The great commander Amr ibn al-‘As, after whom the mosque is named, was born in Mecca. Due to his early involvement in trade, he had the opportunity to closely observe the geography of the region. In fact, his commercial travels abroad enabled him to establish contact with many leaders. The most significant of these was the Negus, the king of Abyssinia at the time. His friendship with the Negus led to his appointment as a representative on behalf of the Muslims of Mecca. Amr ibn al-‘As, who served as the commander of the cavalry units in the Meccan army during the Battles of Uhud and the Trench, later employed his military skills in service of the Islamic armies after embracing Islam. Amr ibn al-‘As, who quickly rose to prominence through his military and political acumen, was appointed as a commander in key battles with the commendation of the Prophet (saw). He was sent to Oman to convey the message of Islam, and at the time of the Prophet’s passing, he was still serving in that capacity. Later, Amr led a military unit dispatched to the region of Palestine by the Caliph Abu Bakr, and he also participated in the Battles of Ajnadayn and Yarmouk. He is remembered as the person who facilitated the peaceful surrender of al-Quds to the conqueror, Caliph ’Umar.
Furthermore, Amr ibn al-‘As was the one who convinced the caliph of the strategic importance of conquering Egypt. Entering Egypt as the commander of a cavalry unit of 4,000 soldiers, he emerged victorious. He went on to take control of Farama, the Fortress of Babylon, and Alexandria, thereby securing dominance over Egypt. This success earned him the title “the Conqueror of Egypt”. Consequently, he was appointed as governor of the province of Egypt. His conquest of a land as significant as Egypt and a city as prominent as Alexandria became the rightful basis for this title in the annals of history. Following the conquest, the great commander initiated numerous economic and administrative reforms. His first act was to establish the city of Fustat and to build the mosque that would bear his name. In accordance with the Prophetic tradition of city-building centered around a military camp and a mosque, Fustat, located near Cairo, holds particular significance as the first Islamic city on the African continent. The spirit of its first founder, still felt in Fustat today, embodies the foundational elements of the enduring tradition of Islamic urbanism.
Amr ibn al-‘As, who is regarded as one of the four renowned geniuses among the Arabs, known for his intelligence, bravery, eloquence, poetic talent, and administrative skill, passed away in Egypt at the age of ninety.
Following the conquest, the mosque commissioned by Amr ibn al-‘As in Fustat in the year 642, regarded as one of the first religious structures in Islam, was originally built in a simple and modest form. Constructed on approximately one acre of land by the victorious Companions, the mosque was made of mudbrick supported by palm trunks. During the reign of Mu‘awiyah in 673, the mosque was demolished and rebuilt on a larger scale. The four minarets added to each corner of the mosque are considered the first minarets in Islamic history. The tradition of reciting tasbih before the Fajr and ‘Isha prayers, as well as on Friday and Eid nights, along with the practice of reciting the sala before the Friday prayer, is believed to have originated from these minarets. The mosque has undergone numerous renovations and additions throughout Islamic history and remained under the attention of various rulers. Having suffered damage from earthquakes, fires, and other disasters, it was essentially rebuilt during the Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Fatimid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods. Every state that ruled over Egypt left its mark through repairs and architectural contributions to the mosque.
During his journey to Egypt in the Ottoman period (1672), Evliya Celebi recounts a legend regarding the construction of the Amr Mosque. He states that the area where the mosque now stands was previously occupied by a Coptic and a Greek monastery. He notes that the mosque contained 820 columns and that its ceiling, rising above the arches, was adorned with finely crafted decorations. According to Celebi, at that time the mosque featured a richly ornamented wooden minbar, four elegant minarets, a latticed prayer area on the right reserved for viziers, and a place of visit on the left. On the right side of the minbar, there was, in his account, a forty- to fifty-verse inscription commemorating a restoration carried out by Bayram Pasha in 1623.
The mosque, which attained much of its current form in the 15th century, has an irregular square layout. At the center of its inner courtyard stands a shadirvan (ablution fountain). The mosque is composed of numerous columns, none of which were originally constructed for it; all are spolia, reused from earlier structures. As such, there is no uniformity in size or style among the columns. The mosque, which resembles a forest of columns, features a highly modest appearance in terms of ornamentation, both inside and out. Some decorative elements can be found on the mihrab and minbar. The mihrab of the Amr ibn al-‘As Mosque is regarded as the first example of Islamic art. For this reason, it is also referred to as Taj alJawami‘ (The Crown of Mosques), Jami‘ al-‘Atiq (The Ancient Mosque), and Jami‘ al-Fath (The Mosque of Conquest). Another notable feature of this mosque is that, since its establishment, it has served as a place of learning and scholarly activity. Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr, the son of Amr ibn al-‘As, taught hadith here using his compilation alSahifat al-Sadiqah, which he wrote based on what he heard from the Prophet (saw). The grave of Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr is also located within the mosque. Furthermore, lessons in Maliki, Shafi‘i, and Hanafi jurisprudence were later incorporated into the mosque’s curriculum. Due to the scholarly activities held there during its time, the mosque became the intellectual center of both Egypt and Africa. It is narrated that two days a week, qadis (judges) would hear public cases in the mosque; and that sultans, caliphs, emirs, and governors would perform the final Friday prayer of Ramadan exclusively in this mosque—a tradition said to have continued until the 1950s.
Until the early 20th century, the mosque remained in a state of disrepair and was used for prayer only once a year, when a large congregation would gather. Following restoration efforts carried out in 1988, it was reopened for regular worship. Located in the heart of present-day Cairo, the Amr ibn al-‘As Mosque continues to be a frequent destination for both local and foreign visitors.
