he ordered the grave of Imam Husayn (a.

he ordered the grave of Imam Husayn (a.s.) be leveled to the ground, and that the surrounding area be transformed into farmlands so that no trace of the grave be left. This all was done to stop the Shi‘as from visiting (ziyarat) the graves of Imam Husayn (a.s.) and the other martyrs of Karbala. But when Allah wishes to protect His “light” no human can do anything about it!

The attempt to erase all traces of Imam Husayn’s grave angered many Muslims; people starting writing anti-‘Abbasid slogans on the walls. Opposition poets also expressed their feelings on this issue. A famous poem against Mutawakkil is given below: By Allah, if the Umayyids unjustly killed Husayn, son of the Prophet’s daughter, his cousins have committed a similar crime for I swear that Husayn’s grave has been erased.

It seems that they regret for not participating in the massacre, so they now go after the grave! Mutawakkil enjoyed torturing the followers of the Ahlul Bayt; even the persons appointed by him as governor in Medina and Mecca were instructed to prevent people from being kind and courteous towards the Ahlul Bayt. In 234 A.H., Mutawakkil ordered Imam ‘Ali an-Naqi (a.s.) to be brought from Medina to Samarra where he was placed in a house next to the caliph’s garrison.

The Imam lived under constant surveillance until Mutawakkil was murdered by his own troops at the instigation of his own son, Muntasir. Muntasir bin Mutawakkil reversed the policies of his father towards the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.); he was kind and generous to them; he returned the property of Fadak to the descendants of Imams Hasan and Husayn (a.s.). Unfortunately his caliphate did not last for more than six months when he died in 248 A.H.

Musta‘in came to power after Muntasir and continued the oppressive policies of his ancestors. But soon his own Turkish troops rebelled against him and pledged allegiance to Mu‘tazz bin Mutawakkil whom they rescued from prison. Finally, Musta‘in was killed and Mu‘tazz become the caliph. It was during the reign of Mu‘tazz bin Mutawakkil that Imam ‘Ali an-Naqi was martyred by poisoning.

Imam Tortured by Abbasid Caliphs After the death of al – Ma’mun , al – Mu`tasim succeeded him , and was later followed by the caliph al – Wathiq . In the first five years of the reign of al – Wathiq , Imam Ali al – Hadi ( an – Naqi ) lived peacefully . After al – Wathiq , al – Mutawakkil came to power .