ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Hidden Truth about Karbala Part A: Demolition of the Shrines The Bani Asad had helped Imam Zainul Aabidin (a.s.) in burying the martyrs. Imam Zainul Aabidin (a.s.) foretold, “In this land of Karbala, the shrine of Imam Husayn (a.s.) will become a beacon of perpetual guidance. Centuries will pass but the grace flowing from Husayn’s shrine will continue unabated.

The misguided leaders of recanting disbelievers will spare no effort to destroy and obliterate every sign and memory of the shrine, but every one of their malicious attempt will only augment the glory of the shrine.” History is witness to the fact that no less than eight times, if not seventeen times, the shrine of Imam Husayn (a.s.) was completely destroyed only to come up in a larger and more glorious structure.

The Umayyads and the Abbasids spared no effort to prevent people from visiting the shrine. Every such restriction only brought more and more determined pilgrims. We give below a short account of these incidents. Now, within a few years after Ashura, for the first time the Banu Asad constructed a small structure over the graves and a mosque nearby. The Umayyads however established police chowkidars to prevent people from visiting the tombs.

However, the structure remained until the end of the reign of the Umayyads, who were more interested in identifying and annihilating the Shia. The structure drew the Shia like a magnet and thus helped the Umayyads in easily apprehending them (the Shia). Perhaps this was the reason why the structure remained intact, even as the Umayyads desecrated Medina and Mecca and the shrines in those cities.

According to the authors of Nuzhat Ahlil Haramain and A’yaanush Shia , the first structure remained until the year 193 AH.[^1] The Abbasids, who succeeded the Umayyads in the rule, were initially engaged in establishing their control over the newly acquired government. At first, the jealousy and enmity to Imam Ali and his progeny was only secretly nurtured. It was in the period of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur ad-Dawaniqi that the first demolition of the shrine took place.

So cruel was al-Mansur that he not only killed the Umayyads but also massacred thousands from the progeny of Ali and Fatima and their followers. No sooner than the shrine was demolished, a new and better structure was put up by the public at great peril.