[1][2] The mosque was built during the Ottoman period, and it contains a small mausoleum which is purported to be the burial place of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali school of thought.

[3][4][5][1] It consists of a prayer hall, courtyard, and a small room topped by a dome which serves as a mausoleum.

[3][4][5] The total area of the mosque is around 300 square metres, and the mausoleum room cannot hold more than 30 visitors.

In 1937, the remains of Ahmad ibn Hanbal were supposedly transferred to the Arif Agha Mosque after the cemetery he was buried in was flooded by the Tigris.

[3][6] Before this, a domed mausoleum had been built over the grave of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, but it was destroyed repeatedly.