CAIRO, March 20 (MENA) - President Abdel Fattah El Sisi inspected the comprehensive renovation work carried out on the Sayyida Nafisa Mosque during its second and final phase after performing the Fajr (dawn) prayers at the site.

The president received a detailed briefing from the officials overseeing the renovation project. He toured the mosque’s enclosure, shrine, and the roads leading to the place. He also examined the expanded landscaped areas in front of the mosque and the restoration work on the surrounding buildings.

The Sayyida Nafisa Mosque is recognized as the first mosque dedicated to the Prophet’s family (Ahl al-Bayt) in Egypt. It was originally built by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun adjacent to the shrine of Sayyida Nafisa. The mosque, in its current form, was established during the reign of Khedive Abbas Helmy II after the shrine suffered extensive damage from a devastating fire in 1892.

Sayyida Nafisa holds a special place in the hearts of Egyptians. As a distinguished scholar and descendant of the Prophet’s family. She loved Egypt and its people—and in return, Egyptians loved her.

It is worth noting that President El Sisi inaugurated the first phase of the renovation and restoration works of the Sayyida Nafisa Mosque and the Sayyida Nafisa shrine in August 2023.

Sayyida Nafisa is the great granddaughter of Hasan, the older of the Prophet Muhammad's two grandsons. She was the wife of Ishaq al-Mutamin, the son of the sixth Shii imam, Jafar al-Sadiq. She emigrated with him from the Hejaz to Egypt and settled in Fustat (Old Cairo). She was famous for her piety and scholarship. She taught hadith to the jurist Imam al-Shafii and had a great reputation for possessing barakah (blessings from God) and performing miracles. Traditionally she is considered among the city's patron saints. Her shrine is located in Cairo's Southern Cemetery. It is said that she built it herself and read the Quran there long before her death. The shrine's prominence dates to the Fatimid period, and the structure has been repeatedly embellished and rebuilt. The present mosque dates to 1897.
(MENA)
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