| Imam Reza Shrine | |
|---|---|
حرمِ امام رضا | |
 The dome,iwan, and minarets of the shrine from the Enghelab Courtyard. | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Shia Islam |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Shrine andmausoleum complex |
| Leadership | Ahmad Alamolhoda(imam) |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Mashhad,Razavi Khorasan province |
| Country | Iran |
  Location of the shrine complex inIran | |
 Interactive map of Imam Reza Shrine | |
| Administration | Astan Quds Razavi |
| Coordinates | 36°17′17″N59°36′57″E / 36.2880°N 59.6157°E /36.2880; 59.6157 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Persian-Islamic architecture |
| Style | |
| Completed | 818CE |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 700,000 worshippers |
| Dome | Two(maybe more) |
| Minaret | 12 |
| Minaret height | 70 m (230 ft) |
| Site area | 267,069 m2 (65.994 acres) |
| Shrine | Two: seeHarun ِal-Rashid Mausoleum |
| Website | |
| aqr | |
| Official name | Imam Reza shrine |
| Type | Built |
| Designated | 6 January 1932 |
| Reference no. | 140 |
| Conservation organization | Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran |
TheImam Reza Shrine (Persian:حرم امام رضا,romanized: Haram-e Emâm Rezâ,lit. 'Sanctuary of Imam Reza';Arabic:العتبة الرضوية) is themausoleum ofAli al-Rida, the eighthImam inShia Islam, located inMashhad, the province ofRazavi Khorasan,Iran. As one of theholiest sites in Shia Islam, nearly 30 million Muslims makingpilgrimages to the shrine every year,[1][2][3] the most visited pilgrimage site inIslam.[4][5][6][7]
Imam Reza was a descendant of theIslamic prophet Muhammad, known for his piety and learning. Born in 766 CE, his lineage traces back toAli via Muhammad’s daughterFatima, from their sonHusayn. He is part of the chain of mystical authority inSunni Sufism, making him widely respected inSunni Islam as well. He is also regarded as a model of asceticism inSufism, and the chains of authority in Shia Sufism progress through him.Uyoun Akhbar Al-Ridha have recorded miracles which have occurred at the shrine.[8]
The shrine covers an area of 1,200,000 square meters, making it the thirdlargest mosque in the world, afterMasjid al-Haram inMecca and theProphet's Mosque inMedina. TheGoharshad Mosque, theAstan Quds Razavi Central Museum, amuseum, alibrary, fourseminaries, acemetery, and the Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, are also contained within the complex.[9] The complex was added toIran's National Heritage List on 6 January 1932, and on 2 February 2017, it was added to thetentative list ofUNESCOWorld Heritage Sites.[10]Also buried within the shrine are the members of theTimurid,Safavid andQajar family members, alongside theAbbasid caliphHarun al-Rashid, polymathBaha al-Din al-Amili, crown princeAbbas Mirza, and many other notable political figures, scholars, and clerics.
Severalhadiths from the Shia Imams and Muhammad highlight the importance of pilgrimage to the shrine. A hadith from Muhammad says:[11][12][13][14][15]
One of my own flesh and blood will be buried in the land of Khorasan. God the Highest will surely remove the sorrows of any sorrowful person who goes on pilgrimage to his shrine. God will surely forgive the sins of any sinful person who goes on pilgrimage to his shrine.
Dar-ul-Imarah (Royal Residence) or the garden ofHumayd ibn Qahtaba al-Ta'i was a fortress in the village of Sanabad. It dates from before theIslamic era. It had been placed at the fork road of Sanabad,Neishabour,Sarakhs,Toos andRadkan. This fortress had been a place for the frontier guards to take position and establish the security of these roads and regions. After the demise ofHarun al-Rashid, he was buried in this place. Due to this historical event, the Dar-ul-Imarah was known as the Mausoleum ofHaruniyyeh. The original inner building of Dar-ul-Imarah had been aZoroastrian temple. This building was demolished by the order ofal-Ma'mun, and then it was reconstructed according to the special architecture ofKhorasan. Four plain and short walls, covered with a low-slope dome, were constructed around the building. Afterwards, the name of the mausoleum (Haruniyyeh) was changed and known as the Mashhad-ur-Reza. Mashhad literally means 'a place where a martyr has been buried'.[16]
In 818,ImamAli al-Ridha was murdered by theAbbasid caliphal-Ma'mun (ruled 813–833) and was buried beside the grave of al-Ma'mun's father,Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809).[17] After this event, the location was called Mashhad al-Ridha ("the place of martyrdom of al-Ridha"). Shias andSunnis (for example,Ibn Hibban wrote in his Kitab al Siqqat that whenever troubled and in Mashad he would always visit the shrine to ask for relief from problems that bothered him) began visiting his grave onpilgrimage. By the end of the 9th century, a dome was built on the grave and many buildings andbazaars sprang up around it. For the next thousand years, it has been devastated and reconstructed several times.[18]: 12–16
The celebrated Muslim travelerIbn Battuta visited Mashhad in 1333 CE and reported that it was a large town with abundant fruit trees, streams and mills. A great dome of elegant construction surmounts the noble mausoleum, the walls being decorated with colored tiles. Opposite the tomb of the Imam is the tomb of Caliph Harun al-Rashid, which is surmounted by a platform bearing chandeliers.[1]
TheSamanids (819–999 CE), who ruled over a large part ofGreater Khorasan, were notable patrons of Sunni Islamic scholarship. They maintained and supported religious institutions, including the early structures around the Imam Reza shrine.[19][20] Although there are limited architectural remnants from their time, historical accounts suggest that the Samanids contributed to the preservation and modest development of the shrine, ensuring that it remained a focal point for pilgrims in the region.[21][22] Their support laid the groundwork for later dynasties to expand the shrine.[23][24]
By the end of the thirdHijri century, a dome was built on the grave of Imam Reza and many buildings and bazaars sprang around the shrine. In 383 AH (993/994CE),Sebuktigin, theGhaznavid sultan devastated Mashhad and stopped the pilgrims from visiting the shrine. But in 400 AH (1009/1010CE),Mahmud of Ghazni started the expansion and renovation of the shrine and built many fortifications around the city.[25]
Sultan Sanjar, after the healing of his son in the shrine, renovated the sanctuary and added new buildings within its precincts. At the time of Sultan Sanjar Saljuqi, after Sharaf al-Din Abu Tahir b. Sa'd b. Ali Qummi repaired the shrine, he began to construct a dome over it.[26] In 612 AH (1215/1216CE), as borne out by inscriptions on certain tiles, Allaudin Khwarezm Shah carried out renovations on the shrine.[26]
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During theKhwarazmian dynasty, some repair and decoration was made inside the shrine.[26] In 612 AH (1215/1216CE) two very glorious embossedThuluth inscriptions in form of square tile work were fixed on both sides of the shrine entrance-by the side of Dar al-Huffaz porch—in which the names and descent of Imam Reza back toImam Ali were written. The complex includes some other inscriptions and threemihrabs of this era. During theMongol invasion in 617 AH (1220/1221CE), Khorasan was plundered by the invading hordes and the survivors of this massacre took refuge in Mashhad and settled around the shrine.[27] Sultan Muhammad Khudabandeh Iljaitu, the Mongol ruler of Iran, converted to Shi'ism and ruled Iran from 703 AH (1303/1304CE) until 716 AH (1316/1317CE), once again renovated the shrine on a grand scale.[25]
The glorious phase of Mashhad started during the reign ofShahrukh Mirza, son ofTamerlane, and reached its zenith during the reign of theSafavid Shahs, who ruled Iran from 1501 to 1736 CE. Shahrukh Mirza, whose capital wasHerat, regularly visited Mashhad for the pilgrimage of the shrine of Imam Reza (A.S.). In the 15th century, during the reign of theTimuridShahrukh Mirza, Mashhad became one of the main cities of the realm. In 1418 CE, his wife, EmpressGoharshad, funded the construction of an outstandingmosque beside the shrine, which is known as the Goharshad Mosque.[18]
With the emergence of the Safavid dynasty in 1501 CE and their declaration of the Twelver Shi'ite sect as the state religion, Mashhad reached the peak of its development. However, since Khorasan was a border province of the Safavid Empire, Mashhad suffered repeated invasions and periods of occupation by the Uzbek Khans – Muhammad Khan, Abdullah Khan Shaibani, Muhammad Sultan and especially Abdul-Momen Khan. These invasions continued up to 996 AH (1587/1588CE), the reign ofShah Abbas I, who finally drove out theUzbeks from Khorasan. Sahn Atiq was extended in the time of Shah Abbas I, and during the Safavid era, efforts were made for its further improvement.
During the Safavid era, the shrine also received patronage from rulers of the Indian subcontinent, namelyQuli Qutb-ul-Mulk (founder of theQutb Shahi dynasty) andMughal EmperorAkbar. The latter was notably aSunni.[28]
Nader Shah Afshar andthe Qajar Shahs who ruled Iran from 1789 to 1925 CE expanded the various places in the shrine. There were also some improvements in the shrine complex during the Qajar Dynasty. There was also some repair in both courtyards duringMozaffar ad-Din Shah's monarchy.
Following the coup in December 1911, Russian artillery shelled revolutionaries who had taken refuge in the shrine.[29] The whole complex was greatly damaged in 1911, but it was repaired after a while.
There were significant changes in the complex in 1347 AH (1928/1929CE). Old Falakah was extended up to a radius of 620 metres (2,030 ft) before the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and an important part of Holy Buildings' historical structure was demolished without considering its antiquity and elegance.
On 13 July 1935 (11th Rabi al-Thani 1354 AH), during theGoharshad Mosque rebellion, armed forces ofReza Shah, the reigning monarch of Iran and founder ofPahlavi dynasty, invaded the shrine and massacred people gathered in the Goharshad Mosque.[30][31] The people there were protesting against the modernization policies of the Shah which many, especially amongst the Shia clergy, considered to be anti-Islamic, including thebanning of hijab for women in Iran.[32] Shortly before theIranian Revolution, on 21 November 1978, troops under orders from the regime ofMohammad Reza Shah, Reza Shah's son and successor, killed approximately 12,000 people within the shrine.[33][34]
The shrine is depicted on thereverse of the Iranian 100rials coin, issued since 2004.[35][36]
The harem kitchen receives 10 to 40 thousand visitors per day and sometimes on occasional events cooks for as many as 250,000. It has an Astan quds website page and there is an ID register and ticket lottery for a one course meal per person every three years.[37][38]During Ramadan, the Commune Kitchen feeds approximately one million pilgrims and citizens.[39]
On 20 June 1994, a bomb explosion occurred at the shrine. To maximize the number of casualties, the explosion took place onAshura, one of the holiest days for Shia muslims,[40] when hundreds of pilgrims had gathered to commemorate thedeath of their third Imam, Husayn ibn Ali.[41] The attack left at least 25 dead and at least 70 injured.[40][a] The bomb was equivalent to 4.5 kilograms (10 lb) of TNT, according to experts.[43] Although a Sunni militant group claimed responsibility, the Iranian government laid the blame on thePeople's Mujahedin of Iran, and others accused a Pakistani militant.
On 5 April 2022, a stabbing attack took place at the shrine, killing two Shiaclerics and wounding a third. The perpetrator, identified as foreign national Abdullatif Moradi, was immediately arrested along with six others accused of assisting him. The victims were active members of non-profit constructing and cultural communities, motivated byanti-Shi'ism.[45]
The complex contains a total of sevensahns, which cover an area of over 331,578 m2 (3,569,080 sq ft):[46] The courtyards also contain a total of 14 minarets,[47] and three fountains.[48]
 |
| Name | Images | Area | appurtenant | Year of first building | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| m2 | sq ft | ||||
| Islamic Revolution Courtyard | four balconies, steel window | ||||
| Freedom Courtyard | 4,600 | 50,000 | golden verandah | ||
| Courtyard of Goharshad Mosque | |||||
| Quds Courtyard | 2,400 | 26,000 | |||
| Islamic Republic Courtyard | 10,000 | 110,000 | two minarets | ||
| The Razavi Grand Courtyard | |||||
| Gadeer Courtyard | |||||
From the courtyards, external hallways named after scholars lead to the inner areas of the mosque. They are referred to asBast (Sanctuary), since they were meant to be a safeguard for the shrine areas:[49]
TheBast hallways lead towards a total of 21 internal halls (Riwaq) which surround the burial chamber of Ali al-Ridha.[50] Adjacent to the burial chamber is also a mosque dating back to the 10th century known as, Bala-e-Sar Mosque.[51]
This mosque is situated adjacent to the shrine of Imam Ridha.
It is located beneath the Golden Dome and surrounded by different porches each bearing a separate name.
There are two museums within the shrine limits, the Astan Quds Museum and the Quran Museum.
The shrine is visible from far away and has entrances on all sides. There are separate entrance doors for males and female worshippers. Bags and cameras have to be left at luggage deposit offices outside the shrine for a 10,000 rials fee. Visitors are subject to a physical security check prior to entering the shrine gates. Mobile phones can be brought into the shrine. Females are required to wear achador.
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