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Kufa

Kufa
الكوفة
al-Kūfa
كوفة
The Grand Mosque of Kufa in 2014
Kufa is located in Iraq
Kufa
Kufa
Location in Iraq
Coordinates: 32°02′N 44°24′E / 32.033°N 44.400°E / 32.033; 44.400
Country  Iraq
Governorate Najaf
Time zone GMT+3

Kufa (Arabic: الكوفة‎‎ al-Kūfah) is a city in Iraq, about 170 kilometres (110 mi) south of Baghdad, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000.

Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya and Najaf, Kufa is one of five Iraqi cities that are of great importance to Shiite Muslims. The city was the final capital of Ali ibn Abu Talib, and was founded during 639 AD and 17 Hijra by the second Rashidun Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab. It is also related that, Muslims after conquest of Al-Madain were searching to have a suitable place for habitation. Likewise others, Salman and Hudhayfa bin al-Yamman were also looking for. Just choosing the land they offered prayers there. Since that day the foundation of Kufa had taken place.

The city contains the Great Mosque of Kufa, one of the earliest mosques in Islam, built in the 7th century. The town has produced several Shiite Muslim scholars.

The Arabs, led by Caliph ʻUmar ibn Khattāb, conquered Iraq and began ruling Suristan around 637. Umar, who assigned the land of the Jews in Arabia to his warriors, ordered the relocation of the Jews of Khaybar to a strip of land in Kufa in 640.


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