Al-Sayeda Zainab Mosque () is a historic

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and constitutes one of the most important and biggest mosques in the

history of Egypt Egypt, one of the world’s oldest civilizations, was unified around 3150 BC by King Narmer. It later came under Persian, Greek, Roman, and Islamic rule before joining the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Controlled by Britain in the late 19th century, ...

. The name is an honor to

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, Husayn. The title may also refer ...

Zaynab bint Ali Zaynab bint Ali (, ), was the eldest daughter of Fatima and Ali, Ali ibn Abi Talib. The former was a daughter of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the latter was his cousin. Ali is also recognized as the fourth ...

, one of the daughters of

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

, fourth

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

and his first wife

Fatima Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and the first Shia imam. ...

h, daughter the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

Location

The mosque is located in

Sayyidah Zainab District Sayyidah Zainab () is one of the old traditional districts of Cairo, Egypt. Its name is based on the presence of the Sayyidah Zainab Mosque, Cairo, Sayyidah Zainab Mosque. It is known for its traditional restaurants, it also has the Qal'at al-Kabs ...

of Cairo, where its name was taken from the name of the mosque. The mosque occupies the center of the neighborhood and there is Al-Sayeda Zainab square in front of the mosque. The square is one of the most famous and important squares in Cairo, and there are numerous restaurants and cafes packed with people especially during the breakfast and sahur time of the

Islamic month The Hijri calendar (), also known in English as the Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the ann ...

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

. Zayn al-Abidin Street connects the mosque to the different major locations in Cairo.

History

The mosque was considered built on top of the grave of Sayyida Zaynab the sister of

Hasan Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

and

Husain Husain, a variant spelling of Hussein, is a common Arabic name, especially among Muslims because of the status of Husayn ibn Ali Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 Common Era, CE) was a social, political and religious leader ...

. Some historians consider that Sayyida Zaynab was exiled to Egypt few months after the

Battle of Karbala The Battle of Karbala () was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 Hijri year, AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad caliph Yazid I () and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, th ...

, where she settled for nine months before her death, and she was buried in this site. As such, the location is considered one of the most notable places of

Islamic history The history of Islam is believed, by most historians, to have originated with Muhammad's mission in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE, although Muslims regard this time as a return to the original faith passed down by the Abra ...

and the most popular tombs to visit among

Sunnis Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

and

Isma'ili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the ...

Shi'ites Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

. However, many other people, primarily

Twelver Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the Islamic schools and branches, largest branch of Shia Islam, Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twel ...

Shias, believe that Sayyida Zaynab was buried in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, where the mosque of the same name is located today. There is no accurate record of when the mosque was built over the grave of Sayyida Zaynab, and no historical references are currently available except for Ottoman Ali Pasha's order for renovation in 1547, and since then there were other renovations, including the one conducted by Amir Abdul Rahman in 1768 and the one in 1940 by the Ministry of Endowment which demolished the old building completely and built the current building. Henceforth, the mosque is not registered as an artifact of Islamic history. The mosque at the time consisted of seven corridors parallel to the wall of the

qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...

with a square dish covered with a dome. On the opposite side of the qibla wall is the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

of Sayyida Zaynab, surrounded by a brass fence and topped by a tall dome. In 1969, the Ministry of Endowment doubled the area of the mosque. In 2022, the Egyptian authorities commenced maintenance and renovation efforts at the Al Sayeda Zainab Mosque, culminating in a visit by President

Abdel Fattah El-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil El-Sisi (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has been serving as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. After the 2011 Egyptian revolution and 201 ...

and

Mufaddal Saifuddin Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin () is the spiritual leader, the 53rd Da'i al-Mutlaq of more than one million Dawoodi Bohras, a subgroup of the Tayyibi, Musta'li, Ismaili Shia branch of Islam. He is the second son of the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq, M ...

on May 12, 2024, to mark its completion.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sayeda Zainab Mosque Mosques in Cairo Mosque buildings with domes in Egypt Mosques completed in the 1540s Religious buildings and structures completed in 1547 Mosque buildings with minarets in Egypt Sunni mosques in Egypt

Location

History

See also

References

External links