In place of the mountain a large river appeared...

In place of the mountain a large river appeared, but after a few years the river dried up, and the place was called Nay-Jaff, meaning, “the dried river.”[^3] And so as per the prediction of Abraham, Imam Ali was buried here. Ali is absent today from our midst only physically. His soul even to this day is the greatest spiritual resort everyone who seeks the help of God through his medium.

Thousands and thousands of people call out to him in their difficulties, and the word “Ya Ali Madad”, automatically comes to them. A famous prayer known as “NADEY ALI” (Call Ali) is recited wherever abound the lovers of Ali. The Mausoleum “The Mausoleum itself of Hazrat Ali at Najaf, is breathtaking. There is one large central dome which stands out of a square-shaped ornate structure at the two sides of which are two minarets.

The predominant color of' the exterior is gold, bright shining gold and the entire exterior of the mausoleum is inlaid with a mosaic pattern of light powder blue, white marble, gold again with an occasional splash of Middle East rust.” So says D. F.

Karaka after his visit to Najaf, and further adds, “I have sat and wondered at the marbled splendour of our Taj Mahal, the tomb which Shah Jahan built for his Empress Mumtaz Mahal, but despite its beauty, the Taj appears insipid in comparison with this splash of color at Najaf. The tomb surpassed anything I have seen in gorgeous splendour.

All the great kings of the world put together could not have a tomb as magnificent as this, for this is the tribute which kings and peasants have built together to enshrine the mortal remains of the great Ali.” Countless number of people from all over the world flock to his tomb day after day to pay their respects and to offer salutations and to pray to Allah seeking his intercession.

And those who cannot afford to go there personally, are constantly praying to Allah to help them to visit the shrine of their Maula Ali, and when somebody goes on a pilgrimage to Najaf, they request him to offer salutations on their behalf, and to pray to God - for some particular favor - and to seek Imam Ali's intercession.

The deer hunting incident of Harun al-Rashid “During the reigns of the Umayyad Caliphs his blessed resting-place could not be disclosed, and so it was also under the Abbasids until the reign of Harun al-Rashid. But in the year 175 A.H. (791 A.D.), Harun happened to go hunting in these parts, and the deer he was chasing took refuge on a small piece of raised ground.