Imam Husain Mosque

View across Husain Square to the Husain Mosque

The shrine where Husain's head is said to be; the silver grating ( maschrabiya ) is a gift from the Bohra Ismailites .

The open umbrellas

The neo-Gothic Imam Husain Mosque ( Arabic مسجد الإمام الحسين, DMG Masǧid al-Imām al-Ḥusain orجامع سيدنا الحسين / Ǧāmiʿ saiyidinā al-Ḥusain ) is located in the old city of Cairo , Egypt , near the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, not far from the famous Azhar Mosque .

The head of the Shiite Imam al-Husain , a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed , who was severed in the Battle of Karbala (680), is said to be buried in it as well as in six other places (including the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus ) . The great Friday mosque is therefore one of the holiest places in Egypt and attracts numerous pilgrims. Big commemorative festivals are celebrated here every year.

The original building, of which nothing or almost nothing has been preserved, goes back to the Fatimids , who are said to have moved Husain's head from Askalon (which then fell to the Crusaders ) to their capital in 1153 . A richly decorated minaret still exists from the Ayyubid period , which, according to an inscription, was built in 1237 by order of Abu l-Qasim Yahya ibn Nasir as-Sukkari (called az-Zarzur). The other minaret in the Ottoman style was erected just like the rest of the building around 1874 under Ismail Pasha .

There are three huge umbrellas in front of the mosque that open on Fridays to provide shade for those visitors who no longer fit into the overcrowded prayer hall.

Quote

Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria visited this mosque on his trip to Egypt:

“First we entered the forecourt of the great, beautiful mosque Gâma-el-Hâssanên, built in honor of Hâssan and Hussên, the sons of Ali , the Prophet's son-in-law. Hussên was killed in 680 AD in the battle of Karbala; his head is buried here in the mosque "

Web links

Commons : al-Husain mosque  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Entry on ArchNet

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rudolf von Habsburg: On temples and pyramids - Chapter 1 (projekt-gutenberg.org)

Coordinates: 30 ° 2 ′ 52 "  N , 31 ° 15 ′ 47"  E