Imam Ali Mosque: The Shia Shrine of Ali in Najaf
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.8
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Iraq
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Afsharid, Buyid, Ilkhanate, Safavid
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Tomb
On this page19 sections
History
Imam Ali Mosque, also known as the Imam Ali Shrine, is a Shia mosque and shrine in Najaf, Iraq, built around the burial place of Ali ibn Abi Talib during the early Islamic period. Ali was Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, the first Imam in Shia Islam, and the fourth Rashidun caliph in Sunni Islam. The complex became one of the most sacred destinations in Shia Islam and developed into a major center of pilgrimage and scholarship.
Ali’s Burial and the Revealed Grave
Ali was struck by the poisoned sword of Ibn Muljam during the dawn prayer at the Great Mosque of Kufa on 19 Ramadan 40 AH. He died on the night of 21 Ramadan 40 AH, corresponding to 661 CE. Following his instructions, Hasan and Husayn buried him secretly outside Kufa, with members of the family attending. The concealment was intended to protect the grave from desecration by the Kharijites, an early Islamic movement that had broken with Ali and opposed both his supporters and later ruling authorities.
The burial place remained concealed for more than a century. Shia traditions connect its public identification with the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid in the eighth century, after the Umayyad caliphate had declined and the Kharijites had dispersed. Another tradition attributes the revelation of the grave to Ja’far al-Sadiq, the sixth Shia Imam. During the governorship of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in Kufa, about 3,000 graves were excavated in an unsuccessful effort to find Ali’s burial place.
One tradition tells that Harun al-Rashid discovered the sacred area while hunting near Kufa. His dogs repeatedly stopped pursuing a gazelle when it entered the site, prompting an investigation that identified the area as Ali’s burial place. A decorative panel depicting this episode was formerly placed beneath an arch and was later moved to the shrine treasury in 1323 to 1324 in the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar.
Early Shrines and Medieval Development
Harun al-Rashid commissioned the first shrine over the grave around 786 CE. This early building had four entrances, and later descriptions refer to a dome and finial that were red and green. After the Umayyad period, Dawud ibn Ali al-Abbasi reportedly placed a wooden covering over the grave. It was later removed as relations between the Abbasids and the Alids deteriorated. The shrine was subsequently rebuilt by Muhammad ibn Zayd al-Da’i after its destruction under the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil.
A later rebuilding associated with Umar ibn Yahya, a descendant of Ali and a leader of the Talibid community in Kufa, included a dome financed by Umar himself. Another major expansion under al-Da’i al-Saghir, an Alid ruler of Tabaristan, reportedly created a structure with seventy arches.
The most important medieval reconstruction was undertaken by the Buyid ruler Adud al-Dawla and completed around the tenth century. The Buyids were a Shia-oriented Iranian dynasty that controlled much of Iraq and Iran during the tenth and eleventh centuries. Adud al-Dawla also developed Najaf by building houses, baths, and markets, encouraging Shia settlement, appointing shrine servants, and creating extensive endowments. He was the first ruler buried within the shrine complex, in a chamber later known as the Tomb of the Buyid Kings.
When Ibn Battuta visited Najaf in 1327, he described the shrine as an important center of pilgrimage and learning. An adjoining religious school housed Shia students and Sufis and provided newly arrived travelers with food and lodging for three days. Officials and attendants supervised pilgrims entering the sanctuary.
Fire, Rebuilding, and Iranian Patronage
A major fire in 1354 severely damaged the shrine. Wooden decoration, mirrorwork, paintings, textiles, carpets, furnishings, and the shrine library were destroyed, while the section containing the Buyid tombs survived. The library had received manuscripts from Shia scholars, including a three-volume Quran on deerskin traditionally attributed to Ali. One volume retained its writing even though its margins were lost.
The shrine was rebuilt or renewed a few years later, with that rebuilding dated to 760 AH. The surviving medieval structure is associated with the Buyid and Ilkhanate phases, while later rulers and patrons repeatedly repaired and embellished the complex.
Safavid restoration began under Shah Ismail I in the early sixteenth century. The Safavids were an Iranian dynasty that established Twelver Shia Islam as Iran’s state religion. Shah Ismail donated valuable objects, silk carpets, gilded lamps, and inlaid wooden chests. Under Shah Abbas I, the surrounding courtyard was completed according to plans associated with Shaykh Baha’i, a Safavid-era polymath, and Safavid patronage continued through additional repairs, gifts, and decoration.
In 1743, Nader Shah Afshar ordered the dome and twin minarets, previously covered with green ceramic tiles, to be gilded. He financed extensive repairs, donated treasures, and sponsored further tilework. His wife, Razia Begum, also endowed repairs and rebuilding at sacred sites, including much of the shrine’s tilework. Qajar rulers continued this restoration tradition. Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar donated a silver zarih, an ornate metal lattice enclosure around a revered tomb, in 1797. Repairs, including the regilding of the minarets, took place under Fath-Ali Shah in the early nineteenth century, and another silver zarih was donated in 1845 on the orders of Abbas-Qoli Khan, minister to Mohammad Shah.
Modern Damage and Continuing Religious Life
Major repairs and renewal of the mirrorwork in the sanctuary and surrounding halls were completed by 1953. The shrine has continued to expand, including the construction of the Lady Fatimah Courtyard behind the shrine to the west. This became one of the largest shrine-development projects in Iraq, and its western end contains a station associated with Imam Zayn al-Abidin.
Attacks by the Ba’athist regime during the 1991 uprising in Iraq damaged the shrine, including its zarih, sarcophagus, and inscriptions. On 29 August 2003, two car bombs detonated outside the shrine during Friday prayer, killing 95 people, including the Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim. The attack prompted mourning processions and anti-Ba’athist protests across Iraq.
The original Al-Ras Mosque, associated with the headward direction of Ali’s grave, was demolished by the shrine administration in 2005 and replaced with a modern building. Preservationists argued that the demolition harmed the architectural integrity and heritage of the complex. Its Ilkhanate-period mihrab, a recessed prayer niche indicating the direction of prayer, was restored in 2023 after eighteen years in storage and was intended for display in the shrine museum.
The complex continues to serve Shia pilgrimage and scholarship. Shia traditions also associate it with the burials of the prophets Adam and Noah, while hadith attributed to Ja’far al-Sadiq and other Shia authorities describe pilgrimage to Ali’s tomb as possessing special spiritual merit. Courtyard chambers historically housed leading Imami Shia scholars, and many scholars are buried within the complex, including Allama al-Hilli, Shaykh al-Tusi, Muqaddas Ardabili, Ja’far al-Shushtari, Murtada al-Ansari, Muhammad Husayn Naini, Abu al-Hasan al-Isfahani, and Akhund Khurasani.
Remains
Layout and Courtyard
The shrine complex is organized around a central tomb chamber, surrounding halls, a large courtyard, the eastern Golden Iwan, twin minarets, entrance portals, arcades, subsidiary chambers, and associated mosques. It covers approximately 13,244 square meters, while the main courtyard covers about 4,219 square meters. The courtyard is two stories high, measures approximately 82 by 77 meters, and is surrounded by arcaded chambers with fourteen iwans, large architectural spaces open on one side, along each side.
Main Courtyard
Historically, the courtyard chambers and arcades provided accommodation for scholars and students. They are now largely used as administrative offices. White marble paving covers the courtyard, while colored glazed tiles face its walls. Quranic verses in interlaced Arabic script run along the upper borders, and Isfahan tilework decorates the facades and vaulted ceilings of the chambers. Much of this decoration has been renewed or restored.
The courtyard has five entrances. Its design is described as directing the rising sun toward Ali’s tomb throughout the year, with particular points corresponding to the sun’s position over Najaf in winter and summer.
Golden Iwan and Entrances
Golden Iwan
The eastern Golden Iwan is a large rectangular, roofless structure open to the sky. Its walls are covered in gold, and it rises approximately 40 meters high and extends about 45 meters in length. Shoe-storage areas on its northern and southern sides open toward the courtyard. The iwan, its facade, and the flanking minarets were originally decorated with ceramic tiles before their surfaces were gilded under Nader Shah in 1743.
Gilded Persian verses praising Ali, composed by Orfi Shirazi and written by Muhammad Ja’far Isfahani in 1743, decorate the Golden Iwan. Persian and Arabic poetry, Quranic inscriptions, and sayings attributed to Ali also cover the surrounding chambers and facades. Some inscriptions damaged during the Ba’athist attacks were later replaced or restored in gold.
Minarets and Portals
Two gilded minarets flank the Golden Iwan. Each rises approximately 35 meters and bears Quranic inscriptions, including verses from Surah al-Jumu’ah. Monumental iwans and portals provide entrances on the eastern, northern, southern, and southwestern sides. The principal entrances are the Clock Portal, the al-Tusi Portal, and the Qibla Portal. Other entrances include the Muslim ibn Aqil Portal and the al-Amara, or al-Faraj, Portal.
The Clock Portal is crowned by a tall clock tower decorated with mosaic tilework. Its clock mechanism and bells were manufactured in Manchester and brought to the shrine in 1887. The bells bear identifying iron engravings.
Sanctuary and Tomb Enclosure
Sanctuary Halls
Four riwaqs, covered halls or arcades adjoining a courtyard or sanctuary, surround the sanctuary. They connect with entrances on the north, south, and east, while the northern and southern halls also link the courtyard with the sanctuary. Iranian tilework and mirror mosaics cover their walls and ceilings, and much of the mirrorwork has been replaced over time.
The sanctuary floor is paved with marble donated by the Isma’ili community, while Iranian marble faces the lower parts of the walls. Four silver doors and a fifth bronze door open into the sanctuary. Across the shrine’s walls, ceilings, and surrounding surfaces, ceramic tilework, mirror mosaics, marble, gold-coated metal, colored glass, enamelwork, and carved or inlaid wood form a layered decorative interior.
Zarih and Sarcophagus
The tomb is enclosed by a silver zarih donated by Saif al-Din, leader of the Isma’ili community. Indian artisans worked on it for five years, and it was unveiled on 5 August 1942 at a ceremony attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Said and prominent Shia political and religious figures. The enclosure is approximately 4 meters high and measures 6.35 by 5.10 meters. It has four lattice windows on each eastern and western side and five on each northern and southern side, with one southern opening serving as the entrance.
Beneath the silver enclosure stands a finely inlaid teakwood sarcophagus originally donated by Shah Ismail I. It measures approximately 4.83 by 3.03 by 1.83 meters and is protected by a glass case installed in 1942, when the new zarih was placed. Quranic passages, sections from Jawshan al-Kabir, traditions concerning Ali, and an inscription naming the craftsman Muhammad Husayn Najjar Shirazi and the date 1198 AH decorate its surface.
Precious offerings are displayed or kept beside and within the tomb enclosure. They include antique jewelry, diamond necklaces, ruby ornaments, a gold crown set with diamonds and emeralds, and a golden lantern decorated with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and pearls. The sarcophagus and zarih were damaged during the 1991 attacks, and traces of the damage remain visible. Near the head of the tomb, a southern section contains paired finger-shaped features associated with a local tradition concerning the martyrdom of Murrah ibn Qays.
Dome
A large double-shell, onion-shaped dome crowns the shrine. The inner shell is semicircular, decorated with mosaic tiles, approximately 23.5 meters high from the sanctuary floor, and about 13.5 meters in internal diameter. The outer shell has a bulbous profile and measures approximately 18.15 meters from its base to the finial, with an outer diameter of about 16.6 meters. A void separates the two shells.
Twelve windows provide light and ventilation. Each opening is approximately 4 meters high, 2.1 meters wide, and 1.45 meters deep. Colored glass panels bearing Quranic verses decorate the inner drum, while the interior of the dome contains inscriptions from Surah al-Fajr and Surah al-Naba in Thuluth, a large curving style of Arabic calligraphy. Twenty-four verses of Ibn Abi al-Hadid’s Ayniyyah, a celebrated Arabic poem, appear above the drum and twenty-four below it. Cellular muqarnas forms, used in transitional zones and vaulting, support the dome and are covered with mirror mosaics.
Until 1743, the outer dome was clad in glazed ceramic tiles. Nader Shah replaced them with gilded metal plates. The dome now contains approximately 3,426 gilded panels, each using about eight mithqals of pure gold. Enamelwork was also applied to the interior inscription during his renovations.
Associated Buildings and Memorial Spaces
Al-Ras Mosque
The shrine is connected on its western side to the Al-Ras Mosque, which was oriented toward the head of Ali’s grave. Its original Ilkhanate-period structure was demolished and replaced with a modern building. The historic mihrab was restored in 2023 after being held in storage and was intended for museum display.
Lady Fatimah Courtyard
The Lady Fatimah Courtyard is a newer courtyard constructed behind the shrine to the west. Its planned expansion was intended to increase the complex’s area to approximately 140,000 square meters. At its western end is a station associated with Imam Zayn al-Abidin.
Burial Places of Scholars
The complex contains burial places and memorial spaces associated with numerous Shia scholars. Those named in connection with the site include Allama al-Hilli, Sayyid Mustafa Khomeini, Muqaddas Ardabili, Ja’far al-Shushtari, Murtada al-Ansari, Husayn Muhaddith Nuri, Sayyid Asad Allah Shushtari, Muhammad Husayn Naini, Sayyid Abu al-Hasan Isfahani, Akhund Khurasani, and Shaykh al-Tusi.
