Grand Mosque of Basra

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Grand Mosque of Basra
General Information
Established14/635
TypeMosque
LocationBasra
Coordinates30°23′58.92″N 47°44′2.04″E / 30.3997000°N 47.7339000°E / 30.3997000; 47.7339000
Other namesJami' al-Basra • Masjid Imam Ali (a) • Jami' Khutwat Imam Ali (a)
Related eventsImam Ali's (a) sermon to the people of Basra after the Battle of Jamal
Specifications
StatusActive
Area200 square meters
Architecture
RenovationIn different years


Grand Mosque of Basra is the oldest mosque built in Iraq, located in Basra. This mosque is also known as "Jami' Khutwat Imam Ali (a)" (Grand mosque of the footsteps of Imam Ali (a)) due to the presence of the first Imam of Shi'a (a) there. After the battle of Jamal, Imam Ali (a) attended this mosque and gave a sermon to the people. The Grand Mosque of Basra was restored and renovated over the years. Nothing is left of the old mosque except the minaret, and a new mosque with modern architecture has been built next to it. From the beginning, Basra Mosque was a place of holding educational circles and the presence of different schools of thought. Many Iraqi people go to this place on foot on religious occasions.

General Introduction of the Mosque and its Importance

The Grand Mosque of Basra is one of the famous places of worship in Islam.[1] It was the first grand mosque built in Iraq and the third mosque in Islam.[2] What has happened to the Grand Mosque of Basra and made it important throughout history are its various political, judicial, educational, and social functions.[3] Grand Mosque of Basra is known as the first school of jurisprudence, hadith, usul, and philosophy, which was the place of syntactical, literary, theological, and religious discussions and debates among scholars in different eras,[4] and due to the centrality of this mosque in the formation of study circles and the existence of different schools of thought, Basra was given the title "Treasure of Islam".[5]

It has been said that Basra Mosque was a base for Shi'as, and all their activities against the Umayyads originated from this mosque, and they made it a center for fighting and asserting the rights of the Ahl al-Bayt (a).[6] The repentance and declaration of Abu l-Hasan al-Ash'ari's turning away from Mu'tazila[7] and the debate of Hisham b. al-Hakam with 'Amr b. 'Ubayd, the Sunni theologian,[8] are among other events that took place in this mosque.

According to some Shiite jurists, i'tikaf is valid only in Masjid al-Haram, Masjid al-Nabi, Grand Mosque of Kufa, and Grand Mosque of Basra, and it has no problem if it is performed in other mosques with the intention of "raja'" (hoping for acceptance).[9] According to al-Shaykh al-Saduq, i'tikaf is permissible in the four mosques because a just Imam (a) has prayed Friday prayer there, and Imam Ali (a) performed Friday prayer in the Mosque of Basra.[10]

Imam Ali's (a) Attendance in the Mosque

According to a historical report, after the battle of Jamal, Imam Ali (a) entered the mosque of Basra and gave a sermon to the people of Basra on the pulpit.[11] It is stated in the Shia Encyclopedia that soon after Imam Ali's (a) harsh words against the people of Basra, this city became one of the important centers of the Shiites.[12] Due to attending Imam (a) in this mosque, it is known as "Masjid Khutwat Imam Ali (a)"[13] or "Masjid Imam Ali (a)".[14] It is stated in the book al-Isharat ila ma'rifat al-ziyarat that the minaret and mihrab of the mosque were built by Imam Ali (a).[15]

History of Construction and Renovations

The Grand Mosque of Basra was constructed in several stages and underwent structural changes.[16]

It was built when the city of Basra was founded in 14/635 during the caliphate of Umar b. al-Khattab by 'Utba b. al-Ghazwan, the governor of Basra, using reeds and plant stems. For this reason, it was later destroyed in a fire, and during the time of Mu'awiya, Ziyad b. Abih, the governor of Basra, strengthened it with bricks, plaster, and stone pillars.[17] During the Umayyad period and the rule of Ubaydullah b. Ziyad it was rebuilt and expanded.[18] Later, the most significant expansion of the mosque took place in 160/776-7 during the rule of al-Mahdi al-Abbasi, and al-Harun al-Abbasi also added Dar al-Imara to the mosque's courtyard.[19] It is said that during this period, about twenty thousand people performed daily prayer in the mosque.[20]

New Building

The old mosque of Basra has been destroyed,[21] and only one minaret remains.[22] In 2000, the construction of the new mosque was finished outside the old mosque.[23] The area of ​​its building is 200 meters, and it has a large yard.[24] Of course, it is said that the new building does not match the position and significance of the mosque, and its architectural style is not compatible with the history of the mosque.[25] It has also been said that Iraqi Shiites go to this mosque on foot from Basra and other cities on different occasions, such as on the Day of Ashura, the demise of the Prophet (s), the martyrdom of Imam Ali (a), and the birth of Imam al-Mahdi (a).[26]

Imam Ali's (a) Sermon for the People of Basra in the Grand Mosque:

"You were the army of a woman and followed the quadruped (the camel)—[What do you think about me?] When it bellowed, you answered; when it was killed, you fled. Your character is base; your pledge is dissent; your water is bitter. Your city is the nearest to water and remotest from the sky, and I swear by God, your city will drown! So much so that as though I see its mosque like the upper part of a boat. Now, return to your houses."

Gallery

  • Old picture of Basra Mosque.

    Old picture of Basra Mosque.

  • The remaining minaret of the old Jami' Mosque in Basra.

    The remaining minaret of the old Jami' Mosque in Basra.

  • Old picture of Basra Mosque.

    Old picture of Basra Mosque.

  • A view of the minaret of the old mosque

    A view of the minaret of the old mosque

  • Exterior view of the new mosque

    Exterior view of the new mosque

  • Interior view of the new mosque

    Interior view of the new mosque

Notes

  1. ↑ Hirawī, al-Ishārāt ilā maʿrifat al-zīyārāt, p. 72.
  2. ↑ Shānawāz and Mantashlū, Barrasī-yi jāygāh-i masjid-i jāmiʿ-i Baṣra az taʾsīs tā pāyān-i Umawīyān, p. 70.
  3. ↑ Shānawāz and Mantashlū, Barrasī-yi jāygāh-i masjid-i jāmiʿ-i Baṣra az taʾsīs tā pāyān-i Umawīyān, p. 79.
  4. ↑ Shānawāz and Mantashlū, Barrasī-yi jāygāh-i masjid-i jāmiʿ-i Baṣra az taʾsīs tā pāyān-i Umawīyān, p. 90.
  5. ↑ Shānawāz and Mantashlū, Barrasī-yi jāygāh-i masjid-i jāmiʿ-i Baṣra az taʾsīs tā pāyān-i Umawīyān, p. 90.
  6. ↑ Shānawāz and Mantashlū, Barrasī-yi jāygāh-i masjid-i jāmiʿ-i Baṣra az taʾsīs tā pāyān-i Umawīyān, p. 79.
  7. ↑ Subḥānī, Ahl-i sunnat, vol. 1, p. 581, 582.
  8. ↑ Debate between Hisham b. al-Hakam and 'Amr b. al-'Ubayd (Persian).
  9. ↑ Khomeinī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 1, p. 322; Fallāḥzāda, Aḥkām-i Masjid, p. 57, 58.
  10. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Muqniʿ, p. 209.
  11. ↑ Dīnawarī, al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl, p. 151.
  12. ↑ Sayyid Jawādī, Dāʾirat al-maʿārif tashayyuʿ, vol. 3, p. 262.
  13. ↑ Mosque of the footsteps of Imam Ali (a) known as Basra Grand Mosque in Iraq (Persian).
  14. ↑ Muqaddas, Rāhnamā-yi amākin-i zīyāratī wa sīyāḥatī dar Irāq, p. 280.
  15. ↑ Hirawī, al-Ishārāt ilā maʿrifat al-zīyārāt, p. 72.
  16. ↑ Mosque of the footsteps of Imam Ali (a) (Arabic).
  17. ↑ Ibn Qutayba, al-Maʿārif, p. 564.
  18. ↑ Ibn Qutayba, al-Maʿārif, p. 564.
  19. ↑ Shānawāz and Mantashlū, Barrasī-yi jāygāh-i masjid-i jāmiʿ-i Baṣra az taʾsīs tā pāyān-i Umawīyān, p. 72.
  20. ↑ Basra Mosque...the first mosque in Islam outside Mecca and Medina (Arabic).
  21. ↑ Mosque of the footsteps of Imam Ali (a) known as Basra Grand Mosque in Iraq (Persian).
  22. ↑ Shānawāz and Mantashlū, Barrasī-yi jāygāh-i masjid-i jāmiʿ-i Baṣra az taʾsīs tā pāyān-i Umawīyān, p. 72.
  23. ↑ Grand mosque of the footsteps of Imam Ali (a) (Arabic).
  24. ↑ The first mosque in Iraq (Persian).
  25. ↑ Grand mosque of the footsteps of Imam Ali (a) (Arabic).
  26. ↑ Grand mosque of the footsteps of Imam Ali (a) (Arabic).

References

  • Dīnawarī, Aḥmad b. Dāwūd al-. Al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl. Translated to Farsi by Aḥmad Mahdawī Dāmaghānī. 4th edition. Tehran: Nashr-i Ney, 1371 Sh.
  • Fallāḥzāda, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Aḥkām-i Masjid. [n.p], Nūr al-Sajjād, 1378 Sh.
  • Hirawī, ʿAlī b. Abūbakr. Al-Ishārāt ilā maʿrifat al-zīyārāt. Edited by ʿAlī ʿUmar. Cairo: Maktabat al-Thiqāfa al-Dīnīyya,1423 AH.
  • Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī, ʿAbd Allāh b. Muslim . Al-Maʿārif. Edited by Tharwat ʿAkkāsha. Cairo: al-Hayʾat al-Miṣrīyya al-ʿĀmma li l-Kitāb, 1992 CE.
  • Khomeinī, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh. Taḥrīr al-wasīla. Tehran: Muʾassisah-yi Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khomeini, 1392 Sh.
  • Muqaddas, Iḥsān. Rāhnamā-yi amākin-i zīyāratī wa sīyāḥatī dar Irāq. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Mashʿar, 1387 Sh.
  • Ṣadr Sayyid Jawādī, Aḥmad. Dāʾirat al-maʿārif tashayyuʿ. Tehran: Nashr-i Shahīd Saʿīd Muḥibbī, 1380 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Muqniʿ fī al-fiqh. Qom: Muʾassisa al-Imām al-Hādī, 1373 Sh.
  • Shānawāz, Bilāl; Mantashlū, Jamshīd. Barrasī-yi jāygāh-i masjid-i jāmiʿ-i Baṣra az taʾsīs tā pāyān-i Umawīyān. In Tārīkh Farhang wa Tamaddun-i Islāmī 21 (1394 Sh).
  • Subḥānī, Jaʿfar. Ahl-i sunnat. In Dānishnāma-yi Kalām-i Islāmī. Qom: Muʾassisat Imām Ṣādiq (a), 1387 Sh.
  • جامع البصرة.. أول مسجد في الإسلام خارج مكة والمدينة المنورة (Basra Mosque...the first mosque in Islam outside Mecca and Medina (Arabic)). Accessed: 2024/05/14.
  • مسجد خطوة أمير المؤمنين الإمام علي (عليه السلام) (Mosque of the footsteps of Imam Ali (a) (Arabic)). Accessed: 2024/05/14.
  • مسجد خطوه امام علی(ع) معروف به مسجد جامع بصره در عراق (Mosque of the footsteps of Imam Ali (a) known as Basra Grand Mosque in Iraq (Persian)). Accessed: 2024/05/14.
  • مناظره هشام بن حکم و عمرو بن عبید (Debate between Hisham b. al-Hakam and 'Amr b. al-'Ubayd (Persian)). Accessed: 2024/05/14.
  • نخستین مسجد در عراق (The first mosque in Iraq (Persian)). Accessed: 2024/05/14.
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