Jannatul Baqi – A Symbol of Continued Oppression

Jannatul Baqi is a much esteemed graveyard located in Al-Medinah al-Munawwarah in Saudi Arabia. Many of the great companions of the Messenger (s.a.w.a.) and immaculate members of his household including his successors are laid to rest here:

1. Imam Hasan b. Ali – Al Mujtaba (a.s.)
2. Imam Ali b. Husain – Zain al-Aabedeen (a.s.)
3. Imam Muhammad b. Ali – Al-Baqir (a.s.) and
4. Imam Jafar b. Muhammad – Al-Sadiq (a.s.)
5. There is also likelihood of the Holy Prophet’s (s.a.w.a.) beloved daughter – Lady Fatima Zahra (s.a.) having been laid to rest in Baqi

In addition to the successors of the Messenger (s.a.w.a.), prominent and famous companions of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and his (s.a.w.a.) close relatives are also buried here:

1. Abbas b. Abdil Muttallib (Prophet’s (s.a.w.a.) uncle)
2. Safiyya bint Abdil Muttallib and Atika bint Abdil Muttalib (Prophet’s aunts (s.a.w.a.))
3. Ibrahim b. Muhammad (Prophet’s (s.a.w.a.) son)
4. Lady Fatima bint Asad (Prophet’s (s.a.w.a.) aunt and Ameerul Momineen’s (a.s.) mother (a.s.))
5. Aqeel b. Abi Talib (Prophet’s (s.a.w.a.) cousin and Ameerul Momineen’s (a.s.) brother)
6. Muhammad b. Ali b. Abi Talib, famous as Muhammad-e-Hanafiyyah (his mother’s name was Hanafiyyah)
7. Lady Ummul Baneen (mother of Abul Fazl Abbas b. Ali b. Abi Talib (a.s.))
8. Ismail b. Imam Sadiq (a.s.)
9. Abdullah b. Jafar-e-Tayyaar (a.s.)

These are the individuals buried in Baqi and their graves were adorned with mausoleums and tombs. Even today Muslims have preserved pictures of the tombs and these are widely available on internet websites. These tombs were present till 8^th Shavval 1344 A.H. Apart from these great personalities, graves of approximately seven thousand famous companions are located in Baqi. Similarly, many scholars of the early days of Islam are also buried here, like Imam Maalik – the founder of the Maaliki school, one of the four Sunni schools. Like with other graves a tomb was also built over his grave.

The first attack on Baqi – 1220 A.H.

The attack was first engineered by the Wahhabis in 1220 A.H. i.e. when the first Saudi government was overthrown by the Usmani government. In 1220 A.H. Wahhabis entered Medinah to demolish Baqi and tried to demolish many mosques instead of Baqi. They initially tried to pull down the dome of the mausoleum of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) but apparently refrained from it due to fear of reprisal.

The Usmani government renovated the mausoleums and Shias and Sunnis from all over the world accumulated funds for its renovation. Consequently, beautiful tombs were created in Baqi and visitors from all over the world at the time of Hajj, Umrah and Ziyaarah paid their respects to these tombs.

However, this was just the beginning of the nightmare for the Islamic world.

The Day of Demolition

The Day of Demolition as it came to be known later was the day of breaking down of all mausoleums and tombs in Baqi.

In 1344 A.H. when Aal-e-Saud – Saudi family gained complete control of Mecca, Madinah and its neighborhood, they decided to wipe out the signs of the holy places, Jannatul Baqi, companions and family of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) from the map of Islam. For this, they obtained rulings from the scholars of Madinah to make it easy for themselves and to gain support of the people of Hijaz who were previously not ready for their rule.

Rulings for demolition

Aal-e-Saud dispatched Qaaz al-Quzzaah Sulaiman b, Bulaihar so that he could obtain the desired rulings from the scholars of Madinah. For this, he posed questions to the scholars of Madinah in such a manner that the answers, as per the Wahhabi viewpoint, were present in the questions themselves. Similarly, the jurists (muftis) were informed beforehand to respond with the desired answers or they would be declared polytheists and killed if they failed to repent. The questions and answers were published in a Mecca-based magazine ‘Ummul Qora’ in the Shavval 1344 A.H. edition.

Sulaiman b. Bulaihar posed the following question:

1. What do the scholars of Al-Madinahh Al-Munawwarah, may Allah increase their knowledge and understanding, have to say – Is it permissible to construct a structure and mosque over graves?
2. If it is not permissible and Islam strongly prohibits it, then is it obligatory to demolish them and stop Muslims from praying namaz there?
3. Can graves, structures and tombs constructed on an endowed land like Baqi whose some parts are not useful considered as usurped? Should not they be demolished at the earliest to do away with the oppression perpetrated on the deserving ones?

The scholars of Madinah, out of fear and greed replied to Sulaiman ibn Bulaihar as stated below:

Building a structure over graves has been collectively prohibited in traditions. Hence many scholars have given the verdict of the necessity of breaking them and we would like to take support of a tradition on the authority of Imam Ali (a.s.) wherein he instructed Abil Hayyaj: I command you to accomplish something which the Messenger of God (s.a.w.a.) had ordered me. It is that you destroy any image and any grave that you see before making it level (with the ground).

At this stage, we do not wish to comment on this tradition except that Quran permits building of a structure on graves as advocated in Surah Kahf (18): 21. The Muslim nation is united on this reality and has been building graves in every era. In fact, the companions have never opposed building structure over graves, which explains why tombs and mausoleums existed in Baqi until they were destroyed and the graves of the first and second caliphs continue to be enshrined.

And lastly, the tradition of Abil Hayyaj, which the Wahhabis quote freely, is unreliable as it does not meet the criteria of a Sahih tradition from aspects of text and chain of narrators and more importantly contravenes the Noble Quran, the foremost test of a tradition’s reliability.

Destruction and looting

Between 1205 A.H. and 1217 A.H., the Wahhabis attempted to occupy Hijaz several times but remained unsuccessful until they captured Taif in 1217 A.H. killing many Muslims in the process. In 1218 A.H., they attacked Mecca and destroyed all the holy places including the structure built over the well of Zam Zam.

In 1216 A.H., in the month of Zilqad, the Wahhabis attacked Karbala, seized it and killed many people in the streets and markets and plundered it until midday before abandoning the city with lot of wealth and goods. Saud himself took one-fifth of the looted amount and gave one part of the remaining loot to the soldiers on foot and two parts to the horsemen (because as per them this was a war against the disbelievers).

Attack on Holy City of Mecca

In 1344 A.H. i.e. 1925 A.D. before the Wahhabis attacked Jannatul Baqi, they attacked the graveyard of Mecca which is still known as Jannatul Mo’alla and is the most revered cemetery after the cemetery of Baqi. The Prophet of God (s.a.w.a.) used to visit this graveyard, where

1. his (s.a.w.a.) great grandfather Abdul Manaf
2. grandfather Abdul Muttallib (a.s.)
3. uncle Abu Talib (a.s.) and
4. wife Khadija (s.a.) are buried.

There was a mausoleum and a tomb on each of their graves. The Wahabbis demolished all of them before turning towards Madinah. It should be noted that their destructive aims were accomplished only after many Muslims were martyred in the skirmishes. The Wahhabis did not stop at killing, they made the sure to loot the mausoleums afterwards.

Destruction and disrespect of Baqi

It was on Wednesday, 8^th Shavval 1344 A.H. i.e. 21^st April 1925, under the commandership of Abdul Aziz b. Saud – the Wahhabis surrounded Madinah and fought its defenders and evicted the officials of the Usmani government out of Madinah and then went on to destroy the graves of Imams (a.s.) i.e. grave of Imam Hasan-e-Mujtaba (a.s.), Imam Zainul Abideen (a.s.), Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) and Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s.).

Other graves were also not spared viz. those of Abbas b. Abdul Muttallib, Safiyya binte Abdul Muttallib, Atika binte Abdul Muttalib, Ibrahim son of Messenger (s.a.w.a.), Ummul Baneen, Ismael b. Imam Sadiq (a.s.), Abdullah b. Jafar-e-Tayyaar, Halimah Saada and approximately seven thousand companions of the Messenger (s.a.w.a.). Imam Malik’s grave was also demolished.

Killing and plundering by the Wahhabis

Whenever the Wahabbis attacked the holy places, they not only killed Muslim men, women, children and the aged, but also plundered the streets and markets and took with them abundant wealth.

Historians have documented that the Wahhabis looted forty trunks of diamonds, ornaments, and rubies and nearly one hundred swords with pure gold sheaths laden with diamonds and rubies from the mausoleums of Baqi in Madinah.

The Hard Heartedness of the Wahabbis

The historian Jameel Siddiqui Zahavi has documented details of the Wahhabi attack on Taif – The head of a suckling child was severed while still clutched to the mother’s neck. People gathering the Quran were killed. When houses were abandoned out of fear, they entered shops and mosques and killed the people in varying states of worship – be it bending or prostration. Books, mostly Quran and other religious and books of jurisprudence including extracts from Sahih-e-Bukhari and Muslim were thrown in the markets and trampled on.

Such killing and plundering was not surprising from the followers of Muhammad b. Abdul Wahhab as they deemed other Muslims as disbelievers and polytheists and considered Mecca and Madinah as House of War and House of Disbelief which they redeemed after gaining control over it.

Views of the great jurist Ayatullah Al-Uzma Lutfullah Saafi Gulpaigani (r.a.)

The great and renowned jurist and Marja-e-Taqleed of the Shias, author of various books, defender of Imamat and Wilayat of Ahle Bait (a.s.), the propagator of Imamat and Wilayat with the special grace of Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f.s.), the author of the renowned book Muntakhab al-Asar fi Imam Saani Ashar, declared Sunday 8^th Shavval, as a day of great calamity for the Muslim nation. He declared – This calamity has occurred not only on the Shias and the Ahle Bait (a.s.) but on the entire Muslim nation and is a loss and detriment which has befallen on Islam through this worst incident and inappropriate action. It is a loss equal to several losses put together.

The holy mausoleum in the history of Islam

Ayatullah Saafi Gulpaigani has declared the blessed mausoleums and other effects related to Imams (a.s.) as the complete history of Islam. He stated – Wahhabis have destroyed the history of Islam and worse than that is in these eighty years they did not stop at only this act but destroyed and desolated everything which bore a trace the Prophet’s Ahle Bait (a.s.). These were memorials of Islam, blessings of Islam and the history of Islam does not have any apparent signs without them.

This great jurist of the Shias has pointed towards the fact that all nations and religions have protected and renovated their historical signs and effects. This act persuades the Muslims to protect and safeguard the corporal history of Islam. Hence he said – Just as these symbols are protected in the entire world, the signs of Islam should also be protected so that whoever is blessed with the visitation of Mecca and Madinah, witnesses Islam closely even centuries after its advent.

Ayatullah Saafi Gulpaigani blames the enemies of Islam and selfish nature of the Salafis for this incident and elaborates – The real intention of the enemies of Islam and the Salafis is to destroy Islam and since they found this act as a debasement and an ignominy for themselves, they persuaded a group to commit this crime.

A ‘Day of Grief’ for Muslims

Ayatullah Saafi Gulpaigani addressed the Muslims, particularly the Shias and said – The Shias and Muslims should be aggrieved and sorrowful on this day (8^th Shavval) and should curse and condemn these criminals.

Certainly the Proof of Allah – Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f.s.) is also mournful and grief-stricken when he witnesses the desolate state of Baqi, particularly the state of his forefathers’ (a.s.) graves.

Let us participate in the grief of the Ahle Bait (a.s.) and express our sense of disgust at the actions of the Wahhabis and pray for the earliest reappearance of Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f.s.).

O Allah! Hasten the reappearance of Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f.s.)