Al-Mujahidi Mosque (Maqam of Al-Khidr, PBUH)

The Maqam of al-Khidr, Peace Be Upon Him, in Mosul belongs to a historical and devotional setting where an old mosque, urban memory, the Tigris-side cityscape, and local religious attachment came together. The place is commonly known today as Jami' al-Khidr, but historical material indicates that its earlier name was al-Jami' al-Mujahidi. Al-Jami' al-Mujahidi is attributed to Mujahid al-Din Qaymaz, a figure connected with the Zangid-period urban and military history of Mosul. Available historical accounts place the construction of the mosque between 572 and 576 AH. For centuries it was known by the name of its patron, which shows that the earliest identity of the site was that of a historical congregational mosque, not a confirmed burial place. In later centuries, especially after the ninth Islamic century, a belief spread among the people of Mosul that al-Khidr, Peace Be Upon Him, had a maqam at this place. Because of this local attribution, al-Jami' al-Mujahidi gradually became known as Jami' al-Khidr. This entry therefore treats the attribution as local devotional memory. It is important to state clearly that the available historical material does not establish that al-Khidr, Peace Be Upon Him, is buried here, that he resided here, or that an early hadith report connects this specific place with him. In Arabic usage, maqam does not necessarily mean a grave; it can also refer to a place of association, memory, devotion, residence, worship, or public attribution. The personality of al-Khidr, Peace Be Upon Him, is linked in Islamic memory with the account in Surat al-Kahf involving Prophet Musa, Peace Be Upon Him, patience, hidden wisdom, and divine instruction. However, this entry does not attach that Qur’anic account to the Mosul site, because the location of that episode is a separate matter. Here the focus remains on the later Mosul attribution. The importance of Jami' al-Khidr lies in the way it combines a historical mosque, a later devotional name, and the local memory of Mosul. It began as a mosque connected with the city's prayer life, then public devotion attached it to al-Khidr, and over time that name became central to its identity. This site belongs to the category of Iraqi mosques and attributed maqams where architecture and local devotional memory must be read separately. Calling it a confirmed grave would go beyond the available evidence, while ignoring the attribution would weaken the understanding of Mosul's religious landscape. For visitors, the Maqam of al-Khidr recalls a name associated with patience, wisdom, hidden divine wisdom, and guidance. For researchers, it is a useful example of how a historical mosque can become known over time as an attributed maqam through the religious memory of a city.

This site is important for the study of Mosul's historical mosques and attributed maqams because it preserves two layers at once: the architectural identity of a Zangid-period congregational mosque and the later local attribution to al-Khidr, Peace Be Upon Him. It shows how places in Iraqi cities may begin as civic and religious buildings and later acquire devotional names through public memory. The shift from al-Jami' al-Mujahidi to Jami' al-Khidr is an important part of Mosul's urban memory. The available evidence does not establish this place as the grave of al-Khidr, Peace Be Upon Him, but it does show that local tradition came to remember it as his maqam. That distinction makes the entry more historically responsible. For visitors, the place evokes the name of al-Khidr and the themes of wisdom, patience, and hidden divine purpose. For researchers, it is a useful example of how to separate historical architecture, local attribution, and shrine naming without dismissing any of them.