THE STORY OF KARBALA - PART 3/7

HUSAYN AT THE PLAIN OF KARBALA

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The first visitation en masse, was done by the four thousand penitents (tawwaboon) led by Sulayman Ibn Surad, in the year 65 A.H. The shrine became a place of pilgrimage soon afterwards. At the same time, the oppressive rulers became wary of it, because it symbolized protest against tyranny and oppression.

The Abbasi ruler Mutawakkil was first in a long line of such despots who destroyed the shrine. Mutawakkil had it demolished and levelled the ground in the year 236 A.H./850 A.D. He prohibited the pilgrimage to Karbala under threat of heavy penalties. Many pilgrims were actually executed, who persisted.

Sometime after this, a green and shady tree grew on the grave of Husayn. The Addasid ruler, Haroon Ar-Rashid, had it felled.

There are reports of a large chamber with a dome, in or about the year 366 A.H./977 A.D. This means that sometime in between, the tomb was rebuilt.

A terrorist named Dhabba Ibn Muhammad Al-Asadi of Ayn At-Tamr, attacked the shrine and destroyed it in 369 A.H/ 980 A.D. A punitive expedition was sent to cAyn At-Tamr, but Dhabba had already fled into the far off areas of the desert.

Hasan Ibn Fadhal, who died in the year 414 A.H./1024 A.D., built a perimeter wall around the city. The Saljooq Sultan Maalik Shah, is reported to have visited both Karbala and Najaf, when he came to Baghdad, in the year 479 A.H./1086 A.D.

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