Founded by the Fatimids in 970, it is the seat of the prestigious Al-Azhar University, which together with Al-Qarawiyyin University in Fez (Morocco) and Al-Zaytuna University in Tunis (Tunisia) represent the summit of jurisprudential and theological thought. Sunni Islamic.
Immediately after entering Egypt al-Zahir, Jawhar al-Sicilian, the Sicilian-born general who occupied the country in the name of the Fourth Imam al-Muizz Li Din Allah in 969, wrested it from the Ikhshidids, and began building a new capital. The court identified a fortified part that could not be accessed by strangers, and it was called Al-Mansuriyah, directly north of Al-Fustat, Al-Askar and Al-Qata`. When al-Mu'izz went there to visit his new conquest, he decided to call the capital the city of al-Qahirah al-Mu'izziyyah ("the city of al-Muizz the victorious"), or simply, al-Cairo (the victorious).
When Jawhar Sicilian laid the first stone for the new capital, he was already thinking of building a new mosque that would remember the glory of al-Muizz. At first its name was the Cairo Mosque (Cairo Mosque). The building originally had a courtyard surrounded by three aisles, containing a single minaret and occupying half of the current space. He later received the name "Al-Azhar" to honor Fatima Al-Zahra, the daughter of Muhammad, from whom the dynasty claimed her descendents. The mosque is located south of Khan al-Khalili in Islamic Cairo.
Construction began on April 4, 970 and lasted only two years. After its construction, Al-Azhar was funded directly by the Fatimid imams and became the official Friday prayers. The people of Al-Fustat or Al-Qusi used to go to Al-Azhar every Friday to hear the sermon delivered by the Imam himself, and perform congregational prayers. On the other hand, wealthy Egyptians participated in its financing, and tied a portion of their assets to the building.
A madrasa was opened near the mosque in October 975, then in 988 it became a center for higher education (madrasa), where jurisprudence, sharia and theology were taught. In the year 1005, under the leadership of al-Hakim by God’s command, the “House of Knowledge” (House of the Year, House of Knowledge), or “House of Wisdom” (House of Wisdom, House of Wisdom) became equipped with a very rich public library, where chemistry, astronomy and philosophy are taught side by side. Along with other religious disciplines, such as the study of legal traditions and the Qur’an. Instructions contained in Al-Azhar included Shia Ismaili jurisprudence, grammar, literature, and history of the Arabic language. It thus became the center of the spread of the Fatimid Shiite da'wa (propaganda).
At the end of the Fatimid period (12th century), the covered part of the mosque was expanded. A passage was added on either side of the inner courtyard, the arches of which rest on marble columns.
In 1303, many buildings were completely rebuilt after the devastation caused by an earthquake.
On the first of June 1801, Al-Azhar closed its doors to French-occupied Egypt, and exactly one year later, and one day later, on June 2, 1802, it reopened its doors for Friday prayers in the presence of the Ottoman minister.
Al-Azhar now has three minarets. The first dates back to the end of the fifteenth century, during the Sultanate of Qaitbay (1468-1496), which also added a mihrab to the building. The second was built in the early sixteenth century, during the period of the penultimate Mamluk sultan, the two towers of Qalansuh al-Ghuri (1501-1516).
The entrance that can be admired today dates back to the Ottoman period (1753).
0 Comments