people to visit the grave site. Since then, building the precinct to the grave increased and developed step by step.

The historian and biographer “Ibn Al-Athir”, namely Izz ad-Deen ibn al-Athir “Abu al-Hassan” Ali ibn Muhammed al-Jazri (1160 – 1233 A.D.), has stated that in the year 371 A.H./982 A.D., Adud Al-Dawlah “Abu Shuja’ Fana Khosroe son of Rukn al-Dawlah al-Buwayhi عضد الدولة أبو شجاع فنا خسرو بن ركن الدولة who lived from 937 to 983 A.D. and ruled Persia from 951 till his death in 983, became the first to largely lay the foundations for a large scale construction, generously decorating the place. He also built houses and markets around the precinct, surrounding Kerbala with a high boundary wall and turning it into a strong castle. In the year 407 A.H./1016 A.D., the precinct caught fire due to the dropping of two large candles on the wooden decorations, but Hassan ibn Fadl, then state minister, rebuilt the damaged sections.

History has recorded the names of several rulers who shared the honor of expanding, decorating or keeping the precinct in good condition. Amongst them is Fatih Ali al-Qajari who, in 1250 A.H./1737 A.D., ordered the construction of two domes, one over Imam Hussain's‎ grave and the other over that of his brother, Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas ‎(‎ع‎)‎. The first dome is 27 meters high and completely covered with gold. At the bottom, it is surrounded with 12 windows each of which is about 1.25 m away from the other from the inside and 1.30 m from the outside.

The mausoleum has an area of 59 m / 75 m with ten gates, and about 65 rooms (iwans), well decorated from the inside and outside and used as classrooms for studying. As for the grave itself, in the middle of the precinct, it is called the "rawda", garden, and it has several gates. The most famous of these gates is called that of al-qibla or "bab al-dhahab", gold gate. Upon entering through it, one can see the tomb of Habib ibn Madhahir al-Asadi to the right hand side. Habib was a friend and companion of Imam Hussain ‎(‎ع‎)‎ since their childhood, and he was one of those who were honored with martyrdom in the Battle of Kerbala.

THE RESTING PLACE OF ABBAS SON OF ALI IBN ABU TALIB (ع)

Abu al-Fadl Abbas (‎ع‎) was brother of Imam Hassan ‎(‎ع‎)‎ and Imam Hussain ‎(‎ع‎)‎ and the standard-bearer of Imam Hussain ‎(‎ع‎)‎ in the Battle of Kerbala. He is well known in history for his valor, loyalty and similarity to his father, the Lion of God, Ali ibn Abu Talib (‎ع‎). The resting place of Abbas ‎(‎ع‎)‎ received similar attention as that of Imam Hussain ‎(‎ع‎)‎. In the year 1032 A.H./1623 A.D., the Safavid King Tahmasp of Ghazvin, Persia, who ruled from 1500 to 1730s, ordered the decoration of the grave's dome. He built a window on the 'darih' ضريح (shrine) around the grave and organized the precinct. Other similar activities were done by other rulers.

 Kerbala contains, besides the grave of Imam Hussain ‎(‎ع‎)‎ and his brother al-Abbas (‎ع‎), the graves of all the 72 martyrs of Kerbala, all males. They were buried in a mass grave which was then covered with soil up to the ground level. This mass grave is at the foot of Imam Hussain's grave. In particular, besides Imam Hussain's grave, there are the graves of his two sons, Ali al-Akbar and 6-month old Ali al-Asghar who was shot with an arrow on the 10^th of Muharram as his father pleaded for water for the infant. Imagine the extent of those beasts’ cruelty, and their unrepentant followers, who still live among other Muslims of the world, are no less cruel.

CHRONOLOGY OF IMAM HUSSAIN'S SHRINE AT KERBALA