Imam Hussain Shrine

The mausoleum of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in the holy city of Karbala, Iraq, standing near the site of his killing at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. Alongside Mecca and Medina, it ranks among the holiest sites in Shia Islam, and millions of pilgrims converge on Karbala each year for the Day of Ashura to mark his death. The precinct also holds the graves of his companion Habib ibn Madhahir, his sons Ali al-Akbar and the infant Ali al-Asghar, and the mass grave of the 72 martyrs who fell alongside him. The shrine has been destroyed and rebuilt many times across thirteen centuries — by Abbasid caliphs who alternately restored and razed it, by Buyid and Safavid patrons who added its sepulcher and gilded dome, and by Ottoman and Qajar rulers who expanded its courtyards. Its golden dome, completed under Qajar patronage, rises 27 meters and is ringed by twelve windows; the shrine itself covers roughly 59 by 75 meters with ten gates and around 65 decorated rooms. The neighboring Al-Abbas Shrine, built for Husayn's half-brother Abbas ibn Ali, forms the second of Karbala's twin holy sites.

Photographs

The mosque and burial site of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Imam, in the city of Karbala, Iraq. Taken as part of Wiki Loves Folklore 2022.

Photo by Bahr Alwatifi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons