The Mausoleum of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Arabic: ضريح الإمام أحمد بن حنبل) is a mausoleum dedicated to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali school of Islamic thought. An Ottoman-period construction, the building is located in the Rusafa district of Baghdad, Iraq.
The attribution of the mausoleum to Ahmad ibn Hanbal has been doubted by some historians. However, it is still visited by pilgrims worldwide.
History
Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855) was an early Muslim scholar, muhaddith and the founder of the Hanbali school of thought. He was buried in the cemetery at Bab al-Harb alongside other Muslim scholars and ascetics like Bishr al-Hafi. In the 13th century, the traveller Yaqut al-Hamawi mentioned the existence of the grave of Ahmad ibn Hanbal in the cemetery. The location of Bab al-Harb has been identified to be located in the Kadhimiya district, near to the tombs of Musa al-Kadhim and Bishr al-Hafi.
Construction of the mausoleum
Accoridng to the traveller Ibn Battuta, there had been many attempts to construct a mausoleum over the grave of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, but zealous locals would demolish the structure after it had been erected. The current mausoleum is a room located in a small Ottoman-period mosque, known as the Aref Agha Mosque (Arabic: مسجد عارف أغا). It was reconstructed in 1998.
Local tradition narrates that in 1937, the cemetery of Bab al-Harb had been flooded and hence the bodies had to be reburied; with Ahmad ibn Hanbal's body taken to the Aref Agha Mosque and reburied in a room there. However, no evidence has been found for this story, leading to modern historians doubting it. Additionally, the historian and scholar al-Bandaniji (d. 1866) stated that Ahmad ibn Hanbal was buried in an unmarked grave at the Bab al-Harb that had its marker swept away over time, leaving no trace of its existence; the cemetery did not survive as well according to al-Bandaniji himself.
Current state
The mausoleum had entered a rather dilapidated and unfurnished state over time, with the only visits being pilgrims who had come to perform ziarat to the graves of the holy saints in Baghdad. In 2021, Al Jazeera reported that the mausoleum received less visits than usual due to the pandemic. Additionally, Al Jazeera stated that the last renovation of the mausoleum was in 2010 with the locals refusing to restore it due to the Hanbali school's prohibition on domed mausoleums.
Architecture
The mosque and mausoleum structure is built in the Ottoman style, with an area of 300 square metres. It has a small courtyard. The building has a small dome topping it. The main entrance to the mosque is very narrow. Inside, the tomb of Ahmad ibn Hanbal is located in the main room behind the qibla wall. The marble tombstone atop the grave is covered with layers of cloth and silk, all of which were donated over time by the various pilgrims visiting the site.
See also
References
- al-Baghdadi, al-Khatib (2011). Tarikh Baghdad. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al Kutub Al Ilmiyah. ISBN 9780861540464.
- Ibn al-Jawzi (2012). al-Muntaẓam fī tārīkh al-mulūk wa-al-umam. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al Kutub Al Ilmiyah. ISBN 9782745115072.
- al-Hamawi, Yaqut (1955). Kitāb Mu'jam al-Buldān. Beirut, Lebanon: Dār Ṣādir lil-Ṭibāʿah wa-al-Nash.
- al-Samarra'i. Maraqid Baghdad. Baghdad, Iraq: Maktaba Sharq Baghdad al-Jadid.
- Ibn Battuta (2011). Rihlat Ibn Battuta. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Sader. ISBN 9789953136745.
- Faqih Bahr al-Uloom, Mohammed Mehdi. Introduction to Famous Shrines in Iraq.
- ^ "ضريح الإمام أحمد بن حنبل". www.alayyam.info. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- ^ "المجددون في الإسلام.. الإمام أحمد بن حنبل من الحديث إلى الفقه". مصراوي.كوم (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- ^ "مرقد أحمد بن حنبل.. من (باب الحرب) إلى (عارف آغا)". مجلة الشبكة العراقية,IMN Magazine (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- ^ الحمدلة (2022-06-11). "قبر الإمام أحمد بن حنبل". الحمدلة (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- al-Bandaniji. Jami' al-Anwar fi Manaqib al-Akhyar. Algeria: Dar Al Qasbah Publishing House.
- ^ فاخر, عادل. "بعد أكثر من 1200 عام على وفاته.. كيف يبدو ضريح الإمام بن حنبل في بغداد؟". الجزيرة نت (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-20.
External links
- Islamic shrines and mausoleums in Baghdad