Hundreds of sleepless militiamen spur themselves on in battle with stories of a divine apparition of masked Moqtada Sadr leading his fighters against the sophisticated weaponry of the US Army.
"I have seen Moqtada on the battlefield," swore Yusif Geydan, a 28-year-old fighter in Sadr's Mehdi Army.
Pointing towards Medina Street, ravaged by fire fights between US-led Iraqi government forces and the militia, Geydan claimed Sadr has led from the front many times and fired rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at enemy tanks.
"Many times, he comes to the front wearing a mask and fights with us. He does not show his face, but we know it is him," said Geydan, who guards one of the entry points to the shrine after crossing Medina Street.
"In fact just a week ago he came wearing a mask and fired an RPG that destroyed an American humvee positioned in one of the bylanes beside Medina Street. I know it was him behind that mask." But to most, Sadr remains elusive, especially to dozens of journalists who tread the mortar-blasted alleyways of the Old City to the Imam Ali - Shiite Islam's holiest shrine - where rumour has it the cleric is holed up.
When pressed about his whereabouts, Sadr's spokesman insisted the militia leader was in Najaf.
"I can tell you he is in Najaf. He will not leave the city just like that," Sheikh Ahmed al-Shaibani said.
For hundreds of young militiamen, Sadr is not just a cleric, but a fighter who has dared take on the "occupation forces in Iraq".
"Even our weapons are named after him," said Salah, a fighter originally from Baghdad's militia stronghold of Sadr City.
The cleric also conducts spot-checks of checkpoints and positions of his fighters around the shrine, even while fighting is going on, he added.
Sadr was recently reported to have been wounded by shrapnel when he was inspecting his militiamen. Filmed on television with a bandaged hand, he urged his fighters to continue the battle till martyrdom. The militiamen range in age from teenagers to the middle-aged. Many of them have been soldiers in the Iraqi army during the days of the regime.
"The passion to fight the occupation forces is spread across all ages," said another fighter speaking fluent English and carrying a German-made machine gun slung across his shoulders.
"And what we have is a spirit to die for Islam. The Americans do not have that. We are not fighting here for money, but for our land and religion which is threatened now and Moqtada is leading this fight."
Although the fighting has claimed the lives of at least 26 militiamen since it broke out less than three weeks ago, according to the Imam Ali clinic, the Mehdi Army has vowed to continue the fight and die as martyrs.
Keeping their weapons at the ready, these men are going sleepless for days on end.
"We take turns and sleep for only few hours. Most of the time, I go to the shrine unarmed during the afternoon and relax, while someone else takes my position," said Geydan.
"For us the fight is on. We will stop only when Moqtada says to stop," said another fighter inside the shrine.
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