The development plan around the shrine of Shah Cheragh in Shiraz has been ongoing since the time of Tashi Khatoon, the mother of Sheikh Abu Ishaq Inju, and then Shah Ismail Safavi until now. In this writing, a brief historical overview of the development of this religious site in different time periods has been presented.

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History

Shah Cheragh is a mausoleum located in Shiraz, which is believed by Shia Muslims to be the burial place of Ahmad ibn Musa al-Kazim (Mir Seyyed Ahmad), the eldest son of Musa al-Kazim (the seventh Shia Imam) and the brother of Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (the eighth Shia Imam). He was buried there while on his way to join his brother in Khorasan, but was killed by the forces of Ma’mun, the Abbasid caliph, in the city of Shiraz. (1) This mausoleum is located next to a square called Ahmadieh in the city of Shiraz. The mausoleum of Seyyed Mir Mohammad, the brother of Seyyed Mir Ahmad, is also located near Shah Cheragh.

This building was built during the Atabakan period in the sixth century AH and its dome and shrine are decorated with beautiful tile work. Inside the shrine, they have used small colorful mirrors in an artistic style and various beautiful Persian and Arabic calligraphy to decorate the surroundings of the mirrors and tiles. The shrine consists of a front porch and a spacious inner shrine, with four royal seats placed in the four corners of the shrine, and a mosque built behind the shrine (on the west side). Its mausoleum is located under the dome and is made of silver. The courtyard of Shahcheragh has two main entrance doors, which are decorated with large tile work and lead to the spacious courtyard of the shrine from the south and north sides. In the middle of the courtyard, a large fountain has been built and trees have been planted around it. The shrine of Shahcheragh is located on the west side of the courtyard, and the shrine of Sayyid Mir Mohammad – the brother of

Around the courtyard, there are two-story rooms that have been tiled on their front and front windows. The iron columns of the shrine’s porch are covered with precious wood and the flat ceiling is decorated with carved wood. Many facilities such as a police station, post office, library, and museum have been created in this spacious courtyard for the comfort of the people.

The development plan around the shrine of Shahcheragh has been ongoing since the time of Tashi Khatun, the mother of Sheikh Abu Ishaq Inju, until now. Jamal al-Din Shah Sheikh Abu Ishaq bin Mahmud Inju was the last king of the Inju dynasty, who ruled over Fars and Isfahan during the eighth century (721-758 AD) and at the end of the Ilkhanate period. Towards the end of the Ilkhanate dynasty, due to the weakness of the central government, the rulers who were previously under the command of the Ilkhanate kings declared their independence; including Amir Mobarez al-Din, the founder of the Muzaffar dynasty in Kerman, the Chupanids in Azerbaijan, and the Inju dynasty in Isfahan and Fars. The Inju dynasty were the descendants of Amir Sharaf al-Din Mahmud Inju, who was a close advisor to

After Abu Sa’id, Arpakhān came to power and killed Mahmud Injū. His two sons, Jalāl al-Dīn Mas’ūd and Abu Isḥāq, fled from Fārs and went into hiding. After some time, Mas’ūd and Abu Isḥāq returned to Fārs and Jalāl al-Dīn Mas’ūd was able to take control of the Shiraz government. Abu Isḥāq obtained silver coins in the year 1352 AH in Fārs. On one side of the coins, the phrase “There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God” can be seen, and on the other side, his name is written with the phrase “Struck in Shiraz”. Abu Isḥāq was active in the city of Shiraz and its surroundings. He built the Field of Happiness in Shiraz and in

Tashi Khanum, the mother of Abu Ishaq, also had a strong determination and made efforts in building religious monuments and places. In 744 AH, she built a magnificent dome over the Shahcheragh Shrine in Shiraz and constructed a large school nearby, providing housing for a group of scholars in its vicinity.

The expansion of Shiism; from the past until now.

The development around the shrine of Shah Cheragh can be seen as a means of expanding Shiism. It should be noted that during the Safavid and Shah Ismail Safavi’s reign, when the shrine was developed (or expanded), this place became the center of Shiism in southern Iran. During the Pahlavi era, the old dome of the tomb was replaced, and during the time of Ayatollah Khamenei, the development of the shrine was once again put on the agenda. It should be noted that the destruction of historical sites near the shrine of Shah Cheragh began in the 1360s, during which several historical houses were destroyed for this purpose.

The concern of Shiraz’s history and culture enthusiasts is to preserve the historical identity of this city. Many of these individuals have roots in this historical city, or their parents have lived here and have experienced living in these neighborhoods. Some have dedicated their lives to introducing the history and culture of Iran, but with the rise of tourism and investment companies, they fear that the history and identity of Iranian cities, especially Shiraz, will be destroyed by wrong decisions.

In the historical fabric of Shiraz, at least 1400 years of historical events are hidden and it requires the research of scholars to understand it. In this historical fabric, relatively intact bodies of Shah Cheragh and his brother were found after about 400 years of their death in the seventh century, under one of the buildings, and in the eighth century, a shrine was built for them. This shows that every action in the historical fabric needs to be done carefully, but in this period we go to the historical fabric with bulldozers and loaders and plow it, turning valuable artifacts on the ground and underground into dust, paving over them and being happy that we have taken a positive action, unaware that future generations will call us destroyers of the history of Iran. (5)

57-hectare plan

Regarding the project known as the 57-hectare development of the Shahcheragh Shrine, it must be stated that this project has been wrong from the beginning, and the question arises whether a few city officials can make such a decision for the history of Shiraz, which belongs to all the people of Iran. It is not clear where this number has come from and what is hidden behind this incident, and why the historical assets that have been passed down to us from our ancestors and should be passed on to future generations should be erased with such wrong decisions.

The results of this plan are predetermined and expansion plans for the holy shrine in Mashhad and the project known as “Between the Shrines” in Shiraz are part of the future of the 57-hectare plan. Converting a historical neighborhood in the city of Shiraz into a courtyard, even while preserving some valuable buildings, will lead to the loss of a significant part of the identity and historical memory of Shiraz. Converting a historical neighborhood into a semi-open space that is not usable in either summer or winter and acts like a desert will have no architectural, artistic, cultural, or social value, and will essentially repeat the same thing that happened in the courtyard of Imam Reza in Mashhad. Many pilgrims to the shrine of the eighth Shia Imam have to pass through the courtyard of Imam Reza, which is very cold in winter and very hot in summer, and for this purpose, the servants of the Holy Shrine use vehicles to transport a large group of people from this

Some even believe that the destructions of the 1990s in the neighborhoods around Shahcheragh, with an area of several thousand meters, are all evidence of the presence of Arab thinking among officials; perhaps on their trips to the land of revelation, they have said to themselves why we should not have a modern and progressive thinking like Saudi Arabia in construction around religious sites, but unaware that behind Arab thinking, there is another thinking that is pleased with the destruction of ancient Islamic countries.

Notes:

1- Shirazi, Zarkoub (Moein al-Din Ahmad ibn Abi al-Khair), Shiraznameh, Tehran: Academy of Arts, 1389.

2- Mirkhavand, Mohammad bin Khavand Shah, Rawzeh al-Safa: A discourse on the stories of the Atabakans and their circumstances, Tehran: Asatir Publications, 1339, Volume 4.

3- Yazdi, teacher (Mu’in al-Din bin Jalal al-Din Muhammad), Divine Gifts in the History of the Muzaffarids, Tehran: Khaneye Adabiyat Publications, 1400.

4- Samarkand, Kamal al-Din Abdul Razzaq, Matla al-Sa’adin and Majma’ al-Bahrain, Tehran: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, 1383, Volume 1.

5- Kashani, Mahmoud, Property Rights in the Light of Urban Planning Regulations, Legal Research Journal, Volume 15, Issue 57 (Serial Number 57), May 2012.