Kirka Sharif (; meaning ''Sacred Cloak'') is an

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic shrine located in

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. The shrine became notable in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

during the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...

, when neighboring

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

was trying to establish friendship with Afghanistan. The shrine houses a Middle-Eastern style mantle or

cloak A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, which serves the same purpose as an overcoat and protects the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. People in many d ...

, believed to be the

cloak of Muhammad The Cloak of Muhammad () is a relic hidden inside Kirka Sharif in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It is a cloak believed to have been worn by the Islamic prophet Muhammad during the Night Journey in 621 AD. The cloak itself is locked away inside the ...

, as

worn Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology. Wear in m ...

by the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

during the

Night Journey The Israʾ and Miʿraj (, ') are the names given to the narrations that the prophet Muhammad ascended to the sky during a night journey, saw Allah and the afterlife, and returned. It is believed that expressions without a subject in verses 1-18 of ...

in the year 621.

Cloak of Muhammed

This cloak or mantle reached Kirka Sharif when it was donated by the 18th-century Afghan ruler

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...

, the father of modern Afghanistan and founder of the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

. The sacred Muslim object itself had been given to Ahmad Shah by the amir of Bukhara around 1768. The cloak is said to have been worn by the Islamic prophet Muhammad during the famous

Isra' and Mi'raj The Israʾ and Miʿraj (, ') are the names given to the narrations that the prophet Muhammad ascended to the sky during a night journey, saw Allah and the afterlife, and returned. It is believed that expressions without a subject in verses 1-18 of ...

, or Night Journey, in the year 621. It is one of the most revered relics in the Muslim world.

Friday Mosque

The building housing the Kirka Sharif sits next to the historical Friday Mosque of Kandahar. The mosque's design follows many principles of

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both Secularity, secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Muslim world, Islamic world encompasse ...

and local customs, with the interior being decorated and carved with green marble from Helmand region of Afghanistan. In addition, it has tiles that are mirrored with gilded detailing. The mosque also has a large courtyard and gravestone located on the premises of the shrine. The walls of the shrine are decorated with carvings, common in many Islamic mosques. The carvings of this mosque have trees and other foliage, and the designs are unique to each wall.

Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah

A short walking distance to the back of the Kirka Sharif shrine is the

Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani The Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani is located in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It is one of the most important historical monuments in Kandahar. Ahmad Shah Durrani, who is fondly known as Ahmad Shah Baba, ruled the Durrani Empire from Kandahar between 1 ...

, the founder of the

References

External links

* (Ariana Television, Sep. 24, 2023) (Dari and Pashto) * {{Kandahar Province Buildings and structures in Kandahar Islam in Afghanistan Mosques in Afghanistan