Alexandria, commonly known for its cosmopolitan character, is also sometimes dubbed the “City of Saints” for having the largest number of Sufi shrines among all the Egyptian governorates.
Every year, the city celebrates the advent of the holy month of Ramadan with unique spiritual celebrations when Sufi worshippers and devotees can be seen raising green banners over the tombs of the righteous saints of God while mosques and shrines are typically bathed in green light.
Alms paid in the hope of receiving blessings and having wishes answered are distributed, and zikr (remembrance of God) groups are held to celebrate the advent of the holy month to the sound of tawashih prayers, in what is sometimes seen as an unparalleled Islamic celebration.
This year was no exception. The holy month of Ramadan was typically high season for thousands of devotees flocking from Alexandria and other governorates to visit the shrines of Sufi saints in quest of blessings in a ritual that has remained unchanged over centuries.
Alexandria has about two million Sufis and about 400 shrines of Sufi orders. Only 79 of the total number of Sufi shrines have been registered with the Ministry of Waqf, while the rest remain largely anonymous, according to the General Organisation of the Sufi Orders in Alexandria and its suburbs.
The large number of such shrines in Alexandria is attributed to the fact that it is a coastal city that has always been an important port and that it was chosen as the capital of the country during the Islamic conquest of Egypt. Alexandria has thus held a distinct status among other governorates and as such was the destination of many senior religious scholars coming from Andalusia and Morocco in the past.
Such scholars sometimes landed in Egypt on their way to the pilgrimage in Mecca, while others came during the Islamic conquest and after it. Many of these scholars and religious devotees apparently fell in love with Egypt and made it their second home. Sidi Morsi Abul-Abbas, the dedicatee of the largest mosque in Alexandria, and Sidi Abul-Darda are cases in point.
During the month of Ramadan, the devotees of the various Sufi orders celebrate Sufi rituals and traditions in Alexandria’s largest square housing Sufi shrines. The square, located in the mosques district in the Bahari area of the city, is dubbed “the Square of the Saints” or the Baqi (the cemetery of the Prophet Mohamed Companions located in Medina) of Alexandria, as it houses 33 shrines of the awlyaa (the righteous saints of God).
The most significant of the shrines is located in one of the largest mosques and mausoleums in the area. This belongs to Sidi Shehabeddin Abul-Abbas Ahmed bin Hussein bin Ali Al-Khazraji Al-Ansari Al-Mursi, known as Sidi Al-Morsi Abul-Abbas (616 AH/1219 CE).
Abul-Abbas grew up in a religious environment and followed in the footsteps of his Sufi mentor Sheikh Abul-Hassan Al-Shazli, who helped him delve into the spiritual life of Sufism. He resided in Alexandria for about 43 years until he died in 686 AH and was initially buried in the cemetery of Bab Al-Bahr in the city. Sheikh Zaineddin bin Al-Qattan, an important merchant, then decided to build a large mosque housing Abul-Abbas’ grave, and this was named after the saint’s shrine.
The mosque was upgraded over time, particularly during the reign of king Fouad I in the early 20th century. King Fouad upgraded the whole area, developed the Mosque of Abul-Abbas and established other mosques for Imam Al-Busairi and Sheikh Yaqut Al-Arsh. The Mosque of Sidi Abul-Abbas was designed by the Italian architect Mario Rossi and its construction was completed in 1943.
The Square of the Saints of God in the district of Bahri also includes about 33 mausoleums, 14 of which bear the names of Sidi Mohamed, and five of which are for women. The tombs include the remains of 14 wali (saints), namely Sidi Mohamed Al-Manqaai, Sidi Mohamed Sherif Al-Maghribi, Sidi Mohamed Massoud, Ibn Waki, known as Abu Nawatir, Sidi Mohamed Abu Warda, Sidi Mohamed Baraka, Sidi Mohamed Gharib Al-Yamani, Sidi Mohamed Al-Gharib, Sidi Youssef Al-Jaarani, Sidi Mohamed Sherif, Sidi Mohamed Al-Taroudi, Sidi Mohamed Al-Halawani, Sidi Mohamed Egab, and Sidi Mohamed Salaheddin.
One of the most famous mosques is that housing the Mausoleum of Sidi Yaqut Al-Arsh. His real name was Sidi bin Abdallah Al-Habashi Al-Qurashi, and he was born in Abyssinia 700 years ago. Destiny brought him to Egypt when the ship he was in landed on the shore of Alexandria where he was destined to settle and live.
It was in Alexandria that Al-Qurashi received the teachings of Sufism at the hands of Sidi Abul-Abbas. He married the daughter of his sheikh, died in 732 at the age of 80, and was buried in his own mausoleum.
OTHER SHRINES: The square also includes the Mosque and Mausoleum of Imam Sidi Al-Busairi.
Sharafeddin Abu Abdullah Mohamed bin Said Hammad bin Mohsen (1213-1295 CE) was nicknamed Al-Busairi after the city of Busir in Upper Egypt. He settled in Cairo, where he engaged in legal and linguistic studies. Then he left for Alexandria, where he received teaching at the hands of Sidi Abul-Abbas Morsi.
Imam Al-Busairi was famous for his skills in poetry and the praise of the Messenger of God. His fame spread and his poem Al-Burda soon became famous. Al-Busairi died in Alexandria in 694 AH/1295 CE.
The area also includes the shrine of one of the students of Sidi Abul-Abbas Morsi, namely Sidi Makin Al-Asmar. Al-Asmar’s real name was Mohamed Abdallah bin Mansour, and he was known for his fluency in memorising the Quran and mastering its different styles of recitation. His fame crossed borders and attracted travellers. He was a companion of Sidi Abul-Hassan Al-Shazli, and both men participated in the Battle of Mansoura against the Crusaders in 1250 CE. Al-Asmar died in Alexandria and was buried next to his Sheikh Abul-Abbas Al-Morsi.
One of the most popular shrines that devotees flock to during the month of Ramadan is the Mosque and Mausoleum of Sidi Ali Abul-Fath. Abul-Fath was the uncle of Sidi Ibrahim Al-Dessouki, the founder of the Dessoukiya order. Visitors flock to his mosque and mausoleum in Ramadan, offering gifts and sprinkling his tomb with rose water in quest of blessings and in the hope that their wishes will ultimately be answered.
In the same area lies the tomb of Nassereddin Abu Al-Ma’ali Mohamed bin Abdel-Daim bin Mohamed Al-Shazli Al-Shafei, known as Ibn Al-Milaq.
Al-Milaq, born in 1331 CE, was an Egyptian scholar in the Mameluke era, as well as a religious judge, an interpreter, a preacher, and a Sufi who followed the Shazli tarika (school). He was also a Shafei School jurist. He was later removed from his post and stayed away from his work until he died in 1395 CE.
Nearby lies the Mausoleum of Sidi Abul-Ikhlas Al-Zarqani, sheikh and founder of the main Sufi order in Alexandria. His real name was Sheikh Burhaneddin bin Ahmed bin Mohamed Ali bin Mohamed Al-Zarqani, and he was born in 1924 in the village of Taiba Al-Jaafari in Gharbeya governorate. He moved in his boyhood to reside with his relatives in the Al-Azhar neighbourhood of Cairo. Later, his father sent him back to his hometown in Gharbeya.
The Square of the Mosques in Alexandria is the destination of all those seeking the blessings of Sufi saints. Both men and women flock to these mausoleums, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan, staying over and providing services to the mosques and shrines in the hope that these deeds will help purify their souls and relieve their pains and anguish.
Sheikh Saad Bahnas, a follower of the Sufi orders in Alexandria, told Al-Ahram Weekly that “the shrines of Alexandria receive thousands of followers and devotees who come to practise their blessed spiritual rituals in the courtyards of the saints’ shrines during the month of Ramadan.”
“They sit all day in the mosques of the Ahl Al-Bayt Al-Sufi [the Sufi houses] praying, worshipping, reading the Quran, and pleading for blessings.”
UM AL-KARAMAT: Many women likewise head to the tomb of Al-Sayeda Fatima, also dubbed Al-Sayeda Ruqaya because of her high status among Sufis.
Fatima, the mother of Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Dessouki, is believed by her followers to be a blessed lady who can help women to conceive. Her shrine is thus confined to female visitors who seek her blessings, particularly during the month of Ramadan, when women flock to her tomb in order to clean it and spray it with rose water in the hope that their wishes will be answered.
Hasna Farag, a woman in her 40s, said that she had been married for 15 years and had not had any children. Hailing from a Sufi family, Farag is an ardent “Sufi in heart and soul”.
“I live in Kafr Al-Sheikh and come to Alexandria every year during Ramadan for worship, prayer, reciting the Quran, and attending sermons in the courtyards of the mausoleums in the mosques area,” she said.
In the morning, she participates in the daily chores of cleaning and scenting the Mosque and Shrine of Al-Sayeda Ruqaya, dubbed Um Al-Karamat, in preparation for receiving halaqat al-zikr (the remembrance of God). At night, she prays in front of the mausoleum in the hope that she will ultimately have her prayers answered and have children.
But even if she doesn’t, she still enjoys the rituals since they are “a purifying spiritual journey of love for God and his saints.” For Hasna, the saints feel like family because she has been involved in such Sufi rituals since early childhood.
In Ramadan, the Square of the Saints in Alexandria is traditionally decked out in lights and green fliers and flags. The shrines are clad in elegant green cloth, all in preparation for the advent of the holy month, when the area becomes the destination of the followers of Sufi orders from all over the country who flock to celebrate the holy month.
Each person has an important role to play. Some donate alms for Iftar meals, while others set up tents to prepare them. Chefs cook the meals and distribute them to the devout, while others distribute dates and water tinged with rosewater to the fasting crowds.
Once the sun sets and the call for prayer ushers people to break their fast, everyone starts their meals and prepares for the evening prayers, typically followed by the Ramadan taraweeh prayers. Then worshippers head for the spiritual experience of the zikr sessions when they sit in circles and remember God and praise the Prophet Mohamed in a unique and heartwarming spiritual atmosphere.
Mohamed Al-Fakharani, one of the followers of the Sufi Hamidiya Shazlia order in Alexandria, was among those who spent last Ramadan in the Square of the Saints in Alexandria.
He told the Weekly that “the devotees typically come during the month of Ramadan to practice the special rituals of the holy month in the shrines of the righteous.”
“They distribute alms and clean and perfume the shrines in preparation for those coming for a unique spiritual experience when their souls rest in companionship with those of the righteous during the zikr sessions and the religious sermons and tawashih [religious songs],” he said.
Salama Gaber, a follower of the Sufi orders in Alexandria, nodded approval. Last Ramadan, his role was to cook and volunteer with others to distribute Iftar meals for the devout to break their fast at the sunset prayer.
“The rituals are practiced every year,” Salama said. “They are a great spiritual experience that purifies the soul.”
The Mausoleum and Mosque of Sidi Abul-Darda (nicknamed Abu Karamat), is one of the most famous shrines in Alexandria. Abul-Darda is believed to have been one of the Prophet’s Companions and his original name was Owaimer or Amr.
It is said that the prophet had been promised that Abul-Darda would convert to Islam. The prophecy came true, and Abul-Darda embraced Islam after the Battle of Badr, which took place two years after the prophet’s Hijra (emigration) from Mecca to Medina.
He soon became one of the young Companions of the Prophet and received his Islamic teachings at his blessed hand. He later chose to live a life of spirituality and abandoned all the pleasures of life in devotion to worship. He later participated in the Muslim conquest of the Levant and Egypt and was one of the leaders who, with Amr Ibn Al-Aas, was at the helm of the Islamic conquest of Egypt.
Sidi Abul-Darda participated in the Islamic conquest of Alexandria in 641 CE. Legend has it that he has since performed some small and some larger miracles. One of them was when the engineer who was commissioned to transfer his shrine as part of a plan to facilitate the flow of traffic during the British occupation of Egypt was struck down with sudden paralysis.
Another legend that became popular during World War II was based on the testimonies of the owners of shops adjacent to his shrine. They alleged that they had seen him rising from his eternal sleep dressed in white clothes and halting the falling of a German bomb on Alexandria during the bombing of the city during the war and saving and entire neighbourhood from destruction.
A Greek man who was among the witnesses confirmed the sight of Abul-Darda saving the neighbourhood in a miraculous way.
Sheikh Abdallah Mansour, from a Sufi family and one of the servants of the Mausoleum of Sidi Abul-Darda, said that he had “travelled all the way from Sohag in Upper Egypt to Alexandria to observe the holy month serving the tomb of Sidi Abul-Darda.”
Ramadan is over, but its bliss remains alive.
“I love the saints,” he said. “I learnt all the Sufi rituals in childhood, and they are engraved in my soul.”
Abdallah said that “one of the most prominent rituals in Ramadan is the charity done by the inhabitants of this neighbourhood in Alexandria.”
Ramadan was a month of bounty this year. “They (the inhabitants of the neighbourhood) donated meat and poultry at the shrine of Sidi Abul-Darda. The servants of the shrine cooked the food and distributed it to devotees at the time of Iftar and sometimes also for Sohour [the last meal eaten before dawn].”
Abdallah has never worked in any other profession. His job is to clean and guard the tombs of the saints, which has always been his only passion.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 10 April, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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