Week to commemorate resentful destruction of al-Baqi begins on Shawwal 4th
The 4th to the 10th of Shawwal marks the week to commemorate the sorrowful destruction of the Holy Shrine of the four Imams (peace be upon them) buried in al-Baqi cemetery.
In an act of sympathy a few years ago, the Supreme Marja of the Shia world, Grand Ayatollah al-Shirazi (may Allah prolong his life), named the eighth day of Shawwal as “International Baqi Day”.
Extremist Wahhabi Sunnis destroyed the shrine at al-Baqi cemetery on the fatwa of their radical religious leaders – 15 muftis of Madina and the Saudi supreme religious judge at the time. After they sieged Medina in 1344 A.H., exactly one century ago, the misguided troops of Wahhabism razed the holy shrine of Shia Imams to the ground.
Al-Baqi embraces the holy bodies of four Shiite imams, namely Imam Hassan al-Mujtaba, Imam Sajjad, Imam Baqir, and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon them) as well as some revered women of Islam, including Lady Ummul Banin, mother of Abalfazl al-Abbas (peace be upon them).
It should be noted that the extremist Wahhabi Sunnis have destroyed Baqi twice throughout their dark history, first in 1220 AH and secondly in 1344 AH, relying on a fatwa which (in absolute terms) prohibits building tombs on graves and demands their destruction.
The desecration to Baqi provoked the reaction of many people and scholars in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, the Caucasus and some other countries. The Government of Iran at the time announced a day of public mourning and postponed official recognition of the newly established country of Saudi Arabia for three years.
It should be mentioned that the Martyred Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan al-Shirazi made significant efforts towards rebuilding of Baqi, but the task remained unfulfilled almost before completion due to waves made by Satanic influences.
The act of extremist Wahhabi Sunnis in destruction of Baqi highlights their enmity towards Ahlul-Bayt (peace be upon them) as well as their ignorance about Islamic traditions.
