Spiritual · Cairo
Mausoleum of Imam al-Shafi'i
A grand mausoleum in Cairo's City of the Dead for Imam al-Shafi'i, founder of the Shafi'i school, with a wooden dome, muqarnas and a beautifully carved wooden cenotaph.
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The story
Imam al-Shafi'i came to Egypt in the early ninth century, taught at the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As, and died there in 820 CE (204 AH); he was buried in the family graveyard of his colleague Abdallah ibn Abd al-Hakam in the Qarafa cemetery area. Saladin had a tomb and madrasa built for him around 1176, and around 1178 a wooden cenotaph was made, decorated with geometric patterns and Qur'anic inscriptions. In 1211 the Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil built the dome and the building that covers the grave, forming the present structure, whose wooden dome is among the largest in Egypt. The Mamluk sultan Qaitbay added muqarnas and marble decoration in 1480, and the building was restored under al-Ghuri and again by Ali Bey al-Kabir in 1772.
Good to know
- The decorated wooden cenotaph was made around 1178 for Saladin and is one of the finest surviving examples of Ayyubid woodwork.
- The Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil built the dome and the present building in 1211.