Shah Cheragh

Shāh Chérāgh () is the tomb or shrine of Sayyid Aḥmad ibn Mūsā () in the center of Shiraz, Iran. It is the third most important shrine in Twelver Shia Islam in Iran, after the Imam Reza shrine and Fatima Masumeh Shrine. Ahmad bin Musa traveled to Khorasan on the way to join his brother, Imam Reza, but he was allegedly killed by Abbasid caliph Al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833), in Shiraz. Shāh-é-Chérāgh is a Persian term for "King of the Light". The site is the most important place of pilgrimage within the city of Shiraz. The tombs became celebrated pilgrimage centres in the 14th century, when Queen Tashi Khatun erected a mosque and theological school in the vicinity. The site was given this name due to the nature of the discovery of the site by Āyatullāh Dastghā'ib Shīrāzī (the great-grandfather of the contemporary Ayatullah Dastgha'ib). He used to see light from a distance and decided to investigate the source. He found that the light was being emitted by a grave within a graveyard. The grave that emitted the light was excavated, and a body wearing armour was discovered. The body was wearing a ring saying al-ʿIzzatu Lillāh, Aḥmad bin Mūsā, meaning "The Pride belongs to God, Ahmad son of Musa". Thus it became known that this was the burial site of the sons of Imam Musa al-Kazim.

History
This site is the most important place of pilgrimage in the city of Shiraz. Ahmad came to Shiraz at the beginning of the third Islamic century (early 800s C.E.), and died there. During the rule of Abu Bakr ibn Sa'd () of the Salghurid dynasty, the chief minister to the monarch by the name of Amir Muqarrab al-Din Mas'ud built the tomb chamber, the dome, as well as a colonnaded porch. The mosque remained this way for roughly 100 years before further work was initiated by Queen Tash Khātūn (the mother of Shāh Abū Ishāq Injū) during the years 1344–1349 (745–750 A.H). She carried out essential repairs, constructed an edifice, a hall of audience, a fine college, and a tomb for herself on the south side. She also presented a unique Quran of thirty volumes, written in golden thuluth characters with gold decoration, in the style of the calligraphist of that period, Yahya Jamali. The date written on the Qur'an indicates that they were written from 1344–1345 C.E., or 754–746 A.H. Nothing now remains of the buildings set up by Queen Tash Khātūn, but the Qur'ans have remained and are preserved in the Pars Museum.

The mosque again underwent necessary repairs in 1506 C.E. (912 A.H. – under the reign of Shāh Ismā'īl I), which were initiated by the guardian of the mosque at the time, Mirza Habibullah Sharifi. The mosque was again repaired in 1588 C.E. (997 A.H.) when half of the structure collapsed as a result of an earthquake. During the nineteenth century, the mosque was damaged several times and was subsequently repaired. In 1827 (1243 A.H.), Fat'h 'Alī Shāh Qājār presented an ornamental railing for the tomb. Another earthquake shook the mosque in 1852 C.E. (1269 A.H.), and repairs were carried out by Muhammad Nasir Zahir ad-Dawla.

Finally, the late Nasirol'molk repaired the dome, but on account of the numerous cracks, in 1958 the whole dome was removed, and in its place an iron structure, which was lighter, and likely to last longer, in the shape of the original dome, was made at the cost of the people of Shiraz. The present building consists of the original portico, with its ten columns, on the eastern side, a spacious sanctuary with lofty alcoves on four sides, a mosque on the western side of the sanctuary, and various rooms. There are also numerous tombs contiguous to the Mausoleum.

The decorative work in a mosaic of mirror glass, the inscriptions in stucco, the ornamentation, the doors covered with panels of silver, the portico, and the wide courtyard are most attractive. The tomb, with its latticed railing, is in an alcove between the space beneath the dome and the mosque. And this custom of placing the tomb in this position, so that it is not directly under the dome, is to be seen in other places of pilgrimage in the city, and may be considered a special feature of Shiraz shrines. Two short minarets, situated at each end of the columned portico, add impressiveness to the Mausoleum, and to the spacious courtyard, which surrounds it on three sides. The Shah-e-Cheragh Mausoleum was registered on 10 February 1940, under No. 363 in the list of the national monuments of Iran.

Rated by many travellers as the most beautiful mosque in the world, the shrine was popularised in the West when in October 1976, Interview magazine published Firooz Zahedi's photo shoot of Elizabeth Taylor as a cover story.

2022 shooting

On 26 October 2022, at least 15 people were killed in a mass shooting at Shah Cheragh mausoleum. The three attackers are described by Iranian state media as apparently being takfiri terrorists. Two attackers have been arrested; the other is at large. Later the same day, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The Iranian authorities said that the attackers are not Iranian nationals. Iranian semi-official Tasnim news agency stated that children are among the dead. The United Nations have condemned the attack on the religious site.

See also

 Alwar State
 History of Persian domes
 Holiest sites in Shia Islam
 Shāh Abdol Azīm Mosque
 Tomb of Ali ibn Hamzah, Shiraz
 Tomb of Seyed Alaeddin Husayn
 Imamzadeh

References

External links

 Photos
 The Mausoleum of Shah-e-Cheragh
 Video of the inside

Mausoleums in Iran
Mosques in Shiraz
National works of Iran
Shia shrines
Safavid architecture