Al Azhar mosque
Originator: - the essence of Sicilian
Date of commencement of construction: - (359 AH / 970 AD - 361 AH / 972 AD)
Location: Al-Darb Al-Ahmar, Cairo Governorate
Label: -
The mosque acquired its current name, Al-Azhar, sometime between Caliph Al-Muizz and the end of the reign of the second Fatimid caliph in Egypt Al-Aziz Billah. [13] Al-Azhar has a bright meaning, which is the masculine form of the word al-Zahra, and al-Zahra is the title of Lady Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, wife of Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib Al-Muizz and the imams of the Fatimid state claimed to be from their predecessors. It is the only theory circulating about why Al-Azhar was named by this name. However, this theory has not been confirmed in any Arab source, and its support was fully appreciated, and Western sources later denied it {1}. Others offer an alternative theory, which is that the mosque's name was derived from the names. Which the Fatimid caliphs presented to their palaces near the mosque, as they called their palaces flowering palaces after the royal gardens in which they were chosen by al-Aziz Billah, and after the palaces were completed; The name of the mosque was changed from the Cairo Mosque to Al-Azhar
Mosque architecture: -
The architecture of Al-Azhar is closely related to the history of Cairo. It used materials taken from various periods of Egyptian history, which benefited from the Fatimid style of architecture in Ifriqiya, and then the mosque got additions and expansions from the rulers who succeeded in Egypt, so the mosque’s architecture was affected by several architectural styles from both inside and outside Egypt, these influences were mixed. Together, new architectural styles emerged that were a source of inspiration later, such as the domes that were built during the Ottoman period and the minarets that were built by the Mamluks, the mosque was initially built in the form of a prayer hall with five corridors and a modest central courtyard, and since then the mosque has been expanded several times with additional surrounding facilities. In the original building, many minarets were added by the Mamluks, and the gates were added during the Ottoman rule, and the mihrab was replaced by a new mihrab.Some of the original minarets and domes have survived and remained until now, and some were rebuilt several times.
The Fatimid era: -
The original structure of Al-Azhar Mosque was 280 feet (85 meters) in length and 227 feet (69 meters) in width, and it consisted of three colonnaded porticoes located around a courtyard, and on the southeast side of the courtyard, the original prayer hall was built in the form of a peristyle, with five aisles Deep, measuring 260 feet (79 m) in length and 75 feet (23 m) in width, the qibla wall was slightly deviated from the right angle {2}, and the marble columns were reused to support the four arcades leading to the prayer hall from locations present at different times in Egyptian history, from the Pharaonic eras through the Roman rule until the Coptic era, which led to the different heights of the columns for their use of bases of varying thicknesses, as well as influences from the Abbasid, Coptic and Byzantine architecture {3}. In the end, three domes were built, a common feature between The first mosques in North Africa, none of them survived during the renovations of Al-Azhar, and the historian Al-Maqrizi recorded that in the original dome built by Al-Sikli, he wrote {4}: -
“Of what was ordered by Abd Allah and his guardian Abu Tamim, the author of Imam al-Muizz Li Din Allah, Commander of the Faithful, by his servant Jawhar, the Sicilian scribe, and that was in the year sixty and three hundred.” Sicilian received honorary patronage from al-Muizz, and he was appointed by his “private secretary.” Sicilian considered the first person to receive The position of secretary before becoming a public office {5}, the original mihrab, unveiled in 1933, has a semi-dome above it with a marble column on each side, and intricate stucco decoration was a prominent feature of the mosque, as all the walls and the mihrab were decorated with inscriptions Two sets of Qur’an verses included in its shell were written on the mihrab, which are still intact. The first set of verses is the first of the three verses of Surat al-Mu'minun:
The believers have succeeded in those who are humble in their prayers, and those who turn away from deception
The second group of verses 162 and 163 of Surat Al-An'am:
Say that my prayers, observance, my life and my death to God, Lord of the worlds, have no partner to Him, and thus I am a woman and I am the first of touch.
These inscriptions are the only surviving piece of decoration dating back to the Fatimid period {6}.
The central courtyard paved of marble was added between 1009 AD and 1010 AD, and the corridors surrounding the courtyard have an arched girder with stucco inscriptions. The arches were built during the reign of Al-Hafiz li-Din Allah of jewelery and plaster, and they were rebuilt in 1891 AD using two types of jewelery {7}. It appears above the center of the first arch and consists of a sunken rondelle and the twenty-four lobes. A circular group of floral motifs was added in 1893, and the second decoration in use, which is between each arch, consists of shallow niches under a fluted cap that form a roof of shared columns, surrounded by a group of Qur’an inscriptions in Kufic script. Qur’anic texts were added after the rule of al-Hafiz during the Fatimid period. The walls are topped in the form of a star with decorations for the balcony on three levels. The southeast corridor of the courtyard contains the main entrance to the prayer hall. The Persian framing gate, whose center arc has a rectangular corridor that opens to the prayer hall, a new wooden door and a new wooden mihrab were installed during the reign of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in 1009, and in the year 1125 AD, an additional dome was constructed during the reign of al-Hafiz Li Din Allah. In addition, he ordered the construction of A fourth corridor around the courtyard, while the balcony was built on the western edge of the courtyard {8}.
Mamluk additions: -
Salah al-Din was appointed at the beginning as a minister from another Fatimid caliphs who supported the religion of God who trusted Salah al-Din, and the Fatimid state collapsed during the reign of Saladin and his dynasty, and Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi in Egypt, allied with the Sunni Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad, and his lack of confidence in the Shiite Al-Azhar historically The mosque lost its position during the reign of Saladin, however, the mosque regained its position during the Mamluk period, who carried out a series of restorations and additions to the mosque, supervising the rapid expansion of its educational curricula, and among the restorations carried out by the Mamelukes was the modification of the mihrab, with the installation of colored marble for its facade And, in 1339, a dome and minaret were built to cover the Al-Aqbughawiya school, which contains the tomb of Emir Akbugha Abdul Wahid, it was initially a stand-alone mosque and a school, then it became an integrated school and was incorporated into the Al-Azhar Mosque, as for: the entrance, the qibla wall, mosaics and glass in the mihrab with The original dome dates back to the Ottoman period, in 1440, the Jawhariya school was built and contains the tomb of Emir Jawhar al-Qanqabai, who was occupying the position of Khazindar (supervisor of the treasuries Soltanieh) during the reign of the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf Al-Din Barsbay. The school’s floor was made of marble, the walls were lined with cupboards, the inlays were decorated with ebony, ivory and mother-of-pearl, and the tomb room was covered by a small ornate dome {9}.
The Tiberias School: -
In the year 1309, the Tibarsiyya school was built, which contains the tomb of Prince Ala al-Din Taybars, and it was originally built to function as a mosque to complement Al-Azhar and since then it has been merged with the rest of the mosque, and the Maliki and Shafi'i doctrines were studied in this school, and the school is now used to keep manuscripts from the library, Al-Maqrizi mentioned That the school was used only to study the Shafi’i school, while a historian on the authority of Ibn Duqmaq mentioned that one of the iwans of the school was for the teachings of al-Shafi’i while the other was for the teachings of al-Maliki. The school was completely rebuilt during the reign of Abd al-Rahman Katkhda, leaving only the southeast wall and the mihrab which is The only original surviving pieces from the reign of Prince Alaeddin Taybars, the mihrab measuring 1.13 meters in width and 76 cm in depth, and on each side of the mihrab stands a porphyry column 2.78 meters (9.1 feet) high. Above the columns are drawings decorated with colorful geometric shapes, and a half dome was added at the top of the mihrab inside the outer arch, surrounded by a rectangular outer frame, and this is considered the first mihrab in Egypt that used this type of frame, and the historian Criswil described this niche as "one of the finest artifacts." Architecture in Cairo {10}.
Minaret of Qaitbay: -
The Minaret of Qaitbay was built in the year 1483, and it is in the form of a cylindrical column that is divided into two octagonal parts, and the Minaret of Qaitbay consists of three balconies, supported by muqarnas, and the shape of its ceiling is knotted stalactites that provides a smooth transition from a flat surface to a single curve, and its first use was recorded in Egypt in 1085 AD. The lower part is octagonal, decorated with curved girder panels on each side, with a group of three columns separating each panel, and the central area is also octagonal, separated from the lower part by a balcony decorated with braided, the second balcony separates this part with a cylindrical part at the end of the minaret, and is decorated with four arches. Above this is the third balcony, which is at the top of the minaret {11}. It is believed that the minaret was built on the site of the Fatimid brick minaret, which was rebuilt several times. Contemporary accounts indicate that the Fatimid minaret had defects when it was built, and it had to be rebuilt several times. It was rebuilt under the supervision of Sadr al-Din al-Adhari al-Dimashqi al-Hanafi, who was the judge of the judges during the reign of Sultan Baybars, and it was rebuilt again during the reign of Barquq in 1397 AD, and the minaret began to tilt at a dangerous angle, and it was rebuilt in 1414 AD by order of Taj al-Din al-Shawbaki, the governor and governor of Cairo, and the Qaitbay minaret was built on its site today, as part of the rebuilding of the entrance to the mosque in 1432 {12}.
Soldier door: -
Bab al-Jundi (Bab Qaitbay) is located directly after the entrance courtyard of Bab al-Muzayneen, and leads in turn to the main courtyard of the prayer hall. It was built in 1495 {13}.
Al-Ghoury Minaret: -
The double-headed minaret was built in 1509 during the reign of Qansuh al-Ghuri, and it is located on a square base, the lower part of which is octagonal, and its four sides are arched with decorative beams, and separated from its sides by two columns, and the central area is separated from the bottom by cubic balconies supported by muqarnas, which is in an octagonal form It is decorated with blue faience, and the upper part consists of two rectangular columns with horseshoe arches on each side of which there are shafts. The upper part is surmounted by a square bearing two pear-shaped heads, each bearing a copper crescent {14}.
Ottoman Renovations and Additions: -
Several additions and restorations were made during the era of the Ottoman Caliphate in Egypt, and many of them were accomplished under the supervision of Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda, who nearly doubled the size of the mosque, and added three gates: -
Bab Al Muzainen, which became the main entrance to the mosque.
Chorba door.
Bab Al-Sa`idah.
He added several galleries, including one for blind students from Al-Azhar, and added an additional prayer hall south of the original Fatimid hall, with an additional mihrab, to double the total area of the prayer hall {15}
Decorated door: -
It is the largest and most important of the eight gates of the Al-Azhar Mosque and it is the main entrance to the mosque, and the reason for its name by this name is that the decorated people used to sit in front of it in order to shave the heads of the neighbors, and it is a model of Ottoman architecture in Cairo, thanks to its construction to Abd al-Rahman Katakhda in 1753 AD it contained a free-standing minaret outside The gate was built by Katkhda, and the minaret was demolished before the opening of Al-Azhar Street by Tawfiq Pasha during the modernization efforts that took place all over Cairo {16}.
Existing layout and structure: -
The current main entrance to the mosque is Bab al-Muzainain, which leads to a white marble courtyard on the opposite side of the main prayer hall, to the northeast of Bab al-Muzaynin, and we find the courtyard surrounding the facade of the Al-Aqbughaweya school. In the southwestern end of the courtyard we find the Taybarisian school, and directly across the courtyard from the entrance to Bab al-Muzainin we find Bab al-Jundi (Qaitbay Gate), which was built in 1495 and stands above the Qaitbay minaret, and through this gate we find the site of the prayer hall courtyard, and it has recently changed the mihrab to marble Normal facing with golden inscriptions {17}.
References: -
1- Creswell 1952, p.36
2- Rabbat 1996, pp. 47--48
3- Rivoira & Rushforth 1918, p.154
4- Petersen 2002, p. 45
5- Dodge 1961, pp. 3--4
6- Rabbat 1996, p.64
7- Rabbat 1996, p.47
8- Behrens-Abouseif 1992, page 599-Yeomans 2006, page 56
10- Creswell 1959, p.253
11- Yeomans 2006, p.55
12- Rabbat 1996, p.51
13- Rabbat 1996, pp. 47--48
14- Yeomans 2006, p.55
15- Yeomans 2006, p.54
16- Rabbat 1996, p.62
17- Beattie 2005, p.103
References: -
References: -
1- Abdo, Geneive (2002), No God But God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam, Oxford University Press
2- Abu Zayd, Nasr Hamid; Amirpur, Setiawan, Mohamad Nur Kholis (2006), Reformation of Islamic thought: a critical
3- Historical analysis, Amsterdam University,
4- Aburish, Said K. (2004), Nasser, the Last Arab, St. Martin's Press,
5- Asprey, Robert B. (2000), The rise of Napoleon Bonaparte,
6- Barraclough, Steven (1998), “Al-Azhar: Between the Government and the Islamists”, Middle East Journal, Middle East Institute, 52, pages 236--249,
7- Beattie, Andrew (2005), Cairo: a cultural history, Oxford University
8- Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (1992), Islamic Architecture in Cairo (2nd ed.), Brill, ISBN
9- Binder, Leonard (1988), Islamic liberalism: a critique of development ideologies,
10- Heila (2000), "Decorations of city walls in the medieval Islamic world: The epigraphic
 Location: Al-Darb Al-Ahmar, Cairo Governorate){kind=link}
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