section_path: Assassination and burial
section_name: Assassination and burial
paragraph_text: Assassination and burial
  
  Ali was assassinated during the morning prayer on 28 January 661 (19 Ramadan 40 AH) at the Great Mosque of Kufa. The other given dates are 26 and 30 January. He was struck over his head by the Kharijite dissident Ibn Muljam with a poison-coated sword, in revenge for their defeat in the Battle of Nahrawan. Ali died from his wounds about two days later, aged sixty-two or sixty-three. By some accounts, he had long known about his fate by premonition or through Muhammad. Before his death, Ali requested either a meticulous application of lex talionis to Ibn Muljam or his pardon. At any rate, Ibn Muljam was later executed by Hasan, the eldest son of Ali. Fearing that his body might be exhumed and profaned by his enemies, Ali's burial place was kept a secret and remains uncertain. Several sites are mentioned as containing Ali's remains, including the shrine of Ali in Najaf and the shrine of Ali in Mazar. The former site was identified during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809) and the town of Najaf developed around it, which has become a major destination for Shia pilgrimage. The present shrine was built by the Safavid monarch Safi (r. 1629–1642), near which lies an immense cemetery for Shias who wished to be buried next to their imam. Najaf is also home to top religious colleges and prominent Shia scholars. Other sites for Ali's burial are claimed to be Baghdad, Damascus, Medina, Ray while a minority of Shias believe it be somewhere in the city of Kufa.