Cairo, Egypt
Sacred Relics
Coordinates: 30.047731, 31.263036
The Imam Hussein Mosque or Jame Sayyidna Husayn is a mosque and mausoleum dedicated to Hz. Husayn ibn Ali رضي الله عنه, originally built in 1154, and then later reconstructed in 1874.
The mosque is located in Cairo, Egypt, near the Khan El-Khalili bazaar, near-by the famous Al Azhar Mosque, in an area known as Al-Hussain.
It is considered to be one of the holiest Islamic sites in Egypt.
Ras al-Husayn (عليه اسلام)
Some Shia Muslims believe that Imam Husayn’s رضي الله عنه head (ra’s mubarak) is buried on the grounds of the mosque where a mausoleum is located today and considered to be what is left of the Fatimid architecture in the building.
To mark the site of burial, known as Ra’s al-Husayn or Mashhad Ra’s al-Husayn, Taher Saifuddin had a zarih built in Mumbai, which was later installed at the mosque in 1965 just before his death. It was subsequently inaugurated by his son, Mohammed Burhanuddin.
According to tradition: The zarih was originally meant for Al Abbas Mosque, in Karbala, Iraq but could not be installed there: The location and the zarih had previously been measured precisely, but it simply didn’t fit.
Taher Saifuddin, the maker of the zarih, is said to have received divine guidance by way of intuition that out of loyalty, Hz. Al-Abbas ibn Ali رضي الله عنه- who was martyred along with his step brother, Imam Husayn رضي الله عنه, at the Battle of Karbala- could not allow Ra’s al-Husayn be without a zarih.
As a consequence, Hz. Al-Abbas’s رضي الله عنه zarih was flown to Cairo and installed at Ra’s al-Husayn at the Al-Hussein mosque, instead.
Holy Relics of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
At the gate of the chamber the relics of the beloved chosen Prophet ﷺ are found. Here you will be blessed by seeing his sword, parts of his shirt and his stick by which he pointed to the idols and they were destructed. Furthermore, You will see his [kohl] stick, [kohl] container and four hairs from his blessed head ﷺ.
There is no wonder that the relics remained undamaged for centuries as they will continue until the Day of Judgment. This is because the Prophet ﷺ was not an ordinary person whose relics may perish.
The companions رضي الله عنهم comprehended this matter as they were so eager to dearly keep the relics of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and safely confine it with them.
Moreover, they used to transmit these relics by inheritance throughout history and here lies the secret of the eternality of the material existence of the Prophet’s ﷺ relics until the present time.
Oldest Manuscript of Holy Quran
It currently also house the oldest complete manuscript of the Holy Quran.
Know This
Non-Muslims are not allowed into the building, but the structure can be viewed from the outside by tourists. Muslim womans can only enter from side gate (not in the main prayer hall).
