جامع الحاج خلف - مسجد الصحابي جليبيب الانصاري

In the Khalis district of Iraq's Diyala governorate, amid the date palms and canals that irrigate the fertile plain northeast of Baghdad, the Jami al Hajj Khalaf and Masjid al Sahabi Julaybib al Ansari carries a name linking contemporary village life with the earliest generation of Islam. The second part of the name honours Julaybib, may God be pleased with him, a Companion whose story is treasured for its tenderness. Though short in stature and of no worldly distinction, he was beloved of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, who personally arranged his marriage and, on the battlefield, searched for him among the fallen martyrs and said of him, this one is of me and I am of him. Such is the dignity Islam confers on the humble who hold fast to faith. Diyala itself boasts deep Islamic historical layers, having been traversed by the early conquests that opened the Sasanian lands under the caliphate of Umar ibn al Khattab, may God be pleased with him, and later forming part of the agricultural hinterland of Abbasid Baghdad. Khalis town anchors a rural district whose residents cultivate dates, citrus, and grain, while observing the rhythms of Islamic worship rooted in the Iraqi heartland. The jami, as a congregational mosque holding Jumu'ah, follows the Iraqi provincial idiom with sandy coloured brick walls, a modest dome, a slender minaret, and spacious interior halls capable of hosting large village gatherings. The mihrab bears verses from Surah Ya Sin and the qiblah wall is adorned with the shahada. Worshippers attend the five daily prayers and the Friday gathering, while Ramadan brings nightly taraweeh and iftar meals provided by the village. On the two Eid mornings families converge from across Khalis for the festival prayer. The mosque also hosts Quran circles for children and commemorative majlis on the mawlid and occasions relating to the noble household of the Prophet. Visitors to Diyala will find the masjid a living anchor of Iraqi village faith. Farmers from the canal villages around Khalis still recount stories of the blessed companion after whom the prayer house takes its beloved secondary title.