Najaf

American  

[naj-af] / ˈnædʒ æf /

Also An-Najaf

noun

1. a city in central Iraq: holy city of the Shiʿites; shrine contains tomb of Ali (around a.d. 600–661), founder of the Shiʿite sect.

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Najaf British  

/ ˈnædʒæf /

noun

1. a holy city in central Iraq, near the River Euphrates; burial place of the Caliph Ali and a centre of the Shiite faith. Pop: 639 000 (2005 est)

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Example Sentences

Iraqi officials said the battle occurred in the desert near the Iraqi city of Najaf, which has a large militia presence.

From The Wall Street Journal

Born in Najaf, Iraq, in 1958 to a leading Iranian clerical family, Larijani moved to Iran as a child and went on to earn a philosophy doctorate.

From The Wall Street Journal

Most of them reside and run seminaries in the holy cities of Qom in Iran and Najaf in Iraq.

From Salon

Khomeini, then 76, needed a new bolthole after being expelled from his exiled base in the Iraqi city of Najaf by the country's dictator Saddam Hussein.

From Barron's

Khamenei left Mashhad in 1957 to attend seminary in the Shiite holy city of Najaf in Iraq.

From The Wall Street Journal