Hazrati Imam (Khast Imam) Complex

The imam behind the name

The complex grew up around the grave of Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Ismail al-Kaffal ash-Shashi, a 10th-century jurist, hadith scholar and poet, remembered as one of the first preachers of Islam in Tashkent and the city's first imam. Locals simply called him Hazrati Imam, and the name spread to the whole quarter; in everyday speech it is shortened to Khast Imam.

Legend has it that the scholar was also a skilled maker of locks and keys — hence the nickname Kaffal, 'locksmith' — that he spoke 72 languages and translated the Torah into Arabic. These stories rest on tradition rather than documents.

History

The oldest buildings date from the Shaybanid era. The Barakhan Madrasah went up in the 16th century, and in 1541–1542 the court architect Ghulam Husayn built the Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum. In the mid-19th century they were joined by the Muyi Muborak Madrasah (1856–1857) and the Tillya Sheikh Mosque, which served as the city's main open-air prayer ground.

In Soviet times the complex became the seat of the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, and today it houses the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan. Tucked among the mahallas of the Old City, it survived the 1966 earthquake; a major rebuilding and restoration campaign in 2007 gave the square its present look.

What to see

The square is dominated by the Hazrati Imam Friday Mosque of 2007, with two domes, a pair of minarets more than 50 metres tall and a portico of carved sandalwood columns brought from India. One minaret was raised by craftsmen from Khorezm, the other by a team from Samarkand.

Facing it is the tiled portal of the Barakhan Madrasah. To the north stands the Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum and, next to it, the Muyi Muborak Madrasah, named after a hair of the Prophet Muhammad that, according to tradition, is kept inside. The Tillya Sheikh Mosque and the Imam al-Bukhari Tashkent Islamic Institute, open since 1971, complete the ensemble.

The Uthman Quran and a new neighbour

From March 1989 until November 2025 the Muyi Muborak Madrasah kept the Samarkand Kufic Quran, one of the oldest surviving Quran manuscripts, traditionally linked to Caliph Uthman. In November 2025 it was moved to the purpose-built Center for Islamic Civilization next door, which opened on 17 March 2026. The historic square and the new museum are a few minutes' walk apart, so both fit easily into one visit.