Al-Muntasir not only got the shrine reconstructed on a larger scale...

Al-Muntasir not only got the shrine reconstructed on a larger scale, but also he encouraged people to visit it.[^7] In the year 263 AH due to a conspiracy of the government, the roof of the shrine caved in and hundreds of visitors were crushed to death. For ten years, the shrine remained without a roof.

In 273 AH, Muhammad bin Zaid bin al-Hasan bin Muhammad bin Ismael, who was known as Da’iy as-Saghir, reconstructed the shrines at Karbala and Najaf once again.[^8] The shrine in Karbala was provided a dome and the shrine in Najaf was renovated and expanded. The shrines at Mecca and Medina were expanded and fresh constructions were added by Adhdud Dowla Khosrow bin Buwayh Dailamy. Ibnul Athir in his at-Tarikh al-Kamil praises the work done by Adhdud Dowla.

Ibnul Athir also records that a dacoit called Zaba bin al-Asadi looted the shrine several times. Adhdud Dowla sent a large contingent to apprehend the dacoits, but they escaped arrest.[^9] During this period, Imran bin Shahin constructed a mosque and walls surrounding a huge courtyard at Karbala that were known as the Courtyard of Imran . It is also said that under a vow taken by him, he also constructed a mosque at Kazimain.

In the month of Rabi’ul Awwal in 407 AH, there was an accidental fire that destroyed the entire structure.[^10] Some say that the fire was accidental but a majority is of the opinion that it was started on the secret orders of the caliph al-Qadir Billah who was responsible for several cases of arson and looting. After the fire, Ibn Sahlan Ramhurmuzi, who was appointed the prime minister, constructed a stone wall all around the shrines in Karbala and Najaf.

These walls remained intact for about a century from 424 to 562 AH. Ibnul Athir was contemporary and has reported the incident in detail in his book about the reconstruction of the shrine by Abu Muhammad bin Sahlan. In 526 AH, al-Mustarshid Billah merely appropriated all the moveable and immovable properties dedicated to the shrines, but he did not meddle with their structures.

In 620 AH, the caliph Nasiruddin’s minister Mo’ayyiduddin Muhammad al-Alqami made many beautiful additions to the structure that remained intact for about 360 years. An Arab, Muhammad bin Falah came to power in 754 AH. He was a student of Muhammad Sheikh Ahmed bin Fahad al-Hilli. He believed that Imam Ali (a.s.) was alive and that his soul has had transmigrated into him.