Jame Anwar, Cairo, Egypt

Pics from my recent trip to the land of the Fatimi Cairo. These are the pics of Al Masjid Jame ul Anwar taken during night and early morning.

Al Jame Al Juyushi

Al Jame Al Juyushi ( means the masjid of the commander of the army).

Al Jame'al Juyushi was built by Amir al Juyush, Badr al Jamali (RA) in the year 478H/1085AD. This Fatemi masjid was built on an edge of the Muqattam hills overlooking the city of al Qahera.

During the time of Imam Mustansir Billah, Badr Al Jamali a commander from Syria was invited to take control. Badr Al Jamali responded to this orders and took control in Cairo with his army. On his successful take over he was given the title of Amir al Juyush ( Commander of the Army) and later he built this masjid, and eventually it came to be known as Jame Al Juyushi :D

Thanks to internet, I was able to find the old pic of Jame-Juyushi ( before restoration) and after restoration. And this restoration too was done by our Aqa Moula TUS Sayedna Mohammed Burhanuddin TUS. This masjid's is a classic example of Fatimid architecture, and you can see that similar style is followed in newer masjids built by us.

So here is the pic of the Masjid before restoration:



And here is a pic after restoration:

Al Masjid Al Azam bil Kufa

The heading in Arabic could be translated as - The Great masjid in Kufa. Yes one of the holiest shrines on shiite(followere of Ali Ibn Abi Talib) muslims is located in Kufa close to Najaf in Iraq.

This masjid hold a significant importance for the Shiite muslims, because it was the place where Ameer ul Mumineen ( the commander of the faithfuls) was martyred on 19th of Ramadan. The masjid has been restored to its past glory after close to 1400 years of neglect. It is the fourth important masjid in Islam after Masjid ul Nabawi in Medina, Masjid ul Haraam in Mecca, and Masjid ul Aqsa in Jerusalem.

This was done by none other than our Aqa Moula TUS - Sayedna Mohammed Burhanuddin TUS. Here is a glimpse of how the masjid looked like before restoration:



And after restoration the masjid looks something like this:






Here is an article on timesofindia.com, that summarizes the herculean effort our Moula TUS undertook in completing this masjid. Once again the article is flawed as its credits Mumbai based Bohras, because every Dawoodi Bohra mumin prayed and worked hard with our Moula to make this a success and obtain the khushi (benediction) of Moulana Ali.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Bohras-help-War-ravaged-Kufa-get-back-its-glory/articleshow/5707264.cms


Here in the picture is our Aqa Moula TUS praying at Kufa Masjid. Aqa Moula TUS - responsible for bringing this masjid back to its glory :)



Here is a glimpse of Fatimid (sons of Fatema tus Zahra) Architecture, which is very similar to what you would find at Al Jame Al Aqmar in Kahirah (cairo). The second pic is the from the Masjid Al Azam bil Kufa and the first is from Masjid Al Aqmer in Cairo built by 20th Imam - Imam Amir AS - also a Fatimid Ismaili Mustaali Imam :). This was built around 9-10th century.




Also, if you closely looked at the restored minarets of the masjid. You will find a stark resemblance to Al Jame Al Juyushi - another Fatemid masjid build during the zaman of Imam Mustansir billah, in Al Moizzatul Qahera ( Cairo which was conquered by Imam Moiz AS).

Al Jame Al Juyushi's minaret:


Al Masjid Al Azam's minaret:




As mentioned earlier Kufa masjid was the place where Moulana Ali Ibn Abi Talib was martyred by Ibn Muljim ( a kharajiite) on 19th of Ramadan. This happened when Ali AS was prostrating for the Fajr (early morning) prayer. And this happened in the Mehrab (the place where the custodian of the masjid prays).

In this Mehrab our Aqa Moula TUS placed this grand decorated Mudawwara (round shaped). In Kufi script its written "Fuzzto be rabbil Kaaba" which means - i swear to Allah (the lord of Kaaba) that I've won. These were the last words of Moulana Ali AS after he was attacked.



May Allah give long life to our beloved Aqa Moula TUS, and Inshallah give me an opportunity to visit Kufa Masjid.

Justajo hein Saba ko tere toor ki

This was a madeh (song of praise) that we Dawoodi Bohra Mumineen recite in respect of our Aqa Moula (TUS). The first two lines of the madeh are:

Justajoo hein sabaa ko tere toor ki
hein tajalli jaha rab-e-mastoor ki

and it got me thinking about the meaning of these two lines. Dont ask about the rest because its even more difficult to decipher. The wordings are a mix of Arabic and Urdu. And I being neither a native arabic or an Urdu speaker found it hard to understand.

But, I did make an effort to translate them. So it goes like this:

Justajoo (obsession)
sabaa (breeze)
toor (mountain)
So the first line could mean: Its the obsession of the breeze to reach your mountain.

Tajalli (Happiness)
rab (God)
mastoor(Hidden)
And so the second line could mean: thats where the happiness of the hidden God lies.

So altogether it would mean, that the obsession of the breeze is to reach you, and in it lies the happiness of the hidden God (Allah). Breeze - which is the creation of Allah itself.

This got me intrigued as I started thinking of Imam Ahmed ul Mastoor AS - our 9th Imam. He was the sole author of Rasail Ikhwaan us Safa (Rasail - compilation, Ikhwaan - brotherhood, safa - purity).

There is a known rivawat(history) related to Imam Ahmad Ul Mastoor. It was during his Zaman( time in office) that there was this Abbasid Caliph called Mamoon, who had publicly declared that there was no deen (deen-religion in this case Islam). It was then that he compiled Ikhwaan Us Safa and secretly placed the book in every masjid. Through the book Imam AS proved tawheed(oneness of Allah) and established the righteousness of Shariat(Islamic way of life) through numerous disciplines like arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, botany, zoology etc.

Fatimid Architecture - Masjid Al Jame ul Anwar

This is one of the classic example of Shaan of Aqa Moula Sayedna Mohammed Burhanuddin Saheb TUS. He has achieved major milestone, which cannot even be described. In one of the letters that was written to the Kuwaiti King Sheikh Jabir, Aqa Moula TUS is referred to as someone who was sent to the earth to build Masjids. Indeed, I am amazed, how many masjids have been built under his raza Mubarak and benediction. In America, Canada, Eurpore, Africa, Asia, Autralia, everywhere, Mashallah.

Masjid Al Jame ul Anwar, in Cairo built by Imam Hakim (A.S). This masjid was completed by Imam Hakim (A.S) in 393 A.H. Currently we are in the year 1430, hence the masjid is almost 1140 years old. Amazing aint it. Restoring this masjid was impossible as UNESCO itself had declared it unachievable. But, its nothing when it comes to our Moula TUS :). Once he (TUS) decided to pursue something the zaahir and the baatin come together to help him (TUS).

In 1391 A.H Aqa Moula TUS completed the restoration of Jame-Anwar in just 28 months. The barakaat of restoration was such that it assisted in restoring 4 more masjids: Jame Azher, Jame Lulu, Jame Tuloon and Jame Juyushi.

During the process of construction phenomenal events occurred which were termed as the nine miracles.

1. Water supply to the site was blocked off. But, by the grace of Allah, during the construction, a well was discovered.

2. During the construction process, remnants of old structure emerged and the masjid was rebuilt on the basis of it.

3. An original Fatemi shubbak (window) emerged after 698 years, just as if it was a gift from the Imam.

4. Aqa Moula (TUS) identified Al Mishkat-Fatemiyah from Al Jame ul Aqmar and instructed that its design be used to illuminate Al Jame ul Anwar.

5. A part of a stone inscription with Imam Hakim's name inscribed upon it was excavated.

6. Many Fatemi relics were discovered when a tomb when was shifted from the masjid to another site.

7. A school that had been built within the masjid premises had to be pulled down and as compensation a new school was built on another location within just 110 days.

8. The restoration of this masjid-a gargantuan task, which dissuaded event the UNESCO from undertaking it was miraculously accomplished within a period of 28 months.

9. To commemorate the completion of this masjid, Aqa Moula (TUS) conducted Ashara Mubaraka in Cairo at which 10,000 mumineen gathered from all around the world.

Here are few snaps of the masjid:

Before Restoration















After Restoration



















Rasulallah SA has said in a hadith that:
“Whosoever shares in building a Masjid for Allah , even if it is as small as a bird’s nest, Allah (S.W.T.) will build for him a house in Paradise.”
This is the shaan of our Moula TUS. May Allah Subhanahu grant him life till eternity, Amin.

Al-Azhar University's connection to Obama's Historic speech to the Muslim World.

After reading this on NPR,

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104745607

 

I did some research on Al-Azhar University in Cairo, and read that it was founded by Imam Moiz AS in the 9th Century:

http://archive.mumineen.org/awliya/aimmat/e_imammoiz.html

 

Please note that the speech was delivered at University of Cairo and not Al-Azhar. The reason mentioned was the fact that Al-Azhar is located in part of Cairo called the medieval Cairo and it was difficult for security to lock-down the Old Town.

 

Fatimid Dynasty- Time of Imam Moiz AS - 2

Well sometime ago I blogged about the scientific and cultural advancements made during the times of Imam Moiz AS.
http://jargoneer.blogspot.com/2007/05/fatimid-dynasty-time-of-imam-moiz-as.html

Fatimid Imam refers to the hierarchy of Imams that started from Moulatena Fatema tus Zahra (the only daughter of Prophet Mohammed SA).

Here in this new video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z50y0yFL_W8

The claims made are justified.Historian Basil Davidson looks at the splendour of Old Cairo under the Shia Fatimid dynasty. He details how the return of Europe to prominance following its long period of backwardness and slumber (aka the Dark Ages) was founded upon the economic stability of Afria - as seen in the fact that European gold coins were mindted in African gold. We also see how Euroepan Renaissance art depicted Africans as dignified equals, much as the ancient Greeks had.

This is during the Time of Imam Moiz AS who was the pioneer of science and technology. He is also the founder of the Al -Azhar University in Cairo. One of the oldest institution in the world.

Moreover the Astrolabe discovered during the times of Imam Moiz AS was more like a modern GPS. As mentioned here.

Cairo is known as Al Moizzatul Kahera in Arabic no guesses after its founder Imam Moiz AS. This was the booming time of the Fatimid Dynasty when it spread far and wide to Eastern Africa and southern Europe.

Fatimid Dynasty- Time of Imam Moiz AS

War with Byzantine

In 345 H, the Fatimid naval fleet inflicted a major defeat on the Byzantines in Italy under the command of Ammar bin Hasan, following several minor entanglements and forcing the emperor Constantine VII (913-959) to pay tribute and send a peace-negotiating embassy to the court of Imam Moiz. Later the Umayyids joined hands with Rome and started a campaign against the Fatimids.

Imam Moiz traveeled to Mehdiya in a huge army and ordered the Fatimi fleets to pursue them under the command of Qaid Joher and Hasan bin Ali, Governor of Sicily. It was no sooner that Rome was inficted with a heavy defeat and they had to flee. The news of the defeat had reached the Umayyids in Spain, who ordered their men to return. Ibn Hani of Spain, one of the famous poets of the Fatimid Era has described with detail in many verses, about the victory of the Fatimi forces.

The emporer later sent gifts and precious tokens of silk and gold to the court of Imam Moiz asking him to return his forces back home and award a peace treaty with Rome. In 356 H, a peace treaty was concluded between the Fatimids and the Byzantines, and accordingly, the Muslims sought the right to impose jizya on the Christian inhabitants of Sicily. This defeat of the Byzantines was indeed celebrated with pomp through out the Islamic world.

Fatimid supremacy on the seas was possible due to their knowledge of astronomy and geography.

The Fatimid Caliphs were great patrons of science and learning, thus encouraging research in astronomy and geography.

There were big observatories in Cairo where scholars could follow the movement of the stars. Ibn Yunus, who worked in these observatories, is considered one of the greatest astronomers of the Islamic World.

An astrolabe (instrument for measuring altitude of the sun and stars at sea) developed in the time of Imam Moiz is still kept in the British Museum in London. Geography formed an important part of the curriculum at the Al-Azhar.

Imam Moiz AS was greatly interested in geography and commended a piece of silk to be made at Tustar in Persia, representing, in gold and colours, a map of the world, which cost him 22,000 Dinars (7).