{{Short description|Twelver Shi'ite mosque in Kufa, Iraq}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox religious building | name = Al-Sahlah Mosque | native_name = {{lang|ar|مَسْجِد ٱلسَّهْلَة}} | native_name_lang = ara | image = مسجد السهلة.jpg | image_upright = 1.4 | alt = | caption = The mosque prayer hall in 2015 | map_type = Iraq | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location of the mosque in Iraq | mapframe = yes | coordinates = {{coord|32|2|20|N|44|22|47|E|region:IQ_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_footnotes = | religious_affiliation = Shia (Twelver) | locale = | location = Kufah, Najaf Governorate | deity = | rite = | sect = | tradition = | festival = <!-- or | festivals = --> | cercle = | sector = | municipality = | district = | territory = | prefecture = | state = | province = | region = | country = Iraq | administration = | consecration_year = | religious_features = 12th Imam, Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdi | religious_features_label = Future home | organisational_status = Shrine<!-- or | organizational_status = --> | functional_status = Active | heritage_designation = | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = | bhattaraka = | patron = | website = | architect = {{ubl|Shubber Falah|Wael Ajam|{{small|(2011{{endash}}2018)}}}} | architecture_type = {{nowrap|Shi’i mosque}} | architecture_style = Islamic architecture | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | established = | groundbreaking = | year_completed = {{ubl|7th century CE {{small|(establishment)}}|{{nowrap|{{AH|750|link=yes}}}} {{small|(reconstruction)}}|late 20th century {{small|(reconstruction)}}|2018 {{small|(reconstruction)}}}} | construction_cost = {{USD|8,224,000}} {{small|(2018)}} | date_demolished = <!-- or | date_destroyed = --> | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = {{cvt|140|m}} | width = {{cvt|125|m}} | width_nave = | interior_area = {{cvt|17500|m2}} {{clarify|date=July 2025|reason=Could be site area.}} | height_max = | dome_quantity = One {{small|(maybe more)}} | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = Two | minaret_height = {{cvt|30|m}} | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = Seven | inscriptions = | materials = | elevation_m = <!-- or | elevation_ft = --> | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | footnotes = <ref name=wocoshiac>{{cite web |url=https://www.wocoshiac.org/en/news-events/all-news-en/all-news-b-en/al-sahlah-mosque-residence-of-imam-mahdi-a-j-after-his-reappearance-photos |title=Al-Sahlah Mosque, residence of Imam Mahdi (A.J) after his reappearance+Photos |work=wocoshiac.org |format=includes images |date= |access-date=2 July 2025 }}</ref> }}
The '''Al-Sahlah Mosque''' ({{langx|ar|مَسْجِد ٱلسَّهْلَة|Masjid as-Sahlah}}) is a Twelver Shi'ite mosque and shrine, located in the city of Kufa, in the Najaf Governorate of Iraq. The mosque is of great importance to Twelver Shia Muslims, and it is believed that the mosque was initially established in Kufa as a neighborhood mosque for the followers of Ali, the early members of the Shia.<ref name="Haider2011">{{cite book |author=Haider, Najam |title=The Origins of the Shi'a: Identity, Ritual, and Sacred Space in Eighth-Century Kufa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6daiIw2L-gC&pg=PA238|accessdate=14 August 2012 |date=26 September 2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-01071-0 |pages=238– |via=Google Books }}</ref> The mosque is also said to be the future home of the Twelfth Shia Imam, Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdi.<ref name="kamil">{{cite book |last=al-Qummi |first=Ja'far ibn Qūlawayh |translator=al-Husaini al-Mīlāni, Sayyid Mohsen |title=Kāmil al-Ziyārāt |lang=ar |year=2008 |publisher=Shiabooks.ca Press }}</ref>{{rp|page=48–50}}
== History == The mosque is believed to have been established during the 7th century CE. It has been reconstructured many times in the intervening years, including in {{nowrap|{{AH|750|link=yes}}}}, in the later part of the 20th century, and between 2011 and 2018.<ref name=wocoshiac/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archnet.org/sites/17035 |title=Masjid al-Sahla Kufa, Iraq |work=ArchNet.org |date=n.d. |access-date=2 July 2025 }}</ref><ref name=sibtayn/> A new ''sahn'', named "The Sahn of Sayyidah Nargis", was opened to the public in July 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://masjed-alkufa.net/news.php?readmore=1030 |script-title=ar:السيد أمين مسجد الكوفة المعظم يشارك في افتتاح الصحن الجديد للسيدة نرجس في مسجد السهلة |work=www.masjed-alkufa.net |lang=ar |date= |access-date=2013-11-13 |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113201036/http://masjed-alkufa.net/news.php?readmore=1030 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Significance == The mosque is revered from narrations according to Twelver belief. These beliefs include that the mosque is where the twelfth Imam, Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdi, will reside upon his return.<ref name="kamil"/>{{rp|page=48–50}} It is also believed that the mosque served as a home for the Prophets and figures in Islam: Ibrahim (Abraham), Idris (Enoch), and Khidr.<ref name="kamil"/>{{rp|page=48–50}} Every Prophet is said to have established prayers within the mosque.<ref name="kamil"/>{{rp|page=48–50}} The establishment of two Rakats of Islamic Prayer in the mosque is believed to grant a person safety and protection for an entire year.<ref name="kamil"/>{{rp|page=48–50}} It is believed that the trumpet announcing the Day of Judgement will be blown from the mosque.<ref name="kamil"/>{{rp|page=48–50}} Seventy thousand people will be resurrected at the mosque, according to narrations and Twelver beliefs, and can enter Heaven without questioning.<ref name="kamil"/>{{rp|page=48–50}} The first Shia Imam, Ali ibn Abi Talib has also stated that, ''"No anguished person goes to this mosque, prays in it, and supplicates to God, without God relieving him of his grief and granting him his request."''<ref name="kamil"/>{{rp|page=53}}
== Shrines == The mosque is believed to contain seven shrines of Twelver prophets and imams, namely:<ref name=sibtayn>{{cite web |url=https://www.sibtayn.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7048:mosque-of-as-sahla&catid=676&Itemid=464 |title=Mosque of As-sahla |work=sibtayn.com |date=10 December 2024 |access-date=2 July 2025 }}</ref> # Imam Ja'afar Bin Mohammad As-Sadiq, in the middle of the mosque # Prophet Abraham, in the northwest corner of the mosque # Prophet Edris, in the southwest corner of the mosque # Prophet Al-Kidher, in the corner between the southern and the eastern sides # Prophet As-saleheen, or Salih Prophet's shrine, in the corner of the northern and the eastern sides; to the right of the main entrance of the mosque # Imam Zain Al-Abedeen and Ali Bin Al-Hussein, in the middle of the mosque # Imam Muhammad Al-Mahdi, the 12th Imam, in the middle of the southern side (future home).
==Gallery== <gallery> Masjid al-Sahlah (1).jpg|Main courtyard of the mosque Masjid al-Sahlah (2).jpg|Riwaq of the main courtyard Masjid al-Sahlah (3).jpg|Riwaq of the main courtyard Masjid al-Sahlah - Sayyidah Nargis Sahn 1.jpg|The Sayyidah Nargis ''sahn'' Masjid al-Sahlah - Sayyidah Nargis Sahn 2.jpg|The Sayyidah Nargis ''sahn'' Masjid al-Sahlah - Sayyidah Nargis Sahn 3.jpg|The Sayyidah Nargis ''sahn'' Masjid al-Sahlah Entrance.jpg|The mosque entrance </gallery>
[[File:The Maqam of Imam al-Mahdi (Commemorative Site).jpg|thumb|Maqam of Imam al-Mahdi – a historical and religious site in [location]]]
thumb|Masjid al-Sahlah Entrance thumb
== See also == {{stack|{{portal|Shia Islam|Iraq}}}} * Holiest sites in Shia Islam * List of mosques in Iraq * List of oldest mosques * Shia Islam in Iraq
== References == {{reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{cite book |author1=Falah, Shubber |author2=Ajam, Wael |title=Al-Sahla Mosque - Iraq |year= |publisher= |page= |isbn= |url=https://www.archnet.org/display?source=https://archnet-3-prod-iiif-cloud-c0fe51f0b9ac.herokuapp.com/public/resources/c632c4ed-8353-40ce-8572-03972b22c16b/content |via=ArchNet.org |access-date=2 July 2025}} * {{cite book |author1=Tabbaa, Yasser |author2=Mervin, Sabrina |title=Najaf, the gate of wisdom: history, heritage & significance of the holy city of the Shi'a |location=Paris |publisher=UNESCO |year=2014 |isbn= |page= |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/Ulis/cgi-bin/ulis.pl?catno=228324&set=00544E07B3_0_136&gp=0&lin=1&ll=1 |access-date=2 July 2025 }}
== External links == {{commons category}} * {{cite web |url=https://en.wikishia.net/view/Al-Sahla_Mosque |title=Al-Sahla Mosque |work=wikishia.net |date= |access-date= }} * {{cite web |url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g2617273-d7988098-Reviews-Al_Sahlah_Great_Mosque-Kufa_Najaf_Province.html |title=Al Sahlah Great Mosque, Kufa |work=Trip Advisor |date= |access-date= }}
{{Mosques in Iraq}} {{Holiest sites in Shia Islam}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahlah Mosque}} Category:7th-century mosques Category:Mosque buildings with domes in Iraq Category:Mosque buildings with minarets in Iraq Category:Mosques in Kufa Category:Shia mosques in Iraq Category:Shrines in Iraq Category:Twelver Shia mosques Category:Twelver Shia shrines