The Arif Agha Mosque (), later known as the Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal Mosque, is a small

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 area of the city 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 ...

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 ...

. The mosque was built during the Ottoman period, and it contains a small

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

which is purported to be the burial place of

Ahmad ibn Hanbal Ahmad ibn Hanbal (; (164-241 AH; 780 – 855 CE) was an Arab Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, traditionist, ascetic and eponym of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence—one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam. T ...

, the founder of the

Hanbali The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradit ...

school of thought.

Historical background

Ahmad ibn Hanbal

Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855) was an early Muslim scholar,

muhaddith A muhaddith () is a scholar specialized in the study, collection, and interpretation of hadiths, which are the recorded sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. The role of a muhaddith is central to the science of hadith (ʻilm a ...

and the founder of the Hanbali school of thought. He was buried in the cemetery at Bab al-Harb alongside other Muslim scholars and ascetics like

Bishr al-Hafi Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith () better known as Bishr al-Ḥāfī (Bishr the Barefoot) () was a Muslim saint born near Merv in about 767 C.E. He converted and studied Muslim tradition under Al-Fozail ibn Iyaz. Bishr became famous as one of the greatest ...

. In the 13th century, the traveller

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

mentioned the existence of the grave of Ahmad ibn Hanbal in the cemetery. The location of Bab al-Harb has been identified to be located in the Kadhimiyya area, near the tombs of

Musa al-Kadhim Musa al-Kazim (; 745–799) was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the seventh imam in Twelver Shia Islam. Musa is often known by the title al-Kazim (), apparently a reference to his patience and gentle disposition. He was born ...

and Bishr al-Hafi.

Mausoleum

In 1937, the remains of Ahmad ibn Hanbal were supposedly transferred to the Arif Agha Mosque after the cemetery he was buried in was flooded by the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

. Later historians have doubted the story, saying that it is inaccurate and erroneous. Before this, a domed mausoleum had been built over the grave of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, but it was destroyed repeatedly. According to the traveler

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

, there had been many attempts to construct a mausoleum over the grave of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, but zealous locals would demolish the structure after it had been erected. The current mausoleum was established in a room in the Arif Agha Mosque. It was then reconstructed in 1998. Local tradition narrates that in 1937, the cemetery of Bab al-Harb had been flooded and hence the bodies had to be reburied; with Ahmad ibn Hanbal's body taken to the Arif Agha Mosque and reburied in a room there. However, no evidence has been found for this story, leading to modern historians doubting it. Additionally, the historian and scholar al-Bandaniji (d. 1866) stated that Ahmad ibn Hanbal was buried in an unmarked grave at the Bab al-Harb that had its marker swept away over time, leaving no trace of its existence; the cemetery did not survive as well according to al-Bandaniji himself.

Architecture and description

The mosque was completed in the Ottoman style, most likely before 1937. And is located in the Haydar-Khana locality. It consists of a prayer hall, courtyard, and a small room topped by a dome which serves as a mausoleum. The total area of the mosque is approximately , and the mausoleum room cannot hold more than 30 visitors. It has a small courtyard. The main entrance to the mosque is very narrow, and the inside can only fit 30 people. Inside, the tomb of Ahmad ibn Hanbal is located in the main room behind the

qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...

wall. The marble tombstone atop the grave is covered with layers of cloth and silk, all of which were donated over time by the various pilgrims visiting the site.

Modern period

The current building receives no attention from the general Iraqi population, who adhere to the

Ahl al-Bayt () refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, the term has also been extended to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. In Shia Islam, the term is limited to Muhammad, his daugh ...

traditions and the Hanafi school of thought more. As well as the mausoleum being located in an obscure part of the neglected Haydar-Khana locality. The mausoleum had entered a rather dilapidated and unfurnished state over time, with the only visits being pilgrims who had come to perform

ziarat Ziarat (Urdu and ) is a city in the Ziarat District of the Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan province in Pakistan. It lies away from Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. Previously, it was part of Sibi district. It was announced as ...

to the graves of the holy saints in Baghdad. In 2021, ''

al-Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pr ...

'' reported that the mausoleum received less visits than usual due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Additionally, a''l-Jazeera'' stated that the last renovation of the mausoleum was in 2010 with the locals refusing to restore it due to the Hanbali school's prohibition on domed mausoleums.

References