One reason for keeping the location of the grave secret was...

One reason for keeping the location of the grave secret was that they feared barbarous acts from the Khawarij and the Umayyads that was witnessed at the Battle of Uhud when the limbs of the martyrs’ bodies were severed by the barbarous Umayyads.

When the period of Banū-Umayyah was over, during the reign of Abul-`Abbas al-Saffah, Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq (a.s) came to Iraq and informed about the location of the grave to his , Abū-Basir, `Abdullah ibn Talhah, the freed slave of Ibn Khunays, Yūnus ibn ²abyan and Zurarah… etc. Then commenced the visits by the Shi`ah from all over the world.

Through the confirmation of Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq and other Imams, it is established that the last resting place of Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) is the holy city of Najaf which is a place of pilgrimage from the `Abbasid reign and the scholars of the Ahl al-Sunnah too have mentioned clearly about the location.

Therefore, Ibn al-Athir writes: “The correct belief is that his grave is the same that is visited by the masses for pilgrimage and is a source of felicity for the people.”[1] Ibn Abil-Hadid writes that Abul-Ghana’im Muhammad ibn `Ali, who died in 510 H, used to say: “In al-Kūfah, three hundred died, but other than the grave of Amir al-Mu’minin, the grave of any other Companion cannot be traced.

The Imam’s grave is the same that is visited by people for Ziyarah.”[2] [1] Al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh, Vol 3, Page 199 [2] Sharh Nahj al-Balāghah by Ibn Abil-Hadīd, Vol 2, Page 45 Previous…