Assoc. Prof. Dr. Spahic OmerKulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental DesignInternational Islamic University MalaysiaE-mail:
آدرس ایمیل جهت جلوگیری از رباتهای هرزنامه محافظت شده اند، جهت مشاهده آنها شما نیاز به فعال ساختن جاوا اسكریپت دارید
Elaborately decorated front facade of the al-Aqmar Mosque.
The
Fatimids, it could be thus inferred, were among the first in Islamic
civilization who used the power of writing signs on buildings in order
to advance and publicize their ideological struggle.[1]
The earliest Muslim example of using buildings and building decoration
systems as a means for promoting a spiritual mission and cause could be
traced back to the creation of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem which
was initially completed in 72 AH /691 CE at the order of the Umayyad
caliph ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan (d. 86 AH /705 CE). Via the ways the
building and its decorative styles and strategies were perceived,
planned and executed, the local Jewish and Christian population was
mainly targeted.[2]
However, the way the Fatimids made recourse to utilizing the power of
letters and symbols on buildings for advertizing and promoting their
struggle and cause was like what nobody has ever seen before.
The
relatively small mosque of al-Aqmar (the Moonlit, or Gray mosque) in
Cairo founded by Ma’mun al-Bata’ihi (d. 519 AH /1125 CE), vizier of the
caliph-Imam al-Amir Biahkamillah (d. 525 AH /1130 CE) in 519 AH /1125
CE, is an ideal extant illustration of this Fatimid tradition. A
striking feature of the building is the decoration of its projecting
portal and the entire front façade which faces the major al-Mu’izz Li-Dinillah street which, in turn, forms the main axis of the city of Cairo stretching from Bab (Gate) al-Zuwayla in the south to Bab (Gate) al-Futuh in the north, and virtually dividing the city into two corresponding parts. The hood of each niche on the mosque’s façade is composed of radiating flutes with a central medallion.[3]
The following Qur’anic words are inscribed in a concentric circle
medallion over the imposing entrance portal: “…Allah intends only to
remove from you the impurity (of sin), O people of the (Prophet's)
household, and to purify you with (extensive) purification.” (Al-Ahzab,
33). In the centre of that medallion are the names of Muhammad and ‘Ali.
Inside another two smaller medallions at right and left wings there is
the name of ‘Ali encircled with the name of Muhammad written 5 times.
Moreover, at each of the mosque’s two corners which flank the mosque’s
front wall, there are three small niches, one above the other two,
wherein the following Qur’anic words: “Indeed, Allah is with (the top
niche) those who fear Him (the bottom right niche) and those who are
doers of good (the bottom left niche).” (Al-Nahl, 128), are engraved.
On both sides of the top niche there are discs the right one having the
name of Muhammad and the left one of ‘Ali. Hence, the top portion can be
also read as: “Indeed, Allah is with Muhammad and ‘Ali”.[4]
In the whole of the mosque, in addition, there are 25 elaborately
decorated stucco window grills with the names of Muhammad and ‘Ali
etched inside two small discs placed almost in the middle on the right
and left of each grill. Inside the right disk is the name of Muhammad
and in the left one the name of ‘Ali. Of those 25 intricately
embellished stucco window grills, 23 face the interior of the mosque and
two the exterior. The latter is part of the rich decorative style and
language of the mosque's front facade. And finally, above the praying
niche or mihrab of the mosque, tributes for the Fatimid (Isma’ili) Imams and caliphs are evidenced.
That
said, ornamental deep and shallow niches, as well as flat arches, with
their hoods composed of radiating flutes with or without circle
medallions being placed either in the center or independently next to
those niches and arches -- irrespective of whether there are
inscriptions or not in the midpoints of those medallions – denote,
perhaps, the most recognizable features of the Fatimid art and
architecture. To Irene A. Bierman, circle disk medallions are
“immediately recognizable by Isma’ilis as the sign of Isma’ilism.”[5]
What is more, the hood composed of radiating flutes, or the ribbed
shell hood, with its pierced medallion in the mosque of al-Aqmar was the
prototype of all the later cusped, ribbed, blind, keel-arch decoration
which remains somewhat vogue in Cairo’s buildings.[6]
As a matter of fact, both fluted niche hoods and a brand of medallions
as simple and inelaborate decorative media existed in Egypt even before
the Fatimids, as evidenced by the way the mosque of Ahmad b. Tulun (d.
271 AH / 884 CE) had been decorated. However, the Fatimids perfected
those media and made sure that ever after they remained integral to the
vocabulary of diverse Islamic art and architecture in Egypt and beyond.
Without
a doubt, elaborately decorating the front facade of the al-Aqmar mosque
with intriguing inscriptions suggestive of Shi’ism, plus setting the
façade at a different angle from the rest of the mosque to ensure that
it faced onto, and was parallel with, the main al-Mu’izz Li-Dinillah
street, radiated certain messages to both Shi’is and Sunnis. To the
former, it was a message of intrinsic unanimity, espousal, endorsement
and even craved-for revival, bearing in mind that at the time of the
mosque’s construction, the Fatimid power was rapidly on the wane and was
marred by the loss of some important territories to the Crusaders, as
well as by the escalating internal schism. The founder of the mosque,
the vizier Ma’mun al-Bata’ihi, therefore, was known as the restorer of
“Shi’i orthodoxy”.[7]
To Sunnis, on the other hand, the front façade of the mosque and the
way it was positioned and adorned was an oblique and, at the same time,
unaggressive message that insinuated Sunni religious inferiority,
inadequacy, and an urge for soul searching as to who exactly was right
and who was wrong. Hence, unlike the fanatical initiatives of al-Hakim,
which caused widespread resentment and hostilities, and so, their speedy
rescinding, the more amiable ones, such as the ornamental styles and
themes of the mosque of al-Aqmar, remained undisturbed and operative.
Aside
from being planned to face and be parallel to the main city’s street
and its artery, so as to convey the intended messages to the meant
audiences, it likewise was not by chance that the al-Aqmar mosque for
the same socio-political and spiritual purposes was located near the
site which was occupied by two great Fatimid palaces. As a result, the
whole area, and the part of the al-Mu’izz Li-Dinillah street, which
adjoined the palaces and stood in the vicinity of the mosque, were
always bustling with life. There rarely ever were anywhere in the city
more people, shops, institutions and generally life activities than in
the said areas. This applied not only to the Fatimid era, but also to
the subsequent Ayyubid and Mamluki eras, as hinted by Ibn Battuta (d.
779 AH /1377 CE) who visited the city of Cairo in 727 AH / 1326 CE.[8]
Moreover,
in the mosque of al-Hakim, there is a huge medallion with the names of
Muhammad and ‘Ali etched in its center. The medallion serves as an
ornament and is positioned just above the mosque's praying niche (mihrab).
Bearing in mind the time difference between the mosque of al-Hakim and
the al-Aqmar mosque, and between the reigns and years of the people
responsible for their construction, it seems as though the medallion
functioned as a precursor for what later emerged with slight design and
content variations as a distinct Fatimid trend.
On the same note, inside
the mausoleum of Sayyidah Ruqayyah, a daughter of ‘Ali b. Abi Talib
whose mother, however, was not Fatimah but another wife of ‘Ali, in the
center of the hood of a praying niche there is a medallion in the center
of which the name of ‘Ali is carved. The name is framed with the name
of Muhammad etched in an interlocking fashion six times. What's more,
just above the niche, the following Qur’anic words with reference to the
Prophet’s household are inscribed: “Allah intends only to remove from
you the impurity (of sin), O people of the (Prophet's) household.”
(Al-Ahzab, 33) The mausoleum was built by the Fatimids in 528 AH / 1133
CE. That was a facet of their conspicuous culture of architecturally
glorifying some of the deceased members of ahl al-bayt,
genuinely or otherwise. Parenthetically, it was the Shi’ah at large who
contributed one of the greater shares to the evolution of funerary
architecture, or the architecture of dead, within the fold of Islamic
culture and civilization.
As
soon as they arrived in Egypt, it seems that the Fatimids went on an
offensive with regard to using and manipulating the great potential of
signs, symbols and canon writing. Thus, just above the Fatimid Cairo’s Bab (Gate) al-Nasr on a panel, and on the city's wall adjoining the Bab (Gate) al-Futuh in a band, there are identical inscriptions which read as follows: “In the Name of Allah, the most Compassionate, themost
Merciful; there is no god but Allah, the only One without a partner;
Muhammad is Allah’s messenger; ‘Ali is Allah’s wali (friend and one vested with the authority of God).”
We have already mentioned that the Cairo walls and its gates were of
the early structures erected in Egypt by Jawhar al-Siqili, the conqueror
of the place and the builder of Cairo. Both inscriptions faced the
outside of the city. That means that every visitor to it was first and
foremost welcomed by, and reminded of, their meanings, significance and
role in shaping the Fatimid society, mind and culture.
Correspondingly,
the mosque of Ahmad b. Tulun, which had been built exactly 94 years
before the arrival of the Fatimids in Egypt, has a stucco panel with an
elaborate arabesque whose highlight are the words: “There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is Allah’s messenger; ‘Ali is Allah’s wali or
friend”. But to an insightful observer, such decorative panel is an
alien addition to the mosque and its extremely modest and
straightforward decorative style, especially in terms of the panel’s
placement, content and design. The panel rather looks like an adopted
and directly transported element from the subsequent decoration and
embellishment realms of the mosques of al-Hakim, al-Azhar, al-Aqmar and
indeed of all the other Fatimid buildings, in particular those of the
later periods. At any rate, it is believed that the decorative panel was
part of what is today called "the Fatimid mihrab or praying niche" inside the mosque of Ahmad b. Tulun. The Fatimid mihrab was one of a few mihrabs
that existed inside the mosque. This additionally boosts an argument
that the mosque of Ahmad b. Tulun had somewhat a special place in the
Fatimid psyche, as a result of which much of the form of its colossal
and massive colonnades and the spacious courtyard served as a source of
inspiration for the same inside the mosque of al-Hakim.
As
a small digression -- finally -- even the Shi’ah Buyids in the Muslim
East, especially in Baghdad, adopted moderately a similar approach in
their own ideological confrontations with Sunnis. On the mosques, as
well as on some erected posts and signboards, the standard words
“Muhammad and ‘Ali are the best of people; he who is content (with that)
is grateful, and he who rejects (that), is an infidel” were regularly
inscribed, now and again even with gold.[9]
But this campaign’s intensity and scale were rather restricted and
one-dimensional, so to speak. They were no match for those which the
sophisticated Fatimid ideological promotional drive and machinery
epitomized and set in motion.
This
is one of 25 identical stucco window grills in the al-Aqmar Mosque. The
right small circle contains the name “Muhammad” and the left one
“‘Ali”.
The
following Qur’anic words are inscribed in a circle medallion over the
imposing portal of al-Aqmar Mosque: “…Allah intends only to remove from
you the impurity (of sin), O people of the (Prophet's) household, and to
purify you with (extensive) purification.” (al-Ahzab, 33). In the
centre of that medallion are the names “Muhammad” and “‘Ali”.
Another medallion in the center of the hood of a side niche ornamenting the front facade of al-Aqmar Mosque.
The
hood of another side niche on the façade of al-Aqmar Mosque which is
composed of radiating flutes with a central medallion. Just like the
previous medallion, this medallion, too, contains the name “‘Ali”
encircled with the name “Muhammad” written 5 times.
A corner of the Mosque of al-Aqmar.
A huge medallion above the mihrab of the Mosque of al-Hakim. In the centre of the medallion are the names of Muhammad and ‘Ali.
An inscription above the Bab (Gate) al-Nasr in Cairo.
An inscription in the Mosque of Ahmad b. Tulun in Cairo.
A Sunni Response
So,
therefore, during the lengthy and somewhat ideologically antagonistic
Fatimid rule, Sunni-Shi’ah conflicts were intensified more than ever
before. Throughout the same epoch, furthermore, modeling Shi’ism in
general, and Isma’ilism in particular, as a conglomerate ideology and a
comprehensive system of thought was perfected. This, in turn, called for
the total crystallization of the concept of ahl al-sunnah wa al-jama’ah and
the establishment of its exact implications, contents and parameters in
the midst of the rife and epidemic sectarianism with numerous
protagonists involved. Bringing into the mix the nuisance of Mu’tazilah,
obviously, the matter was becoming much like a tit-for-tat tactic,
making many impending moves and designs rather predictable. It goes
without saying, therefore, that the fall of the Fatimids – as well as
the fall of the Buyids – came as a great relief to many Muslims. In
their wake, efforts were doubled for the all-embracing explication,
propagation and implementation of Sunnism whenever and wherever such was
considered necessary and possible. The wounds caused by the Buyids and
Fatimids needed a long time to heal, and so, no sooner had they gone
than certain measures were taken lest similar tribulations should recur,
at least not in a foreseeable future and with the same intensity and
scope. Restoring Sunnism, both conceptually and functionally, topped the
agenda of everyone concerned.
Thus,
for example, it is said about the Ayyubids, who deposed and succeeded
the Fatimids, that they embarked on vigorously strengthening Sunni
Muslim dominance in the region by introducing into Egypt, Syria and
Jerusalem the concept of madrasah. Madrasahs were
constructed in all Ayyubid major cities. They functioned primarily as
academies of religious sciences aiming to teach and promote Sunnism and
to try to convert Shi’is and Christians to Sunni Islam.[10] The Ayyubids built scores of madrasahs in support of all four Sunni madhhabs, namely the Shafi’i, Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali madhhabs. In the mid-7th AH / 13th
CE century, which signified the final phase of the Ayyubid reign, some
estimates suggest that in Damascus alone there were 40 Shafi'i, 34
Hanafi, 10 Hanbali, and three Maliki madrasahs.[11]
Comparable, or slightly lower, figures, it stands to reason, existed in
Cairo, Alexandria, Aleppo and Jerusalem as well. When the traveler Ibn
Jubayr (d. 614 AH /1217 CE) was in Damascus in 580 AH / 1184 CE, which
was the early phase of the Ayyubid dynasty under Salahuddin al-Ayyubi
(Saladin), he commented that there were 20 madrasahs in the city and they all symbolized the pride of (Sunni) Islam.[12]
Such was the intellectual climate under the Ayyubids that their rulers’
wives, sons and daughters, commanders and nobles established and
financed numerous educational institutions as well. What was really
unusual of the time -- some accounts reveal -- even some common people
followed suit. In Egypt alone, about 18 madrasahs, including two medical institutions, were established by commoners.[13]
What is more, there were Ayyubid madrasahs wherein teaching was jointly conducted according to all four recognized madhhabs. Such madrasahs,
surely, stood out as the most authentic Sunni establishments where
mutual collaboration, acceptance and tolerance among the major Sunni
sections and systems of thought were both preached and practiced. One of
such madrasahs in Cairo was the Madrasah al-Salihiyyah
which was founded by Sultan al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (d. 647
AH /1249 CE) in 641 AH / 1243 CE. Al-Maqrizi, while dwelling on this madrasah, observed that that was the first time in the history of Egypt that teaching was performed according to all four madhhabs at one place.[14]
Truly, the age of the Ayyubids was the age of Sunni learning and its
numerous institutions. Educational institutions were regarded as
prestigious institutions in society. In the words of Abdul Ali, “an idea
of their importance may be derived from the fact that it was not
possible to get a job in the government for anyone who did not receive
his education in a madrasah.”[15]
On
the same note, Sunnis were increasingly resorting to idolizing their
spiritual and intellectual leaders and heroes, and to architecturally
glorify them. A culture of inventing and venerating “Sunni saints” was
steadily creeping in. As an illustration, the grave of Shafi’i, at once
the symbol and tower of strength of Islamic orthodoxy, became extremely
popular for Sunnis in Egypt. Shafi’i’s saintly personality and
remarkable spiritual and scholarly legacy were revered, by some even
venerated, not only in Egypt, but also beyond throughout the Muslim
world. This practice was further popularized by the fact that Salahuddin
al-Ayyubi (Saladin), the victor over the Fatimids, founded a madrasah dedicated to the Shafi'i madhhab
of the Islamic law near Shafi’i’s grave. Later, a mausoleum with a
wooden dome over Shafi’i’s grave was erected in 608 AH /1211 CE by the
fourth Ayyubid ruler al-Malik al-Kamil (d. 636 AH /1238 CE), whose
grave, along with his mother's, is also under this dome and a few steps
away from Shafi’i’s grave. This “is the first officially sponsored
mausoleum to be built for a Sunni theologian after the extinguishing of
the Isma'ili Fatimids in 567 AH /1171 CE. It is also the largest
detached mausoleum in Egypt. Paradoxically, the Fatimid practice of
building domed mausoleums for ‘Alid (Shi’i) saints as a means of
promoting their Shi'i agenda and gathering popular support for the
Fatimid Imams was adopted by the same leaders who eradicated all signs
of Shi'ism in Egypt. In fact, this mausoleum is regarded as the symbol
of the triumph of orthodoxy over heterodoxy.”[16] Similarly, a mausoleum and madrasah
in the name of Abu Hanifah, another symbol and pillar of strength of
Islamic orthodoxy, were erected in Baghdad in 459 AH /1066 CE,
approximately 11 years after the Sunni Saljuqs had retaken the ‘Abbasid
capital from the Buyids.[17]
Surely,
it was not by chance that during the Fatimid period, as well as that of
the Buyids, some major works on elucidating, defending and
rationalizing Sunnism and its creedal, jurisprudential and ethical
beliefs and practices were composed. Abu Ja’far al-Tahawi, who was the
first to officially use in academic circles the idiom ahl al-sunnah wa al-jama’ah, died
around 24 years after the establishment of the Fatimids in Ifriqiyah,
and two years before the emergence of the Buyids. The science of heresiography was basically born during the same period in question. Some of the most celebrated heresiographers, such as Shahrastani (d. 548 AH/ 1153 CE) and Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi, lived then. In the same vein, the most eminent speculative theologians, such as Abu
al-Hasan al-Ash’ari, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, Abu Bakr al-Baqilani and
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali also lived during the same critical era. It was
thus natural for Abu Hamid al-Ghazali to compose a book against
Isma’ilis and the Isma’ili doctrines entitled Fada’ih al-Batiniyyah (Ignominies of the Esoterics). The name of al-Mawardi (d. 450 AH /1058 CE), a jurist of the Shafi’i madhhab,
could be mentioned here as well. His significance lies in the fact that
he contributed a vital share in philosophically and jurisprudentially
reasserting and shoring up the authority of the ‘Abbasid caliphs, and
with it the legitimacy and authority of the caliphate as an institution,
in the face of the unrelenting Shi’i menace. Al-Mawardi wrote a famous
book called al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah (the Ordinances of Government). In it, an
influential statement of Muslim (Sunni) political theory was made.
Details were also furnished concerning the significance and functions of
the caliphate government, which under the Buyids were rendered vague
and indefinite. Lastly, that the sixth and final Sunni canonical hadith
collection was completed just around the appearance of the Fatimids as a
religious and political force ought to be mentioned, too, although such
a feat took place in distant Khorosan. The last of the six hadith
collectors was al-Nasa’i, who died in 303 AH /915 CE, six years after
the Fatimids had established themselves as the overambitious rulers of
Ifriqiyyah in 297 AH /909 CE.
Not
even the fields of art and architecture were overlooked. After the
departure of the Shi’ah nuisance from the scene, many purely religious
buildings, erected especially by the Ayyubids, Mamluks and Ottoman
Turks, were meant to display a Sunni spirit and character. Those
buildings often featured, as part of their rich decorative styles and
strategies, Qur’anic verses where the Prophet’s companions are
recognized and honored. The al-Fath or Victory chapter, or certain sections thereof, was often used for that purpose.[18] A wide genre of verses with general meanings pertaining to the importance of following the Prophet (pbuh) (the Sunnah), unity, cooperation and brotherhood (jama’ah)
also featured prominently. Inscribing the names of the four
rightly-guided caliphs, plus the names of several foremost companions of
the Prophet (pbuh), in particular those most abused and insulted by
Shi’is, such as Talhah and Zubayr, was very popular too, principally
with the Ottoman Turks. Writing the names of ‘Ali’s sons: Hasan and
Husayn, was likewise favored, thereby hinting at the Sunni position
towards ahl al-bayt and at the essence of what we earlier called “Sunni Shi’ism”. Even some authentic hadiths (traditions) and those Qur’anic ayat or verses that either explicitly or implicitly refer to the theme of the excellence of ahl al-bayt
and how excellently they are to be treated, have occasionally been used
for the purpose, like, for example in Cairo, in the funerary complex of
Shafi’i, in the mosque cum mausoleum of Husayn whose grounds allegedly
contain the head of Husayn b. ‘Ali, and in the mosque cum mausoleum of
Sayyidah Nafisah who was the great-granddaughter of Hasan b. ‘Ali.
Although the last two buildings were initially built by the Fatimids, as
part of their booming funerary architecture meant for the members of ahl al-bayt,
they were later fully embraced by Sunnis following the demise of the
Fatimid caliphate, and were keenly restored and rebuilt several times by
members of subsequent Sunni dynasties, especially by the Mamluks and
Ottoman Turks. It stands to reason that the Ottoman Turks had an extra
motivation for their actions of advocating “Sunni Shi’ism” because they
every so often were engaged in military campaigns against Safavids who
established the Ithna ʿAshariyyah Shi’ah
branch as their official state religion. Some key Muslim territories,
including the city of Baghdad, a couple of times exchanged hands between
the two arguably most powerful Muslim empires of the day.
It is noteworthy that the Fatimids were also inclined to decorating their buildings with the same al-Fath or Victory Qur’anic surah
or chapter. Each one of the al-Hakim, al-Azhar and al-Aqmar mosques
features that chapter or some of its sections. However, the Fatimids had
their own Shi’ism and Isma’ilism-loaded interpretations of the notions
of victory (al-fath) and sahabah or the companions of
the Prophet (pbuh). Needless to say that the victory meant the victory
of Isma’ili Shi’ism in territories that at one point stretched from
North Africa and Sicily to Palestine and Syria, as well as to Yemen and
Hijaz, with the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, and hopefully one
day elsewhere not only in the Muslim world but also in the world at
large. That is why, in the same way, one of the gates of the Fatimid
Cairo was called Bab al-Futuh or the Gate of victories, and another Bab al-Nasr
or the Gate of (divine) help. Whereas the idea of the companions
implied those companions of the Prophet (pbuh) who after the Prophet's
death stayed the course, did not deviate from the right path, nor became
hypocrites or apostates, and did not let down those subsequent Shi’ah
Imams whose contemporaries they became. For the same reason, on the face
of it, the mosque of al-Hakim repeatedly used for its numerous stucco
window grills these Qur’anic words as an informative decoration
component: “And certainly We wrote in the Book after the reminder that
(as for) the land, My righteous servants shall inherit it.” (Al-Anbiya’,
105). Parenthetically, as a small digression, the mosque of al-Azhar
had a significant portion of the al-Fath chapter engraved twice
on it: firstly inside a praying arcade as part of the Fatimid al-Azhar,
and secondly on the outside facade of the ‘Abbasi riwaq and madrasah
(1315 AH / 1898 CE) built as a part of the ever expanding Sunni
al-Azhar as a social, political and educational center. This is yet
another piece of evidence accentuating a segment of the perennial
Sunni-Shi’ah struggle for one’s ideological legitimacy and supremacy at
the expense of the other, and how, at times, similar ways and means were
resorted to, albeit with different intensities, interpretations and
ethos.
The
complex of the Mamluki Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri (d. 922 AH / 1516 CE)
could be taken as an interesting illustration. The complex contains a
portion of the al-Fath or Victory Qur’anic surah or
chapter both on the inside and outside facades of some of its component
buildings. The complex likewise contains inside as well as outside a
proclamation that in a way represents the core of the Sunni creed. The
proclamation asserts the unity or tawhid of God, the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh), and then implores God to bless and protect the family of the Prophet (pbuh) (ahl al-bayt) and all of the Prophet’s companions (sahabah).
The complex of al-Ghuri and its decorative aspects become all the more
significant on account of its strategic location. The complex buildings
flank the street of al-Mu’izz Li-Dinillah, the main artery of the Fatimid Cairo. The complex is also in the vicinity of the al-Azhar mosque. It consists of a mosque-madrasah, a Sufi khanqah, a caravanserai, a mausoleum, a sabil (public fountain) and a kuttab (school for beginners). Similar assertions of Sunni faith - albeit only once - are found inside the madrasah
of the Mamluki Sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay (d. 842 AH / 1438 CE) as well,
which lies just a stone’s throw away from the complex of al-Ghuri, on
the western side of the al-Mu’izz Li-Dinillah street.
The core of the Sunni creed on the outer façade of the complex of the Mamluki Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri in Cairo.
The
names of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, ‘Ali, Hasan and Husayn were used to
decorate the interior of Shehzade Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
Apart
from the names of the four rightly-guided caliphs, the names of a few
prominent companions of the Prophet (pbuh) were also employed for
decoration of Sultan al-Fatih Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
[1] Irene A. Bierman, Writing Signs, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), p. 1-27.
[2] S. D. Goitein, Studies in Islamic History and Institutions, (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1968), p. 147.
[5] Irene A. Bierman, Writing Signs, p. 111.
[8] Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa, translated and selected by H. A. R. Gibb, (London: Darf Publishers LTD, 1983), p. 50.
[9] Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, vol. 12 p. 67-73.
[11] Abdul Ali, Islamic Dynasties of the Arab East, (New Delhi: MD Publications PVT LTD, 1996), p. 39.
[12] Ibn Jubayr, Rihlah Ibn Jubayr, (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2003), p. 221.
[13] Abdul Ali, Islamic Dynasties of the Arab East, p. 39.
[14] Al-Maqrizi, Al-Khitat al-Maqriziyyah, vol. 4 p. 217.
[15] Abdul Ali, Islamic Dynasties of the Arab East, p. 39.
[17] Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, vol. 12 p.101.
[18] These are some examples of the buildings in old Cairo which make use of different portions of the al-Fath or victory chapter as an aspect of their decoration: the madrasah
of Sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay, the complex of Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri, the
funerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay, the mosque of Muhammad ‘Ali, the
mosque cum mausoleum of Husayn b. ‘Ali, the mosque of Nasir b. Qalawun,
the mosque of al-Azhar, the mosque of al-Amir al-Mas al-Hajib, the
public fountain of Ummu ‘Abbas, and the mosque cum mausoleum of Sayyidah
Sakinah.