Great Mosque of Kufa

For the site where some people believe Ali is buried, see Hazrat Ali Mazar.

The Great Mosque of Kufa (Arabic: مَسْجِد ٱلْكُوفَة ٱلْمُعَظَّم/ٱلْأَعْظَم, romanized: Masjid al-Muʿaẓẓam/al-ʾAʿaẓam), or Masjid al-Kufa, is located in Kufa, Iraq and is one of the earliest and holiest surviving mosques in the world. The mosque, built in the 7th century, was home to Ali ibn Abi Talib, the 4th Rashidun caliph; and contains the holy shrine of Muslim ibn Aqeel, his companion Hani ibn Urwa; and the revolutionary, Al-Mukhtar.^[1] In recent history, the mosque has seen numerous renovations by Dawoodi Bohra.^{[2]: 82, 97, 106 [3]}

Mosque of Kufa
مَسْجِد ٱلْكُوفَة ٱلْمُعَظَّم / ٱلْأَعْظَم Masjid il-Kufa til-Muʿaẓẓam
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Rite	Muslims
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Mosque and Shrine
Status	Active
Location
Location	Kufa, Iraq
Municipality	Najaf Governorate
Country	Iraq
Location in Iraq
Geographic coordinates	32°01′43″N 44°24′03″E / 32.02861°N 44.40083°E / 32.02861; 44.40083Coordinates: 32°01′43″N 44°24′03″E / 32.02861°N 44.40083°E / 32.02861; 44.40083
Architecture
Type	Islamic
Founder	Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas
Completed	670 CE
Specifications
Interior area	11,000 square metres (120,000 sq ft)
Dome(s)	1
Minaret(s)	4
Shrine(s)	3
Website
www.masjed-alkufa.net

History

 

Kufa mosque in 1915

The first main mosque of Kufa was built with the city's foundation in 638.^[4][5] The original mosque had a square layout and many entrances.^[6] It featured a roofed colonnade and re-used columns from the nearby former Lakhmid capital of al-Hira^[7] and from former churches.^[6] Ali ibn Abi Talib was assassinated in the mosque in 661. The family members of the first Shi'ite imams and their early supporters were buried within the mosque,^[8] including Muslim ibn Aqil and Hani ibn Urwa.^[7] In 670, the governor of the city, Ziyad ibn Abihi, arranged for the mosque to be rebuilt in brick and expanded into a much more monumental form. Craftsmen from other regions were brought in and materials were imported from Ahwaz for the mosque's columns. A governor's palace, or Dar al-Imara, was also built adjacent to the south side of mosque.^[9][6] Architectural excavations revealed that the mosque was built on top of much older foundations.^{[8][clarification needed]}

It was in the Great Mosque of Kufa that the first Abbasid caliph was formally proclaimed in 749.^[9] By the 14th century, when Ibn Battuta visited the site, only the foundations of the old governor's palace still remained.^[6] The mosque underwent various other restorations throughout its history.^[9] The golden dome standing today over the tombs, as well as the surrounding tilework decoration, was added during the Safavid period in the 17th and 18th centuries.^[7] The outer wall of the mosque, with semi-circular buttresses, probably still dates from the early period of the building.^[7]

Architecture

 

Kufa mosque present day

The area of the building measures approximately 11,000 square metres (120,000 sq ft).^[10] The mosque contains nine sanctuaries and four traditional locations. As to its design, experts recognized similarities to the design of the palaces of pre-Islamic Persia,^[8] Whereas according to Ibn al-Athir description, its ceiling resembles the ceiling of Byzantine church.^[11] It has four minarets and is accessible through five gates:^[10][12] Gate of the Threshold (Bāb al-Sudda), Gate of Kinda (Bāb Kinda), Gate of al-Anmat (Bāb al-Anmāṭ), Gate of the Snake (Arabic: باب الثعبان, romanized: Bāb al-Thu‘bān),^[13][14] and Gate of Hani ibn Urwa.

Renovation

The Great Mosque of Kufa has previously underwent sporadic renovations. One historical account, for instance, noted enlargement of section as well as a raised flooring for the main building in comparison to earlier level.^[9] In 1998, head of Dawoodi Bohra community, Mohammed Burhanuddin started renovating the mosque,^[15] which was then completed in early 2010. The renovation included decorations with gold and silver, the mihrab being made with a gold zari, and the whole interior being surrounded with verse of the Quran. In addition, the courtyard is covered in white marble from Makrana, India.^[15]

Significance

 

shrine of Hani ibn Urwa

• It was the place where Ali ibn Abi Talib was fatally wounded by a poison-coated sword while prostrating in the Fajr prayer.^[16]
• Contains the tombs of Muslim ibn Aqil, Hani ibn Urwa, and Al-Mukhtar
• There are markers within the mosque indicating the locations for where the court of Ali used to preside, where he performed miracles, and where Zayn al-Abidin and Ja'far al-Sadiq used to perform Salah
• Islamic traditions relate that it was the dwelling place of Nuh (Noah) and that this was the place where he built the Ark^[17]
• According to Shia belief, it was from this mosque that the diluvium of Noah started submerging earth, as well as being the place from where the water was re-absorbed ^[18] - also marked within the Mosque
• Ja'far al-Sadiq said that up to twelve miles of land in all directions from the mosque are blessed by its holiness.^[17]
• Ja'far al-Sadiq was also recorded as remarking that the "mosque in Kufa is superior to that of Jerusalem"^[19] and that "performing two prostrations of prayer here would be better for me than ten others at any mosque."^[17]
• There are also Shia traditions which state that performing one prayer in this mosque is the same as having performed one thousand prayers elsewhere,^[20] and performing one obligatory prayer here is equal to having performed an accepted Hajj^[21]
• The secretariat of Al-Kufa Mosque and its shrines describes the mosque as being one of the sole four dignified mosques to which Muslims must travel, and that it comes in third place after the Kaaba and the mosque of Prophet."^[22]
• According to Shia belief, it is from this mosque that the messianic twelfth Imam, Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdi, will rule the world from, and it will serve as the seat of his power in the end of times.

See also

•  Shia Islam portal
•  Iraq portal

• Holiest sites in Islam (Shia)
• Masjid al-Nabawi
• Masjid al-Haram
• Masjid al-Aqsa
• Masjid al-Hakim
• Masjid al-Husayn, Karbala
• Masjid al-Husayn, Cairo

References

1. "Hundreds of thousands' Friday assemblage in Masjid-e-Uzma Kufa". Jafariyanews.com. from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
2. Mervin, Sabrina; Tabbaa, Yasser; Bonnier, Erick (2014). Najaf, The Gate of Wisdom. History, Heritage and Significance of the Holy City of the Shi'a. World Heritage. Unesco Publication Center. ISBN 9789231000287. from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 1 Jun 2020 – via halshs.com.
3. . timesofindia.com. 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020.
4. Nees, Lawrence (2015). Perspectives on Early Islamic Art in Jerusalem. Brill. p. 19. ISBN 978-90-04-30207-5.
5. Kuban, Doğan (1974). The Mosque and Its Early Development. Brill. p. 12. ISBN 978-90-04-03813-4.
6. M. Bloom, Jonathan; S. Blair, Sheila, eds. (2009). "Kufa". The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. p. 400. ISBN 9780195309911.
7. Petersen, Andrew (1996). "Kufa". Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. Routledge. pp. 156–157. ISBN 9781134613663.
8. Marshall Cavendish Reference (2011). Illustrated Dictionary of the Muslim World. Marshall Cavendish. pp. 152. ISBN 9780761479291.
9. Djaït, Hichem (2007). Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (ed.). Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Brill. pp. 290–295. ISBN 978-90-04-15388-2.
10. . The Official Website of Secretariat of Al-Kufa Mosque and it Shrines. Archived from the original on 2010-07-31. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
11. Tabari (2015). The History of Al-Tabari Vol. 13 The Conquest of Iraq, Southwestern Persia, and Egypt: The Middle Years of 'Umar's Caliphate A.D. 636-642/A.H. 15-21 (ebook) (Religion / General, History / Middle East / General, Electronic books, Islamic Empire -- History -- 622-661). Translated by Gautier H. A. Juynboll. SUNY Press. p. 69. ISBN 9781438408125. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
12. Sindawi, Khalid (2008). "Mītham b. Yaḥyā al-Tammār: an important figure in early Shī'ism". Al-Qanṭara. 29 (2): 269–291. doi:10.3989/alqantara.2008.v29.i2.58. ISSN 0211-3589. from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
13. [Bab al-Tha'ban, this name which the people of Umayyah and those who followed tried to change and could not and remained a symbol of the Kufa Mosque and excavated from the venerable Imam Ali (peace be upon him).] (in Arabic). Official website of Great Mosque of Kufa. Archived from the original on 19 September 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
14. . ISNA Fars. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
15. Kartikeya (21 March 2010). "Bohras help War-ravaged Kufa get back its glory". Times of India. from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
16. Tabatabaei, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn (1979). Shi'ite Islam. Suny Press. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-87395-272-9.
17. . The Official Website of Secretariat of Al-Kufa Mosque and it Shrines. Archived from the original on 2010-07-31. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
18. al-Qummi, Ja'far ibn Qūlawayh (2008). Kāmil al-Ziyārāt. trans. Sayyid Mohsen al-Husaini al-Mīlāni. Shiabooks.ca Press. pp. 66–67.
19. Gold, Dore (2007). The Fight for Jerusalem. Regnery. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-59698-029-7. the fight for jerusalem.
20. al-Qummi, Ja'far ibn Qūlawayh (2008). "8". Kāmil al-Ziyārāt. trans. Sayyid Mohsen al-Husaini al-Mīlāni. Shiabooks.ca Press. p. 47.
21. al-Qummi, Ja'far ibn Qūlawayh (2008). "8". Kāmil al-Ziyārāt. trans. Sayyid Mohsen al-Husaini al-Mīlāni. Shiabooks.ca Press. p. 44.
22. . The Official Website of Secretariat of Al-Kufa Mosque and it Shrines. Archived from the original on 2010-07-31. Retrieved 2009-03-01. It is the one the sole four dignified mosques, to which Muslims must travel, and it comes in the third place after the Mosque the Kaaba, the mosque of Prophet

External links

 

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• Official website