Shi'a Muslim Sites of Devotion: A Photo Essay

Shi‘a Muslim sites of devotionRizwan Mawani

Kharadar Jamatkhana, Karachi, PakistanPhotos: Rizwan Mawani

PHOTO ESSAY

44CANADA Issue 1, JULY 2012

Copyright© 2012 Insha Canada Inc - All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized copying prohibited.

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Shi‘a Muslims are a diverse group. They consist of different cultures, speak a myriad of languages, and live in many countries. As many as 200 million Muslims profess Shi‘a Islam. Amongst the largest Shi‘a branches are the Ithna Asharis, or Twelvers, the Ismailis, and the Zaydis. Shi‘a Muslims share much in common with the broader Muslim ummah. The belief in the notion of a line of Imams, appointed by God, and fi rst designated by the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) before his death is a hallmark of Shi‘a Islam. This photo essay explores a range of of Shi‘a Muslim sites of devotion.

Shi‘a Muslims

Zaydi Shi‘a Imami Shi‘a

Ithna Asharis Ismailis

Nizari Ismailis Musta’li Ismailis

Hafi zis Tayyibis

Dawoodis

(Bohras)

Sulaymanis

(Makarama)

712 CE

765 CE

1094 CE

1130 CE

1592 CE

A simpli" ed diagram showing several branches of Shi‘a Muslims. While not exhaustive, it indicates when particular Shi‘a communities emerged and their common heritage and genealogy.


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At the Bab al-Saghir Cemetery in Damascus, Syria (1), Iranian pilgrims (2) gather to pay homage and say prayers for members of the ahl al-bayt (Prophet’s family). Tombs and cenotaphs which have a particular signi"cance to Shi‘a Muslims have been painted green. Hazrat Ali and Bibi Fatima’s daughter, Umm Kulthum; Imam Husayn’s daughter, Sukayna; and Imam Zayn al-Abidin’s son, Abdullah are amongst those buried at this important site. Bilal al-Habashi, o$en celebrated as the "rst mu’izzin of Islam, also has a grave here.

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Bab al-Saghir Cemetary, Damascus, Syria An Iranian pilgrim reciting prayers for the deceased



Masjids are important sites of prayer for many Shi‘a Muslims. Here the communal mosques of Sulaymani Ismailis in Saudi Arabia’s Najran Province (3), Bohra Ismailis in Karachi (4), and Ithna Ashari Muslims in Gilgit, Northern Pakistan (5) can be seen. Shi‘a Muslims and their congregations o$en combine their prayers into three daily sessions.

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Interior of a modest Sulaymani Ismaili Masjid in a village of Saudi Arabia’s Najran province

Colonial and Sindhi influences contribute to the architecture of the Bohra community’s

Adam Masjid in Karachi, Pakistan

The Central Shi‘a Ithna Ashari Masjid in mountainous Gilgit, Pakistan


!e Great Mosque of Sanaa in Yemen is one of Islam’s earliest grand mosques (jami‘as). It is reported that the Prophet him-self ordered its building. The current plan, dating to the early 8th century was later expanded by the Ismaili Queen Arwa bint Ahmed, whose own empire was centred to the south in Jibla. !e mosque remains an important site of prayer for Yemen’s Sunni and Shi‘a Zaydi Muslims, which number between 8 to 10 million. !e Zaydis gave their allegiance to Zayd bin Ali, the brother of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and subsequent Zaydi Imams ruled parts of Yemen from 897 right until 1962. Like all Alids, the Zaydis place great importance on the intellect and can be seen engaging in discussion circles in the Great Mosque’s prayer hall.

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The inner courtyard of the Jami’a Kabira, Sanaa. The domed structure, built by the Ottomans in the 16th century was used as a treasury and later as a facility to store endowment deeds (waqfs)

Scholarly and Qur’anic discussion circles at Jami’a Kabira, Sanaa. Manuscripts and printed works can be seen

lining the shelves in the background.


Imamzadehs are shrines dedicated to immediate descendants of the Shi‘a Ithna Ashari Imams and are found throughout Iran. As a result of their bloodline, those buried in the imamzadehs are also sayyids and members of the ahl al-bayt, giving them a special status. In the Iranian capital of Tehran, a lit-up Imamzadeh Saleh can be seen, dedicated to a grandson of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq and son of the 7th Ithna Ashari Imam, Musa Kazim. !e Imamzadeh is a popular site of ziyarat. Here pilgrims light votive candles asking for intercession and pray in the tomb’s adjacent mosque.8



!e term husayniya is commonly used throughout Iran and its neighbouring countries to designate sites in which rituals com-memorating the martyrdom of Imam Husayn and his family take place. In South Asia, buildings takes various names includ-ing imambara (or imambargah), ashurkhana and allawa. It is also referred to as a matam in Bahrain. !e Bara imambara in Lucknow, India is the largest Shi‘a Ithna Ashari space of this kind in the world but there are thousands scattered where Shi‘a Ithna Ashari communities reside.

Culture plays a huge part of these rituals. Commemorations in Iran are usually marked by passion plays re-enacting the "nal ten days of Imam Husayn’s life. Muharram majlises in which marsiyas and nohas (lamentation poetry) are recited are common in Bahrain and Pakistan. In India, processions take place in which sacred standards associated with the ahl al-bayt (‘alams), taziyehs, and ta’buts (paper and bamboo models of the Imams Hasan and Husayn’s tombs) are the focus of attention.

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A stage and garden are at the centre of Husayniya Mua’vin al-Mulk’s courtyard in Kermanshah, Iran and are used for re-enactments of Imam Husayn’s tragic death at Karbala

The three-walled Badshahi Ashurkhana in Hyderabad, India



Amongst Nizari Ismailis, the jamatkhana is the primary hub of communal and religious life. With the opening of the Ismaili Centre in Dushanbe, there are now jamatkhanas in every country where Ismaili communities are known to reside. While such spaces initially served the Jamats of Sindh and Punjab and later other parts of Western India, the jamatkhana was later introduced to Syria, Northern Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China in the early decades of the twentieth century, and even more recently to Iran. Since 1985, a number of purpose-built high-pro"le Ismaili Centres have been constructed in London (1985), Vancouver (1985), Lisbon (1998), Dubai (2008), and Dushanbe (2009) with future openings scheduled for Toronto, Houston, Los Angeles, and Paris. ◆

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The entrance area, Ismaili Jamatkhana, Gwadar, Pakistan. Its original foundations can be traced to the late 19th century,

making it one of the oldest Jamatkhanas still in use.

Ismaili Jamatkhana in the village of Nawabad, Xinjiang Province, China. Jamatkhanas were introduced to China in the early decades of the 20th century.



Shi'a Muslim Sites of Devotion: A Photo Essay

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