Touring the Middle East: Twin Holy Cities of Iraq - Kufa
Just 8 kilometers away from the holy city of Najaf is another Shiite holy city - Kufa (Kufa). This kind of twin city system is not common in the world, and the last time I saw it was in Ezhou and Huanggang across the Yangtze River.
Of course, those listed as 'holy cities' cannot be ordinary. Let's talk about Kufa in detail:
1. The Great Mosque of Kufa (Great Mosque of Kufa)【Pictures 1-10】:
(1) It was built in 638 AD and is one of the oldest existing mosques in the world;
(2) Ali, the first Imam I mentioned last time, lived here for a long time and was assassinated by a killer in 661 AD;
(3) Many of Ali's disciples and relatives ended up here;
(4) It is said that Noah (corresponding to Noah's Ark in the Bible) once lived in this mosque, and the great flood that flooded the world also receded from this mosque;
(5) It is said that praying here once is better than praying ten times in other temples;
(6) The mosque is generally in Persian style, occasionally revealing Byzantine style, and the large courtyard with its own cloister is full of ancient charm. The marble columns in the cloister all come from Hira, 60 kilometers away.
2. Al-Sahla Great Mosque (Al-Sahla Great Mosque)【Pictures 11-17】, 2 kilometers away from the Great Mosque of Kufa, was built around the same time and also has many mysterious auras:
(1) It is the mosque where the twelfth Imam Hujjat -Allah al-Mahdi, who disappeared in history, will live one day in the future (the main hall is surrounded by twelve small domes symbolizing the twelve Imams surrounding the Prophet Muhammad, the only one with a small lamp represents the twelfth generation that may appear in the future);
(2) Many prophets of Islam, including but not limited to Ibrahim (Abraham in the Bible) and Idris (Enoch in the Bible), have prayed here;
(3) It is said that the horn of the Last Judgment will sound here, and only 70,000 people can be resurrected and enter heaven;
(4) Praying twice can bring good luck for a whole year;
(5) There are many prophecies and predictions inside and outside the temple gate, which are the key pilgrimage objects for Shiite Muslims from various countries.
I don't know if you have noticed that these two mosques are actually very involved. If you say you are the place where the first generation passed away, I will say I am the place where the last generation was reborn. If you say you have saints living, I will say I have the blessing of prophets. If you say you pray once for ten times, I will say I pray twice for a year. It is said that the competition has been going on for more than a thousand years, and who is the leader of the martial arts is still competing secretly. If Mr. Jin Yong had been born in the Middle East, he would have to give them a couple of strokes.
【Finally, I would like to praise that we know that most mosques in the world do not allow women to enter the main hall, but the religious atmosphere of these two mosques, especially the Al-Sahla Great Mosque, is exceptionally good. It is one of the few mosques in the world where good men and women can pray under the same roof (picture), and men and women taking pictures together is no longer taboo. Even in the main hall under the big dome, it is divided into two halves for men and women, fully expressing respect and care for female believers with practical actions.】