Hazrati Imam Complex, Tashkent: Khast-Imam and the Uthman Quran

The Hazrati Imam complex is the religious heart of Tashkent: a broad paved square in the old town, framed by a 16th-century madrasah, a medieval shrine, a library of rare manuscripts and the city's main Friday mosque. Locals call it Khast-Imam or Hast Imam, a shortened form of Hazrati Imam, "the holy imam", after the 10th-century scholar buried here.

In 2026 the area gained a new landmark. The Center for Islamic Civilization, a vast domed museum on the edge of the square, opened on 17 March 2026, and the Uthman Quran, the complex's most famous treasure, now lies in its central hall. If you read older guidebooks that send you to the small Muyi Muborak library to see it, that has changed.

This guide covers each building, the story of the Uthman Quran, what to expect at the new centre, ticket prices as of November 2026, etiquette and how to get to the Hazrati Imam complex. For the rest of the city, see our Tashkent travel guide.

What is the Hazrati Imam (Khast-Imam) complex?

The ensemble grew over five centuries around the grave of Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Kaffal al-Shashi, Tashkent's patron saint. Shash was the old name of Tashkent, and Kaffal Shashi simply means "the Kaffal from Tashkent".

What you see today is a mix of old and new. The Barakhan Madrasah, the Kaffal Shashi mausoleum, the Muyi Muborak Madrasah and the Tilla Sheikh Mosque are historic buildings from the 16th to early 20th centuries. The great square, the Hazrati Imam Mosque and the restored façades date from a major rebuilding completed in 2007, when the area was cleared and paved as a national religious centre. The headquarters of the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan and the Imam al-Bukhari Islamic Institute, a religious college founded in 1971, are also here.

The square is open and free to enter, and it is spacious, clean and calm. It feels very different from the crowded lanes of Chorsu Bazaar, 15 minutes' walk away.

Kaffal Shashi: the man and the mausoleum

Abu Bakr al-Kaffal al-Shashi lived in the 10th century (traditionally 904 to 976) and was one of the leading Muslim scholars of his time. He travelled widely in search of knowledge, wrote on Islamic law of the Shafi'i school, on hadith and on the Arabic language, and was also known as a poet. He is credited with helping to spread Islam in the Tashkent oasis, which is why the city regards him as its spiritual patron.

His nickname, al-Kaffal, means "the locksmith". Tradition says that before he turned to scholarship he was a craftsman famous for making an extraordinarily small, light lock and key.

The mausoleum over his grave was built in 1541 to 1542 by the architect Ghulam Husayn, during the Shaybanid period. It stands a little apart from the main square: a tall portal with a pointed arch and simple tile decoration, a dome on a high drum, and several rooms around the burial chamber, including a mosque and lodgings for pilgrims. Around it are the graves of later scholars and notables.

This is a place of prayer, not a museum. Visitors come to recite the Fatiha and make supplications; walk quietly, keep voices low and do not photograph people praying.

The Barakhan Madrasah

The long tiled façade facing the square belongs to the Barakhan Madrasah, the oldest surviving madrasah in Tashkent. It was built in the 1530s for Navruz Ahmad Khan, known as Barak Khan, the Shaybanid ruler of Tashkent, and it incorporated earlier mausoleums of the ruling family.

Look at the main portal: a pishtaq with panels of blue and turquoise mosaic tile and inscriptions, flanked by two blue domes. Behind it is a courtyard surrounded by two storeys of student cells (hujras).

The madrasah has had an eventful life. It was damaged by earthquakes, and in the Soviet era it was used as a dormitory, a society for the blind and a warehouse. From the 1940s it was the seat of the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Central Asia, one of the few official religious institutions allowed in the USSR. Today its cells hold craft workshops and small shops selling suzani, ceramics, miniatures, calligraphy and carved wood, and it is one of the pleasantest places in Tashkent to browse. Prices are fixed in some shops and negotiable in others; our guide to Uzbek crafts and souvenirs explains what to look for.

Muyi Muborak Madrasah and the library

Beside the Tilla Sheikh Mosque stands the Muyi Muborak Madrasah, built in 1856 to 1857 by Mirza Ahmad, a senior official of the Kokand khanate, which ruled Tashkent at the time. It is a small building with 13 cells and a mosque.

Its name means "the blessed hair". The madrasah is believed to hold a hair of the Prophet Muhammad, kept in a reliquary, which is why the building is especially revered.

Today the madrasah is a library and museum of the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan. Its collection, built around the collection of the mufti Ishan Babakhan, is often described as some 20,000 books, including several thousand manuscripts and lithographs, with Qurans and translations in dozens of languages. From 1989 until November 2025 the Uthman Quran was kept here, in a special room behind glass. Since the move, a copy is shown in its place, along with rare Qurans and manuscripts from many countries.

Hours and access are set by the Muslim Board and can vary, especially around Friday prayers and religious holidays. A small fee or donation may be requested. Dress modestly and leave bags where asked.

Hazrati Imam Mosque and the Tilla Sheikh Mosque

The Hazrati Imam Mosque, which closes one side of the square, is the main Friday mosque of Tashkent. Completed in 2007, it was built in traditional style with two minarets about 53 metres tall, a turquoise dome and a long iwan whose tall carved wooden columns are said to be made of Indian sandalwood. The interior is decorated with gilded and painted designs and carved plaster.

It is a working mosque and becomes very busy for Friday midday prayers and on religious holidays. Non-Muslim visitors are generally welcome to view the courtyard and iwan outside prayer times; ask before entering the prayer hall. Women have a separate entrance and area for prayer.

Smaller and older, the Tilla Sheikh Mosque was built in 1890 to 1902 and stands nearby. For many years it served as a Friday mosque, and it is still in use. Its carved wooden columns and painted ceiling are attractive, but it is less visited than the main mosque.

The Uthman Quran: history of the oldest Quran in Tashkent

The manuscript known as the Uthman Quran (also the Samarkand Kufic Quran or Mushaf of Uthman) is one of the most precious early Qurans in the world. It is a huge parchment codex, written in Kufic script with twelve lines to a page. About a third of the manuscript is in Tashkent; individual leaves are in museums and collections elsewhere, from New York to Doha.

Tradition holds that it is one of the copies made under the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, in the 7th century, and even that it was the copy he was reading when he was killed, with his blood staining the pages. Scholars date it, on the basis of its script and radiocarbon testing, to around the late 8th to 10th centuries. Either way it is among the oldest surviving Qurans, and UNESCO added it to its Memory of the World Register in 1997.

Its journey is remarkable. For centuries it was kept in Samarkand at the Khoja Ahrar madrasah. In 1868, after the Russian conquest, it was taken to the Imperial Public Library in St Petersburg. After the revolution it was handed to Muslim representatives, travelled via Ufa, and reached Tashkent on 9 August 1923. In 1989 it was transferred to the Hazrati Imam complex, where it was shown in the Muyi Muborak library until November 2025, when it moved to the Center for Islamic Civilization.

The Center for Islamic Civilization (opened 17 March 2026)

The Center for Islamic Civilization stands right next to the Hazrati Imam square. Its foundation stone was laid in 2018, and after almost eight years of construction it opened on 17 March 2026. It is a huge building, with more than 40,000 square metres of interior space under a central dome more than 60 metres high, in grounds of about 10 hectares.

Inside, the exhibition traces the history of the region from pre-Islamic times through the scholars of the "First Renaissance" (al-Khwarizmi, al-Biruni, Ibn Sina, Imam al-Bukhari) and the Timurid "Second Renaissance" to the present. There are more than 2,000 exhibits, including dozens of rare manuscripts, plus a library, a conference hall and a children's museum. Our article on the great scholars of Uzbekistan is good background reading.

The centrepiece is the Holy Quran Hall, about 1,200 square metres, where the Uthman Quran is displayed under a giant crystal chandelier. You cannot approach the manuscript closely, and photographing it directly is not allowed; flash is banned throughout.

Practical points:

• Tickets for foreign visitors, as announced in March 2026: US$25 for adults and US$20 for children, with an extra US$10 for additional services; a premium package with three hours of individual service costs US$150. Children under seven enter free, and the library is free for all. The foreign ticket includes an audio guide in English or Russian.
• Opening hours: daily; published hours have varied between sources (opening at 09:00 or 10:00, closing between 18:00 and 22:00), and tickets may be sold for timed sessions. Check the official site, iccu.uz, before you go.
• Time needed: at least two hours, three if you like museums.
• Dress: modest clothing, shoulders and knees covered.

Hazrati Imam complex entry fee, hours and etiquette

• Square and mosques: free to enter. The square is open all day; the mosques close to visitors during prayers.
• Barakhan Madrasah: free; the shops keep normal daytime hours, roughly 09:00 to 18:00.
• Kaffal Shashi mausoleum: free; donations welcome.
• Muyi Muborak library: hours set by the Muslim Board; a small fee or donation may apply.
• Center for Islamic Civilization: separate ticket, see above.

Dress code for everyone: shoulders and knees covered; women should bring a headscarf to enter mosques and shrines; shoes off on carpets. Avoid shorts, sleeveless tops and see-through fabrics. Our packing list explains what to wear in Uzbekistan.

Timing: Friday midday prayers fill the main mosque and the square; arrive after about 14:00 on Fridays, or come on another day. During Ramadan, the area is lively in the evenings around iftar. Photography of the buildings is fine; ask before photographing people, and never photograph worshippers at prayer.

How to get to the Hazrati Imam complex

The complex is in the old town (Olmazor district), north of Chorsu Bazaar.

• Metro: the nearest convenient station is Chorsu on the Chilanzar (red) line. From there, walk about 15 to 20 minutes north through the old mahalla lanes, past the Kukeldash Madrasah, or take a short taxi ride. Our Tashkent Metro guide explains tickets and lines.
• Taxi: Yandex Go is the simplest option; from the city centre around Amir Timur Square the ride takes 15 to 25 minutes depending on traffic and typically costs 20,000 to 40,000 som in 2026.
• On foot from Chorsu: the walk through the residential streets is pleasant in the morning, and you see a side of Tashkent that most visitors miss.

A good half-day route: Chorsu Bazaar early in the morning, the Kukeldash Madrasah, then the walk to Hazrati Imam, the Barakhan shops and the Kaffal Shashi mausoleum, lunch nearby, and the Center for Islamic Civilization in the afternoon.

Is the Hazrati Imam complex worth visiting?

Yes. It is the most important religious site in Tashkent and the city's best ensemble of historic buildings, and with the new Center for Islamic Civilization it has become a full half-day or day out. Even if you have only one day in Tashkent, we would include it.

It is also an essential stop for Muslim travellers. The square is the starting point of many ziyarat itineraries in Uzbekistan, which continue to the Imam al-Bukhari complex near Samarkand and the shrine of Bahauddin Naqshband in Bukhara; our guides to ziyarat pilgrimage and halal travel in Uzbekistan cover these routes in detail.

Allow about 1.5 hours for the square, the madrasahs and the mausoleum, plus two to three hours for the Center for Islamic Civilization.

Visiting Hazrati Imam with TourEast

The Hazrati Imam complex is part of our Tashkent city tours, and we can plan the day around prayer times and a timed visit to the Center for Islamic Civilization. For a longer journey through Uzbekistan's spiritual heritage, we can build a private or small-group itinerary, with guides in Indonesian, Malay or Arabic available on request.