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

Born in Najaf, Iraq in 1957 to a prominent Shia cleric who was close to the Islamic Republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Larijani's family has been influential within Iran's political system for decades.

From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

The authorities were forced to shut down airports in the provinces of Najaf and Basra.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2025

He then traveled to a seminary in Najaf, Iraq, for religious studies, but two years later he and other Shiite students and clerics were expelled by Saddam Hussein’s government.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2024

Najaf Khan seems to have been equally deceived at the time; but after-events showed the difference between the undeceiving of a worn-out voluptuary, and that of a nature unsuspicious from its own goodness.

From Fall of the Moghul Empire of Hindustan by Keene, H. G. (Henry George)