Shah Cheragh Holy Shrine

Shah Cheragh Shrine is one of the religious places of Shiraz, which is the burial place of two descendants of the Prophet of Islam.

Who Are the People Buried in Shah Cheragh Holy Shrine?

Mir Sayyid Ahmad - the eldest son of Imam Musa Kazem (AS), the seventh Shiite Imam - who was given the title of Shah Cheragh, is buried in this shrine. He is the first son of Imam Musa Kazem (AS) and the elder brother of Imam Reza (AS), whose Holy Shrine is located in the city of Mashhad. Mir Sayyid Ahmad was also the brother of Hazrat Fatima Masoumeh (SA), whose Holy Shrine is in Qom. Another brother of Imam Reza (AS) by the name of Mir Sayyid Muhammad is also buried in the Shah Cheragh Holy Shrine.

Following the martyrdom of Imam Musa Kazim (AS), it was thought that his eldest son, Mir Sayyid Ahmad, would succeed him as the Imam of the Shiites, but he gave a sermon and introduced his brother, Imam Reza (AS) as his father’s successor. It is believed that Mir Sayyid Ahmad accompanied Imam Reza (AS) during his trip to Iran and was eventually martyred in Shiraz by the order of Mamun, the Abbasid caliph.

The burial place of Ahmed ibn Musa Kazim was unknown for a long time, but the Buyid ruler, Azd al-Dawla Deilmi (reigned from 949 to 983 AD) found out that the place known today as Shah Cheragh shrine is the tomb of Ahmad ibn Musa.

History of Shah Cheragh Shrine

The construction of this shrine dates back to the first half of the 10th century AD before which no tomb had been built and only a mound of dust was considered a shrine. It was during the reign of Atabakan of Fars (early 11th century to early 12th century) that this shrine was built.

Architecture of Shah Charagh Shrine

Shah Cheragh shrine has two main doors in the north and south. The portals of the two main doors are decorated with beautiful tiles. Two side doors are also installed in this shrine. After entering through the main and secondary doors, one gets into the large courtyard of the shrine, which has a large water pond with beautiful fountains in the middle. This pond has been built using large reed stones. There are also trees around the courtyard of the shrine, which has an area of 14 thousand square meters. The courtyard is rectangular and around 162 booths are built around it on two floors.

The tomb of Ahmed ibn Musa is located in the western part of the courtyard and the tomb of Muhammad ibn Musa is located in the northeast. In the past, each of the two sons of Imam Musa Kazem (AS) had an independent courtyard that was connected to each other through a market called “Bein al-Haramein”, but later this market was destroyed and added to today’s large courtyard.

The beautiful tile works of the shrine distinguishes it from other shrines in Iran. In addition, there are eye-soothing mirror works inside the shrine both sides of which are decorated with Persian and Arabic inscriptions.

There is a porch in front of the shrine, which has an alcove on all four sides. The alcove is a large room that has the best decorations in the building and is used to receive special guests. There is a zarih under the dome on the tomb of Ahmed ibn Musa, which is made of silver.

The birthdays of decedents of the Shiite Imams are usually celebrated in Iran, but since the birthdate of Ahmad ibn Musa is not known, a day between the birth dates of Imam Reza (AS) and Hazrat Masoumeh (SA) (the sixth day of Dhul-Qaida in the Hijri calendar) has been chosen as the commemoration day of this imamzadeh.

Since, apart from the spiritual and cultural value of the Shah Cheragh Shrine complex, this work also has an important place in terms of history and architecture, it was inscribed on the list of Iran’s National Heritage in 1942 AD.