Bibi-Heybat Mosque

The Bibi-Heybat Mosque (Azerbaijani: Bibiheybət məscidi) is a historical mosque in Baku, Azerbaijan. The existing structure, built in the 1990s, is a recreation of the mosque with the same name built in the 13th century by Shirvanshah Farrukhzad II Ibn Ahsitan II, which was completely destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1936.

Bibi-Heybat Mosque Bibiheybət məscidi
Religion
Affiliation	Shia Islam
District	Shikhov
Province	Bibiheybət
Region	Absheron
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Mosque
Location
Location	Baku, Azerbaijan
Architecture
Architect(s)	Fahraddin Miralay
Type	Mosque
Style	Islamic, Shirvan Style
Completed	1997
Minaret(s)	2

The Bibi-Heybat Mosque includes the tomb of Ukeyma Khanum (a descendant of Muhammad), and today is the spiritual center for the Muslims of the region and one of the major monuments of Islamic architecture in Azerbaijan.

It is locally known as "the mosque of Fatima", which is what Alexandre Dumas called it when he described the mosque during his visit in the 1850s.

History

The mosque was built over the tomb of the daughter of the seventh Shiite Imam - Musa al-Kazim, who fled to Baku from persecution of caliphs. On the tomb there is carved on a stone inscription indicating that Ukeyma Khanum belongs to the sacred family: "Here was buried Ukeyma Khanum, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the granddaughter of the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, the daughter of the Seventh Imam Musei Kazym, sister of the eighth Imam Riza".[1]

View of the old mosque before restoration in 1911

Based on the writings on the south wall of a mosque, historians attribute the construction by the end of the 13th century. Arabic inscription on the mosque wall reads: "The work Mahmud ibn Sa'ad", which is the same architect who built the Nardaran Fortress near Baku.[2][3]

Haji Sheikh Sharif was among many Muslims, buried near the mosque, he arrived in Baku to spread Sufism, and spent the rest of his live in this mosque.[2]

Famous French writer, Alexandre Dumas, who visited the mosque in the 1840s, in his book "The World" wrote: The mosque - a place of worship for infertile women, they come here on foot, worship, and within a year gain the ability to give birth.

The mention of the mosque is also found in the works of local and European explorers and travelers, such as the Abbasgulu Bakikhanov, Ilya Berezin, Johannes Albrecht Bernhard Dorn, Nicholas Khanykov and Yevgeni Pakhomov.

In 1911, the patron of Baku, Alasgar Agha Dadashov with architect Haji Najaf constructed a new building of the mosque. Also, the reconstruction of the tomb and the old mosque took a cubic form.

The destruction of the mosque

Main article: Religion in the Soviet Union

The destruction of the mosque by the Bolsheviks in 1936

After the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan in 1920, the Bolsheviks began lashing out against religion. Bibi-Heybat Mosque, along with the Baku's Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception became a target for the new regime. The mosque was blown up in 1934 as result of the Soviet anti-religious campaign.[1][4]

Only after the destruction of the mosque, in the same year in Moscow, Soviet government decided on conservation of architectural monuments of historical significance, while chairman of Azkomstarisa Salamov sentenced to 20 years exile in Siberia for the destruction of the mosque.[1]

Restoration of the mosque

In 1994, after Azerbaijan gained its independence, then president Heydar Aliyev ordered the construction of a new building for Bibi-Heybat Mosque at the same place where it was destroyed.[1] The layout and size of the complex were restored in 1980 on the basis of photographs taken shortly before the explosion. The records of various travellers, including the important role played by a small article by G. Sadig, written in 1925, which described the condition of the mosque compound in the mid 1920s also played key part in restoration of the mosque.

A dedication ceremony, attended by President Heydar Aliyev, was held on July 11, 1997.[1] In May 1999, the inauguration of the new mosque was held, while a monument to Shirvanshakh Farruhzade and Heydar Aliyev were unveiled in 2008.[5]

The mosque was reconstructed and enlarged by the Presidential decree in 2005. New halls have been constructed to insure the convenience of pilgrims.[6]

Architecture

The mosque at the beginning of the 20th century. Left to right: Arcade (behind the minaret is visible), the tomb and new mosque building. The latter two were built in 1911.

The old mosque was situated in the southern part of the tomb, while there was a 20-meter-high (66 ft) minaret in the west part of the mosque. Later a crypt and two niches were added to the mosque to the south of the minaret. On the niches there were inscriptions containing the name of Fatali Khan, whose tombstone marble slab is now in the Azerbaijan State Museum of History.

From 1305 to 1313, Mahmud Ibn Saad built the mosque's minarets. The top of the thread and stalactites, raised by a small pillar, surmounted by a semicircular dome of Rebrov. Railing minarets were patterned with stone grill. Graphic studies showed that the height of the minaret was about 22 m.[7]

The rich interior of the complex was decorated with ornaments. The inside of mosque included an oblong rectangular room with a lancet arch. Under the dome, there were chandelier-candlestick (shamdancode: aze promoted to code: az ), and a hook on which it hung was surrounded by stained glass.

On the north side of the minaret and the mosque immediately adjoining the tomb, there was an inscription which was discovered by Johannes Albrecht Bernhard Dorn. From the inscription it was clear that this mausoleum was built in 1619 and interred here by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Bin Abid, who died the next day after work.

Architecture of the restored mosque

The modern restored mosque is a classic example of the Shirvan architectural school. The mosque has three domes, which have kept the traditional corrugated galvanised iron shape of the old mosque and two minarets. The domes are decorated with the green and turquoise mirrors, which are bordered with gilded inscriptions from Qur'an. The men's praying room is located on the south side of the complex, while women - on the north side. Between them is the mausoleum.

The builders used local varieties of limestone such as Gulbaht. On the inside the walls of marble carvings with calligraphic inscriptions such as muhaggah, Suls, Jami-Suls, Kufic, kufi-shatrandzh, musalsag, sofa and tugra. Also widely used such ornamental compositions as islimi, shukyufa, Bandy-Rumi, zendzhiri Selcuk (Seljuk chain), Shamsi, Jafari and Achma-yumma.

The mosque was designed by Azerbaijani architect Sanan Sultanov.[8]

Gallery

• 
  Inside of Bibi-Heybat mosque
• 
  Inside of Bibi-Heybat mosque
• 
  Tombs
• 
  Entrance of the mosque
• 
  Oriental design
• 
  The mosque after restoration in 2008
• 
  Illustration of mosque by Viggo Peter Olaf Langer

References

1. Sharifov, Azad. "Legend of the Bibi-Heybat Mosque". Azerbaijan International Magazine. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
2. Meshadi, Nemat (1992). Azərbaycanda pirlər. p. 36.
3. Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan:Развитие архитектуры в средние века (in Russian)
4. Pg 668 - Council of Europe: Parliamentary Assembly. Official report of debates: 2006 ordinary session (third part), 26–30 June 2007, Vol. 3: Sittings 16 to 23, (2007 ed.). Council of Europe. ISBN 978-92-871-6093-5.- Total pages: 535 to 816 (316 in total).
5. В Баку закончилась реконструкция средневековой мечети Биби-Эйбат Archived 2012-07-18 at Archive.today (in Russian)
6. Azerbaijani President Takes Part in Inauguration of Bibi-Heybat Mosque
7. Sadigi, G. (1925). Деревня Шихово (Биби-Эйбат). Archaeological Committee of Azerbaijan. p. 30.
8. Nurizade, Shahla (2007). ". Биби-Эйбат. Здесь возносят молитвы, здесь обретают исцеление" (PDF). IRS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2010-07-11.