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Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn

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The Shrine of al-ʿAskarīyyayn or the Shrine of al-Imāmayn al-ʿAskarīyyayn is the resting place of Imam al-Hadi (a) (d. 254/868) and his son Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) (d. 260/874). The mausoleum is located in Samarra. It is a major Shiite pilgrimage destination in Iraq. Narjis Khatun, Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari’s wife and Imam al-Mahdi’s mother, as well as Hakima the daughter of Imam al-Jawad (a), and some other sadat and Shiite scholars are buried in this shrine.

Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn
General Information
Established4th/10th century
TypeShrine
LocationSamarra, Iraq
Coordinates34°11′56.04″N 43°52′24.6″E / 34.1989000°N 43.873500°E / 34.1989000; 43.873500
Specifications
StatusActive
Architecture
StyleIslamic
RenovationBy the Committee for Reconstruction of 'Atabat and the Office of Ayatollah al-Sistani
Websiteaskarian.iq

Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-'Askari (a) were laid to rest in their house of dwelling in 254/868 and 260/874, respectively. In 328/939-40, the first dome was erected on their graves, which was frequently repaired and renovated in later periods. In 2006 and 2007, parts of the shrine were devastated in a terrorist bombing. After these attacks, the Committee for Reconstruction of 'Atabat and the Office of Ayatollah al-Sistani reconstructed the shrine’s hall and darih, respectively.

Place and Significance

The Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn (a) is the resting place of two Shiite Imams and a significant pilgrimage destination in Iraq. The shrine is situated in Samarra (a city located 120 kilometers north of Baghdad).[1] In Shiite hadiths, it is recommended to visit the shrines of the Imams (a).[2] Every year, many Shias from around the world visit the graves of Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-'Askari (a) in Samarra.

History

After their martyrdom, Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a), the tenth and eleventh Shiite Imams, were laid to rest in their house of dwelling in Samarra.[3] Imam al-Hadi (a) had purchased the house from Dalil b. Ya'qub al-Nasrani.[4] According to Dhabih Allah Mahallati, the house in which al-Imamayn al-'Askariyyayn were buried remained in its original form until 328/939-40. Only a window was installed through which people visited the graves of the two Imams.[5] Citing a poem by Muhammad al-Samawi (1292/1876-1370/1950), Mahallati argues that Nasir al-Dawla al-Hamdani (reign: 323/935 - 356/967), a Hamdanid ruler, was the first to repair the house, building a dome on their graves in 328/939-40.[6] Later, various reconstructions and repairs were done in the Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn. Others who oversaw renovations or restorations in the shrine include Mu'izz al-Dawla al-Daylami[7] and 'Adud al-Dawla al-Daylami,[8] Buyid rulers (reign: 322/934 - 448/1056-7), Arsalan al-Basasiri (d. 451/1059-60),[9] Sultan Berkyaruq (d. 498/1104-5), a Seljuk king,[10] Ahmad al-Nasir li-Din Allah (622/1225)[11] and al-Mustansir bi-Allah (640/1242-3),[12] two Abbasid caliphs, Sultan Hasan al-Jalayiri (d. 776/1374),[13] Sultan Husein Safavi (reign: 1105/1693-4 -1135/1722-3),[14] a Safavid king, Ahmad Khan Dunbuli[15] and Hasanquli Khan Dunbuli (d. 1918-9),[16] Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (reign: 1264/1848-1313/1895-6), and Mirza Shirazi (1230/1815 -1312/1894-5).[17]

Devastation in a Terrorist Attack

Main article: Demolition of the Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn (a)

The Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn was targeted in two separate terrorist attacks carried out by excommunicationist groups in 2006 and 2007, resulting in the destruction of the shrine. The bombings were met with widespread condemnation from Shiite authorities and communities around the world. Although the shrine’s dome, adorned with a brick gilded cover, and its intricate tessellations collapsed in the bombings, the foundations of the dome, the main structure of the shrine, and its walls remained intact. [18]Following the attacks, the Iranian Committee for the Reconstruction of 'Atabat 'Aliyat undertook the task of rebuilding the shrine from 2010 to 2015.[19] The reconstruction effort included gilding the dome using 23,000 golden bricks[20] and building a new darih under the supervision of Sayyid Javad Shahrestani, the representative of Ayatollah al-Sistani in Iran.[21]

Architecture and Building

The Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn consists of various parts, including:

  • The dome: The Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn boasts the largest dome among all the shrines of Shiite Imams, with an impressive area of 1,200 square meters.
  • Minarets: Two minarets flank both sides of the dome, with gildings on top of each.
  • Darih: 4,500 kilograms of silver and 70 kilograms of gold are used in making the darih of the shrine.
  • Courtyard: The Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn features a spacious courtyard that is the result of merging several smaller courtyards. Specifically, it combines the courtyard of al-Imamayn, which measures 78 meters in length and 77 meters in width, with the courtyards of al-Musalla (50 meters in length and 40 meters in width) and al-Ghayba (64 meters in length and 5.61 meters in width).[22]

Prominent Figures Buried in the Shrine

Main article: List of Figures Buried in The Holy Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn (a)

According to Dhabih Allah Mahallati in his Ma'athir al-kubra fi tarikh Samarra, the following figures have been buried in the Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn:

Narjis (a) the mother of Imam al-Mahdi (a), Hakima the daughter of Imam al-Jawad (a), Imam al-'Askari’s mother, Husayn b. 'Ali al-Hadi the brother of Imam al-'Askari (a), Ja'far al-Kadhdhab, and Abu Hashim al-Ja'fari a great-grandson of Ja'far al-Tayyar.[23] Moreover, Samana al-Maghribiyya the mother of Imam al-Hadi (a),[24] Ahmad Khan Dunbuli (d. 1200/1785-6), his son Husayn-Quli Khan Dunbuli,[25] and Aqa Rida Hamadani (d. 1322/1904),[26] a student of Mirza Shirazi, are buried in the Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn in Samarra.

Gallery

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Qāʾidān, ʿAtabāt ālīyāt Irāq, p. 193.
  2. ↑ Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, vol. 6, p. 93.
  3. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 315.
  4. ↑ Khaṭīb Baghdādī, Tārīkh-i Baghdād, vol. 13, p. 518.
  5. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 317.
  6. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 318.
  7. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 321.
  8. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 324.
  9. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 344.
  10. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 347-348.
  11. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 350.
  12. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 365-366.
  13. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 377.
  14. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 379-380.
  15. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 386.
  16. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 393.
  17. ↑ Ṣiḥḥatī Sardrūdī, Guzīda-yi sīmā-yi Sāmarrāʾ, p. 67.
  18. ↑ Khāmayār, Takhrīb-i ziyāratgāh-hāyi Islāmī dar kishwarhā-yi ʿArabī, p. 29-30.
  19. ↑ Destruction and change of Al-Imamayn al-'Askariyyayn (a) shrine in the last 2 decades (Persian)
  20. ↑ Destruction and change of Al-Imamayn al-'Askariyyayn (a) shrine in the last 2 decades (Persian)
  21. ↑ Construction of the holy shrine of Al-Imamayn al-'Askariyyayn (a) (Persian)
  22. ↑ Qāʾidān, ʿAtabāt ālīyāt Irāq, p. 208.
  23. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 315.
  24. ↑ Qāʾidān, ʿAtabāt ālīyāt Irāq, p. 206.
  25. ↑ Qāʾidān, ʿAtabāt ālīyāt Irāq, p. 218.
  26. ↑ Qummī, Al-Fawāʾid al-raḍawīyya, vol. 2, p. 382.

References

  • Khāmayār, Aḥmad. Takhrīb-i ziyāratgāh-hāyi Islāmī dar kishwarhā-yi ʿArabī. Qom: Dār al-Aʿlām li Madrisat al-Ahl al-Bayt, 1393 Sh.
  • Khaṭīb Baghdādī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Tārīkh-i Baghdād. Edited by Musṭafā Bashshar ʿAwwad. Beirut: Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī, 1422 AH.
  • Maḥallātī, Ḍhabīḥ Allāh. Maʾthar al-kubrā fī tārīkh Sāmarrāʾ. Qom: Maktabat al-Ḥaydariyya, 1384 Sh.
  • Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Irshād fī maʿrifat ḥujaj Allāh ʿalā l-ʿibād. Edited by Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt li-Taḥqīq al-Turāth. Qom: Kungira-yi Shaykh al-Mufīd, 1413 AH.
  • Qāʾidān, Aṣghar. ʿAtabāt ālīyāt Irāq. Tehran: Mashʿar, 1387 Sh.
  • Qummī, Shaykh ʿAbbās. Al-Fawāʾid al-raḍawīyya fī aḥwāl ʿulamāʾ al-madhhab al-jaʿfarīyya. Qom: Būstān-i Kitāb, 1385 Sh.
  • Ṣiḥḥatī Sardrūdī, Muḥammad. ''Guzīda-yi sīmā-yi Sāmarrāʾ sīnā-yi si Mūsā. Tehran: Mashʿar, 1388 Sh.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Tahdhīb al-aḥkām. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.
  • تخریب و بازسازی حرم امامین عسکریین(ع) در ۲ دهه اخیر (Destruction and change of Al-Imamayn al-'Askariyyayn (a) shrine in the last 2 decades (Persian)). Accessed: 2023/07/12.
  • ساخت ضریح مطهر اماین عسکریین (Construction of the holy shrine of Al-Imamayn al-'Askariyyayn (a) (Persian)). Accessed: 2023/07/12.
  • گلدسته‌های حرم امامین عسکریین(ع) از تخریب تا طلاکاری (The minarets of the shrine of Imams Al-Imamayn al-'Askariyyayn (a) from destruction to gilding (Persian)). Accessed: 2023/07/12.
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