Wadi-us-Salaam
Wadi Al-Salaam (Arabic وادي السلام; Valley of Peace) is an Islamic cemetery, located in the Shia holy city of Najaf, Iraq. It is the largest cemetery in the world. The cemetery covers 1,485.5 acres (601.16 ha; 6.01 km2; 2.32 sq mi) and contains over 5 million bodies. It also attracts millions of pilgrims annually.
The cemetery is located near the shrine of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Sunni Caliph and the first Shia Imam. Thus, many Shiites in Iraq request that they be buried in this cemetery. As a result of improved transportation methods, Shi'ites from across the globe are (or seek to be) buried in the cemetery. However, burial at the cemetery "means being placed in one of the cemetery’s many catacombs." According to an undertaker at the cemetery, each crypt can hold up to 50 bodies. The burial plots are controlled by Marja'.
Shia tradition holds that Abraham bought land in Wadi-us-Salaam and that Ali said the Wadi Al-Salaam was a part of heaven. Shia also widely believe that Ali has the power to intercede for the deceased—lessening their suffering—during the passage of their soul from the worldly life and if they are buried there "they will be raised from the dead on judgment day with their spiritual leader."
The Shia are encouraged to bury their dead at the location through religious edicts and the cemetery's expansion is also seen as being a result of Shi'isms "more permissive attitude than Sunnism with regard to the commemoration of the dead and the erection of mausoleums."
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