Al-Fadl Ibn Al-Abbassi mosque
At Martyr Town (or Medinet Al-Shohadaa) in the Nile Delta city of Menoufiya, the mosque and mausoleum of Al-Fadl Ibn Al-Abbassi, known as Sidi Shible Al-Aswad (the letter meaning “the black”), is open to worshippers and visitors.
Restoration of the edifice — re-opened by the Minister of Waqf (religious endowments) Mokhtar Gomaa, the Minister of Local Development Hisham Amena, Menoufiya Governor Ibrahim Abu Laymoun, and Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mustafa Waziri — took two years, when it was hidden under scaffolding and piles of sand while workers polished and reinforced its walls.
The mosque and mausoleum had suffered from air pollution, a high subsoil water level, a high level of humidity, leakage from the Al-Madiaa (a fountain used for ritual ablution), and encroachment.
One of the most serious causes of damage has been the misuse of both the mosque and mausoleum by worshippers as well as the encroachment of traders over the centuries. The walls of the monument cracked, masonry was damaged and the condition of the ceiling and the water fountain was critical. Ceiling decorations were heavily stained by smoke, while most of the flooring was cracked. The mosque had been closed to prayer and visitors.
Waziri said that all the restoration had been carried out according to the latest state-of-the-art methods. “Every effort was made to ensure that all original architectural features were retained,” he said, adding that the restoration of Ibn Al-Abbas Mosque and mausoleum had two important advantages: individual monuments were being preserved for future generations, and the entire neighbourhood was being revived and upgraded. It also highlights the continual cooperation of the ministries of Tourism and Antiquities and Religious Endowments to preserve antique mosques.
Hisham Sami, Assistant to the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for archaeological projects, said the aim of the restoration was to strengthen the foundations and protect them from future damage. This was achieved by reinforcing the foundations. The walls were consolidated, cracked removed, missing and decayed stones replaced and masonry cleaned and desalinated. Parts of the damaged floor of the mosque have been restored, the missing pieces replaced. All wooden furniture such as the pulpit, the Quran Chair and mashrabiya windows were restored along with all the façades and stained glass windows. A new drainage system was also installed to prevent the leakage of rainwater. The mosque now stands as proudly as it did in the past.
Abu Bark Ahmed, head of Islamic, Coptic and Jewish Antiquities Sector said that the Al Fadl Ibn Al-Abbas mosque is named after Mohamed ibn Al-Fadl, the son of Al-Abbas, paternal uncle to Prophet Mohamed. The mosque is also known as Sidi Shebl Al-Aswad.
Al Fadl Ibn Al-Abbas was sent by Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib at the head of an army only to be killed in battle in the area where the mausoleum stands. The Fatimids later built a mausoleum and a mosque next to his grave. Since that time, the architecture of both the mosque and mausoleum has developed and changed repeatedly until 1899 when it was rebuilt by the ministry of religious endowment and again in 1925 during the reign of King Fouad.
The mosque consists of a rectangular area of six porticos that run parallel to the qibla wall. The porticos are separated by five rows of square pillars. On the northwestern side of the mosque, in front of the main entrance, there is a rectangular shokh-shikha (an elevated polygonal lantern structure in the middle of the roof) supported by eight pillars, which form part of the shrine.
The tomb of the deceased and his seven sisters lie within two compartments surmounted by a shrine dome. The mosque has one minaret in the Mameluke style at the northwestern corner, and the remains of another minaret in the southeastern corner.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 27 July, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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