Qom

 

(kôm) , city (1991 pop. 681,253), Tehran prov., W central Iran. Located in a semiarid region, it is an industrial and transportation center. Its manufactures include textiles, glass, pottery, and shoes. Large deposits of petroleum have been found in the area. Qom has been a center of the Shiite Muslims since early Islamic times and is the burial place of Fatima al-Masuma (d. 816), sister of Imam Riza. The city became a center of pilgrimage in the 17th cent., and an imposing shrine was erected over Fatima's tomb. Qom was pillaged by the Afghans in 1722, but in the 19th cent. its great shrine was lavishly restored and embellished. The city is also known as Qum and Kum.

Coordinates: 34°39′N, 50°53′E

Qom قم
Hazrat-e Masuma Shrine in Qom
Qom
Coordinates: 34°39′N 50°53′E / 34.65, 50.883
Country	Iran
Province	Qom
Population (2005)
- City
	estimate
Time zone	IRST ([[UTC+3:30]])

Qom (Persian: قم, also known as Q'um or Kom) is a city in Iran. It lies  km ( mi) by road southwest of Tehran and is the capital of Qom Province. It has an estimated population of 1,042,309 in 2005.[1] It is situated on the banks of the Qom river.

Qom is considered to be a holy city in Shi`a Islam, as it is the site of the shrine of Fatema Mæ'sume, sister of Imam `Ali ibn Musa Rida (Persian Imam Reza, 789-816 A.D.). The city is the largest center for Shi'a scholarship in the world, and is a significant destination of pilgrimage.

History

Qom as an urban settlement existed in the pre-Islamic ages. Architectural discoveries indicate that Qom was a residential area from the 5th millennium B.C. Pre-Islamic remaining relics and historical texts point to the fact of Qom being a large regional city. Kum was known to be the name of this ancient city, thus, the incoming 7th century Arabs called it Qom during the conquests of Iran.

During the caliphate of ˤUmar ibn al-Khattāb, the area of Qom fell to the invading Arab armies of Islam. In 645 A.D., Abu Musa Ash'ari, also dispatched forces under his command to the area. Conflicts resulted between the incoming Arab army and the residents of the area.

In Seljuki times, the city flourished as well. During the Mongol invasion of Persia the city witnessed widespread destruction, but after the Mongol ruling dynasty, also known as the Ilkhanate, converted to Islam during the reign of Öljeitü (Persian Muhammad Khudabænde), the city received special attention, thus undergoing a revival once more.

In the late 14th century, the city was plundered by Tamerlane and the inhabitants were massacred. But during the periods of rule of the Qara Qoyunlu, Aq Qoyunlu and especially during the reign of the Safavids, Qom gained special attention and gradually developed due to its religious shrine.

By 1503 Qom became one of the important centers of theology in relation to the Shia Islam, and became a significant religious pilgrimage site and pivot.

The city suffered heavy damages again during the Afghan invasions, resulting in consequent severe economic hardships. Qom further sustained damages during the reigns of Nadir Shah and the conflicts between the two households of Zandieh and Qajariyeh in order to gain power over Iran.

Finally in 1793 Qom came under the control of Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar. On being victorious over his enemies, the Qajar Sultan Fæteh Æli Shah was responsible for the repairs done on the sepulchre and Holy Shrine of Hæzræt Mæ'sume, as he had made such a vow.

The city of Qom began another era of prosperity in the Qajar era. After Russian forces entered Karaj in 1915, many of the inhabitants of Tehran moved to Qom due to reasons of proximity, and the transfer of the capital from Tehran to Qom was even discussed. But the British and Russians defeated prospects of the plan by putting Æhmæd Shah Qajar under political pressure. Coinciding with this period, a "National Defense Committee" was set up in Tehran, and Qom turned into a political and military apex opposed to the Russian and British colonial powers.

Many years later, Qom also became the center from which Ayatollah Khomeini based his opposition to the Pahlavi dynasty while in Iran. For many years Qom was the home of Ayatollah Khomeini, who led Iran during the events that led to the Islamic revolution in 1979 before permanently leaving for Tehran after the revolution.

Qom today

Today, Qom is counted as one of the focal centers of the Shi'a both in Iran and around the globe. Its theological center and the Holy Shrine of Hadrat Ma'sumah are prominent features of the provincial capital of Qom province. Another religious site of pilgrimage is outside the city of Qom and is called Jamkaran.

Qom's proximity to Tehran, Iran's capital, has allowed the clerical establishment easy access to monitor the affairs and decisions of state. Many Grand Ayatollahs hold offices in both Tehran and Qom; many people simply commute between the two cities as they are only 100 km away.

In 2001, journalist Camelia Entekhabi-Fard reported that some women earn money in Qom, Iran, by engaging in temporary marriage with pilgrims and religious scholars, in what she claimed was "a thinly veiled form of prostitution". ^[1]

Nearby Towns

South East of Qom is the ancient city of Kashan. Directly south of Qom lay the towns of Delijan, Mahallat, Naraq, Kahak, and Jasb, the surrounding area to the east of Qom are populated by Tafresh, Saveh, and Ashtian.

Attractions of Qom

Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization lists 195 sites of historical and cultural significance in Qom. But the more visited sites of Qom are:

• Kahak Cave
• Vashnaveh Cave
• Howz-e Soltan Salt Lake
• Namak Great Salt Lake
• Mar'ashi Najafi Library, with over 500,000 handwritten texts and copies.
• Astaneh Moqaddaseh Museum
• Qom Bazaar
• Feyzieh Seminary
• Jamkaran Mosque
• Jami' Mosque Qom
• Atiq Mosque in Qom
• A'zam Mosque
• Shrine of Fatimah al-Masumah

Qom space center

Qom space center is, with the Emamshahr space center, one of the two places where the Iranian Space Agency is launching its suborbital Shahab 3s space rockets.

Universities in Qom

1. Mofid University
2. Islamic Azad University of Qom
3. payam noor University of Qom
4. University of Qom
5. The Research Institute of Hawzeh va Daneshgah
6. Computer Research Center of Islamic Sciences, Qom
7. Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute
8. Qom University of Medical Sciences
9. Fatemieh School of Medical Sciences
10. Qom Students Organisation

Seminaries of Qom

Qom is currently the largest center for Shi'a scholarship in the world. The following seminaries (Hawzahs) are located there:

• Amuliyah Seminary
• Ayatollah Golpayegani Seminary
• Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi Seminary
• Abul-Sadigh Seminary
• Imam al-Husayn Seminary
• Imam al-Askari Seminary
• Imam al-Mahdi Seminary
• Imam al-Hadi Seminary
• Rasul ul-A'dham Seminary
• Sayyed Hasan al-Shirazi Seminary
• Alwandiyah Seminary
• Imam al-Khamenei Seminary
• Imam al-Baqir Seminary
• Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba Seminary
• Imam Khomeini Seminary
• Imam al-Sadiq Seminary
• Imam al-Hadi Seminary
• Amir al-Mu'menin Seminary
• Bi'that Seminary
• Jabir ibn al-Hayyan Seminary
• Al-Zahra Seminary
• Jafariyah Seminary
• Haj Sayyed Sadiq Seminary
• Haj Ghazanfar Seminary
• Hojattiyeh Seminary
• Hossaynie Seminary
• Hadhrat al-Masuma Seminary
• Dar al-Shifa Seminary
• Rasul al-Akram Seminary
• Sa'adat Seminary
• Sharafiddin Amili Seminary
• Shahabiyah Seminary
• Shahid Sadr Seminary
• Shahidayn Seminary
• Sadiqqiyah Seminary
• Saduq Seminary
• Seminary of The Judiciary
• Alavi Seminary
• Fatimie Seminary
• Feyzie Seminary
• Qadiriye Seminary
• Kermani-ha Seminary
• Ma'sumiye Seminary
• Mahdi Mow'ud Seminary
• Na'ini Seminary
• Wahidiyah Seminary
• Wali Asr Seminary
• Al-Alam Seminary
• Ad-Dirasat al-Islamiyya Seminary
• Maktab al-Mahdi Seminary
• Maktab at-Towhid Seminary
• al-Kawthar Seminary

Listing of Qom's Senior ranking clerics

The following is a list of Grand Ayatollahs and the most senior ranking Ayatollahs in or directly related to Qom.

Current

• Grand Ayatollah Noori-Hamedani
• Grand Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili
• Grand Ayatollah Gharvi-Aliari
• Grand Ayatollah Saafi Golpayegani
• Grand Ayatollah Seyd Mohammad Shahroudi
• Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi
• Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
• Grand Ayatollah haj sheikh hossein Wahid Khorasani
• Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Behjat
• Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Kadhim Haeri
• Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Muhammad Vahidi
• Grand Ayatollah Sheikh hasan-zadeh Amoli
• Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri
• Grand Ayatollah Sanei
• Grand Ayatollah Haj Sayyed Musa Shobeiri Zanjani
• Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Muhammad Reza Golpayegani
• Ayatollah Tabrizi
• Ayatollah Sheikh Jawadi Amoli
• Ayatollah Abolfadhl Khansari
• Ayatollah Haj Sayyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
• Ayatollah Sayyed Hasan Taheri Khurram-Abadi
• Ayatollah Sheikh Jafar Sobhani
• Ayatollah Sheikh Muhammad Imami Kashani
• Ayatullah Haj Sheikh Ali Panah Ishtihardi
• Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi
• Ayatullah Sheikh Haadi Ma`rifat
• Ayatollah Sayyed Muhammad Alavi Gorgani
• Ayatollah sheikh Muhammad Reza Mahdavi Kani
• Ayatollah Sayyed Hassan Abtahi
• Ayatollah Mohsen Qara'ati
• Ayatollah Sheikh Abu Taleb Tajleel
• Ayatollah Sheikh Husein Mazaheri
• Ayatollah Haj Sheikh Ismail Salehi Mazandarani
• Ayatollah Haj Sayyed Mehdi Rouhani
• Ayatollah Haj Sheikh Ali Kashani
• Ayatollah Haj Sayyed Mohsen Kharrazi
• Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Mohaqqeq Damad
• Ayatollah Sheikh Muhammad Ali Gerami

Deceased

• Grand ayatollah mirza Javad Tabrizi
• Ayatollah fazel lankarani
• Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi
• Allameh Tabatabaei
• Ayatullah Mohammad Beheshti
• Ayatullah Hassan Modarres
• Ayatullah Morteza Motahhari
• Ayatullah Mahmoud Taleghani

Sister cities

• Santiago de Compostela, Spain

References

1. ^ Camelia E. Fard. Unveiled Threats. Village Voice, 28 March 2001

See also

• Iranian architecture
• List of Ayatollahs
• List of Marjas
• Mashhad
• Qom rug
• Shi'a Islam.
• Iranian Space Agency
• Qom Students

External links

Religiously affiliated

• Tuba Graphics, a religiously affiliated organization based in Qom
• Noor Fiqh Library, Qom
• Imam Ali commemorative website, based in Qom.
• Society of Islamic Teachers of Qom's Hawzah (in Persian)
• Dar-ul Hadith Institute
• Hawzah Yellow Pages
• Qom Seminary Islamic Propagation Office 1
• Qom Seminary Islamic Propagation Office 2
• Qom Seminary Islamic Propagation Office 3
• Qom Seminary Islamic Propagation Office 4
• Qom Seminary Publishers
• Islamic Qom City
• Sharah Hawzah Seminary Information Network
• Islamic International Foundation of Cooperation(IslamIFC) IslamIFC

Non-Religiously affiliated

• Qom's Cultural Heritage Organization
• Qom Province Dwelling Foundation of Islamic Revolution
• Qom Management and Planning Organization
• Governor of Qom website
• Qom Province Transportation and Terminals Organization
• Telecommunications Company of Qom
• Qom worries about new government interference in the clerical establishment.

The architecture of Iran and historical Persia
Elements	Bazaars • The Persian Garden (hayāt) • Windcatchers • Shabestan • Kucheh • Talar • Iwan • Howz • Panjdari • Hashti • Andaruni • Biruni (persian architecture) • Dalan e Vorudi • Qanat • Kariz • Gonbad • Ab anbar • Yakhchal • Caravanserais • Robats • Burj • Khaneqah • Tekyeh • Sahn • Imamzadeh • mosques
Notable traditional cities	Architecture of Tehran • Kashan  • Qazvin • Yazd • Isfahan • Shiraz • Qom • Herat • Derbent • Bukhara • Samarkand • Merv • Mashad • Bam • Persepolis • Ctesiphon • Susa • Shahrisabz
History and theory	Traditional Persian residential architecture • Traditional water sources of Persian antiquity • Islamic architecture • Sassanid architecture • Pre-Parsi style • Parsi style • Parthian style • Khorasani style • Razi style • Azari style • Isfahani style
Lists	List of ab anbars of Qazvin • List of historical Iranian architects • List of mosques • Args, Castles, and Ghal'ehs • List of Ziyarat-gahs

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