Imam Ali, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), instructed his sons, Imam al-Hasan (peace be upon him) and Imam al-Hussain (peace be upon him), and the noble members of his household that, following his martyrdom, his grave must be kept secret. He was fully aware that political authority would fall into the hands of the Umayyads, who, due to their hostility, would not refrain from desecrating his grave.
Imam al-Hussain (peace be upon him) narrates:
“The body of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was taken out during the night. They passed by the Masjid of Ashath and buried him in the area of Ghari, near Najaf. In accordance with his will, the location of the grave was concealed to safeguard it from the danger posed by the Umayyads.”
Safwan al-Jammal once asked Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him):
“Why did the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) not reveal the grave of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)?”
The Imam replied, “Out of fear of harm from the Marwanids and the Kharijites.”
Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him) narrates:
“Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) instructed Imam al-Hasan and Imam al-Hussain (peace be upon them) to bury him at night with the assistance of a small number of companions and to level the ground to conceal the grave.”
Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) further states:
“When Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was martyred, Imam al-Hasan and Imam al-Hussain (peace be upon them), accompanied by two others, carried his body out of Kufa toward the cemeteries and buried him in Ghari. They then leveled the earth to hide its location.”
Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) also instructed his son, Imam al-Hasan (peace be upon him), to prepare four graves in different places—in the mosque, in the courtyard of Kufa, in Ghari, and in the house of Judah ibn Hubayra—so that his enemies would not be able to identify the true location of his grave.
Shaikh al-Mufid narrates:
“Imam al-Hasan (peace be upon him) and Imam al-Hussain (peace be upon him) performed the washing and shrouding of their father in accordance with his will. They then carried his body to Ghari, where he was buried, and the location was concealed so that the Umayyads could not access it.”
The grave of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) remained hidden until the time of Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him), who, during the Abbasid era, revealed its location.
The Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) exercised the utmost caution and disclosed the site only to select, trustworthy companions. To protect both themselves and their followers, they sometimes provided ambiguous answers. For example, when Ishaq ibn Abdullah—who held Umayyad leanings—asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about the grave of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him), he replied, “He was buried at night in Kufa, and the precise location is unknown to me.”
Ibn Tawus explains:
“If a narrator is not fully reliable, his statement may be mistaken or intentionally vague, for the grave of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was deliberately concealed, and no one was publicly informed of its location.”
The historian Ibn Abi al-Dunya narrates that when several prominent individuals were asked whether anyone had prayed over the body of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) or witnessed his burial, they replied that no such person was known.
However, Muhammad ibn Saib (the father of Hisham) reported:
“During the night, Imam al-Hasan and Imam al-Hussain (peace be upon them), Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, Abdullah ibn Jafar, and several close relatives carried the body of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and buried him behind Kufa. This was done out of fear that the Kharijites or other enemies might exhume his grave.”
Ibn Abi al-Hadid also reports:
“Abu al-Qasim al-Balkhi stated that the Umayyads intended to harm the grave of Imam Ali (peace be upon him). Therefore, his sons concealed the burial site and intentionally misled people through various means. For instance, they placed a coffin on a camel to give the impression that the body was being taken to Madinah. They also created a decoy bier to suggest burial in Hirah and dug symbolic graves in various places, including in the mosque of Kufa, in the governor’s palace, in houses, and even in the open desert. Thus, no one knew the true location except his sons and a few close companions. At dawn on the twenty-first night of Ramadan, they buried him according to his own instructions in the region of Ghari (Najaf). The next day, numerous rumors circulated about the location of the grave. Some even claimed that a group from the Tay tribe encountered a camel carrying a chest, assumed it to be treasure, and when they discovered its contents, buried it and slaughtered the camel—a story widely believed among the Umayyads and their followers.”
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani writes:
“The grave of Imam Ali, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was concealed so the Kharijites would not exhume it.”
Ibn Tawus further explains:
“Imam Ali (peace be upon him) requested that his grave remain hidden due to the hostility of the Umayyads, the Kharijites, and others. Had the grave been revealed and then desecrated, it might have triggered renewed fighting between Bani Hashim and their opponents—something the Imam avoided even during his lifetime. The concealment of the grave held benefits whose details remain unknown to us.”
Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Daylami writes:
“Hostility toward Imam Ali (peace be upon him) persisted from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) until after the Imam’s martyrdom. Even Ibn Muljam, the assassin, declared during his arrest, ‘If I could, I would tear off the ear of Hasan ibn Ali!’ If such malice was displayed by an ordinary man, the sentiments of Muawiya, the Umayyads, and their supporters—who held political power—become even more evident. They exerted great effort to suppress the light of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). For this reason, Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) ordered a secret burial to protect his grave from violation.”
Ala al-Din Ali Dede al-Laskatwari al-Basnawi states:
“The first Imam whose grave was concealed was Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), as he knew that authority would fall to the Umayyads, who might treat his grave with grave disrespect.”
During the Umayyad era, al-Hajaj ibn Yusuf attempted to discover the grave of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) and ordered nearly three thousand graves in Najaf to be exhumed, yet he failed to find it.
Muhammad Baqir Khansari also refers to this incident, stating:
“Praise be to God that despite his efforts, al-Hajaj was unsuccessful.”
