Mausoleum in Kashan, Iran
The
Shrine of Abu Lu'lu'a
(
Persian
:
???? ???????
), also known as the
Shrine of B?b? Shuj?? al-D?n
(
???? ???? ???? ?????
)
[3]
is a
mausoleum
built over what is popularly believed to be the final resting place of
Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz
, a
Persian
slave who assassinated the second Islamic caliph
Umar ibn al-Khattab
in 644.
[4]
The structure dates back to the
Mongol
era,
[2]
and is located in
Kashan
(Isfahan Province,
Iran
).
[5]
Traditionally, it was the central location of a yearly festival celebrating Abu Lu'lu'a, called
Omar Koshan
("the Killing of Umar").
The building was closed in 2007 by the Iranian government, due to pressure from the
International Union of Muslim Scholars
.
[1]
Building
[
edit
]
The original structure was built before the
Safavid
period (1501?1736), at some time during the
Mongol
era (13th?15th century).
[2]
However, the building's
dome
and
iwan
date from the Safavid period or later.
[2]
Festival
[
edit
]
The historical
Abu Lu'lu'a
died in
Medina
(the capital of the
early caliphate
, situated in the
Arabian Peninsula
) shortly after his assassination of
Umar ibn al-Khattab
in 644 CE.
[6]
At some later time, legends arose according to which Abu Lu'lu'a was saved from his pursuers by
Ali ibn Abi Talib
(the cousin and son-in-law of the prophet
Muhammad
, who is also revered by
Shi'ite
Muslims as the first
Imam
). According to these stories, Ali instantaneously transported Abu Lu'lu'a by means of a special prayer to
Kashan
, where he married and lived out the rest of his life.
[7]
During the 16th-century
Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam
, a festival started to be celebrated in honor of Abu Lu'lu'a, commemorating his assassination of Umar.
[8]
Named
Omar Koshan
(
lit.
'
the killing of Umar
'
), it was originally held around Abu Lu'lu'a's sanctuary in Kashan, each year at the anniversary of Umar's death (
26
Dhu al-Hijja
of the Islamic year).
[9]
Later it also started to be celebrated elsewhere in Iran, sometimes on 9
Rabi' al-Awwal
rather than on 26 Dhu al-Hijja.
[10]
The festival celebrated Abu Lu'lu'a, nicknamed for the occasion
B?b? Shuj?? al-D?n
(
lit.
'
Father Courageous of the Faith
'
), as a national hero who had defended the religion by killing the oppressive caliph.
[11]
Due to political sensitivities, from the
Qajar
period (1789?1925) onward the festival gradually stopped being celebrated in the major cities of Iran, until it was eventually banned officially by the
Islamic Republic of Iran
in 1979.
[12]
Nevertheless, the festival itself is still celebrated in Iran, though often secretly and indoors rather than outdoors.
[13]
It is now held on the 9th day of the month of Rabi' Al-Awwal of the Islamic year, lasting until the 27th of the same month.
[14]
Controversy
[
edit
]
In recent years, controversy was caused when
al-Azhar University
demanded the
Iranian government
demolish Abu Lu'lu'a's shrine because the shrine was considered to be "offensive and un-Islamic" by mainstream
Sunni
scholars. The issue caused the cancellation of diplomatic relations between the university and the Iranian government.
[15]
Due to this Sunni pressure, which also included an intervention by the
International Union for Muslim Scholars
, the Iranian government shut down the shrine in 2007.
[1]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Isma'il 2007
, referred to by
Ismail 2016
, p. 93;
Ali 2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Anonymous 1975
. Quote: "
??? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ????? ????? ????????? ??? ?????.
".
- ^
Anonymous 1975
.
- ^
On Abu Lu'lu'a, see
Pellat 2011
.
- ^
Algar 1990
.
- ^
Pellat 2011
.
- ^
Fischer 1980
, p. 16;
Johnson 1994
, p. 127, note 23. According to
Ali 2018
, the earliest version of the transportation story as related by Im?d al-D?n ?abar? in his
K?mil-e Bah??
(675 AH = 1276?7 CE) mentioned a mystical transportation to
Qom
, but later the story was changed to Abu Lu'lu'a's being transported to Kashan instead, possibly to authenticate the presence of the mausoleum in Kashan.
- ^
Algar 1990
;
Torab 2007
, p. 196.
- ^
Johnson 1994
, p. 127, note 23; cf.
Algar 1990
.
- ^
Calmard 1996
, p. 161;
Algar 1990
.
- ^
Calmard 1996
, p. 161;
Johnson 1994
, p. 127, note 23;
Torab 2007
, p. 196.
- ^
Algar 1990
;
Torab 2007
, pp. 194?195.
- ^
Torab 2007
, p. 195.
- ^
Torab 2007
, p. 198.
- ^
Ismail 2016
, p. 93.
Sources cited
[
edit
]
- Algar, Hamid
(1990).
"Caliphs and the Caliphate, as viewed by the Shi?ites of Persia"
. In
Yarshater, Ehsan
(ed.).
Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume IV/7: Calendars II?Cappadocia
. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 677?679.
ISBN
978-0-71009-130-7
.
- Ali, Sayyid (12 November 2018).
"Is Abu Lulu Buried in Kashan?"
.
Iqra Online
.
- Anonymous (6 September 1975) [15 Shahrivar 1354
SH
].
"???? ??????? / ????"
(PDF)
.
?????????? ????? ?????? ? ??????? ?????
[
Encyclopaedia of the History of Architecture and Urban Planning of Iran
]. Registration no. 1091 (in Persian). Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
- Calmard, Jean (1996). "Shi'i Rituals and Power II. The Consolidation of Safavid Shi'ism: Folklore and Popular Religion". In Melville, Charles (ed.).
Safavid Persia: The History and Politics of an Islamic Society
. Pembroke Persian Papers. Vol. 4. London: I.B. Tauris. pp. 139?190.
ISBN
1-86064-023-0
.
- Fischer, Michael M. J.
(1980).
Iran: From Religious Dispute to Revolution
. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
ISBN
9780674466159
.
- Isma'il, Faraj (13 June 2007).
"??? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ???????? : ??????? ????????? ???? ???? "??? ????? ???????" ???? ??? ?? ??????"
.
Al Arabiya
. Archived from the original on 15 June 2007.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link
)
- Ismail, Raihan (2016).
Saudi clerics and Sh?'a Islam
. New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN
9780190627508
.
- Johnson, Rosemary Stanfield (1994).
"Sunni Survival in Safavid Iran: Anti?Sunni Activities During the Reign of Tahmasp I"
.
Iranian Studies
.
27
(1?4): 123?133.
- Pellat, Charles
(2011).
"Ab? Lo?lo?a"
. In
Yarshater, Ehsan
(ed.).
Encyclopaedia Iranica
.
- Torab, Azam (2007).
Performing Islam: Gender and Ritual in Iran
. Leiden: Brill.
doi
:
10.1163/9789047410546_009
.