Sacred Al Hussain Holy Shrine

The Al Hussein Holy Shrine is located in the heart of the sacred city of Karbala, the place that received the body of Imam Hussein ibn Ali after the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH, becoming since then a destination visited by Shia Muslims from every corner of the earth for pilgrimage and seeking blessing at this pure site.

History recounts that the first to undertake care of this noble grave were the members of the Bani Asad tribe, who participated with Imam Al Sajjad in burying the body of Imam Hussein, marking it and erecting a marker over it so its trace would not be lost. When Al Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd Al Thaqafi assumed authority in Kufa in 65 AH, he built a structure, a canopy over the grave, and established a mosque around it. Since then, architectural works and expansions continued at the hands of Abbasid Caliphs Al Ma'mun and Al Muntasir, Adud Al Dawla Al Buyhi, and others, with maintenance, restoration, and expansion work continuing to this day.

The Husseini shrine contains, alongside the grave of Imam Hussein, the shrines of a number of his companions who were martyred with him in the events of Al Taff, among them Ibrahim Al Mujab, Habib ibn Mudhahir Al Asadi, Al Qasim ibn Al Hussein, and Ali Al Akbar ibn Imam Hussein.

The Al Hussein Holy Shrine extends over a vast courtyard covering 15,000 square meters, at whose center stands the holy sanctuary with an area of 3,850 square meters, surrounded by arcades covering 600 square meters, preceded by a front portico opening onto the great courtyard. Above the shrine rises a towering dome reaching 37 meters in height, covered entirely with pure gold from bottom to top, topped by a golden mast two meters high. Two minarets also gilded with gold flank it, and the number of golden bricks covering the dome and the two minarets totals 8,024 bricks, a magnificent scene reflecting the greatness of this sacred site and the splendor of Islamic architecture across the centuries.