Abu Hanifa Mosque

Coordinates: 33°22′20″N 44°21′30″E / 33.372091°N 44.358409°E / 33.372091; 44.358409
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Abu Hanifa Mosque
Arabic: جامع الإمام الأعظم, romanized: Gāmi` al-imām al-aʿẓam
Abu Hanifa Mosque
Religion
AffiliationIslam
SectSunni Islam
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusMosque and shrine
LeadershipImam(s):
  • Sheikh Abd al-Sattar Abd al-Jabbar[1]
  • Sheikh Ahmed Hassan al-Taha
StatusActive
Location
LocationBaghdad, Iraq
Abu Hanifa Mosque is located in Baghdad
Abu Hanifa Mosque
Location in Baghdad
Geographic coordinates33°22′20″N 44°21′30″E / 33.372091°N 44.358409°E / 33.372091; 44.358409
Architecture
Style
Creator
Date establishedc. 985–986 CE / 375 AH
Specifications
Capacity5,000 worshipers
Interior area10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft)
Dome(s)4
Minaret(s)2
Minaret height35 metres (115 ft)
Shrine(s)1

The Abu Hanifa Mosque (

mosques in Baghdad, Iraq
.

It is built around the tomb of

Hanafi Madhhab or school of Islamic religious jurisprudence. It is in the al-Adhamiyah
district of northern Baghdad, which is named after Abu Hanifa's reverential epithet Al-imām al-aʿẓam ("The Great Leader").

American troops damaged it on April 11, 2003: its clock tower was hit by a rocket.[2]

Background

Abu Hanifa mosque in 2015, the minaret and golden-cream dome visible.

Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur offered Abu Hanifa to be Qadi al-qudat, chief judge, but he refused, which caused him being tortured and put in prison. He was lashed 110 lashes until he agreed. Al-Mansur ordered Abu Hanifa to make fatwas that expand the caliph's authority, which Abu Hanifa disagreed to do, leading him back to prison.[3]

While he was in prison, Abu Hanifa died in 150 AH / 767 CE in Baghdad, either from being poisoned or from old age.[4] He was buried in al-Khayzuran Cemetery, named after al-Khayzuran bint Atta that was buried in it, 23 years after Abu Hanifa was.[5] It was said that his funeral was attended by 50,000 people, and was attended by al-Mansur himself.[6]

History

Buwayhids

During the

Buwayhid rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, in 375 AH / 985–986 CE, a medium-sized mosque was built near Abu Hanifa's tomb, by the orders of Samsam al-Dawla.[7] It was said that Abu Jaafar al-Zammam built a hall inside of the mosque in 379 AH.[8]

Seljuks

Later, in 459 AH / 1066 CE, the Grand Vizier of the

madhab. According to Ibn Khallikan, the school was opened on September 22, 1067, therefore, the Great Imam school is the first school in Baghdad.[10]
It took four months and a half to build the school (from January 8, 1067 to May 15, 1067).

The

Ali ibn Abu Talib. He built a hallway for it and a nave, making it a big mosque. He built a school for the followers of Abu Hanifa and brought teachers for them and gave them much money to spend. He did a good job in that matter.[11]

— Sibt ibn al-Jawzi
, Mir'at al-zaman

While Khadija Arslan-Khatun, the sister of Sultan

Abu'l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi
, Al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Milouk w al-Umam

Ottoman era

Abu Hanifa Mosque in 1950s

After the invasion of Baghdad by the

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent first visited, after invading Iraq, Najaf and Karbala. And then, he visited the abolished mosque of Abu Hanifa and ordered to rebuild it and recover all the damages.[14] Along with recovering the mosque, they also added new features to it, like a minaret, a hall, a bathroom, from 50 to 140 shops and the dome that they rebuilt was a dome that was never seen like it before. They also built a square fortress around the mosque and a watchtower. The fortress was armed with 150 soldiers with different military equipment.[13]

Golden Age

In 1638, the Ottomans

madhab. A luxurious dome was built on the mosque. He also brought some of the al-Ubaid tribe to live in houses around the mosque to protect it.[14] The sultan ordered to renew the school and appointed employees to manage the school, along with allowing celebrations and holidays in the school.[15] With the administration of Shaykh al-Islām Yahia, the sultan ordered to rebuild the buildings around the mosque and decorate it with strips of gold and silver, decorate the mosque with green wool drapes and expand the upper and lower gates. The mosque became at its greatest during the period of the rule of Sultan Murad IV.[15]

In 1080 AH / 1669 CE, the brother of the vizier, Mohammed Bek Daftary, reconstructed old parts of the mosque and built a hallway in it.[16] In 1090 AH / 1689 CE, Omar Pasha reconstructed the mosque and made its garden one of the most wonderful gardens in Baghdad.[17]

Rebuilding and expanding

In 1757, during the rule of the

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, which was welcomed with superior greetings by the residents of Baghdad because of its holiness.[19]

In 1288 AH / 1871 CE, the mother of

Abdülaziz, Pertevniyal Sultan, vowed when she was sick, that if she got healed, she will rebuild the mosque with her own money, which she did after she got better.[8] Sultan Abdulaziz ordered to form a committee that consisted of three employees in the mosque and the mayor of Adhamiyah. The cost of reconstructing the mosque was 80,000 liras.[20] The committee made a construction map and gave it to the most popular engineer in Baghdad, Asit Karz, the map contained two hallways, several rooms from the south, east and north, a garden, a chapel, a big courtyard and a school for teaching Quran. The reconstructing lasted for five years.[21]

Twentieth century

Abu Hanifa mosque in 1919
Abu Hanifa mosque during the 1960s.

In 1910, Sultan Abdul Hamid II ordered to reconstruct the mosque, renew the wall and build more rooms for students and poor people. These renovations costed 2,300 liras.[18] There were several other reconstructions over the years. The most important ones were in 1918 and 1935, where the old rooms were replaced with bigger new rooms,[22] and 1948, where they renewed the flooring and verses of Al-Fath was written on the walls of the hallways.

In 1959, after the

1958 Revolution, loads of upgrades were done on the mosque. The government gave the construction money to the engineer, Najmuddin Abdullah al-Jumaili. He started working in Ramadan 1379 AH / February 1960 CE with the construction lasting for five years. These upgrades included:[22]

Battle of Adhamiyah

On April 10, 2003, during the Battle of Baghdad (2003), a four hours fight went on between the American forces and the Iraqi forces that were positioned inside the mosque. Parts of the domes, clock tower and the halls were destroyed. People that lived near the mosque cleaned the mosque from shattered glass and battle effects, along with protecting the mosque from those who stole most of Baghdad.[23] The Sunni endowment, with the corporation of several companies and families, rebuilt the destroyed parts of the mosque, until it was fully recovered in 2004.[23]
Later, in 2006, missiles were fired by a Katyusha rocket launcher and fell in the mosque's courtyard without any damages done to the mosque.[23]

Description

The total area of the mosque is 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft) and it can accommodate 5,000 worshipers. On Friday prayers, the regular number of worshipers is 1,000, while on the regular everyday prayers, 200-250 worshipers come to the mosque.[23]

Main hall

Main hall of the mosque in 2014

The main hall is a great rectangular hall with an area of 578 square metres (6,220 sq ft). It consists of eight marble pillars with a large dome on top of them with iron chains hanging from them to hold the chandeliers,[24] with three other domes built around it on three rectangular pillars made of stone and plaster. The dome of the main hall is decorated with small accurate trappings, just like the doors and pillars.[24] The walls are also covered with Jordanian marble, three meters above the ground. The main hall contained two niches covered with geometric motifs with four pillars built around them, decorated with gorgeous trappings and writings of Al-Baqara.[25]

Hallways

The mosque had two hallways that surround the main hall, one from the east and another from the north, with an area of 800 square metres (8,600 sq ft) each.[26] 26 domes are built on top of the hallways, based on 12 pillars. Between every one of them 4.5 metres (15 ft).[26] There are three doors for the hallways, one from the side of the residential area and two from the side of the markets.[27]

Clock tower

A view of the main hall 2012

In 1919, the big double-faced clock was given by the mosque of

Abdul-Qadir Gilani to the Abu Hanifa mosque to fix it and place it in the mosque, but it was old and most of it was damaged.[28] Abu Hanifa mosque published in the newspapers, on February 17, 1921, the need of a specialist to help fixing the clock, but no one responded.[29] On March 17, 1921, Abdul Razzaq Mahsoob promised to check it and, if possible, fix it. After examining it, he found it very damaged and incapable to function, so he requested making another clock that looks like the old one from the Directorate of Religious Endowments. They accepted the request on March 24.[29] On March 25, 1925, the work started on the clock in Mahsoob's house, where he made a four-faced clock with the help of his sons, Mohammed Rasheed and Abdul Hadi.[28] It was completed on December 28, 1929, where Mahsoob gave it to the Directorate of Religious Endowments, but they did not take it, because they weren't sure of it.[30] He hanged it on a high wall in house until October 10, 1932, where an exhibition was opened, where Mahsoob displayed the clock and got the first place for it.[30] It stayed in the gardens of the exhibition until February 1933, where the directorate accepted the clock but didn't hang it because there was no tower. It stayed for 26 years in the directorate's stocks until 1961, where the tower was built and the clock was hanged.[29] In 1973, the clock tower was covered with golden aluminum sheets.[30]

Tomb chamber

Located under the main dome, the tomb chamber is a wide room. Abu Hanifa is buried in the middle of the room, his grave covered by a wooden Zarih with metal bars.

Gallery

  • Side view of the Mosque in 1912
    Side view of the Mosque in 1912
  • An outer view of Abu Hanifa mosque from 1920
    An outer view of Abu Hanifa mosque from 1920
  • Adhamiya Clock Tower
    Adhamiya Clock Tower
  • Abu Hanifa Mosque, in 2008
    Abu Hanifa Mosque, in 2008
  • Tomb of Imam Abu Hanifa in the Mosque
    Tomb of Imam Abu Hanifa in the Mosque

See also

References

  1. ^ "Imam of the luti Abu Hanifa mosque, Abd al-Sattar Abd al-Jabbar, calls the security forces to stop some of their members from provoking people in a way that raises sectarian gaps". Sharqiya Television. May 21, 2014. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  2. ^ Scenes from post-2003 Iraq Archived 2019-03-29 at the Wayback Machine,.
  3. ^ Ibn al-Bazzaz, Mohammed M. (1904). Virtues of Imam Abu Hanifa. Riyadh: National King Fahd Library.
  4. ISBN 9960892883
    .
  5. ^ al-Aadhamy, Waleed (2001). Elders of Time and Neighbors of Nu'man. Baghdad: al-Raqeem Library.
  6. ISBN 9771024361
    .
  7. ^ Nasir, Turki M. (2011). "Minarets: Great Imam Mosque (Abu Hanifa An-Nu'man)". al-Wa'i al-Islami (555). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  8. ^ a b al-Maqdisi, al-Bushari (1991). Best partitions in the knowledge of the region (3 ed.). Madbouli Library.
  9. ^ al-Aadhamy, Hashim (1964). History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques. Vol. 1. Baghdad: al-Ani Press. p. 28.
  10. ^ Jawad, Mustafa (1940). "The First School in Iraq". al-Mu'allim al-Jadeed (1).
  11. ^ Ibn al-Jouzi, Abu Muzaffar. Mir'at Az-zaman.
  12. Ibn al-Jawzi, Abu'l-Faraj. Al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Milouk w al-Umam
    . Vol. 16. Beirut: Scientific Books Press. p. 100.
  13. ^ a b al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 29.
  14. ^ a b c d Al Shakir, Osama S. (October 30, 2013). "History of the Mosque of Abu Hanifa and its school". Abu Hanifa An-Nu'man Mosque.
  15. ^ a b al-Alousi, Mahmoud S. (1924). History of Baghdad's mosque and its monuments. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  16. ^ al-Azzawi, Abbas (1935). History of Baghdad between the two invasions (5 ed.). p. 101.
  17. ^ al-Azzawi. History of Baghdad between the two invasions (5 ed.). p. 115.
  18. ^ a b c al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 54.
  19. ^ al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 77.
  20. ^ al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 31.
  21. ^ al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 32.
  22. ^ a b al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 36.
  23. ^ a b c d "Abu Hanifa Mosque". Masajid al-Iraq. Archived from the original on 2016-09-17. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  24. ^ a b al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 37.
  25. ^ al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 40.
  26. ^ a b al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 42.
  27. ^ al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 43.
  28. ^ a b al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 48.
  29. ^ a b c "Story of Abu Hanifa Moaque". Radio Dijla.[permanent dead link]
  30. ^ a b c al-Aadhamy. History of the Great Imam mosque and al-Adhamiyah mosques 1. p. 49.
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