The Shrine of Imam Ali (PBUH)
Translated by Hussein Nassir Jabr al-Ibadi
(See the website of the Holy Shrine for further information)
(1) Description of the sacred Shrine of Imam Ali (peace be upon him)
Many remarkable historical sources as well as Arab and foreign travellers talk about the characteristics of the architecture of the holy shrine of Imam Ali ( peace be upon him), particularly during the reign of King Saffi, grandson of king Abbas I, who cared very much for the construction and repair of the purified shrine.
At the time of this king, the shrine was characterized, in comparison with other architectures, by its grandeur, accuracy of planning and architectural skill, a skill which is still surprising to the engineers of the present time. They would feel puzzled, unable to know the secret behind such a wonderful construction, built by the architects and skillful builders at that time, that the noon time can only be known through the constructive architecture of the holy shrine, showing no variance along the days of the year.
What is still surprising to them is the most tactful determination of the sunlight shining over the purified shrine. It is adjusted with an infinite accuracy and amazing skill. Similarly, the three surrounding walls are made with the same accuracy and tact to denote phenomena whose reasons are not known yet. There are still further secrets to be detailed out later in another place.
Now, the first wall is 17 m. high and 77 m. long pointing towards the north while it is 72 m. long towards the west. It is built of two layers that are equal in the number of the vaults (i.e. arched roofs) and rooms, which are one hundred in number.
This wall is erected round an approximately square land called the Sahn (the courtyard) and coated with white marble in order to create precious beauty. What makes it more precious are the ornaments made by skilled labour and artificers in such a way that they would attract the attention of every comer into the place, and fill him/ her with wonder and admiration?
The outside of the wall is decorated with splendidly coloured stones … and at the verges are engraved some selected verses from the Koran written in magnificent handwriting.
The upper floor of the wall is dedicated to the residence of scholars of Islamism with their instructors. Some rooms are still known by the names of those who used to live in once. One of the rooms, where the holy Ardabeely (God may bless his soul) used to live in, is still locked, and no one ever dared to live in it after him.
The porch (or Ruwaq, in Arabic) is surrounded from all sides by what is known as the Ruhba (i.e. a flat area open to all sides except to the west, where it is covered with a high roof that is open to air in the middle with a round gap. At the eastern end of the Ruhba lies the Bahu (i.e. a hall for public meetings and dining, etc.).
In the gilded vault, the ceiling and walls are coated with pure Ibrezian gold. At the corner of the vault, there are two minarets, the circumference of each is 8 m. with a diameter of 2 1/2 m.; the base of each minaret contains 4000 golden bricks (see Past of Najaf. P: 52). These two minarets are 35 m. high; at the top of each there are beautiful inscriptions of some verses from the Friday Sura in the Koran.
On both sides of the gate there, there is inscribed a Persian poem in praise of Amir al-Mu'minin written by Sayyid 'Arafi (died in 999 A.H.). This can be clearly known from the stamp of the one who inscribed the poem, Mohammad jaafar el- Asfahani, where he recorded the date mentioned above. However, this has been removed by order of the former regime of Saddam Hussein.
On the same gate, there are four lines of poetry written in Arabic, to the right of the gilded ornament of the gate. As soon as you enter into the gate there will appear two lines of poetry on the left and another two on the right.
When you look closely at the top of the vault, you will notice the date by which the Threshold (in reference to the holy shrine as a whole) and the two minarets were gilded, by order of Sultan Nadir Shah.
The outer faces and ceiling of the porch are glazed with the finest shapes of glass reflecting the skill and art of the artificer who made them.
This porch contains 3 doors; one opens to the north opposite to the Thoosi's Gate. In line with it there is another door that opens to the south opposite to the Ka'aba (in Mecca), and a third door in the gilded vault (see ibid: 52-3).
The third wall is of the same height as the other two walls. It surrounds a square area of 13 m. long, in the middle of which there lies the honourable tomb. Hence it is called the 'Holy Field'. The outside of the wall is decorated with all skill and splendour with the finest mosaic, and glazed colourfully with wonderful ornaments.
The floor is paved with smooth marble in addition to its sides, which are coated with the finest marble at an arm's length from the ground.
The wall contains 5 doors; two open towards the west pointing to the head of the tomb, but not open to the porch. According to Jaafar Mahbouba (Najaf in the Past and Today, P: 53), those two doors had been removed and replaced by an old silver grate which used to be above the sacred tomb. However, he does not mention why they were removed. Beyond these doors, there is a window made of copper. Towards the east, there are two other silver doors at the feet of the tomb. The fifth one which is made of copper lying behind the tomb. It is these doors that used to be leading to and out of the holy field. Nevertheless, this door, the fifth one, was removed in 1366 A.H. and replaced by the other two that had been at the head of the tomb.
In the middle of the purified field stands the sublime tomb under a box made of precious wood, ornamented with ivory and inscriptions from the holy Koran, and surrounded by two grates, one made of iron and the other made of silver.
Sublime over the wall stands the blessed dome, plated with gold. It is 35 m. high with a circumference of 50 m., its diameter is about 16 m. The distance from the top of the dome to the roofs of the Sahn (the Courtyard) is 42 m. The number of the bricks used in the masonry of the dome is 13000 ones, as was indicated to by Shaikh Murtadha el- Gailani el-Najafi in 1363 9see ibid:55).
NB.
Some features of the Shrine (or the Threshold, as it is called sometimes in reference to the holy shrine as whole) have been removed during the reign of the former regime. These are the lines of poetry inscribed at the top of the gate, previously mentioned, and also the golden belt surrounding the dome, etc.
(2) Mosques of the Shrine
(I) Omran Bin Shahin's Mosque
The mosque is no more than the remains of the porch (the Arabic word, Ruwaq) built by Omran bin Shahin. It is situated to the north of the masonry of the holy shrine of Imam Ali (peace be upon him). Its door lies within the entrance known as the Shaikh Thoosi's Gate.
In addition to the holiness of the place as a mosque, it is considered to be the oldest among the mosques of Najaf being included within the masonry of the holy shrine. It is also regarded as a historical site.
Now, who is Omran bin Shahin? When did he build the porch known by his name? What changes that took place here to make it capable of being called a mosque?
Historians never mentioned bin Shahin's pedigree. They only said that he came from the area of el-Butaiha and that he rebelled against the king. In his living, he depended on fishing and hunting. Thus, hunters, fishermen and many others swarmed round him and supported him.
In his book, Farhat el- Ghari, Abdul Karim bin Tawous quotes bin Tahhal, the keeper of the holy Hayderian shrine (i.e. the shrine of Imam Ali; it is called Hayderian following another name of Imam Ali, which is Hayder) who states,
It is also retold that Omran bin Shahin was an Iraqi prince who rebelled against the Caliph, 'Adhud el-Dawla, who chased him incessantly. Bin Shahin disguised and fled to the Mashhad (the place where the holy shrine is situated). While asleep, he saw Amir al- mu'minin (peace be upon him) who told him that tomorrow, Fannakhisrou ( a Precian king) comes to this place. They will dismiss whoever inside the place. You stand here – pointing to the direction of the dome. They won't see you. Then, he (Fannakhisrou) will go in to do the ritual visit and prayer, asking God upon Prophet Mohammad and progeny to enable him to get over you and arrest you. Here, you approach him and say: My lord, who is that you are asking God insistently for his arrest? He will answer you that he is a man who rebelled against me and rivaled me in my crown and sovereignty. Ask him then, what is it for the one who leads you to him? He will say: if he appeals for forgiveness of him (i.e. bin Shahin), I'll do that. Thence, introduce yourself to him and so all things will be as you please.
In the following day, things ran accordingly. When he told the Caliph that he was Omran bin Shahin, the latter asked him: who put you up here? He answered: it is my master [Amir al-mu'minin ] who told me in my sleep that Fannakhisrou will be present here tomorrow and …etc. Then the Caliph asked surprisingly: Did he really say Fannakhisrou? Omran replied: yes, I swear.
The Caliph, then, said: Nobody knew that my name was Fannakhisrou except my mother, midwife and myself. Thus, he favoured him with ministry and let him leave peacefully for Kufa.
However, Omran bin Shahin had already vowed that if he received forgiveness from Adhud el-Dawla, he would make a ritual visit to the shrine of Amir al-Mu'minin with bare foot and uncovered head. When the night had fallen over, he got out of the city of Kufa alone.
In the shrine of Amir al-mu'minin, my grandfather, Ali Bin Tahhal, the keeper of the shrine, saw Amir al-mu'minin in his sleep saying to him: "wake up and open the door for my supporter (follower), Omran Bin Shahin". So, he woke up and opened the door.
As he saw the old man approaching, he said, with the name of Allah. My Lord! Thus, the old man asked immediately, Do you know me?
-He answered, yes, Omran Bin Shahin. The old man said, No, I'm not.
-He, then, said, Yes, you are; Amir el-Mu'minin told me in my sleep to open the door for his proponent, Omran Bin Shahin. The old man asked surprisingly: Did he say that? Then, he fell down to the threshold with kisses.
After that, the old man referred my grandfather to the fish seller with sixty Dinars. Therewithal, Bin Shahin's fishing boats were working away on the river.
What I say is that Omran Bin Shahin had built the porches that carried his name in both shrines of Najaf and Karbala. In (Najaf in the Past and Today), it is stated that he vowed that he would build the porch if he was forgiven by Adhud el-Dawla. However, there is no evidence for this statement.
In this respect, historians mentioned that he died in 369 ASH. And that Adhud el-Dawla ruled Iraq in 367AH. Thus, it appears that he built the porch during this period. Therefore, the date inscribed on the rock that is fixed on top of the door of the mosque does not refer to the time of its masonry or to the repairs made to it. Hence, Muhsen El-Amin states,
there is a rock on top of the porch of Omran Bin Shahin on which there appears the date, Saffar, 776 AH. Apparently, it refers to a cemetery there; there are three tombs in it. One is that of the prince Najeeb Eddin Ahmed, the other is that of Mahmoud Bin Ahmed el-Mahabadi, and the third one is that of the late madam Sa'eeda. It seems that the inscriptions were commomerative of those dead persons.
Moreover, Shaikh Jaafar Mahbouba, the Najafi historian, says, "the porch of Omran was secluded, about several feet away from the present porch. But, then, when king Abbas Shah visited Najaf and ordered repairs for the shrine and the dome, part of the porch was curtailed and annexed to the Sahn."
There is no doubt that the present architecture of the porch had witnessed, for centuries, a number of repairs. Nevertheless, "it is far from truth that the present architecture and the Koranic inscriptions of the porch were made completely by Omran. But we should definitely say that nothing of Omran's original architecture has remained ( see Ibid)". However, there is no evidence for the destruction of Omran's architecture since no reference is made to that. The Koranic inscriptions might have been added later, and now the have vanished. What remains is the framework of the porch only, signalizing its antiquity.
In 1369 AH., part of the porch was curtailed in order to enlarge the entrance at el- Toosi's Gate.
Omran Bin Shahin's mosque has two doors, one opens to the Vault of the Ulama in the big vault which has become later just a room in which Ayatollah Yazdi, the great religious scholar, was buried whereby a metal grate is erected there separating it from the mosque. The second door lies to the right of the Toosi's entrance. Thus, the remaining part of the porch was made a mosque known up to this time as Omran's mosque. We still remember Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhsen el-Hakim doing the congregational prayer in winter evenings, and giving his lectures there, particularly, when the mosque known as the Rass was under repair.
(II) The Mosque of the Rass
It lies to the west of the architecture of the holy shrine, very close to its west side. It is an old mosque, which, according to Jaafar Mahbouba, "was built along with the holy shrine as it is obvious from its precious- coated walls. Simultaneously, el-Buraqi states that it can be traced back to the time of King Abbas Shah, as it is commonly known among the Najafis.
Similarly, in his biographical study, sheikh Mohammad Hirz Eddin quotes Mirza Hadi el-Khurasani, whom he describes as being keenly interested in history. Here, he mentions that "this mosque was known as Mosque of the Rass built by Ghazan Bin Holakou Khan. It took him a whole year to build it when he camped in Thawiya, an area between Najaf and Hannana Mosque. In 703 AH. (i.e. 1304 AD.), Ghazan died in Ray (see footnotes of Ma'arif el-Rijaal).
Now, why is it called the Mosque of the Rass (i.e. the Head)? Here, we have two possible answers. First, it lies in the direction of the head of the holy tomb of the Imam Ali (PBUH); second, it is so named according to sayings retold from Imam Jaafar Assadiq (PBUH), (a descendant of Imam Hussein, son of Imam Ali (PBUH), which reports that the head of the Imam Hussein was buried there. In this course, Sayyid Abdul Karim Bin Tawous, taking from El-Kulayni, from Bin Kalaweigh, from Zaid Bin Talha, states that:
One day, Abu Abdulla says to me as he was in the city of Hira, "Do you want what I promised you?" (He meant going to the shrine of Amir al-Mu'minin). I said, "Yes". So, he mounted and also did Ismail and I and marched until we passed by Thawiya, between Hira and Najaf at the White Thaqawats (i.e rocks, or mounds) where the Imam got down and prayed and so did we. Then, he said to Ismail: Stand up and greet your grandfather el-Hussein. Here, I asked, Is el-Hussein not in Karbala? He answered, Yes, but when his head was carried over to Damascus, it was stolen by one of our proponents who buried it beside the tomb of amir al- Mu'minin.
Similarly, Shaikh Mohammad Hirz Eddin, quotes Mirza Hadi el-Khurasani, who takes from Sayyid Dawoud el- Rufay'ee, from his ancestors,
There exists in the western mosque that is attached to the Sabaat, which is an arched corridor there, a small square vault in the wall, opposite to the Kaa'ba, between the mosque and the Sabaat, in which, there is a tome, under a precious steel grate with a door and a lock. It is claimed that this is the grave of the head of el- Hussein Bin Amir al-Mu'minin.
Hirz Eddin also states that large numbers of the Indian Ismailists were on their way to do their ceremonial visit to the holy tomb. They consider such a visit to be obligatory for the believers. As a result, the Awqaf Administration in Najaf opened a new door for the mosque through the Baqtashyya Taqya and closed the old one near the Sabaat. However, this door itself was also closed for many years until the occupation of Iraq by the British forces and then the formation of the Arab government later on.
At this stage, the second disclosure of the tombs took place and new repairs started in 1351 AH. On the 23rd of Thul Hijja (i.e. the twelfth month in the Islamic year), I entered into the mosque through its first door, an looked at the diagram of the tomb, but I found just a rock, about one and a half of arm's length long and one and a half wide, on the wall opposite to the Kaaba.
This rock, which carries inscriptions written in the Kufi style, is located at the place mentioned by Hirz Eddin, whereby another rock is fixed onto the altar of the mosque.
These two rocks have a historical value for archeologists. In 1965, an archeological expedition came into the place with modern cameras and asked about the two rocks. I led the team to the rocks, wondering how they could know about them. They said that the Archeological Administration took a photograph of these two rocks in 1937.
The rock stuff is from what is known as Chinese iron, which is generally black. But these rocks are coloured, and hence they are so precious. When the mosque was reconstructed, they were kept in the storehouse to protect them from being cracked.
According to Jaafar Mahbouba (Ibid), "this mosque was rebuilt during the time of the knowing Sayyid Bahru el-'Uloom, one of the great religious scholars in Najaf, who used to say to some of his close companions that this is the position of the head of Imam Hussein (PBUH) and that the mosque had been built for this reason."
It appears, then, that the construction of the mosque is ascribed to Ghazan (died in 703 AH) or to the Saffawi Shah Abbas I (died in 1038 AH). Yet, if the first claim were right, then it wouldn't be improbable that the Shah Abbas I had ordered repairs to the architecture of the mosque, in the same way it was done to the holy field of the sacred shrine early in the eleventh century.
However, the antiquity of the building rendered it in need of repairs from time to time. Here, Shaikh Jaafar Mahbooba quotes, the book, The History of the Persian Nadiri, from which it was translated that Radhyya Sultan Beekem, daughter of Shah Hussein, and wife of Nadir Shah, spent twenty thousand Nadiri for the repair of the mosque which lies in the direction of the honourable head of the tomb.
Moreover, he states that this event took place during the year in which the dome was gilded. He also mentions that,
during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid, the walls of the mosque of the Rass were coated with various paints and a preaching chair (manber) made of marble was installed therein for Sunni preachers. Later on, after the Ottoman rule had weakened, it was deserted. After that, some repairs were made to it by the government.
As a result of the long way of repairs and reformation made to the building of the mosque, which might be taken at least as four centuries or, say, eight, only one-third of its original building has remained, namely its northern part. The remainder of it, according to the book, Najaf in the Past and Today, has been curtailed so that five meters were cut off and added to the main street surrounding the holy Sahn (i.e. the courtyard) and some of its pillars have fallen down. However, it was rebuilt later on in the same way it used to be previously.
I have known that Grand Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Hussein el-Na'eeni used to do his congregational prayer there, and then the Grand Ayatollah Jamal Eddin el-Hashimi el-Gulbaygani, who was succeeded by his son, sayyid Hashim el-Hashimi who was arrested later on by the authorities during the former regime, and then deported to Iran some years ago once again.
It was also known that the Grand Ayatollah Mushin el-Tabataba'ee el-Hakim used to give lectures to scholars of research there. Finally, the Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadiq Assadr was the last to give his lectures there in morning and evening classes.
In 1929 AH., the mosque was pulled down and now it is under construction within a huge plan to enlarge the holy porch (i.e. Ruwaq).
(III) The Khadhraa' Mosque
It is one of the ancient mosques in Najaf. Nobody knows when it was built and who had established it. It lies at the northern part of the eastern side of the Sahn of the holy shrine.
The mosque has two doors; one opens to the street surrounding the holy shrine, and the other opens to the third vault inside the Sahn to the right of the Gate known as the Gate of Muslim Bin Aqeel (it is also called el- 'Abaychiyya Gate among the public).
In this regard, Mohammad Hirz Eddin says that the Khadhraa' was made by an Indian dervish in the area adjacent to the mosque during the time of Mullali (i.e. Mullas) in Najaf, and it went with this name since then (see Ma'arif el-Rijaal, footnote 1/165). Thus, it appears that this mosque was in existence during the 10thg century (after Hijra) since it is known that Mulla Abdulla, writer of Footnote of Logic, and father of the Mullali Family, was appointed keeper of the Holy A'allayyad Threshold by Shah Abbas Saffawi I, who ascended the throne in 996 AH. Until his death in 1037 AH. (Ibid).
In this course, Shaikh Jaafar Mahbouba (Najaf in the Past and Today, P:103) states,
there is not any historical trace or reference in it [ Khadhraa' Mosque] …. We do not know why it is given this name. It might have been the Hadhra in accordance with the same term signalizing the sacred court of the shrine, but suffered some change later on to be called Khadhra, or it might have contained some greenery in it so that it came to be called by this name. However, el-Buraqi ascribes the mosque to Ali bin Mudhaffar, the man of the interesting night dream (Ibid).
What Shaih Mahbouba had said might be merely assumptions which could hardly be proved, and what he said about el- Buraqi seemed to be some confusion the latter fell in.
Here, Sayyid Abdul Karim Bin Tawous tells the story of the night dream of Ali Bin Mudhaffar which runs as follows:
Ali Bin Mudhaffar Annajjar states that he , once, had a portion in an orchard that was exempted from him. So he approached Amir al-Mu'minin with a complaint saying, Oh, Amir al-Mu'minin, if the portion is paid back to me, I'll hold this ceremonial meeting on my account. Thus, it was returned to me. I looked over the matter for a while and then saw Amir al Mu'minin, in my sleep, standing at the corner of the Dome. He held me by hand and got out till he arrived at the Farewell Door. Pointing to the position of the ceremonial meeting, he said, "Ali! Those fulfilling their vows". I answered, Yes, with all pleasure, oh, Amir al-Mu'minin. In the morning, he went back onto his usual life (see Farhat el-Ghari; the Book of Raids 2/880, and Bihaar el- Anwar 42/ 368).
Apparently, the story of the dream does not suggest that he built the mosque (called masjid in Arabic), for the word mentioned in the text was majlis (i.e. the ceremonial meeting). But it seems that the author of the Book, Farhat el-Ghari, thinks that the former might have substituted the word masjid for majlis because of the rhythmic conformity between the two words.
From another point of view, Haj Hussein el-Shakiri states that the mosque was called el-Khadhraa' following the name of Omran Bin Shahin's sister. Nevertheless, there is not enough evidence to prove that.
As time passed, about one-third of the mosque had been taken away from it and annexed to the neighbouring street that surrounds the honourable Sahn. Yet, it was expanded and some repairs were made to it by the Iraqi government in 1368 AH.
During the eighth decade of the 14th century AH., the Imam el-Kho'ee ordered to pull down the mosque and rebuild it. This was done under the supervision of Shaikh Mirza Ahmed el-Ansari.
It is worth mentioning that Imam el-Kho'ee used to do his congregational prayer and give his lectures in Fiqh and Usool (i.e. religious jurisprudence and principles of deduction). Hundreds of scholars and Mujtahids graduated under his auspices in this mosque, some of them are leading religious authorities in the holy Qum in Iran.
When el-Kho'ee fell ill, his son-in-law, Ayatollah Nasrulla el- Mustanbutd, replaced him in teaching and doing the ceremonial congregational prayer. After the latter's death, Ayatollah kho'ee selected the Imam Ali el-Sistani for this task. Later on, the mosque was closed by the government of the former regime on account of false claim of repairs of the building of the mosque.
It remained closed until the downfall of the former regime, and lasted for a little period after that for security purposes because it leads to the inside of the Sahn. On the first of Jumada I, 1427 AH., it was re-opened on order of the Imam el-Sistani. After that it has been repaired, and a congregational dusk prayer was held in it by the sayyid Hassan el-Mar'ashi.
Others
Husseinyyat of the Holy Shrine
the Baqtashyya Taqya
(3) Valuables of the Sacred Alawyyad Threshold
The treasury of the holy shrine is rich with precious gifts and antiques, suggesting the highness of the place and the one presented to in the hearts
of all believers and Muslims.
Looking at these gifts, valuables and antiques, one feels permeated through the depths of history since they belong to various periods and eras; most of these gifts carry the names and stature of the donators and the time of donation. The majority of the donators are kings, princes, sultans, senior statesmen, businessmen, scientists and religious thinkers, such as Shaikh El-Hilli, Abul Hassan El-Asfahani and the Holy Ardabeeli, whose works are still quoted by scholars.
The study of these valuable gifts and antiques is very important in many ways due to the fact that these things, which are of various types like carpets, textiles, golden and silver tools and wooden artifacts, can be taken as examples of the time they belong to; they may shed light on the period the donators lived in and the way these gifts and artifacts were made. Thus, one can compare the art of that period with that preceding it and the impact it has over the ages to follow. It can also give clues to the sociological system of the community that produced those works of art.
The oldest of these various gifts can be traced back to the fourth century AH. They are classified as follows:
Koran manuscripts
metal works
textiles
carpets
works of glass
Wooden antiques.
In the recent period, the secretariat of the Alawyyad Threshold (in reference to the holy shrine as a whole) formed a committee to make an inventory of the contents and valuables of the treasury. The committee has spared no effort to make the inventory and clean the contents according to the latest scientific methods in order to protect them. The results of their work will be published at the website of the Threshold as soon as they are available.
(4) Why Hiding the Tomb of Amir al-Mu'minin (PBUH)
It might be that the hatred and grudge of the Quraishis towards Imam Ali were great because of his attitude in the Islamic wars whereby he killed their knights and VIPs in defense of Islam. Therefore, they were waiting for every chance to avenge on him and attack him. Moreover, nobody was blind to what Bani Ummayyad and then Bani El-Abbas would do in their enmity to Amir el-Mu'minin and the threshold of his tomb. Hence, he recommended disguising his tomb lest it should be exhumed and maimed as he knew that things would be in favour of Bani U'mmayyad later on. In this respect, it is stated (Farhat El-Ghary, P:25) that:
This necessitated that he should be entombed secretly for fear that Bani 'Ummayyad and their associates and the Khawarijits [the Outsiders] would exhume the tomb so that Banu Hashim (the tribal section to which Imam Ali belongs) would not accept that and they might fight for it; something which he himself had refused in his life, so how could he be pleased with it after his death?
The sayyid Bin Tawous goes on saying that “in disguising the grave, there were numerable benefits we do not know in details". Simultaneously, Bin Abbas states that" the messenger of God (PBUH) told Ali that the land of Kuffan would be honoured by the latter's tomb …, then Ali said in wonder, Oh, Messenger of Allah, a tomb in Kuffan? The Prophet answered, Yes, Ali; you'll be entombed beyond Kuffan between the Ghariyain and the white walls [or Rocks] (Ibid; 37-8).
Hence, according to Muntakhab El-Tawarikh (i.e. A Selection of Histories) (P: 291), when Bani 'Ummayyad became the rulers of Islam themselves, El-Hajjaj El- Thaqaffi, an Iraqi prince during the ‘Ummayyad reign, ordered to dig 3000 graves beyond Kooffan, i.e. in Najaf, in pursuit of the Imam Ali's corpse.
In view of the above mentioned, no one knew the position of the tomb except his sons and descendants (peace be upon them) and those entrusted among his supporters and proponents from the Shiites.
(5) The Revelation of the Honourable Tomb and its Graces
The sons and descendants of Amir el-Mu'minin (PBUT) committed to the will of their father so that the position of the purified tomb remained unknown to everybody except to a certain number of the closest supporters.
After Bani 'Ummayyad regime had fallen down, and Bani El-Abbas taken over, hiding the tomb was no longer the case, and the secret began to be disclosed to the most faithful among the Shiites who believed in God and his messenger, loved and followed the messenger's progeny in their commitment to the holy verse in the Koran. "Say, I do not ask for fee for the message but kindness to the relatives ".
At that time, the tomb, according to remarkable historical sources, was just a sandy mound.
It is stated that David Bin Ali el-Abbasi (died in 132 AH.) tried to know the secret of the tomb. So, he sent a mission of some of his trustable servants, among these there was a black one known for his considerable physical strength. They began digging until they reached a solid rock that stopped them from doing so. Then, they asked the black servant to get down the dug hole to try his luck in digging. As soon as he set a blow to the rock, he heard a great sound. He hit the rock again and again until they heard him shouting and calling for help to get him out. They tried to know what was going on. But, the black servant did not utter a word. He kept silent in dismay, and then his flesh began to scatter. This news reached David Bin Ali who held his peace and reburied the grave putting a wooden box over it. Since then, many changes and repairs were done to the tomb.
First, the Construction of the Tomb by Haroon el-Rashid
This is considered to be the first construction of the tomb, done by the Abbaside Caliph, Haroon el-Rashid. According to Umdet el- Talib (i.e. The Trust of the Scholar) (P: 42), the reason that the Caliph ordered to build up the tomb was that the latter was out, one day, hunting at a position beyond Kufa and there were numerous zebras and deer around the place. Whenever he sent out his hawks and dogs for hunting, the chased beasts took shelter at a sandy mound there whereby the hawks and dogs would refrain from. This happens several times so that the Caliph became greatly surprised. He tried to know what was going on. So, he called for experts and those interested in such matters in Kufa. They told him that under the mound, there lies the grave of Amir al- M'minin, Ali Bin Abi Talib.
The caliph hurried to summon the most skillful masons and artificers and ordered them to build a magnificent dome over the place with four gates. They used the red clay in building it up and put a green jar on top of it, while they built the shrine with white bricks (for more information, vide Irshad el- Kuloob, i.e. Guidance of Hearts) by el- Daylami; Riyadh el- Siyaha, (i.e. Meadows of Tourism) by Zainul Abidin el- Shirawani; and Nizhat el- Kuloob, (i.e. The Hearts' Picnic) by Ahmedolla el-Mustawfi.
It is worth saying that all remarkable sources of history are of the opinion that Haroon el-Rashid was the first who revealed the secrecy of the tomb and constructed it, allowing pilgrims to visit it.
Second, the Architecture by the Sagheer Da’iya (i.e. the Little Herald)
This is done on order of Mohammad Bin Zaid Bin Mohammad Ismail Bin el-Hassan Bin Zaid Bin el-Hassan known as the Little Herald. He was king of Tabrstan for more than seventeen years and then killed in 287 AH. He ordered to build a dome, a wall and a fort with seventy arches.
It is worth mentioning that the architecture of the shrine can be considered to be as a metaphysical phenomenon when you know that Imam Jaafar Assadiq (PBUH), a descendant of the prophet, told his companions about it with every detail tens of years ago.
Throughout later periods, some repairs and additions took place to the building, as those made by Omar Bin Yahya of Kufa (see el-Noori, Mustadraq el-Wasa'el, P:3/435). Moreover, Ibn Hawqal states in his book entitled, Suret el- Ardh (i.e. Image of the Earth) (P: 43) that there had been reconstruction of the shrine before that of Adhud el-Dawla. Similarly, Abul Hayjaa' Abdulla Bin Hamdan besieged the place completely and ordered a great, sublime dome to be built over the tomb, with doors open to all directions (see Ibn Abul Hadeed, Nahjul Balaagha, 2/ 54-64).
Third, the Construction by Adhud el-Dawla
The shrine was regarded as the wonder of construction at that time. It is stated in Irshad el-Kuloob (Part II, P: 148) that Adhud el-Dawla ordered to rebuild the old building. He employed the most skillful masons and architects. He made a beautiful masonry which remained until the year 338 AH. (see Riyadh el- Siyaha, P:309). However, it is mentioned in The History of Tabrstan (P: 224) that it remained until the year 753 AH.
Viewed differently, Ibn Battouta, the traveller, devoted a whole part of his journey to talk about Najaf which he visited in 727 AH. He describes the town and its markets and schools, and the valuables that the Honourable Sahn contains. Then he speaks about the keepers of the shrine and what they do to the visitors (pilgrims) coming from various areas. Furthermore, he gives a full description of the hanging lamps and the Mastaba (= the terrace ) and the material with which it was coated. He also mentions its height and the tombs found there, saying that "they claim that one of these tombs is that of Adam (PBUH), the other is that of Noah (PBUH), and the third is that of Ali Bib Abi Talib (God Be Pleased with Him). In addition, he describes the pans made of gold and silver filled with rosy water, musk and fragrances of various types and how the visitors dip their hands in them to rub their faces for blesses.
No one can deny the Favour that Adhud el-Dawla gained in the construction of the Shrine. But, other Buwayhiyin princes and ministers, and also the Hamdaniyins along with some of Bani el- Abbas who were faithful to the prophet and his progeny had also done repairs, reformation, developments and artistic touches to the building of the shrine.
