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Qom; the largest center for Shia scholarship in the world + Photos

SHAFAQNA – The 23rd of Rabi’ al-awwal marks the entrance of Hazrat Fatima Masoumeh (S.A) to the holy city of Qom, Iran. This year the date fell on the 21st November and was celebrated as the national Qom day in Iran.

The city of Qom is of major importance for Shia Muslims. It is the site of the holy shrine of Lady Fatimah bint Musa (SA), (Hazrat Masoumeh (SA) [1]), the sister of Imam Ali ibn Musa Ridha (AS) (Imam Reza (AS), 789–816 CE) whose holy shrine is in the city of Mashhad [2], Iran.

The interior of the spacious shrine in Qom [3]is immaculately decorated and has many notable burials on site, ranging from royalty and political figures to scholars and is a significant destination of pilgrimage. Many of the pilgrims are Iranians but also other Shia and non-Shia Muslims from all around the world.

Qom is the largest center for Shia [4] scholarship in the world. Although big Shia academies existed in Qom dating back as early as 10th century CE, the Hawza of the city became prominent at the time of the Safavids when Shia Islam became the official religion of Iran. The famous teachers of that era included Mulla Sadra and Sheikh Bahai.

The modern Qom Hawza was revitalized by Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi and Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi and is barely a century old. There are nearly three hundred thousand clerics in Iran’s seminaries. Grand Ayatollah Hussein Vahid Khorasani currently heads the Qom Seminary.

The Jamkaran Mosque is one of the primary significant mosques in the city of Qom, Iran.

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Here is some new photos of the holy city of Qom and the suburbs:

 

 

 

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