Nabi Daniel Mosque

The Nabi Daniel Mosque (Arabic: مسجد النبي دانيال), is a historic mosque located in Alexandria, Egypt. It is named after Muhammad Daniyal al-Mawsili, a Kurdish Muslim scholar of the Shafi'i school of thought who was buried in the mosque. The mosque is one of the places speculated to once have been the Tomb of Alexander the Great, while the actual tomb in the crypt of the mosque is erroneously attributed to the biblical prophet Daniel.

Al-Nabi Daniyal Mosque
مسجد النبي دانيال
19th century photograph of the Al-Nabi Daniyal Mosque
Religion
Affiliation	Sunni Islam
Patron	Muhammad Daniyal al-Mawsili, Luqman
Location
Location	Alexandria, Egypt
Egypt
Geographic coordinates	31.19482°N 29.90183°E / 31.19482; 29.90183
Architecture
Type	mosque
Style	Mamluk
Date established	1790
Specifications
Dome(s)	2
Minaret(s)	1
Shrine(s)	1
Mosque containing the tomb of Kurdish Muslim scholar, tomb is largely attributed to a biblical Prophet due to local legend

History

The building was built over the grave of the scholar Muhammad Daniyal al-Mawsili in 1790. In 1822, Muhammad Ali Pasha renovated and expanded the mosque. A royal cemetery for the family of the Khedive of Egypt was added next to mosque.

In 1879, reparations to the stonework was performed within the basement of the Nabi Daniyal Mosque. An underground vault was accidentally uncovered. The stone worker, accompanied by one of the mosque's clerics, entered the vault. Monuments made of granite ending with an angular summit were found in the basement. When they had gone deeper, the cleric requested the worker to leave. After that, the entrance to the vault was walled up. Remains of a Muslim cemetery were also discovered.

Architecture

The mosque building is a rectangular area surrounded by an open courtyard. In the northwestern side of the mosque, the ablution facilities are present. The male and female restrooms are also on the northwestern side of the courtyard.

The main entrance to the mosque is on the southwestern facade. This entrance leads to the prayer hall. The prayer hall is divided into two parts, one for males and the other one for females. The prayer hall itself is a rectangular area with eight corridors through seven marble columns bearing semicircular arches. In the southeastern wall of the prayer hall is the mihrab and minbar, and in the northeastern wall there is a door opening leading to the tomb chamber.

The tomb chamber is a rectangular area with an octagonal opening in the middle of its floor. A staircase leads at least five metres down into the basement, where two tombs are present. One of these tombs is that of the scholar, Muhammad Daniyal al-Mawsili, while the other tomb is attributed to Luqman, a man mentioned in the Qur'an, specifically the Surah Luqman. The authenticity of the tomb being attributed to Luqman is not confirmed by historians.

Local legend

Local traditions relate that the tomb of the Prophet Daniel was found at the site of the mosque. During the Rashidun conquest of Egypt, a coffin was found, and when the coffin was opened, a body covered in shrouds studded in gold was found. The deceased had a long nose and long arms. The Caliph Umar affirmed the body to be that of Daniel, and ordered that it be reburied with full security. However, archaeologists disputed and debunked this story, saying that the entombed was the scholar Muhammad Daniyal al-Mawsili and not the Prophet.

See also

• List of mosques in Egypt
• Tomb of Daniel
• Tomb of Alexander the Great