The hatred, malice, and enmity towards the Ahlul Bait (peace be upon them) is such an incurable illness, due to which a person loses his intellect in this world and Paradise in the Hereafter and the only reason for this is ‘jealousy’. But those who are jealous completely ignore the fact that the position and status that the Ahlul Bait (peace be upon them) possess, is endowed to them by Allah.
Allah, the High says in the Holy Quran:
“Why do people feel jealous about what Allah has given them from His Grace? Surely We gave the progeny of Ibrahim the Book and wisdom and have given them a great kingdom.”
[Surah Nisaa (4): 54]
Since all these merits and excellences are granted by Allah, the High, those who could not snatch these merits and positions from the progeny of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny), resorted to the path of oppression. Sometimes, by means of usurping their rights, breaking the allegiance paid to them, going to war against them, martyring them by poison or sword, and sometimes by killing their followers and lovers. They went to such extremes that when they found that despite all their efforts, the position, honour, and respect of the progeny of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) was intact, they began to take revenge on their holy graves.
The destruction of the Holy Cemetery of Jannat al-Baqi is a result of this very jealousy for the progeny of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them) which is found in the hearts of extremists and people with a terroristic mindset. No Muslim can ever imagine that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is supposed to be the custodian of two noble sanctuaries (Makkah & Madinah) for all the Muslims, bears such malice and hatred towards the progeny of the Messenger (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) that they would demolish their graves and the domes over them.
Jannat al-Baqi is no ordinary cemetery. Who all are buried here?
1) Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (peace be upon him)
▪️ Grandson of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)
▪️ Son of Imam Ali & Hazrat Fatima Zahra (peace be upon her)
▪️ Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) had said that Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) is one of the two leaders of the youth of Paradise
2) Imam Ali Ibn Husain Zain al-Aabideen (peace be upon him)
▪️ Son of Imam Husain (peace be upon him)
▪️ Grandson of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)
▪️ Great grandson of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)
3) Imam Muhammad Ibn Ali al-Baqir (peace be upon him)
▪️ Son of Imam Ali Ibn al-Husain Zain al-Aabideen (peace be upon him)
▪️ Grandson of Imam Husain (peace be upon him)
▪️ Great Grandson of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)
▪️ Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) had conveyed Salaam to him through the great companion Jabir Ibn Abdullah Ansari
4) Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq (peace be upon him)
▪️ Son of Imam Muhammad Ibn Ali al-Baqir (peace be upon him)
▪️ Grandson of Imam Imam Ali Ibn al-Husain Zain al-Aabideen (peace be upon him)
▪️ Great Grandson of Imam Husain Ibn Ali (peace be upon him)
▪️ He was the teacher of the leaders of all the four Ahle Tasannun schools of thought
5) Her Eminence Fatima Zahra (peace be upon her)
▪️ Daughter of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)
▪️ Wife of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)
▪️ Mother of Imam Hasan, Imam Husain, Hazrat Zainab, Hazrat Umm Kulthum & Mohsin Ibn Ali (peace be upon him)
▪️ Although her exact grave is unknown but one of the possibilities mentioned in books of history is in Baqi
6) Lady Fatima Bint Asad (peace be upon her)
▪️ Mother of Imam Ali (peace be upon him)
▪️ Paternal aunt of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)
▪️ The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) prayed for her and descended into her grave in Baqi (Mustadrak Alaa al-Sahihain, vol. 4, p. 70)
7) Aqeel Ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)
▪️ Son of Abu Talib and Fatima Bint Asad (peace be upon them)
▪️ Brother of Imam Ali (peace be upon him)
▪️ Father of Muslim Ibn Aqeel (peace be upon him) who was martyred in Kufa
8) Lady Fatima al-Kilaabiyyah (peace be upon her)
▪️ Also known as Umm al-Baneen
▪️ Wife of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)
▪️ Mother of Abbas Ibn Ali (peace be upon him)
9) Lady Safiyah Bint Abd al-Muttalib
▪️ Aunt of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)
10) Abbas Ibn Abd al-Muttalib
▪️ Uncle of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)
11) Abdullah Ibn Jafar Ibn Abi Talib
▪️ Son in law Imam Ali (peace be upon him)
▪️ Husband of Zainab Bint Ali (peace be upon her)
12) Uthman Ibn Maz’oon
▪️ Famous companion of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) himself buried there
▪️ He was the first among the Muhaajireen to die in Madinah [Wafaa al-Wafaa by Samhoodi, vol. 3, p. 892]
▪️ He was the 14th person to accept Islam
▪️ He participated in the Battle of Badr
▪️ Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) himself buried him in Baqi [Al-Tabaqaat al-Kubra by Ibn Sa’ad, vol. 3, p. 3963]
13) Ibrahim (a.s.) the son of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)
▪️He is buried next to the grave of Usmaan Ibn Maz’oon [Al-Isaabah by Ibn Hajar, vol. 4, p. 461]
14) Asad Ibn Zorarah
▪️ First person among the Ansaar to be buried in Baqi
▪️ He was present in all three Bay’ah al-Uqbah
▪️ He was the first person from the people of Madinah to pay allegiance to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)
▪️ He established the Friday prayers in Madinah before the migration of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) [Al-Isaabah by Ibn Hajar, vol. 4, p. 461]
▪️ Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) participated in his funeral and recited his funeral prayers also [Al-Tabaqaat al-Kubra by Ibn Sa’ad, vol. 3, p. 411]
Besides this, as far as the merits of Jannat al-Baqi are concerned, the following tradition from the famous Ahle Tasannun book Sahih Muslim is sufficient in which Ayesha Bint Abi Bakr narrates that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) used to visit Jannat al-Baqi in the last part of the night and used to say:
“Peace be upon you, O the abode of believers. What you had been promised has come to you. Your time has come and soon we shall also meet you, God willing. O Allah! Forgive the people (buried) in the land of Baqi.”
[Sahih Muslim, Book 11, Hadith 131]
The tyrannical kingdom of Saudi Arabia completely ignored this fact and demolished the cemetery where the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) used to send salutations upon it and sought forgiveness for the believers buried in it. They destroyed the graves of the family of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and demolished the shrines upon the graves. In order to justify this shameful act, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia used a lame excuse that visiting graves is an innovation (Bid’ah). But the hatred towards the Ahlul Bait (a.s.) led them astray to such an extent that they not only ignored the words of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) but also forgot the clear verses of the Holy Quran in which there is the permissibility of building a mosque over the resting place of the people of the cave
“Erect an edifice over them – their Lord best knows them. Those who prevailed in their affair said: We will certainly raise a masjid over them.”
[Surah Kahf (18): Verse 21]
and taking the place (Maqaam) of Ibrahim (a.s.) as a place of prayer
“Appoint for yourselves a place of prayer on the standing-place of Ibrahim.”
[Surah Baqarah (2): Verse 125].
During the circumambulation of the Holy Kaaba, they did not find anything wrong in praying at Hijr Ismail, which is a burial place of many Prophets (a.s.), but they had a problem only with the Ahlul Bait (a.s.) and their graves.
O Allah! For the sake of the ruins of Jannat al-Baqi, hasten the reappearance of the Imam of our time, His Eminence Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.) to return the glory of this place, to seek revenge from those who demolished it and grant us the opportunity to assist him in rebuilding Jannat al-Baqi.
Aameen, O Lord of the worlds!