Happy Eid of Mabas

The cave Hira in the mountain Jabal al-Nour where, The place that Muhammad received his first revelation (Reference of the photo: Wikipedia)

At some point Muhammad adopted the practice of meditating alone for several weeks every year in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca. During one of his visits to Mount Hira, the angel Gabriel appeared to him in the year 610 and commanded Muhammad to recite the following verses:

Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Qur'an 96:1-5)

upon receiving his first revelations Muhammad was deeply distressed and contemplated throwing himself off the top of a mountain but the spirit moved closer and told him that he has been chosen as a messenger of God. To know more please click here.

Reference of the text: wikipedia

Medina- Prophet Muhammad's Mosque- is taken last summer

The anniversary of that event became one of the greatest Muslim's celebrity which is named "Eid of Mabas". "Eid" means celebrity and "Mabas" means to be chosen (here as the messenger of God) .

Prophet Muhammad's Birthday

Prophet Muhammad 's mosque, Medina

The inside of mosque

(photos are taken at summer 2008)

In the Islamic calendar, the 12Th day of Rabi-al-Awwal marks the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
There is a difference of opinion about whether the Milad An-Nabi (Prohet Mohammad's Birthday) should be a time of celebration. There is evidence that the Prophet, his Companions, and the early followers after them did not celebrate or otherwise observe his birthday. On the contrary, Muhammad was careful to warn his people not to imitate other faiths, whose followers elevated their prophets and added to the religion what was not in the original teachings.
Those who disagree claim that although not practiced in the early years of Islam, the remembrance of the Prophet's birthday is a "good innovation." They see it as a time to read the Qur'an, and remember the life, teachings, and example of the Prophet Muhammad.

Reference of the text :about.com

Khajeh Rabee Mausoleum

Imam Reza Shrine

Ashoura III

Why remember Ashuora ?

Why is Imam Hossein regarded as the "leader of the martyrs" ? It is because he was not just the victim of an ambitious ruler. There is no doubt that the tragedy of Kerbala, when ascribed to the killers, is a criminal and terrible act. However when ascribed to Hossein himself, it represents a conscious confrontation and a courageous resistance for a sacred cause. The whole nation had failed to stand up to Yazid. They had succumbed to his will, and deviation and regression towards the pre-Islamic ways were increasing.Passiveness by Imam Hossein in this situation would have meant the end of Islam as we know it. Thus Hossein took upon himself the responsibility of the whole nation. The greatest tragedy was that one who stood up for the noblest of causes, the defence of Islam, was cut down in so cruel a manner.It is for this reason that the sacrifice of Hossein is commemorated annually throughout the Muslim world. Our sorrow never abates as we relive the tragedy.

In Iran many people from other religions like christian and Jewish strongly believe in Imam Hossein as well as they take apart in Ashoura gatherings and respect Imam Hossein. This is a good example that shows the great event of Ashoura is not just for Muslims.

Alam is a kind of symbol for Ashoura event

Near Imam Reza shrine, Today every things are black to Muslims!

People are going to Imam Reza shrine to congregate for sorrowful

Some people use a kind of simple chain (called Zanjir, without knives or razors) to beat their shoulder just to make noise not to harm themselves.

Every day is Ashoura and every place is Karbala.Yeah, That is right. These days many innocent people experience Ashoura event again as Gaza became the other example of Karbala. How we can be quiet?! What is the difference between us and those who did not help Imam Hossein in Ashoura event?!

السلام عليك يا ابا عبدالله

Assalamu alayk Ya Aba Abde Allah

God's regards to you Ya Hossein!

A Dome under Tile working

This is the dome of a mosque near my university.As you see,it is under tile working.This is nice and impressive.The sentence that is written on the dome is : لااله الا الله

It means;There is no God but Allah.

We Muslims,call such sentences "Zekr".

Eid-e-Fetr

Yesterday was Eid-e-Fetr or Eid-ul-Fitr in Arabic.
Eid ul-Fitr or Id-ul-Fitr, often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fitr means "to break the fast" (and can also mean "nature", from the word "fitrah"); and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. It is celebrated starting on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal.

In the predominantly Shia culture of Iran, Eid is a highly personal event, and celebrations are often more muted. Called Eyde Fetr by most Iranians, charity is important on that day. Public Eid prayers are held in every Mosque and in public places. Visiting the elderly and gathering with families and friends is also very common. Typically, each Muslim family gives food to those in need. Payment of fitra or fetriye is obligatory for each Muslim.
Often meat or Kurbani (literally translated as sacrifice, for it is usually a young lamb or calf that is sacrificed for the occasion), which is an expensive food item in Iran, will be given by those in wealthier families to those who have less. The offering of meat is generally a part of the Eid-ul-Azha celebrations and sacrifices (Kurbani) are generally not given during the Eid-ul-fitr celebrations. The photo shows women in Eid prayer.
For more information please click here.

Al Mahdi Mosque & Cultural Center

Guys,Sorry for my one day absence.The university days is started and I can not sleep enough.Sometimes it made me tired and sick and I just tolerate all this just because I love my major!

Al Mahdi mosque and cultural center is located in my university;"Azad University of Mashhad"
The building is designed by one of MA students of Art & Architectural factually.Since it is forbidden to take photo in the university place,I could not to take better shots.

A mosque under repairing

This is an old Mosque near Imam Reza holy shrine that I am not sure about its name.As you see It is surrounded by fences because of some repairing.So I could not take better shots and get information about it.

Tile works are the most important characteristic of Islamic architecture in Iran.Once time I visited the big Tile Factory of Astan-Qods-e-Razavi in Mashhad and I saw how much it is difficult to produce such art works.The guide told me "we need 10 workers in a day to produce just 1 meter of these tiles .

As a Iranian girl , I really proud of this old unique art!

Laylat al-Qadr

Qur'an 97, 1-5)
In the name of God, the Benevolent, the Merciful.
1 Lo! We revealed it on the Night of Predestination.
2 Ah, what will convey unto thee what the Night of Power is!
3 The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.
4 The angels and the Spirit descend therein, by the permission of their Lord, with all decrees.
5 (The night is) Peace until the rising of the dawn.



Last Night was Laylat al-Qadr,Laylat al-Qadr is the anniversary of the night Muslims believe the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel (Jibril in Arabic). It is also the anniversary of the night in which the Qur'an is believed by Muslims to have been revealed in its entirety. The Laylat al -Qadr can also be known as the night of excellence.



The verses above regard the Night as better than one thousand months. The whole month of Ramadan is a period of spiritual training wherein believers devote much of their time to fasting, praying, recitating the Qur'an, remembering God, and giving charity. However because of the revealed importance of this night, Muslims strive harder in the last ten days of Ramadan since the Laylat al-Qadr could be one of the odd-numbered days in these last ten (the first, third, fifth, or seventh). Normally, Muslims would perform an i'tikaf in the mosque (i.e they remain in the mosque for the last ten days at a strech) for prayers and recitation.


For more information about this holy night , please click here.

Side Trip: Mecca and Medina

Posted by Sara

Prophet Muhammad mosque


Prophet Muhammad mosque (interior view)

Muhammad; The prophet of kindnesses
Here is the prophet Muhammad mosque. Notice the style of Architecture. It is built in Shaam school (which is included the Byzantine school in Damascus). I love this kind of a Architecture. It always reminds me the Cathedral of Cordoba in Spain.

Shajareh mosque-pilgrims with white clothes

In Meead photos you saw the way that Men (pilgrims) wear white clothes. now in my photos you can also see how women are dressed for Hajj (umrah).

Medina, Sara-wearing Chador!

One of my important experiences was my optional style of wearing Hijab there. Yes, as you see I wear Chador. it was the first time that I used to wear it for such long time (15 days) and I should confess that it was so difficult, because I don’t try it in my country Iran. I just wear scarf and uniform here.

Masjid-Al-Haram (Prophet Abraham's Footprint Place in front of Kaaba)

Masjid-Al-Haram (Kaaba)

Recovering my lost photos was the most joyful event during these days. Although we save memories in our hearts, photos help us to remember more. It was my third trip to Medina and Mecca. I've been there one time when I was 11 and another one in 18 years old. Each time was a different experience. as a child, as a teenager and as a youth!

I can not describe it as well as I like. But I think today's photos would show you some of my personal point of view about these 2 holy cities; Mecca and Medina.

Emam Reza Shrine

Emam Reza Shrine (the golden building) is the most important place in Mashhad (also the oldest, since 1200 years ago). Each year between 15 to 20 million people travel to Mashhad to visit this holy shrine. It is really a mega-tourism site. The name of Mashhad comes back to Emam Reza, one of the Prophet Mohammad's grand sons. Mashhad means the place of death, which refers to the place which Emam Reza was killed. There is a very big underground intersection (with several parkings) under the shrine. I was going down with my car when I took this photo.

Emam Hassan Mosque

Blue and turquoise color are the most common colors used in our traditional religous architecture related to Islam religion. Most of the historical mosques in Iran, which belongs to 200 to 700 years ago, are colored with blue, turquoise and sometimes light green, dark blue and white. This is Emam Hassan Mosque which is not an old mosque. It has been built not more than 5 years ago but it is clear that it was tried to follow the Persian-Islamic traditional architecture in desgning and building this beautiful structure. Now it is one of the most prestigous mosques in Mashhad.

Location: Hashemieh Boulevard, Vakil Abad Highway, Mashhad