The Al-Sarai Mosque (), also known as Hassan Pasha Mosque or Al-Nasr li-Din Allah Mosque, is a

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

located in the Rusafa district of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, in the

Baghdad Governorate Baghdad Governorate ( ''Muḥāfaẓat Baġdād''), also known as the Baghdad Province, is the capital governorate of Iraq. It includes the capital Baghdad as well as the surrounding metropolitan area. The governorate is one of two small province ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, on

Zuqaq al-Sarai Zuqaq al-Sarai (), also known as al-Sarai Street (), is an old street in Baghdad, Iraq, adjacent to al-Mutanabbi Street. The street is notable for holding the site of many Ottoman administration buildings, and cultural and historical locations. ...

. The mosque was said to be first laid by 34th

Abbasid Caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came ...

al-Nasir Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn al-Hasan al-Mustaḍīʾ (), better known by his al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh (; 6 August 1158 – 5 October 1225) or simply as al-Nasir, was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1180 until his death. His literally can m ...

in 1193 CE. The mosque was also nicknamed "King Ghazi Mosque" because it was where the old Iraqi Kings prayed during the Royal Era.

History

The mosque was first built according to the vision of Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir in an area called "Souq al-Sultan locality" which was close to Bab al-Sultan (now called Bab al-Muazzam). The mosque was mentioned by Islamic historian

Sibt ibn al-Jawzi Shams al-Din Abu al-Muzaffar Yusuf ibn Kizoghlu (c. 581AH/1185–654AH/1256), popularly known as Sibṭ ibn al-Jawzī () was a writer, preacher and historian. Biography Born in Baghdad, the son of a Turkish freedman and Ibn al-Jawzi's daughter ...

in his writings. In the year following the death of Caliph al-Nasir, his son, al-Zahir, succeeded the title of Caliph and built a library in the mosque as well as transferring many

Qu'ran The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God (''Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides i ...

s in the mosque. The mosque continued to play an important role even after the Mongol siege of Baghdad and evidence of this can be found in

Ibn al-Fuwati Kamāl al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Razzāḳ ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Fuwaṭī () best known as Ibn al-Fuwati (25 June 1244 – 1323), was a medieval librarian and historian who wrote a great deal, but whose works have mostly been lost. His most important extant w ...

's work where he mentioned that he was an

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

at the mosque at one point. Al-Sarai_mosque_in_Baghdad_1917-1919

After the Ottoman conquest of Baghdad, Sultan

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

carried out a reconstruction of the mosque in 1533. In 1683, Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Ibrahim Pasha carried out a second reconstruction of the mosque as well as the

Syed Sultan Ali Mosque The Syed Sultan Ali Mosque () is a Sunni mosque and mausoleum, located on Al-Rashid Street, in the southern part of the historical area of Al-Rusafa, in Baghdad, in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq. It is among the cultural heritage properties of ...

. A century later between 1704 and 1723, Hassan Pasha, Governor of the

at the time and founder of the Mamluk state of Iraq, reconstructed the mosque in its current wide form and was named the "''New Hassan Pasha Mosque''" in his honor. The mosque at this time was also located opposite of the Baghdadi government palace. It was one of the most well-known mosques in al-Rusafa and included a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

as well as slender domes and a lofty minaret. After the independence of the Kingdom of Iraq, several minor changes and reconstructions took place including that one of its doors leading to the alley behind it was closed, and that the teaching department that was in it was abolished. During the era of

King Faisal I Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi (, ''Fayṣal al-Awwal bin Ḥusayn bin ʻAlī al-Hāshimī''; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 until his death in 1933. A member of the Hashemite family, he was a l ...

, the mosque became the main center of

Friday Prayers Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

in which the King would lead the prayers in typical Arab clothes and then talk and meet with the people there after. Today, the mosque is located near al-Qushla and the mosque was at one point called the "King’s Mosque" because all the kings of Iraq prayed in it during the royal era. In 2024, the mosque was renewed and preserved alongside many historical buildings in Zuqaq al-Sarai.

Description

Layout

The mosque is situated in front of Dar Diwani al-Hakumiyya, an administrative building during the

Ottoman era The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

, also known as a part of al-Qushla. Hassan Pasha, the wazir of Baghdad during the Ottoman era had overseen the expansion project during his office, and addition of several new facilities and features. During this time, ten additional domes, four central pillars in which there was no decorations or inscriptions, and a

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

with

Qashani ''Qashani'' or ''Kashani'' is a Persian decorative art which had been popular in Iran in the 16th to 18th century, and then moved to Turkey in the time of the Ottomans with the transfer of many Persians artists to Turkey, becoming the basis for d ...

tiles were also added. The mosque's area is approximately , and it can accommodate 300 worshipers.

Interior and gates

Within the courtyard, there is a

musalla A musalla () is a space apart from a mosque, mainly used for prayer in Islam. The word is derived from the verb (''ṣallā''), meaning "to pray". It is traditionally used for twice-yearly Eid prayers (''Eid al-Fitr, ʿĪd al-Fiṭr'' and '' ...

(prayer space) for summer time, and at the left side there is a musalla for winter time. Within the mosque there is also a madrasa. There are five gates to the mosque, which all of them lead to the prayer space for congregational prayers such as Friday prayers and

eid prayer Eid prayers, also referred to as Salat al-Eid (), are holy holiday prayers in the Islamic tradition. The literal translation of the word "Eid" in Arabic is "festival" or "feast" and is a time when Muslims congregate with family and the larger ...

References

External links