Draft:Al-Sayyida Nafisa Mosque

The al-Sayyida Nafisa Mosque is a mosque in al-Sayyida Nafisa district (or Sebaa Valley), a section of the larger historic necropolis called al-Qarafa (or City of the Dead) in Cairo, Egypt. It is built to commemorate Sayyida Nafisa, an Islamic saint and member of the bayt, or household, of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Sayyida Nafisa was the great-granddaughter of al-Hasan, one of the Prophet Muhammad's two grandsons. The mosque has Sayyida Nafisa's mausoleum, also known as a Mashhad, inside. Along with the necropolis around it, it is listed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Historic Cairo.

Al-Sayyida Nafisa’s Sainthood
Several monuments, including the al-Sayyida Nafisa mosque and the al-Sayyida Nafisa Mashhad have been erected to honor al-Sayyida Nafisa’s sainthood. Although she is considered holy as a member of the Prophet’s family, al-Sayyida Nafisa's piety earned her the special title of an Islamic saint. She emigrated from Hejaz to Egypt and eventually settled in al-Fustat where she had a reputation for performing miracles. Before her death in 824, she made the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, thirty times. She was renowned as a huffaza, meaning she knew the Qur’an by heart. al-Sayyida Nafisa dug her own grave and said in waiting for death as she recited the whole of the Qur’an 190 times before she died, reportedly saying “Rahma” (mercy) with her last gasp. After her death, the people of al-Fustat begged her husband not to take her body back to Medina, but rather to bury it in al-Fustat because of her baraka, or her blessing and grace from God.

Features of the Mosque
The mosque features one large minaret that is tiered, in line with Ottoman architecture. Similarly to other Fatimid mosques, the mosque of al-Sayyida Nafisa has carvings featuring large blossoms arranged on a scrolling stem on the wooden tie beams between columns. The mosque of al-Sayyida Nafisa has a portable mihrab made between 1138 and 1145 with grooved strap work. The interior of the mosque includes carved wood paneling, and muqarnas. The recent renovation added green and blue LED lights, which departs from the original aesthetic.

Location
Al-Sayyida Nafisa Mosque is located at the border between al-qata’i’ from al-Askar, situated in Darb al-Siba. The location of al-Sayyida Nafisa’s tomb is the location of her house, while the mosque is located in her square/neighborhood. It is set on Ahl al-Bayt street where numerous mausoleums commemorating well known Islamic figures exist along the way. After she died, many people were buried near her to benefit from her baraka, or blessing. The Al-Sayyida Nafisa Mosque is the second destination of the street after Imam Ali Zayn al-Abideen's mausoleum. The street begins with Imam Zaynul-Abidin's mausoleum, and ends with Sayyidah Zainab Mosque, which commemorates Sayyidah Zaynab, passing the mausoleums of Sayyida Nafisa, Sayyida Sakinah bint Husayn, Sayyida Ruqqiyah bint Ali bin Abu Taleb, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Jafar al-Sadiq, and Sayyida 'Atikah, aunt of Muhammad. This necropolis was built in the period of the Fatimids, when many commemorative mosques and Mashhads were constructed to honor religious subjects that were holy to the entire community, rather than a singular person. Most of these tombs and shrines were sacred to the memory of the Prophet’s family, including al-Sayyida Nafisa.

History of the Mosque
Al-Maqrizi's plans indicate that the first person who built the tomb of Nafisa was Obaidullah ibn al-Suri, governor of Egypt during the Abbasid era.[ full citation needed] Cerca 1089, Badr al-Jamali began renovations by restoring a gate entrance to the mosque, Badr also restored the Mashhad of al-Sayyida Nafisa with an inscription that designated his son as co-initiators in the restoration, however, the present Mashhad was built much later on in the Ottoman period. Badr restored the shrine of al-Sayyida Nafisa in 1098 — of the fifty two extant foundation inscriptions of the Fatimid period, twenty bear the name of Badr who was the Armenian governor of ‘Akka (he was also a wazir and commander in chief of the Fatimid army) and was summoned to Cairo by the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir in 1074 after a famine. Badr was the first ruler of the Fatimid state to set up a public vault for ‘Alid saints, and Sayyida Nafisa was the first ‘Alid officially honored by Badr al-Jamali, supposedly because she could represent conciliation at a popular level of both the Shii rulers and the Sunni population within the Fatimids.

There were later renovations by the Fatimids and the Abbasids in 1171. During this time, many tombs and shrines were built or restored because two succession crises and two periods of assassination had undermined the Fatimid government’s spiritual and political authority. Then the shrine was reconstructed during the Fatimid era, which a dome was also added. There is however, no history available regarding the architecture on a marble tablet placed on the door of the shrine which shows the name of the Fatimid caliph Mustansir and his titles.

In 1138, Caliph al Hafiz renewed the dome over the grave and ordered a marble lining for the mihrab. Surviving woodwork from the Mashhad includes the top half of a wooden screen filling in the shape on an arch. The arch is made up of panels of inscription with naskh characters, which did not appear on monuments in Egypt until the Ayyubid period, indicating that there were renovations in the 12th and 13th centuries. Also on the arch, there is an inscription in Kufic lettering, easily read as 33:33 of the Quran, stating, “O People of the House, God only desires to put away from your abomination and with cleansing to cleanse you.”

The mausoleum was renewed in the Ottoman era during the reign of Prince Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda, which he built the shrine on the form existing until today.[full citation needed] There are entrances for male and female, and the entrances were renovated in the modern era with marbles and extravagant carpets. Inside the mosque, there exists a corridor which leads to the Sharif's room, and paintings and poems of praise concerning the Ahl al-Bayt are drawn and written over the corridor.

The present mosque dates to 1897, ordered by ‘Abbas II when the mosque rebuilt by ‘Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda in the eighteenth century was damaged by fire, However, in the late 1980s, a whole new extension wing was attached to the mosque in order to serve as a center for Quranic and religious instruction.

A new zarih over the tomb was inaugurated during the visit of the leader of the Dawoodi Bohras in June 2021.

In the late summer of 2023, the Mosque underwent a controversial renovation sponsored by the Indian Bohra community. The interior had previously held a Mamluk aesthetic but that has been covered with Asian styled marble. Much of the interior woodwork was moved to the mausoleum of Ibn Ataa Al-Sakandary during the renovation. Prince Abdel-Rahman Katkhoda created two different doors for men and women. Additionally he wrote in gold, “The throne of truth and secrets, the tomb of Nafisa, daughter of the source of all lights. Hussein, son of Zaid, son of Hussein, son of Imam Ali, the cousin of the Prophet, the chosen one.”