Al-Askari mosque
religious historical complex in Samarra, Iraq / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Al-`Askarī or the `Askariyya Mosque/Shrine (Arabic: مرقد الامامين علي الهادي والحسن العسكري; transliterated: Marqad al-Imāmayn `Alī l-Hādī wa l-Ħassan al-`Askarī) is a Shī`a Muslim holy site. It is in the Iraqi city of Samarra. Samara is 60 miles from Baghdad. It is one of the most important Shīite mosques in the world. It was built in 944.[1] Its dome was destroyed in February 2006 (see al-`Askarī Mosque Bombing).
The remains of the tenth and eleventh Shī`a Imāms, `Alī l-Hādī and his son Hassan al-`Askarī, known as "the two `Askarīs" (al-`Askariyyān), rest at the shrine.[2] It stands next to a shrine to the Twelfth or "Hidden" Imām, Muħammad al-Mahdī. The `Askariyya Shrine is also known as the "Tomb or Mausoleum of the Two Imāms", "the Tomb of Imāms `Alī l-Hādī and Hassan al-`Askarī" and al-Hadhratu l-`Askariyya.
Also buried inside the Mosque are the remains of Hakimah Khatun, sister of `Alī l-Hādī, and of Narjis Khatun, mother of Muħammad al-Mahdi.[3]
Time magazine reported at the time of the 2006 al-Askari mosque bombing that “al-Askari [is] one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites. Only the shrines of Najaf and Karbala are more important. Even Samarra's Sunnis hold al-Askari in high esteem. The expression 'to swear by the shrine' is routinely used by both communities".[4]