Sight-Seeing Places Qum


Bait al-Nour ( The House of Light)

In the Maidan-e Meer locality situated in the Ammar-e Yasir avenue there is an Islamic seminary famous as Madrasa Mubarak Sittiyah, which was the place of residence of Hadrat Fatima Masoumah (A.S.) in Qum. Her Holiness (A.S.) after her arrival in Qum was ill and stayed alive for only seventeen days. She stayed in this place which was during that time the residence of Musa bin Khajraj. There was a mihrab (prayer niche) in that place where Her Holiness (A.S.) performed her prayers and worship.

The Residence of Imam Khomeini (R.A.)

The residence of Imam Khomeini (R.A.) is located in Yaqchal Qazi locality in the Muallim Avenue. It consists of two floors, the cellar and the ground floor. The courtyard is situated in the south of the residence and north-east of it has roofed spaces. The staircase of the building divides it into two parts, the outside part (the eastern gate) and inside part ( the western gate). The hall in the eastern side was the meeting place and guest room for the visitors. This house was built more than eighty years ago and was bought by Imam Khomeini (R.A.) in 1956 and he resided in it till 1964, when he was exiled from Iran. This building is preserved as a memorial and large number of people daily visit this house. On the religious occasions special ceremonies are regularly conducted in this house.

Madrasa Faiziyah

It is one of the famous Islamic seminaries in the world. In the first half of the thirteenth century hijrah it was built in the place of Madrasa Astana which was constructed in the middle of the sixth century hijrah. This Islamic seminary consists of four balconies and has two floors. The lower floor consists of 40 chambers constructed during the Qajar period and 40 chambers in the upper floor were built in the fourteenth century hijrah by the orders of Ayatullah Haeri Yazdi. Its southern balcony is the oldest part of the Islamic seminary, which was built in 929 A.H./1522 A.D., and is decorated with beautiful glazed tiles. This balcony is connected to the Atiq courtyard of the holy shrine and from here there is a gateway to the Atiq courtyard of the holy shrine.

Masjid Jameh

The Jameh mosque of Qum is a double balcony mosque in rectangular form. The dome and its basic structure were built in the first half of the sixth century hijrah.

This mosque after the Imam Hasan Askari (A.S.) mosque is the oldest mosque in Qum. According to authentic historical sources the dome of the mosque was built in 529 A.H./1134 A.D.The name of Fath Ali Shah is inscribed in the stucco work of the mosque. The towering balcony in the south of the mosque with its colourful stucco work belongs to the Safavid period and the northern balcony and the prayer halls in the eastern and western sides of the mosque were built during Qajar era.

The Great Qum Arcade

The great Qum arcade is situated in the north of the Bazaar and is considered as one of the masterpieces of Islamic architecture. It was built by master artisan of the Naser al-Din Shah Qajar's reign by name Hasan Qummi in the year 1301 A.H./1883 A.D.

The founder of this great monument was late Haj Sayyid Mahmud Tabatabai, the famous merchant of Qum who was also the father of late Haj Agha Husain Tabatabai Qummi. This great arcade has two openings to the New Bazaar and consists of three big domes and two half domes. The central part of the arcade has a breath of 15 metres and its length is 28 metres without any pillars. The domes of the arcade are in the form of a skull cap and its interior is ornamented with conventional fastening. The arcade consists of 20 pavilions in the ground floor and 12 pavilions in the first floor. In the past it was decorated with beautiful juniperus doors and windows but unfortunately at present only its models are remaining.

Imam Hasan Askari (A.S.) Mosque

In the beginning of Astane Avenue and beside the river side there is a big mosque related to Imam Hasan Askari (A.S.), the eleventh Imam of the Shi'ites. It was built in the third century hijrah by Ahmad bin Ishaq Qummi, the legal representative of Imam Hasan Askari (A.S.) upon the orders of the Holy Imam (A.S.).

In this mosque the great jurisprudent Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Khansari delivered his lessons and great personalities like Imam Khomeini (R.A.) and Ayatullah Araki (R.A.) attended these classes.