Ishtartv.com/Al-Najaf News

Translated by:Aziz Emmanuel Zebari

The directorate of Antiquities and Heritage in the governorate of Al-Najaf unearthed a 1700-year old monastery built before Islam belonging to the Christian monk Abdul-Massih Ben-Bqila whose gravestone found in the church is inscribed with the words in Kufig script “ May God Have Mercy On Abdul-Masih”

“Ancient Hira used to be a Christian city and place of worship. Its vicinity and outskirts are littered with churches and monasteries. We found a important document confirming that the newly discovered church belongs to Abdul-Masih Ben-Bqila on finding a gravestone inscribed with an old script. This is a significant material evidence”, the Director General of Antiquities and Heritage Muhammed Al-Mayali told Najaf News Agency.

“Abdul-Masih Ben-Bqila used to be one of the Christian notables, and therefore some texts say he lived for 300 years and remained Christian after Islam. He reached a peace agreement with Khaliph Khalid Bnul-Walid when Islam was introduced in 14th century  Hijra (Islamic era). He lived long enough to see Indian and Chinese ships sailing in Al-Najaf Sea”, he explained.

“ Abdul-Masih is the nephew of Priest Satih who the Persian king had sent to Satih for the vision he had seen”, he added.

“The church we found in the governorate during the archaeological excavations near the historical city of Kufa, goes back to the time before Islam”, said archaeologist Shakir Abdul-Zahra, from the directorate general of antiquities and heritage of Najaf, in a statement to Al-Najaf News Agency.

Abdul-Zahrah added that the church has an area of 60X60 m and its total area is about 3600sqm. It contains four big halls, lighting rooms and sleeping rooms for the monks. It has also annexes for services, two kitchens, and two 12X12m yards whose area is 112sqm.

“ The church is one compound with two adjacent gates to the west, with each door leading to a section of the church. The two gates are built in a solid and fortified way and safeguarded in a precautionary manner to fend off any attack by enemies”.

 “The Christian church found is surrounded by a 1.5m wide great wall built of adobe and brick, pierced by towers. The church lies in a desert area”, he added.

In historical reference to monk Abdul-Masih, Al-Asfahani in his “ Al-Diyarat (Monasteries), says: “the monastery of Abdul-Masih was built by Abdul-Masih ben Amru ben Bqila Al Ghassani in Hira.”. He added that Abdul-Masih lived as long as 350years and the monastery was in the outskirts of Hira in a place called Al-Jar’a and it was he who met Khalid bnul-Waleed. When he fought the Persians on their invasion of Al-Hira, they threw him down from the towers. He used to appear before horses which ran away in fear. And here Dharrar Bnul-Azwar said to him (Khalid): this is due to their cheats and tricks, and so Khalid sent out a messenger to summon a wise man from them, and Abdul-Masih Ben Amru came and had a famous encounter with him. He said that After reconciliation with the Muslims, Abdul Masih remained in that Monastery till his death and the monastery fell into ruin after a while whereby a vaulted structure appeared which was thought to be a treasure, but on opening it a marble bed was found with a dead man on it on whose head side a small slab was found with the inscription: I am Abdul-Masih Ben Amru Ben Bqila:

I have experienced all ages and shared them my life

And abundance of hopes have I realized

I struggled against the tides of life and so did they

But never did I succumb to difficult plights

And in dignity I almost went as high as the Pleiades,

But there is no way to immortality.

In his Diyarat (Monasteries), Shabeshti tells the story of the dialogue between Khalid Bnul-Walid and Abdul-Masih: “ When Khalid Bnul-Walid came to Hira, Abdul Masih went out to meet him:

- Where do I trace you back? Asked Khalid,

- To my father, answered Abdul-Masih,

- It wasn’t this that I asked you about!

- Nor did I answer what you did not ask!

- Who are you ? asked Khalid,

-Arabs, so tell me our genealogy if you can!, said Abdul-Masih,

- And why all these fortifications? Asked Khalid.

- We built them as a precaution against the unenlightened till a wise comes to restrain them!”