Al-Rifa’i Mosque in Cairo, Egypt | The history of the establishment of the most important heritage Islamic mosques and facts about why Al-Rifai Mosque was called by that name, who is buried in the mosque, and what are the secrets of the presence of a cross and Quranic verses on the walls from the inside and more.
Al-Rifai Mosque is one of the ancient mosques in Cairo. It is located in Salah El-Din Square, which is located in the Al-Khalifa neighborhood. This mosque was founded on more than one stage and was built on Islamic architecture. Learn more about the mosque below.
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Who is the founder of Al-Rifa’i Mosque?
Hoshyar Qadin, mother of Khedive Ismail, is the founder of the mosque.
When did the construction of Al-Rifai Mosque begin?
The mosque was built in two phases, the first phase started from 1869 AD to 1880 AD, and the second period started from 1906 AD until 1911 AD.
How big is the Al-Rifai Mosque?
The area of the mosque is 6500 meters and there are 1767 meters. The mosque contains 2 minarets and 2 domes.
Information about Al-Rifa’i Mosque
The executor of the mosque is the engineer Hussein Pasha Fahmy, who started implementing it after an order from Hoshyar Qadin.
• Hoshyar died in 1885, and execution was suspended until 25 years.
• During the reign of Abbas Hilmi II, specifically in 1905 AD, engineer Hertz Pasha was commissioned to complete the construction process.
• The construction of the mosque was completed in 1911 AD and it was inaugurated in the month of Muharram 1912 AD.
• The mosque contains the tombs of Sheikh Ali Abi Shabak and Yahya Al-Ansari.
• The mosque also contains the tombs of the royal family of Khedive Ismail, his mother and children as well.
• Sultan Hussein Kamel, his wife and King Fuad were buried in the mosque, in addition to King Farouk I.
The reason for the name and about Ahmed Al-Rifai
• The name of the mosque bears the name of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Rifai.
• Although the mosque bears the name of the sheikh, the tomb of the sheikh is not located in the mosque, but the body of Ali Abu Shbak is one of the offspring of Al-Rifai.
• Sheikh Ahmed Al-Rifai was born an orphan, father and mother, in Iraq, in the year 514 AH.
• Sheikh Mansour Al-Batahi was sponsored by his uncle.
• The Sheikh immigrated to Morocco due to the persecution of the Abbasids in the East and settled in Seville.
• The Sheikh got married after he settled and had a large number of children, and the grandson Yahya traveled to the Hijaz to perform the Hajj.
• Sheikh Ahmed Al-Rifai received the religion and memorized the Qur’an in a small time until the Sheikh left many books in religious sciences, monotheism and interpretation, as well as books of hadith and jurisprudence.
• The Sheikh was buried in his hometown, the village of Umm Ubaida, and was buried in his tomb.
Al-Rifai Mosque Engineer
• The mosque was designed by the engineer Hussein Pasha Fahmy, who is the son of Abdel Karim, the brother of Muharram Bey, who is the governor of Alexandria.
• The engineer was educated in the offices of Egypt and also entered the Al-Sawary School, from which he traveled a mission to France in 1844 AD, and at that time he joined the Egyptian Military School located in Paris.
• The engineer returned after completing his studies during the reign of Abbas I, when he was 22 years old.
• The architect, Max Hertz Pasha, then commissioned the construction of the mosque after a 25-year hiatus.
• Max Hertz was born in Romania and lived in Egypt until he joined the technical office of the Egyptian Ministry of Endowments.
History of Al-Rifai Mosque
• The site of the mosque in the past was occupied by a part of the Sultan Hassan School.
• Hoshyar ordered the renovation of Zawiya al-Rifa’i, so that she bought the neighboring places and wanted to build a large mosque with burials for her family.
• After the mosque was built until it reached a height of two meters, the building was suspended due to modifications that did not satisfy Hoshyar.
• Hoshyar Hanim died after that, and after 25 years during the reign of Abbas Helmy II, construction work began again.
• The engineer was keen not to make many changes so as not to cancel the design features of Engineer Hussein Pasha Al-Mimar.
• The engineer strengthened the walls and restored the damaged ones using the buildings.
• The engineer used gold imported from Istanbul, as well as writings written by the calligrapher Abdullah Bey Zuhdi.
• Rugs made in Turkey were used, and there are about 240 enameled niches decorated with Quranic inscriptions.
• The cost of construction until 1880 AD amounted to 500,000 pounds.
The tombs in Al-Rifa’i Mosque
• Sheikh Ali Abi Shubbak Al-Rifai, in addition to the tomb of Sheikh Yahya Al-Ansari, which comes in the form of a simple room, in the middle of which there is a coffin made of wood.
• The tomb of Hoshyar Hanim is located next to the tomb of Khedive Ismail. The tomb of the Khedive is made of black and yellow marble, as well as white marble.
• The wife of Khedive Ismail Geshem Affat Hanim from the tombs also found in the mosque, in addition to the fame of Faza Hanim.
• Ali Jamal al-Din, Ibrahim Helmy, Zainab Hanim and Tawhid Hanim, the sons of Khedive Ismail from the tombs also
Al-Rifai Mosque
The most important mosques of the historical, archaeological Salah al-Din Citadel in Cairo, Egypt. The history of the establishment of the Al-Rifai Mosque, what are the secrets of its construction, the design of architectural glory from the inside and outside, and more.
The mosque overlooks the square of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi Citadel, which is part of a group of mosques in the Citadel of Salah al-Din, and on Muhammad Ali Street, where the Al-Dhakhira Mosque used to occupy an area of the mosque’s land, where the tombs of the descendants of Imam al-Rifa’i were located.
The story of the establishment of the mosque goes back to Khoshyar Hanim, the mother of Khedive Ismail, where she made a vow because of her son Ismail’s illness and the debt crisis that Egypt was going through at the time, to build a mosque, and fate wanted the financial crisis to pass over Egypt in peace and her son Ismail to recover, and the mosque was established in 1869 AD, but she dies Before it was completed in 1905 AD, then Khedive Abbas completed the construction in 1912 AD.
The Al-Rifai Mosque was planned in the form of a square and in an Ottoman style from the inside, with an area of about 1767 meters, in which you will find two rows of pillars with 4 corners of attached columns, and the pillars of the mosque are divided into 3 corridors.
Where the entrance was intended only for the entry of the ruling family, and it is now a memorial. You will find a great warrior in the middle of the eastern wall on either side of two columns of white and dark green marble, in addition to ornamenting the interior of the mihrab with a mosaic of thin marble and distinctive seashells. Above the entrance is a strip of writing in the unique Thuluth script.
The qibla wall in the Al-Rifa’i Mosque is the only one among the Egyptian warriors, where the wall is surmounted by a muqarnas chest, in addition to a wooden pulpit inlaid with ivory and ebony in the Mamluk style with an inverted qiblah.
located in the mosque.
• There is also the tomb of Sultan Hussein Kamel and Sultana Malak Hassan Turan.
Al-Rifai Mosque Entry Timings
From 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Entrance ticket price for Al-Rifai Mosque
The price of entry ticket for foreigners is 80 pounds and for students 40 pounds.
Entry for Egyptians is free.
