South Sinai Governorate, Egypt
Coordinates: 28.555993, 33.976031
Saint Catherine’s Monastery officially Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai, is an Eastern Orthodox monastery located on the Sinai Peninsula near the town of Saint Catherine, Egypt.
The monastery is named after Catherine of Alexandria.
It is at this site also that the holy relics of Saint Catherine are enshrined. This is the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery, with a history that can be traced back over seventeen centuries.
Built between 548 and 565, the monastery is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world.
The site contains the world’s oldest continually operating library.
This site is sacred for all three religion – Christianity, Islam and Judaism
Christian traditions
During Catherine’s imprisonment more than 200 people came to see her all converted to Christianity and were subsequently martyred. The furious emperor condemned Catherine to death on a spiked breaking wheel, but, at her touch, it shattered. Maxentius ordered her to be beheaded. Catherine herself ordered the execution to commence. A milk-like substance rather than blood flowed from her neck.
Although it is commonly known as Saint Catherine’s, the monastery’s full official name is the Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai. The monastery has become a favorite site of pilgrimage.
Islamic traditions
A mosque was created by converting an existing chapel during the Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171), which was in regular use until the era of the Mamluk Sultanate in the 13th century and is still in use today on special occasions.
During the Ottoman Empire, the mosque was in desolate condition; it was restored in the early 20th century.
Ashtiname of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Ashtinameh is a Persian word meaning “Book of Peace”, a Persian term for a treaty and covenant.
The Ashtiname of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, also known as the Covenant or Testament (Testamentum) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, is a document which is a charter or writ written by Hz. Ali رضي الله عنه and ratified by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ granting protection and other privileges to the followers of Hz. Isa عليه اسلام, given to the Christian monks of Saint Catherine’s Monastery. It is sealed with an imprint representing Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ hand.
According to the monks tradition, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ frequented the monastery and had great relationships and discussions with the Sinai fathers.
Several certified historical copies are displayed in the library of St Catherine, some of which are witnessed by the judges of Islam to affirm historical authenticity.
The monks claim that during the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17), the original document was seized from the monastery by Ottoman soldiers and taken to Sultan Selim I’s palace in Istanbul for safekeeping.
A copy was then made to compensate for its loss at the monastery. Traditions about the tolerance shown towards the monastery were reported in governmental documents issued in Cairo and during the period of Ottoman rule (1517–1798), the Pasha of Egypt annually reaffirmed its protections.
