Zeynabīyye (Arzanān)

Zeynabīyye (Arzanān), a quarter located in the northeast of the city and part of District 14 of the municipality.

This quarter, formerly an old village in the Quhāb Rural District of Isfahan known as Arzanān, is today called Zeynabīyye because of the presence of the shrine of a lady named Zeynab located therein.¹ This quarter now belongs to the Jay District of Quhab and is bordered on the north by Dārak, on the east by the Haftun quarter, on the south—at a relatively long distance—by Tuqchī Square (present-day Quds), and on the west by the plains of Dārak and the Bātūn/Bāṭūn quarter (present-day Be‛that). Regarding the naming of this village as Arzanān, it has been said that arzan, the Arabicized form of the Persian arzan, has been used with two meanings—or more precisely, for two referents: first, the name of a small-grained seed that is sown in summer and harvested in early winter, mostly used as feed for domestic birds; in villages, arzan (millet) is sometimes used to bake bread and cook porridge. The second meaning and usage of the word refers to a kind of hard wood from which canes are made. It is customary that when a particular land yields a fine type of product, the name of that product or a derivative of it is given to the land. In this case, Arzanān (or in the local dialect, Arzanūn) means “the place where millet is sown and harvested.”²

Concerning Arzanān, which Yāqūt Ḥamawī³ (d. 1229/626) recorded as Arzunān, little information is available in the sources except that it was counted among the villages surrounding Isfahan.⁴ It seems that the antiquity of this village, like that of its neighboring village Dārak, goes back to the pre-Islamic period and that it was seized (‛anwatan, “by force”) during the time of the conquests.⁵ During the early centuries, in the sources, only the names of notable persons with the designation Arzunānī are mentioned from this village, most of whom were hadith transmitters. Among them was Abū Ja‛far Muhammad b. ‛Abdul-Raḥmān b. Zīyād al-Arzunānī (d. ca. 317–322/929–934), one of the famous hadith transmitters, from whom Abū al-Sheikh ‛Abdullāh b. Muhammad al-Eṣfahānī and Abū Bakr Aḥmad b. Hussein b. Mahrān al-Muqrīʾ transmitted hadiths. Another was Hasan b. Aḥmad b. Muhammad b. Dalīr al-Arzunānī (d. 1061/453), a hadith transmitter from Arzanān, who was described as “the teacher of the blind.”⁶

There is no precise information about when the village of Arzanān became associated with the name Zeynabīyye. Arzanān (or Arzanūn) was considered, in the first half of the 20th/14th century, a small village near Isfahan. According to one report, in the mid-1960s/1340s, its population numbered about 150 households, who, in addition to working in agriculture—particularly the cultivation of wheat and vegetables—were also engaged in wage labor and in the production of handicrafts, including carpet weaving. Apparently, from the second half of the 20^th/14^th century onward, with the increase of population and the expansion of the city of Isfahan, and the presence of the shrine of Zeynabīyye, this village gradually became connected with the city and was included among its quarters in District 14 of the Isfahan municipality.⁷

What has made this quarter—and formerly this village—well known among the people is the presence of a shrine attributed to a lady named Zeynab. According to popular belief, Zeynab (Bībī Zeynab or Zeynab Ṣughrā, sometimes called in the sources Bījeh Zeynab) buried in this mausoleum is one of the descendants of Mūsā b. Ja‛far al-Kāẓem, the seventh Imam of the Shiite, or even his daughter. The reason for this attribution is the existence of a note in the margin of one of the manuscripts of al-majdī fī al-ansāb al-ṭālebīyīn, written by Abul-Hasan Ali b. Muhammad b. Ali al-‛Alawī al-‛Umarī, known as Ebn Ṣūfī (d. 1067/460). This marginal note was written based on the report of a man named Amīr Muhammad Hādī b. Amīr-Lūḥī (d. 1701/1113). The text of the note reads: “I heard from Amīr Muhammad Hādī b. Amīr-Lūḥī, the historian, that Bījeh Zeynab, buried in the village of Arzanān—one of the villages of Isfahan—is the direct daughter of Mūsā al-Kāẓem.”⁸

In early 20^th/14^th century, Sheikh ‛Abbās Qummī—known as Theqat al-Muḥaddethīn and al-Muḥaddeth al-Qummī (d. 1941/1360)—examined in Tehran a manuscript of al-majdī that contained the marginal note mentioned above. The manuscript was owned by Sheikh Asadullāh Anṣārī, known as Amīn al-Wā‛eẓīn (d. 1934/1313). Qummī then commissioned Sayyed Sa‛īd Ṭabāṭabāʾī Nāʾīnī—a scholar residing in Mashhad and one of the founders of modern schools in Isfahan—to investigate the identity of the individual buried in the district. Nāʾīnī travelled to Isfahan to determine whether the tomb of such a woman (Zeynab) still existed in the village of Arzanān. After a careful inquiry, he confirmed the existence of a tomb attributed to a woman named Zeynab, but he found no reliable historical evidence linking it to the seventh Imam.⁹ Around the same time, upon the advice of Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Feshārkī (d. 1934/1313), a prominent scholar and jurist of Isfahan, Mīrzā Muhammad-Ali Mu‛allem Ḥabībābādī (d. 1976/1355) undertook a systematic investigation of the matter. His findings were later published in a short treatise titled kashf al-khabīyya ‛an maqbarat al-zaynabīyya (“Unveiling the Secret of the Zeynabīyya Shrine”). In this well-reasoned and meticulous study, Mu‛allem Ḥabīb-ābādī reviewed the issue with scholarly precision. Besides the copy belonging to Amīn al-Wā‛eẓīn, he examined several other manuscripts of al-majdī preserved in public libraries and private collections of his time—including those owned by Muhammad-Bāqer Ulfat* and Mīrzā Muhammad Hussein Ezheʾī—but found no trace of the passage attributed to Muhammad Hādī b. Amīr-Lūḥī in any of them. It therefore appears that the only manuscript on which al-Muḥaddeth al-Qummī relied to identify the existing shrine in Arzanān as that of Zeynab, daughter of Imm Mūsā b. Ja‛far, was the same copy of al-majdī that contained the marginal note ascribed to Muhammad Hādī b. Amīr-Lūḥī.¹⁰ Furthermore, both the authorship and the date of this marginal note remain uncertain. Perhaps for this reason, the edition of al-majdī, published in recent years, includes no mention—on the page listing the children of Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓem—of any burial place of Zeynab in Arzanān, Isfahan.¹¹ Notwithstanding, some scholars, trusting the judgment of Sheikh ‛Abbās Qummī, have accepted the identification of Zeynab as a daughter of the seventh Imam and continue to regard the site as a place of worship and expression of devotion to the Prophet’s family.

Following the circulation of the account concerning al-majdī and Sheikh ‘Abbās Qummī’s opinion about the person buried in the shrine—which until 1933/1312 had been a small mausoleum—the Zeynabīyye site suddenly drew public attention, and the shrine became famous among the people. The increasing visits of pilgrims, together with the cooperation and dedication of several prominent clerics, government officials, and merchants of Isfahan, played a significant role in the growing prominence of Zeynabīyye in Isfahan and its surroundings. From 1966/1345 onward, during the tenure of Colonel Maḥmūd Zāhedī as head of the Isfahan Endowments Office, and with the support of figures such as Major General Ḥamīd Shīrānī, Ḥājj ‛Abdul-Ali Feyḍ, Sheikh ‛Abdul-Javād Kalbāsī, and families such as Kāzerūnī and Ṣamṣām along with several other notables of Isfahan, the development and prosperity of the Zeynabīyye shrine became more pronounced.¹² Records show six administrative stages in the architectural expansion of the shrine and the appointment of its boards of trustees: the first period (1932–1966/1311–1345); the second (1966–1978/1345–1357), during which the first board of trustees was established; the third (1979–1993/1358–1372), corresponding to the formation of the second board; the fourth (1993–1996/1372–1375), when a caretaker was appointed by the Isfahan Endowments Office; the fifth (1996–2011/1375–1390), marked by the appointment of a state-administered board—this period itself divided into several subperiods, the most notable change being the state’s active support during the Ahmadinejad’s state for the restoration of Imāmzāde shrines—and the sixth (2011–2017/1390–1396), when the management and development of the shrine were entrusted to the Entekhāb Industrial Group (SNOWA), directed by Muhammad-Reza Dayyānī under contract and supervision of the Endowments Office.¹³ During this final stage, a major development plan for Zeynabīyye was designed, allocating four hectares to the entire complex with a total building area of 85,000 square meters. At present, the shrine itself covers 1,500 square meters with a total floor space of 2,400 square meters and is accessible from three courtyards on the east, west, and south. The courtyard of Imam Reza occupies 8,500 square meters, while the eastern and western courtyards each cover 1,500 square meters; a subterranean prayer hall (shabestān) also extends beneath the main courtyard.¹⁴

The earlier layout of the shrine and the courtyard of the Zeynabīyye possessed features that were relatively appealing and traditional. Given that it lacked endowment (waqf) revenues, it nonetheless received notable attention in terms of upkeep and development from both the general public and elites. Its dome and two relatively tall minarets—decorated predominantly with blue tiles—were particularly eye-catching. Arcaded vaulted porch surrounded the mausoleum. The interior of the shrine was likewise adorned with stucco reliefs and painted decorations and, in places, inscriptions; among them were floral and arabesque motifs beneath the dome, where works by Ja‛far Rashtīyān (d. 1988/1367) could be seen. In the relatively spacious courtyard of the Zeynabīyye Imāmzāde, there was a pool and several garden plots, creating a landscaped setting with trees and flower beds.

The existence of the Zeynabīyye shrine, with its traditional and spiritual atmosphere, together with the low price of land in this area, led many Iranian returnees who had left Iraq in the early 1970s/1350s to settle in the Zeynabīyye quarter and its surrounding areas, such as the marginal neighborhood of Dārak. In addition to this group, other migrant families of Lur, Turk, and even Kurd and Baluch origin, mostly coming from the regions of Fereydan and Khuzestan, also settled there. A large number of Afghan immigrants likewise reside in this quarter. This ethnic and demographic diversity has brought certain social problems to the area; nevertheless, the residents of this neighborhood hold strong devotion to the Ahl al-Bayt (the family of the Prophet) and celebrate the months of Muḥarram and Ṣafar and the festivals of Rajab and Sha‛bān with great fervor. The quarter is also home to the families of combatants martyred in Syria, known as the “Defenders of the Shrine.” Most residents of Zeynabīyye are laborers and live in modest economic conditions. Although in recent years the Municipality of District 14 of Isfahan and several non-governmental organizations have made efforts to improve and develop the area, material and largely cultural challenges still persist and require continued support.¹⁵ The Zeynabīyye quarter is served by law-enforcement institutions (Police Station No. 26 of Isfahan) and also includes healthcare facilities, among them a hospital named Ḥaḍrat Zeynab.

/Muhammad Hussein Riyahi/

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1. see: continuation of the article.[↩]
2. Dehkhudā, vol. 2, pp. 1826–1827; Mehryār, vol. 1, pp. 13–14, 86–90.[↩]
3. Yāqūt Ḥamawī, vol. 1, p. 150; it is noteworthy that in modern studies—including āthār-e mellī-ye Isfahan by Rafī‛ī Mehrābādī, p. 7, and the article by Sajjādī entitled “āstāne-ye mubārake-ye Zeynabīyye,” p. 148—reference has also been made to the work of Ebn al-Faqīh, who in the 3rd/9th century considered Arzanān one of the villages of Isfahan. These researchers apparently derived this information from the Persian translation of Ebn al-Faqīh’s ketāb al-buldān by Muhammad-Reza Ḥakīmī, p. 98, whereas in the original Arabic edition edited by Yūsuf Hādī, p. 531, there is no mention of the village of Arzanān; the term appears to have been added by the Persian translator. In that passage, Ebn al-Faqīh mentions only sixteen rustāqs (administrative units in the geographical division of Islamic lands, each consisting of several villages centered around one) of Isfahan, not its villages. for the meaning of rustāq, see Amīnī Kāshānī and Rūdgar, pp. 73–86.[↩]
4. see also: Humāyī, p. 145.[↩]
5. see: Abū Nu‛aym al-Eṣfahānī, vol. 1, pp. 48, 79–80.[↩]
6. Abū al-Sheikh Eṣfahānī, vol. 4, p. 233; Abū Nu‛aym al-Eṣfahānī, vol. 2, p. 239; Sam‛ānī, vol. 1, pp. 110–111; Yāqūt Ḥamavī, vol. 1, p. 150.[↩]
7. see: farhang-e jughrāfiyāʾī-ye ābādī-hā-ye keshvar, vol. 71, p. 11; Mehryār, vol. 1, pp. 86–87.[↩]
8. Mu‛allem Ḥabībābādī, p. 30.[↩]
9. Mahdavī, 2004–2005/1383–1384, vol. 1, p. 79; see also footnote 2; idem, 2017/1396, pp. 25–26.[↩]
10. Mu‛allem Ḥabībābādī, pp. 30–35; for further information, see Riyahi, pp. 126–131; it is noteworthy that in kashf al-khabīyya Mu‛allem Ḥabībābādī remarks on p. 32 that he had initially accepted the validity of this attribution based on the annotated copy, but after further investigation in Isfahan he found the contrary to be true: “… and from these words we derived a strong presumption of the correctness of this attribution and its fame … but after extensive inquiry in Isfahan, the opposite became clear, meaning …”; compare this with several later works whose authors, in support of their claims about the shrine’s authenticity, have cited only the first part of Ḥabībābādī’s statement while omitting its second half.[↩]
11. ‛Umarī, p. 106.[↩]
12. Mu‛allem Ḥabībābādī, p. 28.[↩]
13. Mahdavī, 2017/1396, pp. 71–82; for information on the endowments related to the Zeynabīyye shrine and similar sites, see Mahdavī, 2017/1396, pp. 80–83; Jāberī Anṣārī, p. 329.[↩]
14. “tuse‛e va bāzsāzī-ye ḥaram-e muṭahhar-e ḥaḍrat Zeynab bent Mūsā b. Ja‛far,” 2025/1404; for the names of notable figures buried in this shrine during those years, see Mahdavī, 2003/1382, pp. 234–238; Sajjādī, pp. 154–157.[↩]
15. see: Ṭāherī and Amīnī-Nezhād, p. 19; Ḥalīmī, 2015/1394[↩]