It is also documented in reliable historical reports that...

It is also documented in reliable historical reports that four of the Shi’a Imams (peace be upon them), that is, Imam al-Hasan, Imam al-Sajjad, Imam al-Baqir , and Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon them) are buried in this cemetery and possibly the grave of Lady Fatima al-Zahra (peace be upon her) is also believed to be there although its actual spot is unknown. Thus, Al-Baqi’ is considered among the holiest pilgrimage destinations for Muslims, especially the Shiites.

Besides, Muslims around the world particularly at the time of hajj, pilgrims of hajj often go to Medina and visited this cemetery and the graves and shrines there. It is pertinent to mention that domes and shrines were built on the graves of noble ones such as the four Shi’a Imams (peace be upon them) and ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib which, was referred to as a grand building by Ibn Jubayr. In the first half of the 8th/14th century, Ibn Battuta described al-Baqi’ thus: “Malik b.

Anas’s grave with a small dome and Ibrahim’s grave had a white dome on it. There was a tomb in which wives of the Prophet were buried. The ‘Abbas and the Imams of al-Baqi’s tombs had grand domes upon them.

The grave of the third caliph had a big dome upon it and the grave of Fatima bint Asad was near it.” With the emergence of Wahhabi ideology in Hijaz which was inspired by the ideology of Ibn Taymiyya, they believed that building anything upon graves and visiting them is against monotheism and therefore, in addition to the demolition of the graves in Ta’if, Jedda, Karbala, and elsewhere, Wahhabis focused their efforts on demolition of shrines and domes of religious sites in Mecca and Medina.

In 1220/1805-6, Wahhabis besieged Medina and after the city was surrendered, Sa’ud b. Abd al-‘Aziz seized all the properties in the treasures of the Shrine of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) and ordered the demolition of all the domes in al-Baqi’ and all buildings of such form in different regions of Hijaz. on the 8th of Shawwal, Wednesday, in the year 1345 AH (April 21, 1925), mausoleums in al-Baqi’ Cemetery were demolished by King Ibn Saud.

The shrine of the four Imams (peace be upon them) and the dome of Lady Fatima (peace be upon her) known as Bayt al-Ahzan (i.e., the house of sorrows) were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the first attack of Wahhabis in the same year.