Fatima al-Masumeh Shrine
Encyclopedia
The shrine of Fatema Mæ'sume
(sister of Imām ʻAlī ibn-Mūsā Riđā
) is located in Qom
, the second most sacred city in Iran
after Mashhad
. Much of the shrine complex was first built by Shah Abbas I in the early 17th century. The shrine has attracted to itself dozens of seminaries and religious schools. The shrine is also depicted on the reverse
of the Iranian 50 rials
coin, issued since 2004.
Also buried within the shrine are three daughters of ninth, Twelver Shī‘ah Imām
, Muhammad at-Taqī
.
was buried in Qum in 816. The cemetery she was buried in was made open to the public by Musa ibn Kharaj, the dignitary of Qom at the time. The site became a popular place for pilgrimage during the 9th and 10th centuries, and continued as such during the Timurid
and Ak Koyunlu
periods.
Qom, along with the shrine were raided in 1221 by the Mongols
and again by the Tamerlane
. In 1519 the dome of the shrine was rebuilt and the courtyard was embellished in honour of the Safavid
king, Shah Ismail I
. This task was carried out by his daughter Shah Bigum. In 1523 his wife Tajlu Khanum donated her own adjacent property, adding it mortmain
as an expansion to the shrine. Thereafter, Shāh Tahmāsp I
completed the burial chamber, and did work on the courtyard to the south of the grave. Further expansions were done to the shrine during the 17th century by Shah ‘Abbās I
, along with the addition of schooling and other facilities.
During the 19th century, Fat'h ‘Alī Shāh Qājār carried out restorations to the shrine, gilded the dome in gold, and had it further embellished.
Fatema Mæ'sume
Fātimah bint Mūsā' al-Kādhim , was the daughter of the seventh Twelver Shī‘ah Imām, Mūsā' al-Kādhim and sister of the eighth...
(sister of Imām ʻAlī ibn-Mūsā Riđā
Ali al-Rida
‘Alī ibn Mūsā al-Rizā was the seventh descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the eighth of the Twelve Imams, according to Shia sect of Islam...
) is located in Qom
Qom
Qom is a city in Iran. It lies by road southwest of Tehran and is the capital of Qom Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 957,496, in 241,827 families. It is situated on the banks of the Qom River....
, the second most sacred city in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
after Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
. Much of the shrine complex was first built by Shah Abbas I in the early 17th century. The shrine has attracted to itself dozens of seminaries and religious schools. The shrine is also depicted on the reverse
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
of the Iranian 50 rials
Iranian rial
The rial is the currency of Iran. It is subdivided into 100 dinar but, because of the very low current value of the rial, no fraction of the rial is used in accounting....
coin, issued since 2004.
Also buried within the shrine are three daughters of ninth, Twelver Shī‘ah Imām
Imamah (Shi'a doctrine)
Imāmah is the Shia doctrine of religious, spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah. The Shīa believe that the A'immah are the true Caliphs or rightful successors of Muḥammad, and further that Imams are possessed of divine knowledge and authority as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt,...
, Muhammad at-Taqī
Muhammad al-Taqi
Muhammad al-Taqī or Muhammad al-Jawād was the ninth of the Twelve Imams of Twelver Shi'ism. His given name was Muhammad ibn ‘Alī ibn Mūsā, and among his titles, al-Taqī and al-Jawād are the most renowned...
.
Specifications
The mosque consists of a burial chamber, three courtyards and three large prayer halls, totalling an area of 38000 m² (45,447.6 sq yd). The three prayer halls are named: Tabātabā'ī, Bālā Sar, and A‘dham.Early history
After dying from an illness while en route to visiting her brother, Fātimah al-Ma'sūmahFatema Mæ'sume
Fātimah bint Mūsā' al-Kādhim , was the daughter of the seventh Twelver Shī‘ah Imām, Mūsā' al-Kādhim and sister of the eighth...
was buried in Qum in 816. The cemetery she was buried in was made open to the public by Musa ibn Kharaj, the dignitary of Qom at the time. The site became a popular place for pilgrimage during the 9th and 10th centuries, and continued as such during the Timurid
Timurid Dynasty
The Timurids , self-designated Gurkānī , were a Persianate, Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Iran, modern Afghanistan, and modern Uzbekistan, as well as large parts of contemporary Pakistan, North India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the...
and Ak Koyunlu
Ak Koyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or Ak Koyunlu, also called the White Sheep Turkomans , was an Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled parts of present-day Eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, and Iran from 1378 to 1508.-History:According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, the Aq Qoyunlu...
periods.
Qom, along with the shrine were raided in 1221 by the Mongols
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
and again by the Tamerlane
Timur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
. In 1519 the dome of the shrine was rebuilt and the courtyard was embellished in honour of the Safavid
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
king, Shah Ismail I
Ismail I
Ismail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
. This task was carried out by his daughter Shah Bigum. In 1523 his wife Tajlu Khanum donated her own adjacent property, adding it mortmain
Mortmain
Mortmain is a legal term that means ownership of real estate by a corporation or legal institution that can be transferred or sold in perpetuity; the term is usually used in the context of its prohibition...
as an expansion to the shrine. Thereafter, Shāh Tahmāsp I
Tahmasp I
Tahmasp or Tahmasb I was an influential Shah of Iran, who enjoyed the longest reign of any member of the Safavid dynasty...
completed the burial chamber, and did work on the courtyard to the south of the grave. Further expansions were done to the shrine during the 17th century by Shah ‘Abbās I
Abbas I of Persia
Shāh ‘Abbās the Great was Shah of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad....
, along with the addition of schooling and other facilities.
During the 19th century, Fat'h ‘Alī Shāh Qājār carried out restorations to the shrine, gilded the dome in gold, and had it further embellished.
Recent history
Repair work to the golden dome, which had remained untouched for 200 years, was initiated in the year 2000 by Grand Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat.See also
- Holiest sites in Islam (Shia)Holiest sites in Islam (Shia)In addition to the three Mosques accepted by all Muslims as holy sites, Shī'ah Muslims consider sites associated with Muhammad, his family members and descendants , their companions, and the Prophets as holy places...
- Imām Ridhā MosqueImam Reza shrineImām Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran is a complex which contains the mausoleum of Imam Reza, the eighth Imām of Twelver Shi'ites. It is the largest mosque in the world by dimension and the second largest in capacity...
- Shāh Abdol Azīm Mosque
- Iranian architectureIranian architectureIranian architecture or Persian architecture is the architecture of Iran . It has a continuous history from at least 5000 BCE to the present, with characteristic examples distributed over a vast area from Turkey to North India and the borders of China and from the Caucasus to Zanzibar...
- Islamic architectureIslamic architectureIslamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....