It was first officially organized as the 8th Najaf Ashraf Brigade (Persian: تیپ 8 نجف اشرف) during Iran–Iraq War, just after Operation Samen-ol-A'emeh.

Initially, the soldiers of the division were mostly from the Najafabad County, Isfahan province.

The division was organized and nicknamed "Najaf Ashraf" by Ahmad Kazemi, which was appointed as its commander by Gholam Ali Rashid.

When Bakeri became the commander of the 31st Ashura Division, these brigades joined the latter.

[1][2] In Operation Beit-ol-Moqaddas, the Najaf Ashraf Division was the unit which first broke into Khorramshahr, capturing thousands of Iraqi soldiers.