Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine

The Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine (; ) is a Shia religious complex located in Rey, in the province of Tehran, Iran. The complex contains the tomb of Abd al-Azim al-Hasani, a descendant of the second Shia Imam Hasan. Al-Najashi reported that when he died and his body was prepared for washing, a note was found in his pocket containing his genealogy, which read: “I am Abu al-Qasim Abd al-Azim ibn Abd Allah ibn Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Zayd ibn al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib.”

He was entombed here after his death in the 9th century CE. Adjacent to the shrine within the complex, are the mausoleums Tahir (a son of the fourth Shia Imam Sajjad) and Hamzeh (a brother of the eighth Shia Imam Reza). The complex was added to the Iran National Heritage List in 1942, administered by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran. The complex is a holy site in Shia Islam.

History The shrine complex dates back to the Ilkhanid, Safavid, and Qajar periods. The original shrine of Abd al-Azim was extensively renovated by Muhammad ibn Zayd al-Da'i al-Alawi during the second half of the 3rd century AH, corresponding to the 9th century CE. The main entrance to the shrine, located to the north of the tomb, was constructed under the patronage of the Buyid rulers and later completed through the efforts of Majd al-Mulk Qummi. The lower section of the shrine is square, with each side measuring approximately eight meters. Above it, following the architectural tradition of Seljuk buildings, four squinches were constructed over the four corners of the chamber, transitioning to an octagonal structure and then to a sixteen-sided polygon. The main dome of the shrine was built above this sixteen-sided structure. The interior of all these sections is decorated with mirror work. Major renovations and alterations to this part of the shrine were carried out during the reign of Tahmasp I of the Safavid Empire. The courtyards and iwans date from the Safavid period.

During the Qajar period, numerous renovations and additions were made to the shrine. The gilded covering of the dome was installed by order of Naser al-Din Shah in 1270 AH (1835 CE). Ibn Qūlawayh al-Qummī (d. 978 CE) "includes the shrine in his Kāmil al-Ziyārāt, one of the earliest pilgrimage guides for the Shiʿa, which suggests that the tomb of ʿAbd al-Aẓīm was already of some importance by the tenth century."Ibn Qūlawayh al-Qummī, Kāmil al-Ziyārāt (Beirut, 1418/1997), pp. 536–537 The tomb of Abdol-Azim had also come under the patronage of Sunni rulers at times, a notable example being the mausoleum constructed over Abdol-Azim's tomb in the 1090s CE by orders of the Seljuk vizier Majd al-Mulk Asʿad b. Muḥammad b. Mūsā.ʿAbd al-Jalīl b. Abū al-Ḥasan al-Qazwīnī (fl. 1189), Kitāb al-Naqḍ (Tehran, 1371/1952), p. 220W. Barthold, An Historical Geography of Iran (Princeton, 1984), p. 127Sheila Blair, The Monumental Inscriptions from Early Islamic Iran and Tran-soxania (Leiden, 1992), p. 185Leisten, Architektur für Tote, pp. 240–241. This door has an inscription in Thuluth script. Abdol Azim migrated to Ray out of persecution and subsequently died there. A piece of paper was found in his pocket outlining his ancestry as being: ‘Abdul ‘Adhīm son of ‘Abdillāh son of ‘Alī son of Hasan son of Zayd son of Hasan ibn ‘Alī. Shah Abdol Azim was sent to Ray by Imam Reza.

Notable burials

The shrine is the burial site for many notable individuals, including members of the Qajar family, and many notable political figures, scholars, and clerics, from the Medieval period to contemporary time.

Gallery

Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine

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