The Jami al-Qarafa Mosque, also known as the Qarafa Mosque, is a Friday mosque located in Al-Qarafa, the great necropolis of Islamic Cairo and Fustat, Egypt.[a] It was the second major mosque built by the Fatimid dynasty in their new capital of Cairo after their conquest of Egypt in 969 CE.
| Jami al-Qarafa Mosque | |
|---|---|
مسجد أو جامع القرافة | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Shia Islam |
| Sect | Ismailism |
| Friday mosque | |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Al-Qarafa, Islamic Cairo |
| Country | Egypt |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Mosque |
| Style | Fatimid |
| Founder | Al-Sayyida al-Mu'iziyya |
| Completed | 976 CE |
| Dome | 1 |
| [1] | |
History
editThe mosque was built in 976 CE by order of Al-Sayyida al-Mu'iziyya (also known as Durzan), mother of the Caliph al-'Aziz (r. 975–996), and her daughter Sitt al-Malik.[3] It occupied the site of the older Mosque of the Dome (Masjid al-Qubba), and apparently was very large.[4]: 24 al-Maqrizi, an historian, claims that the mosque was one of the most beautiful buildings of its day.[3]
Architecture
editA possible layout was described by Jonathan Bloom in his "The Mosque of the Qarafa", although Yūsuf Rāghib pointed out problems with this reconstruction in his "La mosquée d'al-Qarāfa."[4]: 24 In Bloom's opinion, the mosque had a central aisle, wider than the others and with a higher roof, that led a dome over the spaces before the mihrab. This was similar to the mosques of al-Azhar and al-Hākim bi-Amr Allāh.[5]: 15
The courtyard provided a place where the elite of Cairo would meet on Friday evenings in summer, and the covered qibla part of the mosque gave them a meeting place in the cooler weather.[4]: 24 State festivals would be held at the mosque in which food was distributed to all classes of people.[3] According to Ibn al-Zayyāt, it was an especially holy mosque, one where people would seek refuge in times of trouble.[4]: 25 When a great fire burned down most of al-Fustat in 1168 CE, the mosque was almost completely destroyed, with only its green mihrab preserved.
It was later rebuilt as the Jami' al-Awliyya, but was little used after al-Qarafa became depopulated following a crisis in 1403 CE.[4]: 25
In 2024, it was reported via Reddit that the mosque and cemetery were being demolished.[6]
See also
edit
Notes
editReferences
edit- ↑ Bloom, Jonathan M. (1987). "The Mosque of the Qarafa in Cairo". Muqarnas. 4. BRILL: 7–20. doi:10.2307/1523093 – via jstor.
- ↑ "Cairo's Historic Cemetery of Al-Suyuti". Conflicting Claims: Glossary. Suyuti Research Project. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
- 1 2 3 Cortese, Delia; Calderini, Simonetta (2006). Women And the Fatimids in the World of Islam. Edinburgh University Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-7486-1733-3. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Taylor, Christopher Schurman (1998). In the vicinity of the righteous. BRILL. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-90-04-11046-5. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
- ↑ Bloom, Jonathan M. (1983). "The Mosque of al-Ḥākim in Cairo". Muqarnas. 1. BRILL: 15–36. doi:10.2307/1523069. JSTOR 1523069.
- ↑ "Egypt is currently demolishing its 1200 years old Al qarafa cemetry" (images and text, with comments). Reddit. 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
Further reading
edit- 'Abd al-Wahhab, Hasan (1940). "Al-'Asr al-Fatimi". Majallat al-'Imara. 2 (5–6): 310–24.
- Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (1989). Islamic Architecture in Cairo. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
- Creswell, K.A.C (1978). The Muslim Architecture of Egypt. Vol. I and II. New York: Hacker Art Books.
- Jarrar, Sabri; Riedlmayer, András; Spurr, Jeffrey B. (1994). Resources for the Study of Islamic Architecture. Cambridge, MA: Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture.
- Williams, Caroline (2002). Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide. Cairo: American University of Cairo Press.