One of my favorite hobby is travelling. Travelling gives you the exposure rivaled by nothing else.
Iraq, this time on my bucket list, and I made it early this year with a group of well-wishers and friends just for 12 days – not long enough to really get to know the country, but enough to radically change the images once conjured up in my mind when I had heard the name of Karbala, during my childhood days.
Our route covered Bagdad the resting place of “Peeran Peer Shiekh Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani. Najaf, which is renowned as the site of the burial place of Hazrat Ali Ibn Abi Talib. The city has grown from all sides and has remained a center of pilgrimage throughout centuries. Here the Imam ‘Ali mosque is housed in a grand structure with a gold glided dome. Nearby is the Wadi-as-Salaam graveyard, believed to be the largest in the Islamic world.
The cemetery has the tombs of several prophets. Over the time many hospices, schools, libraries, and modern multistoried commercial malls, and luxury hotels have come up and Najaf looks neat and clean than the capital, Bagdad. I was happy to see in Najaf an Islamic University, established in 2004, with a wide range of departments. Najaf has so many other universities with science and humanities departments.
As of now, Kufa and Najaf are joined into a single urban administrative unit. Road distance between Najaf to Kufa is 12 kilometers. Kufa has many top attractions to visit and during our two days stay we visited the great mosque of Kufa constructed in the middle of the 7th century. In 656, Ali Ibn Abu Talib had made Kufa his capital though the city was founded in 638 (17 Hijrah) during the reign of the second caliph, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab.
The grand mosque of Kufa was the place where Hazrat Ali Ibn Talib was critically wounded and martyred. It’s very calm and architecturally very beautiful. Visitors can see the house of Imam Ali where he resided to rule the Islamic empire from the humble place.
Adjacent to this there is the site of his Nephew Muslim bin Aqeel who was Ambassador of Imam Hussain, and a cousin of his who was deputed to Kufa to ascertain the veracity of the thousands of letters written by the residents of Kufa, before the tragic event happened. Kufa has many more significant historic places like the Al-Sahlah Mosque. Both of them beautifully decorated with panoramic landscapes.
Next day we headed to Karbala that was epicenter of tragedy; from Najaf just 76 kms away and an hour long drive. But our travel guide Moulana Arif, a young man from U.P., highly knowledgeable and professional in his job, insisted not to miss the golden opportunity to see other historic places on way. We agreed in unison and were glad to visit the city of Hillah, that was founded in the 12th century. Here lies the tomb of Nabi Ayoub on the Satt-al-Hilla, which is a branch of the Euphrates river (Al-Furat).
Not far away on the hill’s of Al-Hilla, is Qasr-i-Namrood, a deserted castle, near the shrine of Nabi Ayoub. Finally, after full day’s tour we reached the city of Karbala, the surroundings of the city compared to other cities is very different. Undoubtedly there is a spiritual sanctity to the place. Shrine of Imam Hussain is covered with a golden net in Karbala.
The golden domed Shrine of Hazrat Abbas, the brother of Hussain is opposite near by, who was also martyred along with Hussain on the day of Ashura. Two days later, we proceeded to Baghdad in a luxurious Japanese coach, covering a distance 124 kms in many hours via Al-Madain, a town where the Tomb of Salman al Farsi, the first Persian to convert to Islam is located. Salman Al Farisi was the companion of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). I was disappointed to observe the Shrine, not very well maintained.
After few hours of driving with halts we arrived in Bagdad, the capital of Iraq and second largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It was founded in 762 as the capital of the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, and for five centuries it was the most significant cultural center of Arab and Islamic civilization and one of the greatest cities of the world. Sadly Baghdad was heavily damaged by carpet bombing during the Persian Gulf war (90-91) resulting in serious damage to its civilian infrastructure, economy, and cultural inheritance, almost repeating what Hulaqu Khan had done in 1258.
Today Bagdad, once famous for its Arabian nights tales, due to poor governance, rapid rise in population, sanctions, and corruption, in a terrible state of decay. Repeated cycles of destruction and reconstruction have left little of its ancient heritage intact. Among the silver linings of the capital Baghdad is the Shrine of “Darbar, Peeran-e-Peer. Ghous-ul-Azam Dastageer Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani Hassan-o-Wal Hussaini; its surrounding square is named ‘Kilani Square’
During the reign of the Safavid Shah Ismail (1), the shrine was destroyed, and was rebuilt in 1535 by the Ottoman Sultan Suleman. The grand structure exists to this day. Many super markets and departments have come up around the sprawling precincts of Peeran-e-Peer’s Shrine.
I felt excited when I entered the Shrine of Peeran-e-Peer. We in our group became part of a larger family of hundreds who travelled to this place from all over the world. We planned to remain at the grand shrine for the whole day on the 4th Jan, 2024, and were given a place to stay inside the beautiful mosque attached with the shrine. We were specially treated upon knowing our nationality, and extra ordinary lunch and dinner with some traditional Iraqi dishes were served to us in big dining hall nearby. Meals usually are sponsored by donors.
I had a chance to meet the chief administrator of the shrine complex and had half an hour meeting with him in a tastefully decorated reception hall housed in an architectural building. After exchanging pleasantries, we revealed the purpose of our visit. We concluded our meeting with suggestions for holy shrine campus for its beatification, enhancing the aesthetic and functional aspects of this great shrine.
During our three day stay in Baghdad, we got to see Abu Hanifa-Al-Numan mosque. This place is very beautiful and very well maintained. The inside architecture is very commendable. The ambiance sends you into a sublime spiritual place. Abu Hanifa was born in the city of Kufa in Iraq. He ranks as one of the greatest jurists of Islamic civilization.
A visit to the Abu Hanifa Mosque is a great way to know the rich culture and history of Baghdad. The place is definitely worth a visit. Sadly the resting place of Imam Ahmad Bin Hambal, one of the prominent Islamic scholars, is cramped in a shed in the old area of Bagdad, closely resembling our M.R. Gunj area of Srinagar City.
I met a cross section of people in Baghdad, who informed me that youths are desperate for jobs, with almost a quarter of the working age population unemployed or underutilized. Governments after Saddam Hussain’s departure has so far done little. Robberies, kidnappings and prostitution unfortunately are on a rise. Many still believe Sadam’s time was a golden era, strongly, refuted by others.
As a tourist, it is strongly recommended to make a recce thoroughly and contact reliable travel agencies or local tour operators who can assist with finding suitable accommodation. It is important to prioritize personal safety and well-being when planning to travel to cities of Iraq, particularly the capital Baghdad; and staying informed about the current situation in Iraq is essential.
As of now Bagdad, Karbala, Najaf, and Kufa are calm.