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Shrine of Sayyida Ruqayyah
(ضريح السيدة رقية)

Title	Shrine of Sayyida Ruqayyah
Title Original	ضريح السيدة رقية
Publication Date:	527 AH / 1133 AD
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Library:	Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID	monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;5;ar
Library Location	The shrine of Sayyida Ruqayyah is located on Al-Ashraf Khalil Street near the Ibn Tulun Mosque, south of Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
Date	527 AH / 1133 AD
Notes	The building is attributed to a righteous woman named Ruqaya. There is no confirmation of the identity of Mrs. Ruqayyah, after whom the building was named. This lady may be the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the wife of Othman bin Affan, the third of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (ruled in the period 23-35 AH / 644-656 AD). The building is considered one of the sightseeing scenes created by the Fatimids in Egypt, where people used to climb to its roof to survey the crescent moon to determine the beginning of the Arab months in the Islamic calendar. The remaining part of the building is a rectangular building divided into three parts: the middle part, which is the largest, is square in plan, with a side length of 12 m, covered by a dome and opens to the two rectangular side parts through two openings with a horizontal lintel. The most important feature of the building is the transition area from the square to the circle of the dome. This area consists of rows of small arches reminiscent of muqarnas. Thus, it represents a turning point in the design of the dome, in which the transition area consisted of large arches at the corners of the square. Muqarnas later appeared in the domes of the Ayyubid era. Around the circle of the dome there is a band of Kufic inscription that includes Qur’anic verses. This band is considered the oldest recorded inscription on a shrine in Egypt. Eight plaster windows opened at the neck of the octagonal dome, with two windows on each side. The bottom of these windows was decorated with beautiful plaster decorations, which are considered a wonderful example of arabesque decorations in the Fatimid era. The dome is lobed in shape from the outside.
Sample Text	Tarek Torky “Shrine of Sayyida Ruqayyah” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;5;ar

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Museum With No Frontiers

Shrine of Sayyida Ruqayyah

(ضريح السيدة رقية)

Publication Date 527 AH / 1133 AD

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Library Museum With No Frontiers

Record ID monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;5;ar

Library Location The shrine of Sayyida Ruqayyah is located on Al-Ashraf Khalil Street near the Ibn Tulun Mosque, south of Cairo, Cairo, Egypt

Date 527 AH / 1133 AD

Notes The building is attributed to a righteous woman named Ruqaya. There is no confirmation of the identity of Mrs. Ruqayyah, after whom the building was named. This lady may be the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the wife of Othman bin Affan, the third of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (ruled in the period 23-35 AH / 644-656 AD). The building is considered one of the sightseeing scenes created by the Fatimids in Egypt, where people used to climb to its roof to survey the crescent moon to determine the beginning of the Arab months in the Islamic calendar. The remaining part of the building is a rectangular building divided into three parts: the middle part, which is the largest, is square in plan, with a side length of 12 m, covered by a dome and opens to the two rectangular side parts through two openings with a horizontal lintel. The most important feature of the building is the transition area from the square to the circle of the dome. This area consists of rows of small arches reminiscent of muqarnas. Thus, it represents a turning point in the design of the dome, in which the transition area consisted of large arches at the corners of the square. Muqarnas later appeared in the domes of the Ayyubid era. Around the circle of the dome there is a band of Kufic inscription that includes Qur’anic verses. This band is considered the oldest recorded inscription on a shrine in Egypt. Eight plaster windows opened at the neck of the octagonal dome, with two windows on each side. The bottom of these windows was decorated with beautiful plaster decorations, which are considered a wonderful example of arabesque decorations in the Fatimid era. The dome is lobed in shape from the outside.

Sample Text Tarek Torky “Shrine of Sayyida Ruqayyah” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;5;ar