The Mausoleum, or Holy Meadow, of Imam Ali ibnMusa ibn Ja’far ar-Ridha (lit. The Satisfied) is situated inthe city of Mashhad, Iran. It is considered to be one of the key religious shrineswhich many Muslims from around the world will visit in

the form of a ziyarat, or pilgrimage. Born in Medina on the 11th of Dhu’l Qida, 148 AH,Imam al-Ridha, the eighth of twelve holy Imams fromthe direct lineage of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, wasmartyred in Tus, Iran, on 17 Safar 203 AH.

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A Unique Architectureand Rare Libraries

The Shrine ofImam al-RedhaThe Shrine ofImam al-Redha

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The Dome of Imamal-Redha

Reportage by:Ali Hashim al-AsadiPhotographs: The centre forArtistic creativity– Mashad

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years 1006 - 1016 AH on the orders of ShahAbbas following an Uzbek attack.The Mausoleum has two domes: The first isseveral centuries old, deep and concaveinside the tomb; the second was built on topof the first by order of Shah Abbas II. ThisDome is more than 31 metres high. Inaddition, there are two lighthouses, oneclose to the dome, the other opposite it in theAbbasid Hall (both coated with gold). Theselighthouses are separated by distance sothat visitors who enter the Mausoleumsuppose that the dome is located betweenboth lighthouses. There are six additionallighthouses, two built on the northern andsouthern gates of the aisle (courtyard),which are adorned with gold and porcelain;another two smaller ones on the southernside of the Courtyard of Imam Khomeini(facing one another); and the last two on theGawhar Shad Mosque. Thus, there are a

one is known as “the shining tomb”, or “thetomb of gold and silver”; the fifth (current one)has a thick layer of gold and silver.A remarkable feature is the capping which isdone without any tying or binding tools, andwhich has fourteen holes. The design of thedome along with its ornaments, arches,paintwork and decoration is in harmony withthe artistic features of the architecture of theMausoleum and its symbols. The floralpaintwork is a particular attraction,symbolizing the Holy Prophet and hisimmediate Family, and their descendants,the Holy Imams. Looking at it all closely,one’s belief in the Almighty is reinforced.

The GravestoneThis has changed over time. The oldest rock onthe grave dates back to more than ninecenturies and is of marble, with Arabicengravings that include chapters of the Holy

total of eight lighthouses, symbolicallyrepresenting the Eighth Imam.The Mausoleum’s other parts include thefollowing: Tomb and gravestone, Mosque ofBalasar, Galleries, Aisles (Courtyards),Halls, The drum building, The Sanctuary,Shoe Wardrobes.

The Mausoleum The Mausoleum in Mashhad is the fifth suchtomb built on the gravesite in 1421 AH,coinciding with the Feast of Immolation. As forthe other four tombs, the first one was builtduring the reign of Tahmasb in 957AH(preserved in the Central City Museum andmade of wood with gold and silver-type leaf;the second one is made of steel set withemerald and ruby - around two thousandstones in all; The third is also of steel, itsceiling covered with golden-leafed wood andits door set with precious stones; the fourth

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The Home of Governorship (Dar al-Wiliah)

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years 1006 - 1016 AH on the orders of ShahAbbas following an Uzbek attack.The Mausoleum has two domes: The first isseveral centuries old, deep and concaveinside the tomb; the second was built on topof the first by order of Shah Abbas II. ThisDome is more than 31 metres high. Inaddition, there are two lighthouses, oneclose to the dome, the other opposite it in theAbbasid Hall (both coated with gold). Theselighthouses are separated by distance sothat visitors who enter the Mausoleumsuppose that the dome is located betweenboth lighthouses. There are six additionallighthouses, two built on the northern andsouthern gates of the aisle (courtyard),which are adorned with gold and porcelain;another two smaller ones on the southernside of the Courtyard of Imam Khomeini(facing one another); and the last two on theGawhar Shad Mosque. Thus, there are a

one is known as “the shining tomb”, or “thetomb of gold and silver”; the fifth (current one)has a thick layer of gold and silver.A remarkable feature is the capping which isdone without any tying or binding tools, andwhich has fourteen holes. The design of thedome along with its ornaments, arches,paintwork and decoration is in harmony withthe artistic features of the architecture of theMausoleum and its symbols. The floralpaintwork is a particular attraction,symbolizing the Holy Prophet and hisimmediate Family, and their descendants,the Holy Imams. Looking at it all closely,one’s belief in the Almighty is reinforced.

The GravestoneThis has changed over time. The oldest rock onthe grave dates back to more than ninecenturies and is of marble, with Arabicengravings that include chapters of the Holy

total of eight lighthouses, symbolicallyrepresenting the Eighth Imam.The Mausoleum’s other parts include thefollowing: Tomb and gravestone, Mosque ofBalasar, Galleries, Aisles (Courtyards),Halls, The drum building, The Sanctuary,Shoe Wardrobes.

The Mausoleum The Mausoleum in Mashhad is the fifth suchtomb built on the gravesite in 1421 AH,coinciding with the Feast of Immolation. As forthe other four tombs, the first one was builtduring the reign of Tahmasb in 957AH(preserved in the Central City Museum andmade of wood with gold and silver-type leaf;the second one is made of steel set withemerald and ruby - around two thousandstones in all; The third is also of steel, itsceiling covered with golden-leafed wood andits door set with precious stones; the fourth

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Qur’an. It is currently on exhibition at theground floor of the Holy Asetana Museum. Asfor the newer rock, this is also finely carvedbright marble.

Other Artistic Features of the MausoleumThe attractive artistic features of theMausoleum, with its arabesque design, hasparticular characteristics such as entwinedfloral branches and ornaments.The arabesque consists of two parts:- The Floral Design based on abstract, circleand twisting branches, flowers, blossoms,and trees shapes.- Geometric Design based on straight lines anddifferent angles (the so-called ‘Making lines’) Most of the time, both of these designs areused together with the handwriting toproduce a unique masterpiece of art from allthese things.Indeed, the Mausoleum itself is generallyconsidered to be an artistic and Islamicarchitectural masterpiece, not to mention alegendary tourist attraction in its own right.

Balaster MosqueThis is also known as the mosque of theDirection of the Head, that is the head of theImam’s body, the closest place to the tomb.It is a small rectangular construct located onthe western side of the grave, almost athousand years old, and built by order of

Abul Hassan Araki, the Minister of theGhaznavi Governorate. This mosque is amere eight metres long and ten metres high,and the lower parts of its walls are coveredwith marble while the remaining part of thewall is covered with marbled porcelain.

GalleriesThe gallery, whose ceilings vary in height, isan expression of the religious nature of theMausoleum’s architecture, being an areabetween two lines of pillars that are parallelto the Qibla, (direction of prayer) wallstretching north to south. Some see it as anannex built onto the sides of the mosque inthe vicinity of the courtyard.The Mausoleum is distinguished by its manygalleries (up to twenty-one, in fact) that aresituated in an area space of 12,543 squaremetres of which 10,715 sq.m was recentlymodernized following the Islamic Revolution ofIran. Most of these galleries have beautifulIslamic names, such as ‘Home of Happiness’,‘Home of Peace’, ‘Home of Qur’an’, ‘Home ofThanks’, and ‘Home of Monotheism’.What attracts the attention of visitorsparticularly is that these galleries also containrare architectural designs and geometricpatterns, stony knots, mirror ornaments anddecorations. There are shapes made of plasteras well as gilt-edged paintings and drawings.The oldest gallery is known as ‘Home of theLearners’, and was built during the time of

Timur by order of the Lady Gawhar Shad Agha,wife of Mirza Shahrukh, son of Prince Timur, in841AH, coinciding with the foundation of themen-only Gawhar Shad Mosque. Religiousrituals, including recitations of the Holy Qur’an,take place in the southern end of the tomb,which consists of seven corridors that eachhave golden doors leading to the ‘Home ofMastership’, and on towards the farther parts ofthe Mausoleum itself. The porcelain at thenorthern wall is decorated with beautifulcalligraphy that is considered to be the mostimportant historical element of the architecture.The gallery known as ‘The Dome of HatimKhani’ was built in 1011AH by order of theminister, Hatimbek, in one of the ancienthistorical buildings located to the east of thetomb. Its floor is marble, the walls covered withprecious porcelain with attractiveornamentation and paintings along withchapters and verses from the Qur’an.‘The Home of Pleasure’ is located on thewestern side of ‘Freedom Courtyard’ which ischaracterized by a fabulous golden doorthat leads to ‘The Home of Peace’. The‘Dome of Allah’ is one of the most preciousexamples of art and architecture in theMausoleum, and is octagonally designedwith halls, small and large. This was built byorder of one of the Safavid princes duringthe reign of Shah Abbas, in the north-easternside of the tomb, and incorporates a meetingor prayer room for women.The gallery known as ‘The Home of Mastership’(referred to above) covers an area of 2,700sq.mand has a marble floor, the edges of which arecovered with Chinese marble.‘The Home of Mercy’, finally, was inaugurated in1992. At its centre, on top of the eastern wall, isa fabulous piece of art that depicts theafternoon of Yaum-e Ashura (The Day ofAshura), the holy festival in which Muslimscommemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husayn,grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, atKarbala. There are also other paintings herethat help create an overall spiritual atmosphere.Some galleries are used for religious studies,rituals (such as washing) and the preaching ofsermons, whilst others are used for funeralsand wakes, whilst yet others house the gravesof religious masters and teachers of the past,such as Shaykh al-Bahai’i, the renownedLebanese Islamic scholar who died in Isfahanin 1030AH, whose body was then transferredto Mashhad according to his will.

The CourtyardThe courtyard in religious architecture is atype of space that is either covered oruncovered. In civil architecture, thecourtyard is the essence of various styles ofIslamic architecture - the doors lead to it

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Central Library Mosque

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and the windows overlook it. Courtyards arealso of great importance in relation to tombs,and might be utilized as meeting places forvisitors or for praying, in addition to otherreligious rituals during feasts or funerals.Moreover, courtyards can be very attractive,their ornamentation and centuries-oldporcelain capturing one’s attention.The first courtyard founded by order ofPrince Ali Sheernwai during the reign ofSultan Husayn Baiqra (875 – 913AH) wasoriginally called the ‘ancient courtyard’, butis nowadays known in Iran as the ‘IslamicRevolution Courtyard’, and is considered tobe one of the most luxurious buildings inmodern Islamo-Persian architecture.The last courtyard, which is still underconstruction, is a part of a huge project forthe Mausoleum which was begun after therevolution. This is the ‘holy courtyard’, whichhas an area of 57,000sq.m. Two furthercourtyards are proposed for building on anarea of 13,000sq.m, in the eastern andwestern sections.Following the revolution, the Qods Courtyardwas built along with the Courtyard of theIslamic Republic. In the middle of RevolutionCourtyard is an octagonal watering placewhere visitors can drink ‘holy water’. On topof this stands a golden dome, butsurrounding the water area are four sinksthat are used for performing ablutions. Inone of the rooms of this courtyard is thegrave of Shaykh Hur al-Amily, author of thefamous treatise, Shi’a Methodology. He wasone of the great Lebanese Islamic scholarswho died in Mashhad in 1104AH. A remarkable feature of this courtyard is therectangular sink for performing ablutionsbefore the prayer, as well as a dial whichshows the noon-time throughout the wholeyear. People gather here often, especiallyduring functions such as funerals,condolences, and so on.The largest courtyard, therefore, is theIslamic Republic Courtyard and the smallestthe Qods Courtyard.

HallsThe architectural term, ‘Hall’, means awide vaulted room with an open end thatleads to a courtyard through a gallery, itsother end closed by a wall. Generally, it isan architectural unit (square orrectangular) with either a vaulted ceilingor a flat one surrounded by three wallsfrom three sides, the fourth side being leftopen. (NB. In Persian, ‘Ivan’ means‘Throne Hall’).

The Halls are part of the Mausoleum:The southern hall, or ‘Hall of Gold’, is one of theways to visit the grave of the Holy Imam. It is a

beautiful section of the Mausoleum, withgolden ceiling & walls. It is sometimes knownas ‘Naderi Hall’ after Nader Shah who orderedits gold coating in 1145AH.The Northern hall, or Abbasid Hall, was built byorder of Shah Abbas and was eponymouslynamed. On its top is one of the two goldenlighthouses of the tomb.The Western Hall, or clock hall, has twosections that are set with painting and mosaic.On the top of its door is a large clock beneatha small dome (seen from all four sides). Thisclock tower, along with another at the end ofFreedom Courtyard, is considered to be thehighest places of Asetana.The Eastern Hall, built on the orders ofShah Abbas is 26 metres high andincorporates two additional halls. On topof it is the Nakkara Building which isluxurious and worthy of the visitors’attention. ‘Nakkara’ literally means a kindof drum on which one knocks in order toannounce the time of sunrise and sunsetthroughout the whole year except duringthe Islamic months of Muharram andSafar, as well as during funerals andcondolence ceremonies.

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The ResortsThese are the gateways through whichvisitors enter the Mausoleum and exit it. Theyalso serve as a shelter for visitors, especiallyin cases of accidents and emergencies. Thearea is also generally used by homelesspeople too, and as a place of immediaterefuge for anybody.

Shoe WardrobesThese are the places between the galleriesand the courtyards (halls) where visitors’shoes are kept.

Annexes to the MausoleumThe buildings connected with the tomb,around it or close to it, include:Gawhar Shad Mosque, Central Library,Library of Gawhar Shad Mosque (separatebuilding), Museums, Seminary, HospitalityHome of Imam ar-Ridha (peace be uponhim), Buildings around the Mausoleum,Hospital, Some scientific schools, Complexof Islamic research centres.

Gawhar Shad MosqueBuilt in 821AH by order of Gawhar Shad

„The southern hall, or ‘Hall of Gold’, is one of the waysto visit the grave of the Holy Imam. It is a beautiful sectionof the Mausoleum, with golden ceiling & walls.

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The Dome of Gawhar Shad Mosque

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Central LibraryThis is one of the oldest Islamic libraries(more than six centuries old in fact!) inexistence, which has a distinguishedposition in the Islamic World. It is famous forits valuable collection of books as well asmanuscripts and copies of the Qur’an.Indeed, scientists, researchers andacademic visitors, as well as laymen, stillcome here from all over the world to benefitfrom its unique catalogue.

After the revolution, the library was extendedand removed to newer building which has awonderful architectural design and is wellworth a visit. It is located in an area of28,800sq.m and boasts a million texts, with acapacity for five million. At the present time,there are more than 550,000 books in forty-two languages, 36,000 manuscripts, 1,500copies of the Qur’an, and a host of otherprinted books. Visitors can marvel at the

halls – both open and covered - thereference section, the audio-visualdepartment, the reading room with itsvarieties of magazines & newspapers, afilms section and a department for copying.The library also contains a special room forresearch, a laboratory, a store for printedbooks and manuscripts, and an archive forbooks that are controversial or banned.

MuseumsIran boats a wealth of museums and thecountry has leading Islamic cultural and artisticcentres that attract many visitors from all overthe world. These include the following:Central Museum, Qur’an Museum, Museum ofGifts (of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution),Philatelic Museum, Mashhad HistoricalMuseum, Carpets Museum, Museums formedallions, Chinese and crystal vessels,watches, weaponry, astronomy, sculpture,porcelain, painting, and modern artefacts.

Khatun, this mosque has a distinguishedposition in relation to other famous mosquesthat are also close to the Mausoleum. It isteeming with a myriad of visitors from all overthe world throughout the year, and is still aplace for learning, a centre of Islamicstudies. It comprises a yard, four halls,seven galleries, six entrances, a turquoisedome, and two lighthouses. The southernhall, which is the larger hall, comprises animpressive pulpit made of precious woods, amasterpiece in its own right that is almostthree hundred years old.This historic mosque also has a library in theform of a separate building (with an area of1,200sq.m) located on the western side ofthe Shaykh Bahai’i Resort where there aretwo bookstores, a store for manuscripts, andthree reading halls. The stores contain morethan 3,000 priceless manuscripts andaround 37,000 books of many disciplines. Itwas founded in 1373AH.

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The Mausoleum of Shaykhal-Baha al-Amily

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Islamic Sciences Seminary (Hawza Ilmiyyeh)Founded on the basis of both religious andacademic studies, one of the main sectionsof the seminary, or theological university,consists of two schools:School of Khayrat Khan and School of MirzaJa’far. The scientific center, which wasinfluential in bringing about the success of therevolution, comprises seven schools, amosque, a large conference hall, and a self-service restaurant.The university began its activities in 1404AH,and hosts more than seven hundredstudents from Iran and other countries.The branches of learning include:Qur’anic Studies, Arabic studies, Philosophy,Laws, and islamic studies.

Hospitality Home of Imam ar-RidhaSince hospitality is one of the virtues ofIslam, many Muslims have given over asgifts some of their own properties for thispurpose. The Imam ar-Ridha (Imam Reza

in Persian) Hospitality Home, or guesthouse, is one of the oldest foundations inMashhad, established at the start of theSafavid era. It consists of three storeysand is furnished with all the necessarymod-cons for the traveler and pilgrim. Itreceives visitors day and night (around4,000 people eat here daily) and morethan a million people come here annually.

The Buildings around the MausoleumThe buildings around the Mausoleum offervarious services to the visitor, such as tourguidance, safekeeping, health insurance,cleaning, welfare (especially of poorerpilgrims), meals, missing children agencies(locating lost children and returning them totheir parents), security, and services for thedisabled, elderly and infirm. There are, in all,about 4,000 people working in the so-called“service” industries of Mashhad.

Healthcare and Recovery CentreThis medical centre consists of departments

that offer different levels of healthcareservice to patients as well as the indigent.

Scientific SchoolsThree schools for religious studies werefounded in the Ninth Century AH.

Islamic Research ComplexThis is the most important centre for scientificresearch in Khurasan Province, incorporatingvarious branches under the study of IslamicSciences, including classification, writing,translation, correction, communication,jurisprudence, traditions (Ahadiths), history,geography, computer science, generalknowledge, children’s literature, planning, andso on. The complex also issues a seasonalmagazine called al-Mishqah (lit. orientallantern) as well as hundreds of books that areclassified, edited and translated.The centre is run by Shaykh Ali Akbar ElahiKhurasani, is supervised by the HolyAsetana and sponsored by Shaykh AbbasVaez Tabarsi.

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„The buildings around the Mausoleum offer various services to the visitor, such as tourguidance, safekeeping, health insurance, cleaning, welfare (especially of poorer pilgrims), meals,missing children agencies (locating lost children and returning them to their parents), security, andservices for the disabled, elderly and infirm.

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One of the galleriesof the shrine

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