Sheikh Ma'ruf Cemetery
| Sheikh Ma'ruf Cemetery | |
|---|---|
مقبرة الشيخ معروف | |
 A view of the cemetery in 2019 | |
  Shown within Iraq | |
| General information | |
| Type | cemetery |
| Town or city | Karkh, Baghdad |
| Country | Iraq |
| Coordinates | 33°20′04″N 44°22′29″E / 33.3344130°N 44.3746859°E |
| Known for | Containing the Sheikh Ma'ruf Mosque and several other prominent monuments dedicated to religious figures and Muslim royals |
Sheikh Ma'ruf Cemetery (Arabic: مقبرة الشيخ معروف), also known as Maqbarat Shuniziyyah, is a historic cemetery located in the neighborhood of Karkh in Baghdad, Iraq.[1] The cemetery's name is derived from Ma'ruf Karkhi, a Sufi mystic who is buried in here. Several historic mausoleums are present in the cemetery, such as the Zumurrud Khatun Mosque and Mausoleum.
Main sights[edit]
Sheikh Ma'ruf Mosque[edit]
The Sheikh Ma'ruf Mosque was built around the grave of the renowned ascetic Ma'ruf Karkhi between the years 1215 to 1216.[2][3][4] In 1225, the Abbasid Caliph Al-Nasir renovated the mosque.[1][5][4] In the Ottoman era, the mosque was restored and refurbished twice, first by the governor Ahmed Pasha and later on Ahmed Pasha.[4] In 2001, the mosque was fully reconstructed in a modern, futurist style, which also doubled the area of the mosque and replaced the old minaret with a new one.[5][4]
The mosque has a large prayer hall.[3][6] A room at the end of the prayer hall contains the tomb of Ma'ruf Karkhi, while some rooms at the sides of the prayer hall serve as private mausoleums for the Suwaidi and Qashtini families.[4]
Zumurrud Khatun's mausoleum[edit]
The mausoleum of Zumurrud Khatun was first built in 1202 by Sayyida Zumurrud Khatun herself. It was later developed into a mosque, known as the Haza'ir Mosque. The mosque has two prayer halls, one for the Hanafi school of thought and the other for the Shafi'i school. The mausoleum sports a tall muqarnas conical dome and fine brickwork.
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Picture from 1930s -
Inside the mausoleum, with the tomb of Zumurrud Khatun visible -
Muqarnas inside the conical dome.
Tomb of Bahlool[edit]
Bahlool, real name Wahhab ibn 'Amr, was a former qadi during the Abbasid Caliphate who served the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. He eventually became insane so that he would be excused from signing an approval to execute his friend Musa al-Kadhim. Bahlool was buried in this cemetery, and a shrine was built for him during the Ottoman rule in 1893.
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The dome over the tomb of Bahlool
In the courtyard of Bahlool's tomb is a small gurdwara for the Sikh community, known as the Baba Nanak Shrine.[7][8][9] It dates back to at least 1511, and it is believed that Guru Nanak visited Baghdad in the same year.[7][8][9] The shrine was damaged in 2003, during the Iraq War.[7][8][9]
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The Baba Nanak Shrine in the 1920s
Tomb of Sheikh Mashi'uh[edit]
Sayyid Abdullah al-Assaf al-Ithawi, nicknamed Sheikh Mashi'uh by his followers, was a Sufi mystic who followed the Rifa'i and Qadiri Sufi orders.[10][11] He was buried in 1835.[10][11]
Controversy[edit]
In 2023, an order was made from the Iraqi government to exhume some of the bodies and transfer them to a different cemetery, as a highway would be built passing through the territory of the cemetery.[12][13][14] This would be done to reduce traffic congestion.[12][14][15] The decision was met with outrage amongst locals, despite a fatwa from the local clerics that approved of the exhumation and transfer of the deceased.[12][14][15] Locals gathered outside the cemetery and protested against the exhumation.[12][14][15] Due to these protests, the government eventually decided to build a bridge which passed over the cemetery instead.[13][16]
Notable burials[edit]
- Aisha Khatun (d. 18th century) the mother of Ahmed Pasha the governor of Baghdad under the Ottoman Empire
- Mahmud al-Alusi (1802–1854) Hanafi scholar and author of Ruh al-Ma'ani
- Rashid Hassan al-Kurdi (1882–1954) Preacher and Salafist theologian
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "لا مكان آمناً في بغداد إلا مقابره.. في ضيافة الشيخ معروف الكرخي". almadapaper.net. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ المالكي, عبد الرحمن (2021-11-29). "مقبرة الشيخ معروف الكرخي". وكالة أنباء براثا (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b "Dargahinfo - Complete Collection of Dargahs World Wide". dargahinfo.com. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b c d e "عينٌ بَكَت من خشية الله هكذا يرى الناظر مرقد الشيخ معروف من الأعلى". مجلة الشبكة العراقية,IMN Magazine (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b "جامع ومقبرة الشيخ معروف.. أهم معالم بغداد الإثرية القديمة". www.masrawy.com. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "جامع الشيخ معروف الكرخي – Iraq Guide" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b c "Iraq to rebuild Guru Nanak's shrine". SikhNet. 2008-12-24. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b c "India Asks Iraq To Renovate Historic Baba Nanak Gurdwara In Baghdad". Zee News. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b c "India asks Iraq to rebuild historic Guru Nanak temple".
- ^ a b "صور مرقد ولي الله الشيخ مشيوح ناطور العراق - قدس الله سره الشريف". abokhomrah.ahlamontada.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b "كرامات سيدنا الشيخ سيد مشيوح العيثاوي الرفاعي قدس الله سره". abokhomrah.ahlamontada.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b c d "أزمة مقبرة شيخ معروف تهدد قبوراً تراثية: من سينقل جثمان مفتي بغداد وبهلول الكوفي؟ » وكالة بغداد اليوم الاخبارية". وكالة بغداد اليوم الاخبارية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b "الإعمار والإسكان حول إزالة جزء من مقبرة الشيخ معروف الكرخي: حصلت في التسعينيات". الترا عراق | Ultra Iraq (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b c d الرافدين, قناة (2023-12-03). "حكومة السوداني توشك على تجريف مقبرة الشيخ معروف الكرخي التأريخية". قناة الرافدين (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b c إنفوبلاس (2023-12-03). "عراقيل أمام وزارة الإعمار لرفع قبور في الشيخ معروف الكرخي.. ماذا تعرف عن المقبرة التاريخية؟". إنفوبلاس (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "وزير الإعمار يحسم الجدل بشأن رفع "مقبرة الشيخ معروف"". IQ News. Retrieved 2024-03-26.