Religious factors of the city of Hillah

Ruqayyah Ahmed Juma
Under the supervision of Lect. Dr. Shaimaa Ne’mah Muhammad

1. The shrine of Sayyid Omar (Imran) Ibn Ali Ibn Abi Talib (PBUH): He is one of the sons of Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, who was martyred in the Battle of Nahrawan. He was seriously injured in this battle and was transferred until he reached an area near Babylon and was martyred in this area. The Commander of the Faithful (PBUH) buried him on a hill near the well-known ruins of Babylon. He now has a shrine that is visited there. The shrine is currently located within the administrative borders of the city center of Hillah, specifically within the borders of the ancient city of Babylon. The closest population center 2 to it is the village of Al-Jumah, which is only about a km away on foot. The shrine building is old and has a small area. It consists of a wall surrounding a relatively large external courtyard with a green dome built over the holy shrine.

2. The shrine of Sayyid Bakr Ibn Ali Ibn Abi Talib (PBUH): It is located within the administrative borders of Babylon Governorate, near the main road linking the governorates of Babylon and Najaf. It is approximately 7 km away from the center of Hillah, and is built on a high hill. The location of his grave is known in its surroundings as being in Khait Al-Imam – Al-Tajiyah – District 17, Plot 20. The grave was renovated in 1323 AH for the first time by Sayyid Muhammad Al-Qazwini and a number of the shrine’s custodians, who, when they removed the dirt and stones from the grave, discovered a niche with a rock on it, so they removed it in order to read what was on it. It was in Kufic writing, stating that “This is the grave of Bakr bin Ali bin Abi Talib Al-Hashemi, who died in the year sixty after the Prophet’s migration.” And praise be to its emigrant. It is made of marble. Its color tends to yellow, square in shape, measuring 18 x 18 centimeters, and its inscription is in three lines. Then the shrine was built in the late Ottoman era in Iraq, then the shrine was expanded in 1387 AH and rebuilt, so they built a larger dome made of bricks over it, its height is about nine meters, and the area of its sanctuary is five meters by five meters. On his grave is a wooden window on a green cloak, and on his grave was a plaque on which was written: “This is the grave of Bakr bin Ali bin Abi Talib, his mother is Laila bint Masoud bin Khalid al-Tamimiyyah.” At the present time, this shrine, which is visited by dozens of Iraqi and other Muslim visitors, is under a new reconstruction plan to rebuild it in a manner that befits the status of the owner of this noble shrine.