Jump to content

Sayyida Zaynab Mosque, Syria

Coordinates: 33°26′40″N 36°20′27″E / 33.44444°N 36.34083°E / 33.44444; 36.34083
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Sayyidah Zainab Mosque.
Sayyida Zaynab Mosqueم
مسجدالسيدة الكبرى زينب الثائرة على الطاغية يزيد ابن معاوية كهف النفاق
The mausoleum of Zaynab bint Ali
Religion
AffiliationShia (Twelver)
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusMosque and mausoleum
StatusActive
Location
LocationSayyidah Zaynab, Rif Dimashq Governorate
CountrySyria
Sayyida Zaynab Mosque, Syria is located in Syria
Sayyida Zaynab Mosque, Syria
Location of the mosque in Syria
Geographic coordinates33°26′40″N 36°20′27″E / 33.44444°N 36.34083°E / 33.44444; 36.34083
Architecture
Architect(s)Rida Mourtada
TypeMosque architecture
Completed1990
Specifications
Dome(s)One
Minaret(s)Two
Shrine(s)One: (Zaynab bint Ali; according to Twelver Shi'ite tradition)

The Sayyida Zaynab Mosque (Arabic: مَسْجِد ٱلسَّيِّدَة زَيْنَب, romanized: Masjid as-Sayyidah Zaynab) is a Twelver Shi'ite mosque located in Sayyidah Zaynab near the capital city of Damascus, Syria. Twelver Shi'ite tradition considers the mosque to contain the grave of Zaynab bint Ali, the daughter of Ali and Fatima, and granddaughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad; while Sunni and Isma'ili Shia tradition place Zaynab's tomb in the mosque of the same name in Cairo, Egypt.

The tomb became a centre of Twelver religious studies in Syria and a destination of mass pilgrimage by Twelver Shia Muslims from across the Muslim world, beginning in the 1980s. The zenith of visitation normally occurs in the summer. The present-day mosque that hosts the tomb was built in 1990.[1]

Architecture

[edit]

The shrine of Sayyida Zaynab is located in al-Sitt near the south of Damascus. This area is part of Rif Dimashq Governorate. The building of the shrine consists of a large courtyard with a square plan. It included a dome and two high minarets. The Minarets and walls of the courtyard and porches were tiled by Iranian artists, the roof and walls of the shrine were glazed from the inside and the dome was gilded from the outside. On the eastern side of the courtyard, the building of the Zeinabieh's prayer hall with a small courtyard has been built. A new courtyard has also recently been built on the north side of the Holy Shrine.[2] The shrine is sometimes seen by some as a place of miracles.[3]

The shrine has been managed by Mourtada's family (Arabic: آلُ مُرْتَضَى, romanized: Āl Murtaḍā) since the fourteenth century.[citation needed] Financially, the shrine has been funded mainly by the Iranian government following 1979.[4] Given their financial investment, the ideological direction of the shrine and the prayer hall follow Ayatollah Khamanei. The Lebanese Hezbollah displays several posters and sets at the shrine.

Several Shia scholars and celebrities such as Seyyed Mohsen Amin Ameli, and Seyyed Hossein Yousef Maki Ameli are buried in the shrine of Sayyidah Zainab and the surrounding cemeteries.[2] Ali Shariati, an ideologue of the Iranian Revolution, had wished before his death, to be buried in the yard of Zaynab bint Ali, the descendant of Muhammad and beloved daughter of Imam Ali. His shrine is found within the compound of Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque and is regularly visited by many Iranian pilgrims.[4]

Iranian President Ali Khamenei visiting the shrine of Sayyida Zaynab in 1984

Recent history

[edit]

On 27 September 2008, a car bomb attack took place on the intersection leading up to the mosque, killing 17 people.[5][6]

On 14 June 2012, the town became the target of a suicide car bomb attack where around 14 people were heavily wounded.[citation needed]

Since mid-summer 2012, the town has been under attack from armed militants in neighbouring Sunni towns. Many Shia and pro-government families were driven out of their homes in southern Damascus and sought refuge in al-Sitt. Constant shelling became more frequent in this predominantly Shia town, and rockets landing on random places in the town became common.

Main article: 2016 Sayyidah Zaynab bombings

On 31 January 2016, at-least 70 people were killed in three bomb blasts in the Koa sodhda area, near the shrine.[7][8] At least another 110 people were also wounded in the blasts, caused car bombs.[9]

On 21 February 2016, over 130 people were killed in another series of bombings, less than a month after the January attacks, and 180 people were injured.[10]

On 12 March 2017, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham claimed responsibility for the explosion of a roadside bomb and a suicide bombing at the shrine. The twin attacks killed 74 people according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the majority of whom were Iraqi pilgrims. Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham described the attack as a "message to Iran".[11]

On 27 July 2023, a motorcycle detonated near a taxi at Kou Sudan Street near Sayyida Zaynab's Shrine, killing at-least six people and injuring another 23.[12]

To maintain security, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah guarded the site until they were withdrawn before the fall of Damascus in December 2024.[13]

[edit]
  • The golden dome above the mausoleum
    The golden dome above the mausoleum
  • Arabesques on the inside of the dome
    Arabesques on the inside of the dome
  • Muqarnas decorated with arabesques inside the mosque
    Muqarnas decorated with arabesques inside the mosque
  • Interior decoration of Sayyida Zainab mosque
    Interior decoration of Sayyida Zainab mosque
  • Dome interior above the mausoleum
    Dome interior above the mausoleum

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Matthiesen, Toby (June 12, 2013). "Syria: Inventing a Religious War". The New York Review of Books.
  2. ^ a b درباره حرم حضرت زینب(س). hajj.ir (in Persian).
  3. ^ Szanto, Edith (2013). "Contesting Fragile Saintly Traditions: Miraculous Healing among Twelver Shi'is in Contemporary Syria". In Bandak, Andreas; Bille, Mikkel (eds.). Politics of Worship in the Contemporary Middle East: Sainthood in Fragile States. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. pp. 33–52.
  4. ^ a b MERVIN, Sabrina (1996). "Sayyida Zaynab, Banlieue de Damas ou nouvelle ville sainte chiite ?". Cahiers d'Études sur la Méditerranée Orientale et le monde Turco-Iranien (in French): 22. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  5. ^ "Syria condemns Damascus car bombing as "cowardly terrorist act"". Xinhua. September 27, 2008. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  6. ^ Aji, Albert; Mroue, Bassem (September 27, 2008). "Car bomb kills 17 in tightly controlled Syria". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 1, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  7. ^ "Suicide car explosion kills 8 and wounds 15 in Sayeda Zainab". Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  8. ^ "Deadly blast near Syria shrine". BBC News.
  9. ^ "Several killed in blasts near Syria Sayyida Zeinab shrine". Al Arabiya.
  10. ^ amar (February 23, 2016). "Nearly 200 people killed in six explosions at Sayeda Zeinab and Zahraa". The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  11. ^ "Syrian Al-Qaeda affiliate claims twin bombing in Damascus". BBC News. March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  12. ^ "Six citizens killed, 23 others injured in terrorist explosion in Damascus countryside". Syrian Arab News Agency. July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  13. ^ "Once a pro-Iran bastion, Damascus shrine district now in rebel hands". France 24. February 23, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sayyida_Zaynab_Mosque,_Syria&oldid=1298977330"