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Mausoleum of Imam Ali

Mosque and shrine in Afghanistan

Summary

Mosque and shrine in Afghanistan

Field	Value
name	Mausoleum of Ali
native_name	مقام علی
native_name_lang	prs
image	Blue Mosque in the northern Afghan city in 2012.jpg
image_upright	1.4
caption	The shrine as photographed in 2012
religious_affiliation	Islam
province	Balkh Province
festivals
organisational_status	Mausoleum and mosque
ownership	Government of Afghanistan
governing_body	Ministry of Information and Culture
functional_status	Damaged since 2025
location	Mazar-i-Sharif
country	Afghanistan
map_type	Afghanistan
map_size	250
map_alt	Map of Afghanistan with a pin marking the location of the shrine of Ali
map_relief	1
map_caption	Location of the mausoleum and mosque in Afghanistan
mapframe	yes
coordinates
architecture_style	Timurid
year_completed	CE
date_demolished
dome_quantity	Two (maybe more)
minaret_quantity	(maybe more)
shrine_quantity	One: Ali ()
elevation_m
module

shrine in Afghanistan

The Mausoleum of Ali (), also known as the Shrine of Hazrat Ali and the Great Blue Mosque (), is a mausoleum and mosque complex located in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital and largest city of Balkh Province in northern Afghanistan. It is a popular tourist attraction in the middle of the city, which is visited all year long by all people regardless of religion or sect.

The complex purportedly houses the tomb of Caliph Ali, also known as the first Imam of Shia Muslims (). Many pilgrims annually celebrate Nowruz (New Year) at the site. At the annual Janda Bala ceremony a flag used to be raised in honor of Ali. Some touched the flag for supposed luck in the New Year. This particular ceremony has been officially halted in recent years.

History

The earliest surviving source stating Ali to be buried in Balkh is ar of the Andalusian traveller Abu Hamid al-Gharnati (). Abd al-Ghafur Lari wrote that Muhammad al-Baqir, the fifth Shia imam, assigned Abu Muslim the task of transferring Ali's body to the Khurasan, though this is likely apocryphal. The land around the site was formerly a memorial mosque dedicated to Ali al-Balkhi, a Hanafi Muslim scholar and statesman who died in the same place.

The first structure of the site dates back to the Seljuk era. It was a shrine built by Sultan Ahmad Sanjar in 1136. In the 13th century, the Mongols under Genghis Khan invaded Balkh, where they massacred the Balkhi population and destroyed their places of worship. The shrine built by Sanjar was destroyed by the Mongols in the year 1220. The Mongols were led to believe that there was a significant amount of treasure under it.

In the 15th century, the Timurid amir, Sultan Husayn Bayqara, ordered a reconstruction of the destroyed building.

In later years, various rulers made repairs and endowments, including the Shaybanid emir Abd al-Mu'min ibn Abd Allah Khan, who built a dome. Later, Berdi Beg, the Khan of the Golden Horde who reigned from 1357 to 1359, added several decorations to the building. In the modern era, a plan was created to renovate the whole complex in 1910.

Sher Ali Khan, Emir of Afghanistan in 1860s, and some of his relatives are also buried at the site. During the 2025 Balkh earthquake, the structure's minaret was partially damaged and cracks formed in the walls. Afghanistan's Ministry of Information and Culture immediately pledged to "assess and repair the damage".

Gallery

Men praying in Afghanistan.jpg|Men praying during Ramadan, 2012 Blue Mosque - Shrine of Hazrat Ali.JPG|Entrance to one of the buildings Nowruz in northern Afghanistan-2011.jpg|Distant view of the mosque in 2011 Blue Mosque - Shrine of Hazrat Al.JPG|White pigeons in the Blue Mosque's courtyard Mazar-e Sharif - all blue.jpg|Close up Mazar-e Sharif - Mosque.jpg|Central Asian style tile work Mazar-e-Sharif (4268537856).jpg|A family feeding the pigeons

References

Bibliography

References

Dupree, Nancy Hatch. (1977). "An Historical Guide to Afghanistan: Chapter 25 Mazar-i-Sharif".
(18 March 2024). "Over 800 foreign tourists visited Balkh this year". Pajhwok Afghan News.
(21 March 2019). "Afghans Celebrate Nawroz Amid Rising Hopes For Peace". TOLOnews.
(20 March 2012). "Flag-hoisting ceremony held in Balkh". Pajhwok Afghan News.
(2010-03-22). "Thousands celebrate Nowruz in Mazar-i-Sharif".
"Balkh Celebrates Nawroz But Without Customary Flag-Hoisting". TOLOnews.
"IEA cancel public holiday for Nowruz but say celebrations allowed". Ariana News.
Ibn 'Inaba. (2003). "Umdat al-ṭālib fī nasab Āl Abī Ṭālib". Maktabat Jull al-Ma‘rifah.
(2016-06-11). "Rowze-i Sharif". [[ArchNet]].
Camino Gonzalez, Jenipher. (2025-11-03). "Afghanistan's historic Blue Mosque damaged by earthquake".
Qahar Afghan, Abdul. (2025-11-04). "Afghanistan earthquake survivors spend the night in the open; the quake damaged historical sites".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

16th-century-mosques-in-afghanistan 21st-century-attacks-on-mosques buildings-and-structures-in-balkh-province mazar-i-sharif mosque-buildings-with-domes-in-afghanistan mosque-buildings-with-minarets-in-afghanistan mosques-in-afghanistan mausoleums-in-afghanistan timurid-architecture islamic-mausoleums

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