In a village just outside of Baku, in Buzovna, is a pilgrimage site that alleges to house the footprint of Ali ibn Abi Talib – the cousin and son – in law of Muhammad.
Forty kilometers away from Baku’s city center, dozens of pilgrims arrive everyday, many of them arriving from the distant corners of the country.
According to tradition, in the 13th year of the Hijri (Islamic) calendar, a regiment of horsemen arrived in the Absheron peninsula.
During the same time period, two brothers from the Windy City (Baku, allegedly from Persian, Badi – Kube) were involved in commerce and trade in Mecca and Medinah.
One of the brothers, Yassal Niyyal, resided in Mecca and Medinah, while the younger brother would bring goods to the city and managed their contacts abroad.
One day, the younger brother stumbled upon this same regiment of horsemen while they had stopped to fish and rest for the day. Running up to the riders and throwing himself onto the ground before one of the horsemen, the younger brother cried: “Oh, Hazrat Ali! What are you doing here?”
At this moment, the same rider had one leg on the ground, one leg in the stirrup of his horse. The horseman asked the younger brother, “Where do you know me from?”
The younger brother told him that he had seen him while on business in Mecca and Medinah.
The horseman, not responding, got back on his horse and rode away, leaving behind his footprint and those of his horse.
According to tradition, this man was none other than Hazret Ali himself. Since that time, the place has been known as Ali’s Footprint and to this day, people continue to perform pilgrimage journeys to the site.
