Wadi-us-Salaam
Wadi-us-Salaam (Arabic: وادي السلام, romanized: Wādī s-Salām, Arabic pronunciation: [ˈwaːdi‿s.saˈlaːm], lit. 'Valley of Peace') is an Islamic cemetery, located in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. It is the largest cemetery in the world.[1][2] The cemetery covers 1,485.5 acres (601.16 ha; 6.01 km2; 2.32 sq mi) and contains more than 6 million bodies.[3] It also attracts millions of pilgrims annually.[4]
Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery
The cemetery is located near the shrine of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Sunni Caliph, as well as the first Shia Imam.[5] Thus, many Shi'ites in Iraq request that they be buried in this cemetery.[5] As a result of improved transportation methods, Shi'ites from across the globe are (or seek to be) buried in the cemetery. However, to be buried at the cemetery, one has to be interred inside one of the shared crypts in the cemetery.[6]
History[edit]
Daily burials have been on going for over 1,400 years and the site is on the Tentative List of UNESCO's World Heritage sites.[12] Burials in Najaf have been documented as early as the Parthian and Sassanid eras and ancient Mesopotamian cities often had similar cemeteries, where there was an accumulation of tombs.[13]
The cemetery saw heavy fighting during the 2004 Battle of Najaf. It is estimated that during the Iraq War, about 200 to 250 corpses were buried there daily; however, in 2010 this number had decreased to less than 100.[5] Approximately 50,000 new bodies are interred in the cemetery annually from across the globe.[14] This figure is an increase on the approximately 20,000 bodies, primarily from Iran, that used to be interred annually in the early 20th century.[15] Most Iraqi and many Iranian Shi'ites have a relative buried in the cemetery.[16]
As of 2014—coinciding with conflict against ISIL—it has been reported that burial plots are running out, resulting in many being stolen, illegally resold or improvised.[17] According to one gravedigger: "I've never had it so busy. Not even after 2003 or 2006 [the height of Iraq's civil war]."[18]
Important monuments[edit]
Tombs of the Grand Ayatollahs[edit]
The Grand Ayatollah, Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, is buried in this cemetery. His successor, Muhammad-Sadiq al-Sadr is also buried there, and his grave is one of the most visited tombs in the cemetery.[19]