Najaf

Najaf (; BGN: An Najaf) is a ceety in Iraq aboot 160 km sooth o Baghdad. Its estimatit population in 2008 is 560,000 fowk. It is the caipital o Najaf Province. It is widely considered the third holiest ceety o Shia Islam an the centre o Shia poleetical pouer in Iraq.

Releegious significance
Najaf is renowned as the steid o the tomb o Alī ibn Abī Tālib, kent as "Imām Alī" an aw, the First Imam o Shias, the cousin an son-in-law o the prophet Muhammad whom the Shia consider tae be the righteous caliph. The ceety is nou a great centre o pilgrimage frae throughoot the Shi'a Islamic warld. It is estimatit that anerlie Mecca an Medina receive mair Muslim pilgrims. As the burial steid o Shia Islam's seicont maist important figur,Never Again!  ShiaNews.com the Imam Ali Mosque is considered bi aw Shias as the third holiest Islamic steid.Iran Diary, Part 2: Knocking on heaven's door  Asia Times OnlineMuslim Shia's Saint Imam Ali Holy Shrine - 16 Images  Cultural Heritage Photo AgencyThe tragic martyrdom of Ayatollah Al Hakim calls for a stance  Modarresi News, September 4, 2003Zaman Online, August 13, 2004 Why 2003 is not 1991 The Guardian, April 1, 2003<ref>Iraqi forces in Najaf take cover in important Shia shrine, The Boston Globe, April 2, 2003. "For the world's nearly 120 million Muslim Shias, Najaf is the third holiest city behind Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia."</ref>Religious rivalries and political overtones in Iraq  CNN.com, April 23, 2003]"Miscellaneous Relevant Links" Muslims, Islam, and Iraq]

The Imam Ali Mosque is hoosed in a grand structur wi a gowd gilditd dome an moany precious objects in the waws. Nearbi is the Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery, reputit tae be the lairgest in the warld. It contains the tombs o several prophets an mony o the devout frae aroond the warld aspire tae be buried here, tae be raised frae the deid wi Imām Alī on Judgement Day. Ower the centuries, numerous hospices, schuils, libraries an Sufi convents wur biggit aroond the shrine tae mak the ceety the centre o Shīʻa learnin an theology.

The Najaf seminary is ane o the maist important teachin centres in the Islamic warld. Ayatollah Khomeini lectured thare frae 1964-1978.
Mony o the leadin figures o the new Islamic muivement that emerged in Iraq, Iran an Lebanon in the 1970s haed studied at Najaf.

Hintle o Najaf's heritage wis badly damaged durin the rule o Saddam Hussein, wi a heich-gate bein driven throu the middle o the Wādī'u s-Salām.

Sister ceeties
  Minneapolis, Unitit States

Relatit pages
Battle o Najaf (2003)
Battle o Najaf (2004)
Battle o Najaf (2007)
Al Najaf Internaitional Airport
Leet o places in Iraq

References

Freemit airtins

 The Holy City of Najaf (Iraq) 
Interactive Guide: Najaf - The Guardian''


Category:Populatit places established in the 8t century
Category:791 establishments
Category:Haly ceeties
Category:Shia haly ceeties
Category:Fertile Crescent
Category:Destrict caipitals o Iraq