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Building the fortified wall around the shrine of al-Ha'ir in Karbala

بناء السور الحصين على مشهد الحائر بكربلاء

c. December 1009 CE · Jumada I 400 AH

Karbala

In Jumada I 400 construction began on a strong wall around the shrine at al-Ha'ir in Karbala. Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn al-Fadl ibn Sahlan had visited the shrine and vowed to build a stout wall protecting it against the many Bedouin raiders who came to the site. He fulfilled his vow: the wall was built, made firm, raised high and widened, and strong doors, some of iron, were set into it, so the shrine was fortified and the effect was good 1. The construction is also credited, under the year 403 in the biography of al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl ibn Sahlan, vizier of Sultan al-Dawla, to him; he was of the same house as Ibn Sahlan 2.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
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In time

100010101020 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era

In space

Karbala

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Overview

In Jumada I 400 work began on a stout wall around the shrine at al-Ha'ir; Abu Muhammad al-Hasan b. al-Fadl b. Sahlan had visited the shrine and vowed it a protective wall against the Bedouin who pressed upon the place — so he fulfilled his vow, built it strong, raised and widened it, set firm gates on it, some of iron, and the shrine was fortified and made fair 1. Another notice dates the building to 403.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
al-Husayn ibn Fadl ibn Sahlan
Located in
Karbala

People and things also explored

Abd Allah ibn al-Husayn (the infant of Karbala)· Ahmad Shah Qajar· Al-Qasim ibn al-Hasan· Ali al-Akbar ibn al-Husayn· Fateh Ali Khan Qizilbash· Husayn ibn Ali· Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar· Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar

Sources

  1. al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , j.7 p.246
  2. al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , j.8 p.355
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Building the fortified wall around the shrine of al-Ha'ir in Karbala”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/karbala-wall-construction-400/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Time

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Abd Allah ibn al-Husayn (the infant of Karbala)

Abd Allah ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, the infant of Karbala; Ibn Kathir lists him as the second of Husayn's sons killed with him in 61 AH — the Twelver tradition names him Ali al-Asghar.