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Najaf is the capital of Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 kilometres south of Baghdad, and it is famous as one of the holiest cities of Shia Islam, home to the golden shrine of Imam Ali and to Wadi-us-Salaam, the largest cemetery in the world. About 1.41 million people lived there in 2024.
Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, was struck down in the Great Mosque of nearby Kufa in 661 and buried in secret outside the town. His grave was revealed in the time of Harun al-Rashid in the 8th century. The present shrine dates from the 17th century, and the Hawza of Najaf, the oldest Shia seminary in the world, still teaches thousands of students beside it.
Today millions of pilgrims come each year. Kufa, founded in 638 and once the capital of Ali's caliphate, lies 10 kilometres to the north-east on the Euphrates and forms one urban area with Najaf. Visitors come for the shrine of Ali, the tombs of his companions, the great mosques of Kufa and the wide basin of the Sea of Najaf to the west.
The Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf is the mausoleum of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam and fourth caliph, and draws millions of pilgrims every year. The present shrine dates from the 17th century, with a dome 42 metres high, and its dome, iwan and minarets were gilded in 1743 by Nader Shah.
Wadi-us-Salaam in Najaf is the largest cemetery in the world, spreading over about 601 hectares beside the shrine of Ali and holding more than six million graves. Shia Muslims from Iraq and across the globe ask to be buried here near Ali, and its brick tombs and domes reach to the horizon.
The Al-Hannanah Mosque in Najaf, also called the Mosque of the Head, stands on a 7,400-square-metre site on the way to Kufa, beside the grave of Kumayl ibn Ziyad. Tradition holds that the head of Husayn rested here, and that its pillars bowed as the body of Ali was carried past to burial.
The Mausoleum of Kumayl ibn Ziyad in Najaf honours a companion of Ali who was killed on the orders of al-Hajjaj, and stands next to the Al-Hannanah Mosque. First built in 1950 and enlarged since, its dome is covered in Qashani tiles naming the twelve Imams, and its walls are faced with alabaster.
The Great Mosque of Kufa, 10 kilometres north-east of Najaf, is one of the oldest surviving mosques in the world, founded with the city in 638 and rebuilt in brick in 670. Ali was struck down here at dawn prayer in 661, and its walled court of about 11,000 square metres now has four minarets.
The Shrine of Muslim ibn Aqil in the Great Mosque of Kufa holds the grave of Muslim, the cousin whom Husayn sent to Kufa in 680. Betrayed by an informant and executed by the Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, he is revered in Shia Islam for his bravery, and his shrine draws pilgrims.
The Shrine of Hani ibn Urwa beside the Great Mosque of Kufa holds the grave of the chief of the Banu Murad, a companion of Ali who fought at the battles of the Camel and Siffin. He hid Muslim ibn Aqil in his house in 680 and was killed for it, and one of the five gates of the mosque bears his name.
The Al-Sahlah Mosque in Kufa is a holy Shia mosque believed to date from the 7th century as a neighbourhood mosque for the followers of Ali. Twelver Shia hold that the Mahdi will one day live here, and the mosque was rebuilt between 2011 and 2018, with a new courtyard named after Sayyidah Nargis.
The Al-Hamra Mosque in Kufa, also called the Yunus ibn Matta Mosque, dates from the 7th century and is one of the oldest places of worship in the city, with a shrine linked to the prophet Jonah. Demolished in 1991, it was rebuilt after 2003 with support from Ayatollah al-Sistani.
The Mausoleum of Maytham al-Tammar in Kufa honours the date seller and companion of Ali who was executed by Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad in 680. Rebuilt in 2011 to the west of the Great Mosque of Kufa, it has a 9-metre dome, two 28-metre minarets and a wooden grave screen made in Isfahan.
The House of Imam Ali in Kufa is the home where Ali ibn Abi Talib lived while Kufa was the capital of his caliphate, from 656 until his death in 661. It stands on raised ground against the western wall of the old governor's palace beside the Great Mosque of Kufa, and pilgrims visit it on their way.
The Sea of Najaf, or Bahr al-Najaf, is a lake basin on the western side of Najaf, about 15 kilometres long and covering some 425 square kilometres, though much of it has dried out in recent years. Birds and fish still live in its waters, and old Arab writers told of ships trading on it long ago.
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