Sayyida Zainab Mosque is one of the largest and most famous mosques in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, and is attributed to the granddaughter of the Messenger of God, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, Zainab bint Ali bin Abi Talib.
The mosque and shrine are located in Egypt in the city of Cairo in the Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood.
Al-Nasabah Al-Obaidli mentions that Zainab bint Ali departed to Egypt, as he mentions narrations that she departed to Egypt, as well as Yasser Al-Habib and Muhammad Sadiq Al-Karbasi mentioned in his book Dictionary of Ansar Al-Hussein, and some consider that the buried is one of the granddaughters of Imam Ali and perhaps she is Zainab bint Yahya the Crowned. Bin Al-Hassan Al-Anwar bin Zaid bin Al-Hassan bin Ali bin Abi Talib, In another opinion, the buried is Zainab bint Ahmed bin Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Jaafar bin Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiyya, Sheikh Al-Mufid mentions that there are three daughters Imam Ali’s name is Zainab. They are Zainab al-Kubra, Zainab al-Sughra, their mother is Fatima al-Zahra, and another Zainab, whose mother is Umm Walad. It was said that Umm Kulthum, who was Zainab al-Sughra, died in Egypt and was buried in this place. It was also said that the buried was Zainab, whose mother was the mother of a son.
It is not known specifically when the mosque was established over the grave of Sayyida Zeinab. Historical references only mention that the Ottoman governor of Egypt, Ali Pasha, renewed the mosque in the year 951 AH/1547 AD, and then it was renewed again by Prince Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda in the year 1171 AH/1768 AD, and in the year 1940 AD The Ministry of Endowments completely demolished the old mosque and built the existing mosque. Therefore, the mosque is not registered as an Islamic monument. The mosque at that time consisted of seven corridors parallel to the Qibla wall, with a square court in the middle covered with a dome. On the opposite side of the Qibla wall, there was the shrine of Lady Zainab, may God be pleased with her, surrounded by a yellow copper fence, and surmounted by a majestic dome. In 1969, the Ministry of Endowments doubled the area of the mosque.
Status of the mosque.
The mosque occupies a great place in the hearts of Egyptians, and many, especially residents of regions far from Cairo, consider visiting it an honor and a blessing that they pray to God to obtain. The mosque is considered one of the centers of the Sufi orders and their disciples. Every year, in the month of Rajab, the birth of Sayyida Zeinab is held, where thousands of people flock to Sayyida Zeinab Square, celebrations are held, and the appearance of the area changes completely for a few days.
Sayyida Zeinab Mosque was mentioned in the novel by the famous Egyptian novelist Yahya Haqqi, “Qandil Umm Hashem.” “Umm Hashem” is the nickname of Mrs. Zainab bint Ali bin Abi Talib. The novel tells us about a rural young man who came with his rural family to Cairo when he was young and lived near Mashhad al-Sayyida. The focus of the novel revolves around the methods of treating eye diseases among the people of the neighborhood. Most of them were treated by using lamp oil that was lit inside the scene and above the shrine of Our Lady. The narration has many meanings, but it explains the status of this mosque, until they used to bless themselves with oil