Mosque of Kufa: Difference between revisions

The Mosque of Kufa is with 110 meters of length, 101 meters of width, and has an area of 11162 square meters. Its walls are ten meters hight. The open courtyard of the mosque is 5642 square meters, and the area of its [[Shabistans]] is 5520 square meters. The number of its pillars is 187, and it has four minarets each 30 meters tall. The mosque has five gates called: "Bab al-Hujja" (the main entrance), "Bab al-Thu'ban", "Bab al-Rahma", "Bab Muslim b. 'Aqil", and "Bab Hani b. 'Urwa".

According to some [[hadiths]], the construction of the mosque dates back to Prophet [[Adam (a)]]. It was later reconstructed by Prophet [[Noah (a)]] after the storm.

Salman departed from the western bank of [[Euphrates]] and Hudhayfa departed from its eastern bank. They did not like any land until they arrived in Kufa. They both found the land appropriate as a residence for the army. They said two [[rak'as]] of [[prayer]] and asked God to make the place peaceful and stable. When Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas and his army arrived in Kufa, he ordered the construction of a mosque before making any other constructions. Abu Hayja' al-Asadi stood in a place and threw arrows to all directions in order to specify the area of the Mosque of Kufa.

The Mosque of Kufa was, since its construction, a cultural center of the city. When [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] arrived in Kufa in 36/656, he first went to the Mosque of Kufa and delivered a speech for people there. After settling in Kufa, the Imam (a) taught the [[exegesis]] of the [[Qur'an]] and other sciences in the mosque. Many people attended his lectures in this mosque, such as [[Kumayl b. Ziyad]] and [['Abd Allah b. 'Abbas]].

[[Asbagh b. Nubata]] says: addressing people of Kufa, [[Amir al-Mu'minin (a)]] referred to the Mosque of Kufa as "the house of Adam (a), place of Noah (a), residence of [[Idris (a)]], worshiping place of Ibrahim (a) and my brother, [[Khidr (a)]]" and "one of the four mosques selected by God for His people". The Imam (a) also predicted that the [[Black Stone]] (al-Hajar al-Aswad) will be installed in this mosque. There will be, he said, a time when the mosque will be the worshiping place of [[Imam al-Mahdi (a)]] and every believer.

* '''Heavenly Castle:''' according to some [[hadith]]s, the Mosque of Kufa is a "castle of the [[Heaven]]".

* '''Place of [[Sujud]] for the Angels:''' according to hadiths, the angels worshipped God in this sacred place before the creation of Adam (a).

* According to a hadith from [[Imam al-Rida (a)]], the Mosque of Kufa is of such a high ranking that once a person enters it, his or her sins will be forgiven.

* '''Place of Prayer for Prophets:''' [[Abu Basir]] quoted [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] as saying about the Mosque of Kufa that: "the best mosque is the Mosque of Kufa: one thousand prophets and one thousand saints have said prayers in it …".

* '''Prayer in the Mosque of Kufa Can be Said Fully during Travels:''' when a person travels to a place without intending to stay there for ten days, they should say their prayers in a shortened form, except in four places, one of which is the Mosque of Kufa.

* '''Saying Prayer in the Mosque Equals [[Hajj]]:''' [[Imam al-Baqir (a)]] says about the merits of saying one's prayers in the Mosque of Kufa that: "if people knew how much merit it has to say prayers in the Mosque of Kufa, they would go there from distant areas. Truly, saying one's [[prayer|obligatory prayers]] in this mosque equals hajj and saying [[recommended]] prayers there equals [['Umra]].

* '''Superior to All the Mosques:''' Imam al-Sadiq (a) takes saying prayer in the Mosque of Kufa equal to one thousand prayers in another mosque. Also, Imam al-Rida (a) says about saying prayers in this sacred place: "saying an individual prayer in the Mosque of Kufa is superior to seventy [[congregational prayers]] in another mosque".

* '''The Sanctuary of Imam 'Ali (a):''' a hadith is cited in ''[[Bihar al-anwar]]'' from Imam al-Sadiq (a) according to which [[Mecca]] is the sanctuary of God, [[Medina]] is the sanctuary of the [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]], and Kufa is the sanctuary of Imam 'Ali (a). Imam 'Ali (a) made that much of Kufa as his sanctuary that Ibrahim (a) has made of Mecca, and Muhammad (s) has made of Medina.

* '''Center of Imam al-Mahdi's (a) Government:''' according to [[Imam al-Baqir (a)]]: "when our [[Qa'im]] (i.e. Imam al-Mahdi (a)) starts his uprising and goes to Kufa, there will be no believer unless he resides in the city near him or goes to the city". Amir al-Mu'minin (a) said: "a time will come when this place (the Mosque of Kufa) will be a place for the prayer of Imam al-Mahdi (a)".

* Seventy thousand people will be resurrected on the [[Day of Judgment]] in this place and will go to the Heaven without any calculations.

* It counts as a worship to only sit in the Mosque of Kufa without reciting the Qur'an.

# '''Rahba Amir al-Mu'minin:''' in front of the Mosque of Kufa where the gate of the mosque is located, there is a bench on which Imam 'Ali (a) sat and answered people's questions. It is mentioned in some hadiths.

# '''Dakka al-Qada':''' this is the place where Imam 'Ali (a) adjudicated legal cases. There was a short pillar in this position on which the following Qur'anic verse was written: "Surely Allah commands justice and good deeds".

# '''Bayt al-Tasht:''' this is a place where a miracle by Imam 'Ali (a) occurred.

# '''Position of Adam (a):''' the seventh pillar of the Mosque of Kufa is known as the position of Adam (a). This is believed to be the place where God accepted Adam's (a) [[repentance]]. Imam 'Ali (a) said his prayers near this pillar, which is why it is also known as the position of Amir al-Mu'minin (a).

# '''Position of Ibrahim (a):''' the 4th pillar of the mosque near "Bab Anmat" is a place where the prophet [[Ibrahim (a)]] is believed to have said prayers.

# '''Position of Jabra'il:''' the fifth pillar is attributed to [[Gabriel]]. In the night of [[Mi'raj]] when the Prophet (s) was moving from [[al-Masjid al-Haram]] to [[al-Aqsa Mosque]] and arrived in Kufa, Jabra'il told him: "O the messenger of God, you are now across from the Mosque of Kufa. The Prophet (s) asked for God's permission and said two [[rak'as]] of prayers there. [[Imam al-Hasan (a)]] also said prayers near this pillar. Thus, it is also known as the position of Imam al-Hasan (a).

# '''Position of Imam Zayn al-'Abidin (a):''' the third pillar is where [[Imam al-Sajjad (a)]] said prayers. [[Abu Hamza al-Thumali]] says: I saw 'Ali b. al-Husayn (a) (that is, Imam al-Sajjad) entering the Mosque of Kufa, saying two rak'as of prayers, and then praying to God. After a while, he headed home to [[Medina]]. He was told why he had come to that place where his father and grandfather were killed. He said: "I visited my father and said prayers in this mosque".

# '''Position of Imam al-Sadiq (a):''' a person reported: "in the [[Abbasid]] period, I once saw [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] entering the mosque from Bab al-Fil and saying prayers near the forth pillar.

According to a number of hadiths, Kufa will be the center of the global government of Imam al-Mahdi (a). [[Mufaddal b. 'Umar]] asked [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] about where Imam al-Mahdi (a) will govern. He replied: the center of his government will be Kufa, his governmental building will be the Great Mosque of Kufa, and his treasury (and the place where booties of wars will be distributed) will be the [[al-Sahla Mosque]].

* The Mosque of Kufa as a Center for Imam al-Mahdi's (a) Judgeship: Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: "the center of Imam al-Mahdi's (a) government will be in Kufa and the center of his judgeship will be the Mosque of Kufa".

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