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A visual abstraction of the divine.

This pattern has been the subject of several debates on the relationship between form and meaning in Islamic art. Some believe the pattern’s hanging lamp to be a representation of God’s light on Earth, since the pattern is often paired with Qur’anic calligraphy citing the Light Verse (Surat al-Nur: 35). Others see the design’s niche-like composition as a possible representation of the direction of prayer (the qibla).

In the case of this specific variation of the pattern, however, the aforementioned theories seem unlikely, since the pattern is not accompanied by the Light Verse nor does it point in the direction of the qibla. In fact, the location of this pattern on the façade of al-Aqmar Mosque has earned it a different set of significations in the context of Shi‘i beliefs and practices.

Al-Aqmar Mosque was built close to the now non-extant Fatimid palaces in the heart of Cairo. This suggests that the displayed pattern may have held a symbolic meaning in light of the royal ceremonial processions which began at the palaces and moved throughout the city. It is even possible that the pattern represents an abstracted image of the caliph himself! This is because, according to Shi‘i thought, the caliph is believed to be the imam, or divinely chosen religious leader, and has been described in Fatimid historic sources as a holy lantern guiding his subjects to a righteous spiritual path.

Even more interesting is the star-shaped grille within the pattern. This shape for window grilles was quite prevalent in the Fatimid period and can be seen in the stucco windows of al-Azhar Mosque. During ceremonials, the Fatimid caliph is said to have appeared to the public from behind a special grille, or shubbak. Considering the mosque’s role in Fatimid royal processions and appearances, the pattern’s hanging lamp paired with the star-shaped grille appear to be symbols for the imam-caliph behind his royal shubbak.

Shi‘i symbolism on al-Aqmar Mosque’s façade is not restricted to this pattern. Several other mysterious designs appear as part of the decorations of the mosque’s exterior, including a carving of a closed door (Pattern 141) and a vase with two plants. These designs are also believed to symbolise important figures in the Fatimid Shi‘i faith like al-Hasan and al-Husayn, grandsons of Prophet Muhammad, and the imam-caliph’s vizier. 

 

The iconographic significance of al-Aqmar’s patterns is still very much present in modern day Isma‘ili Shi‘ism, particularly within the Dawudi Bohra sect. In fact, several elements from the façade of al-Aqmar Mosque can be seen in other Cairene monuments that were restored by the Bohras. The entire façade itself was reproduced in India as part of the celebrations of the fifty-second Bohra Da‘i, Sultan Burhan al-Din. It is indeed remarkable that al-Aqmar’s nine-hundred-year-old patterns have preserved their symbolic significance to this day—a significance that goes beyond Cairo’s borders.

 

Variations:

Local:

Bayt al-Sitt Wasila, Cairo. Mural in the maq‘ad and inner qa‘a. (Ottoman)

Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo. Mamluk marble mihrab of the Baridiyya Madrasa. [Inv. no. 19] 

Regional:

Marble mihrab panels from Ghazni. (Ghaznavid)

Mashhad al-Husayn, Aleppo. Carved stone at the entrance portal. (Ayyubid)

National Museum, Damascus. Decorations on the wooden cenotaph of Khalid ibn al-Walid in Homs. (Mamluk)

Mashhad al-Muhassin, Aleppo. Decorations on the wooden cenotaph. (Mamluk)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Ilkhanid tile panel from the Shrine of Abd al-Samad in Natanz. [Inv. No. 09.8]

Pattern ID Card
Description

This stone pattern consists of a niche-like composition (an arch flanked by two columns) with a frame of vegetal carvings. On either side of the niche lies an ornamental roundel, above which is an inscription of the shahada. Within the niche hangs a lamp above a star-shaped grille. Such a combination of lamp and grille within a niche has various symbolic interpretations within Islamic art.

Building

al-Aqmar Mosque

Monument Number

33

Period

Fatimid

Provenance

In situ

Date

AH 519 | 1125 CE

Typology

Geometric, Abstract, Vegetal

Motifs

Split-palmette, Kidney-shaped leaf

Craftsperson

Unknown

Colors

Natural

Materials

Stone

Techniques

Carved

Composition

Layered pattern

Grid

Hexagonal

Shapes

Hexagon, Six-pointed star

Location

al-Mu‘izz Street.

Façade, upper far-left side.

Patron

Ma’mun al-Bata’ihi, vizier of the Fatimid caliph al-’Amir bi Ahkam Allah.

See location on map

References

Bibliography

Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. 1989. Islamic Architecture in Cairo: An Introduction. American University in Cairo Press. 

 

———. 1922. “The Façade of the Aqmar Mosque in the Context of Fatimid Ceremonial.” Muqarnas 9: 29–38.

 

Creswell, K.A.C. 1979. The Muslim Architecture of Egypt. Vol. 1. Hacker Art Books. 

 

Graves, Margaret S. 2018. “The Lamp of Paradox.” Word & Image 34 (3): 237–250.

 

Mulder, Stephennie. 2014. “Seeing the Light: Enacting the Divine at Three Medieval Syrian Shrines.” In Envisioning Islamic Art and Architecture, pp. 88–108. Brill.

 

O’Kane, Bernard. 2016. The Mosques of Egypt. American University in Cairo Press.

 

 Sanders, Paula. 2008. Creating Medieval Cairo: Empire, Religion, and Architectural Preservation in Nineteenth-Century Egypt. American University in Cairo Press.

 

 Williams, Caroline. 1983. “The Cult of ‘Alid Saints in the Fatimid Monuments of Cairo, Part I: The Mosque of al-Aqmar.” Muqarnas 1: 37–52.

Images

Drawings: Hossam Elganainy

Postproduction: Nada Elsayed 
Photographs: Francisca Reis 

All Contributors
Author

Research and text: Yumna Moussa
Arabic translation: Huda Zikry

English copy editing: Nour Bahgat

Arabic copy editing: Reham Zein ELabdeen and Heba Negm