Mosque of Sayyida Sukayna

The Mosque of Sayyida Sukayna or Mosque of Sayyida Sakina^[1] is a historic mosque in Cairo, Egypt. According to an apocryphal tradition, it contains the tomb of Sakina, a daughter of Husayn.^[2] The current building dates from 1904. It is located in the historic al-Khalifa neighbourhood, on the outskirts of Cairo's Southern Cemetery.

Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar
View of the mosque from al-Khalifa street
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Location
Location	al-Khalifa, Cairo, Egypt
Geographic coordinates	30°1′37″N 31°15′7.5″E
Architecture
Type	Mosque, mausoleum
Style	Neo-Mamluk
Completed	1904 (current structure)
Specifications
Dome(s)	1
Minaret(s)	1

History

Origins

The mosque is named after to Amna bint al-Hussein ibn Ali, a descendant of Muhammad. She was born in the 7th century and her mother was Rubab bint Imra al-Qais, a daughter of the chief of the Banu Kalb tribe.^[3] Rubab nicknamed her Sakina or Sukayna (Arabic: سكينة, lit. 'tranquility, peace').^[4][5] Historians have differed on whether her tomb in Cairo is in fact her true resting place. Those who acknowledge it rely on the following story: she was betrothed to Al-Asbagh ibn Abdul Aziz and sent to Egypt by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, but she found out that he had cheated, so she went back.^{[clarification needed][6]}

Construction history

A mosque was built over the site of the tomb in 1760 through the patronage of Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda, a mamluk official.^[2] It was replaced by a new mosque built in 1904 by Khedive Abbas II in a neo-Mamluk style.^[2][7]