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Holy Shrine of Imam al-Hussein (AS)

Shrine of Imam al-Ḥussein (AS) is the resting place of Imam al-Hussein (AS), some people from Bani Hashim and some of his companions in the ‌Battle of Karbala, who were martyred on Muharram 10th, 61/October 10, 680 in a battle with the army of 'Ubayd Allah bin Ziyad. Al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi made the first building on Imam al-Hussein's (AS) grave. The building was later reconstructed and developed by Shias and followers of Ahl al-Bayt (AS), especially rulers and governors. Visiting Imam al-Hussein's (AS) shrine is a Shia practice recommended in hadiths. Most visitors or pilgrims congregate in Imam al-Hussein's (AS) shrine on Ashura, Arba'in, and Sha'ban 15th. In Shia fiqh, there are rulings specific to Imam al-Hussein's (AS) shrine and its soil. After the martyrdom of Imam al-Hussein (AS) and his companions, a clan of Bani Asad buried their corpses where they were martyred. The only sign on Imam al-Hussein's (AS) grave at the time was a lump of soil.

The courtyard of Imam al-Hussein's (AS) shrine includes the porches of the shrine, also known as "jāmi'". Before 1948, bazaars and other buildings were adjacent to the shrine, with no street between them. In that year, a street was built around the shrine. The courtyard's interior was rectangular-shaped, with two small additional sides—in fact, it was hexagonal, just like the darih. However, in the expansion of the shrine in 1947, the two additional sides—one in the southeastern part and the other in the northeastern part—were removed. Thus, the courtyard looks rectangular from the inside, though it seems oval from the outside. The whole area of the courtyard is 1500 square meters. There are 65 porches around the courtyard, and there is a chamber in each porch. The chambers belonged to the students of the Islamic seminary schools to discuss their studies there, and some of them were allocated to kings, rulers, governors, and Islamic scholars.

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The shrine's courtyard has some gates, each opening to a district in Karbala. The gates are located under tall porticos decorated with tiles on which Quranic verses with the Kufic calligraphy are inscribed.

In the past, there were seven gates in the courtyard, but today it has ten gates:

• Bab al-Qibla (the gate of qibla): it is the oldest and the main gate of the courtyard. It is called so because it is located in the direction of the qibla.

• Bab al-Raja (the gate of hope): it is located between Bab al-Qibla and Bab Qadi Al-Hajat.

• Bab Qadhi Al-Hajat the gate is located across the Suq al-'Arab (Arab market), and it is called so after one of Imam al-Mahdi's (AS) titles (Qadhi Al-Hajat: the satisfier of people's needs). Its height is five meters and its width is 3.5 meters.

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• Bab al-Shuhada (the gate of the martyrs): the gate is located between the eastern side on the pilgrims' way to Abu Al-Fadhl Al-Abbas's (AS) shrine. It is called so after the martyrs of Karbala.

• Bab al-Karama (the dignity gate): it is located in the furthest distance in the northeastern side of the courtyard, near Bab al-Shuhada. It is called so after Imam al-Hussein's (AS) dignity.

• Bab al-Salam (the greeting gate): it is located in the middle of the northern side, and it is called so because, at this gate, people used to greet Imam al-Hussein (AS).

• Bab al-Sidra (the gate of cedar): it is located in the furthest point in the northwestern side of the courtyard, and it is called so because of the cedar tree that grew near Imam al-Hussein's (a) grave in the 1st/7th century by which pilgrims found the location of the grave.

• Bab al-Sultaniyya (the Sultan gate): it is located on the western side of the courtyard, and it is called so because it was built by an Ottoman Sultan.

• Bab Ra's al-Hussein (the gate of al-Hussein's head): it is located in the middle of the western side of the courtyard, and it is called so because it is across the head of Imam al-Hussein (AS).

• Bab al-Zainabiyya (the gate of Zainab (AS)): it is located on the southwestern side of the courtyard, and it is called so because it is near the Zainabiyya hill (tall al-Zainabiyya) or Maqam Zaynab.

There is a tall dome over Imam al-Hussein's (AS) mausoleum, covered with pure gold. The lower part of the dome contains ten windows to the outside. The dome is 37 meters high. Within ten meters from the south of the shrine, two large golden minarets are about 25 meters high with four-meter diameters. The two minarets were built in 786/1384-5 during the period of Uways al-Jalayiri and his son, Ahmad. The Golden Portico is located on the southern side of the courtyard with a tall ceiling. It consists of three parts: the middle part, which is the tallest, and two shorter lateral parts. The part under the Portico is separated from the courtyard by metal fences located in the middle of pillars. People go inside the shrine from the two lateral sides. The walls of the Portico are coated with pure gold, and the upper parts of the walls are covered with tiles.

The shrine's Gunbad Khana—the place above which the dome is located—is surrounded by four porches on its four sides. The western porch, which used to be called the porch of 'Imran b. Shahin is now called the porch of Sayyid Ibrahim al-Mujab. This is because al-Sayyid Ibrahim, Imam Musa al-Kadhim's (a) grandson, is buried there. Some Islamic scholars are also buried in the western porch. The eastern porch that used to be called the porch of Aqa Baqir is now called the porch of fuqaha because some faqihs are buried there. The southern porch is known as the porch of Habib b. Muzahir who is buried there. There is a small silver darih on his grave. The northern porch was built by Shah Safi and is called the porch of the kings because Qajar kings are buried there.

Under the dome, there is a large silver, polygonal darih, in which the graves of Imam al-Hussein (AS) and his son ''Ali al-Akbar, are located. Different darihs have been built and installed on Imam al-Hussein's (AS) grave in different periods. The last time when the darih was changed was in 2012-3. The killing zone is the place in which Imam al-Hussein (AS) was decapitated. The place has a special chamber with a silver door and a window towards the courtyard on the southwestern side of Habib b. Muzahir's porch. Its floor is covered with marbles, and it has a cellar with a silver door. The shrine's treasury is located on its northern side. It contains many precious items and work donated by kings and rulers of Islamic territories in different centuries. The shrine's library is located on the eastern side of the shrine. It contains precious copies of the Quran.