Al-Hakim Mosque

The al-Hakim Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الحاكم, romanized: Masjid al-Ḥākim), also known as al-Anwar (Arabic: الانور, lit. 'the Illuminated'), is a historic mosque in Cairo, Egypt. It is named after al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh (985–1021), the 6th Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismāʿīlī Imam. Construction of the mosque was originally started by Caliph al-ʿAziz, the son of al-Muʿizz and the father of al-Ḥākim, in 990 CE. It was completed in 1013 by al-Ḥākim, which is why it is named after him.

The mosque is located in Islamic Cairo, on the east side of al-Muʿizz Street, just south of Bab al-Futuh (the northern city gate). In the centuries since its construction, the mosque was often neglected and re-purposed for other functions, eventually falling into ruin. In 1980, a major restoration and reconstruction of the mosque was completed by the Dawoodi Bohras, resulting in its reopening for religious use.

The mosque's construction was initiated by the 5th Fatimid caliph al-ʿAziz Billah in the year 990 CE and the first Friday prayers took place in it a year later, though the building was incomplete. This suggests that the prayer hall or sanctuary, the area where prayers were led, was probably built first. His successor, al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh, and his overseer Abu Muhammad al-Hafiz 'Abd al-Ghani ibn Sa'id al-Misri, resumed construction work in 1002–1003. In 1010, the minarets were modified by the construction of large square bastions around them, which hid much of the original towers. The chronology of construction in the mosque's interior and the determination of exactly which part was built by which patron, is uncertain.

Finally, its inauguration took place in Ramadan of the year 1013. It measured 120 meters by 113 meters when it was finished and was more than double the size of the al-Azhar Mosque. Al-Hakim allocated 40,000 dinars to the construction and then another 5,000 dinars to its furnishings. The al-Hakim Mosque was also known by an epithet, al-Anwar ('the Illuminated'), similar in style to the name of the earlier al-Azhar Mosque founded by the Fatimids. At the time of inauguration, al-Hakim permitted a celebratory procession which made its way from al-Azhar to al-Anwar and from al-Anwar back to al-Azhar.^{[citation needed]}

The mosque originally stood outside the walls of Cairo, but when the Fatimid vizier Badr al-Jamali rebuilt and extended the city walls in 1087, the northern side of the mosque, including its minaret, was incorporated into the northern city wall (between the newly built gates of Bab al-Futuh and Bab al-Nasr). A ziyada, or a walled outer enclosure, was also added around the mosque later, begun by Caliph al-Zahir (r. 1021–1036) but completed much later under the Ayyubid sultan al-Salih Najm al-Din (r. 1240–1249) and the Mamluk sultan Aybak (r. 1250–1257).

In 1303, during the Mamluk period, the mosque was severely damaged by an earthquake and was subsequently restored by Sultan Baybars II al-Jashankir. By that time, the mosque was also being used to teach Islamic law from the four Sunni maddhabs. In 1360, the mosque was restored again by Sultan Hasan. In the 15th century, a merchant sponsored the construction of a third minaret for the mosque, though this minaret has not been preserved.

The interior of the mosque fell into ruin over many centuries until its modern renovation, and the building was only intermittently used as a mosque. At various times, it was used as a prison for captured Franks (i.e. Latin crusaders) during the Crusades, as a stable by Saladin, as a fortress by Napoleon, as an Islamic arts Museum in 1890, and as a boys' school in the 20th century during Nasser's presidency. In the early 19th century, the mosque underwent a restoration sponsored by 'Umar Makram. The restoration also added a small mihrab to the interior that is still preserved today, dated to 1808.

In 1980, the mosque was extensively reconstructed and refurbished in white marble and gold trim by Mohammed Burhanuddin, the head of the Dawoodi Bohra, an international Shia sect based in India. The restoration took 27 months and the mosque was officially re-opened on 24 November 1980, in a ceremony attended by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, Mohammed Burhanuddin, and other high-ranking Egyptian officials.