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Overview
Al-Azhar Mosque
Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo is the oldest continuously functioning university in the world and the most influential institution in Sunni Islam, founded in 970 CE — just one year after the Fatimid army established Cairo as Egypt’s new capital. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has served simultaneously as a mosque, a theological university, and the supreme religious authority of Sunni Islam across the global Muslim community. Today al-Azhar University, of which the mosque forms the historic core, teaches over 400,000 students in faculties across Egypt.
The mosque’s architecture is a visual history of Islamic Cairo: the original Fatimid structure (970 CE) is overlaid by Mamluk additions, Ayyubid modifications, and Ottoman expansions, each dynasty leaving its architectural mark. The main prayer hall, entered through a succession of courts, contains a forest of columns from different periods and a series of mihrabs reflecting the stylistic evolution of Islamic decoration over ten centuries. The exterior is punctuated by five minarets of varying heights and designs added across different periods.
For visitors, Al-Azhar offers a rare opportunity to experience a mosque that functions simultaneously as an ancient monument, an active center of daily prayer for thousands of worshippers, and the institutional home of the highest authority in Sunni Islamic law. The courtyard and prayer hall are open to non-Muslim visitors outside prayer times, and the experience of walking through the colonnaded iwans alongside students, scholars, and ordinary worshippers gives a sense of al-Azhar’s living continuity that no museum can replicate.
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Interesting Facts
Al-Azhar was founded in 970 CE — making it the oldest continuously functioning university in the world, predating the University of Bologna (founded 1088 CE) by over a century
The mosque serves over 400,000 students enrolled in al-Azhar University's faculties across Egypt, making it the largest Islamic educational institution in the world
The Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar is considered the supreme authority in Sunni Islamic law and theology — a position whose rulings carry weight for approximately 1.5 billion Sunni Muslims worldwide
The mosque's five minarets were added by different dynasties across five centuries — from the Mamluk period through the Ottoman era — and represent a visual chronology of Egyptian Islamic architectural styles
Al-Azhar was originally a Fatimid Ismaili Shia institution; Saladin converted it to Sunni teaching in 1171 CE after his conquest of Egypt — a theological transformation without physical discontinuity
History & Significance
Al-Azhar was founded in 970 CE by the Fatimid general Jawhar al-Siqilli as the congregational mosque of the new Fatimid capital. The Fatimids were Ismaili Shia Muslims, and al-Azhar’s original function was as a center of Ismaili teaching — only after Saladin’s Ayyubid takeover of Egypt in 1171 CE was it reoriented toward Sunni Shafi’i teaching, which it has maintained ever since.
During the Mamluk period (1250–1517 CE) al-Azhar became the pre-eminent center of Islamic scholarship in the world, attracting scholars and students from Morocco to Central Asia. It developed the system of stipended student-scholars (riwaq system) organized by geographic or ethnic origin that allowed Muslims from across the Islamic world to study in Cairo under Mamluk patronage. The institution’s prestige survived the Ottoman conquest of 1517 and continued to grow through the 18th and 19th centuries.
Al-Azhar’s modern function as the supreme Sunni religious authority was formalized during the reign of Muhammad Ali (1805–1848) when it was integrated into the Egyptian state. Today the Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar, appointed by the Egyptian president, is the most authoritative single voice in Sunni Islamic law and theology worldwide. The institution issues fatwas (religious rulings) on contemporary questions, trains imams for mosques across the Muslim world, and operates schools and universities in Egypt and internationally.
What to See
Main Prayer Hall
A vast hypostyle hall with columns from different centuries, multiple mihrabs reflecting evolving Islamic decorative styles, and an atmosphere of active scholarship and worship continuous since 970 CE.
Five Minarets
Five minarets of different heights, forms, and periods punctuate the exterior — a visual record of dynastic patronage from the Mamluks through the Ottomans spanning five centuries.
Fatimid Original Core
The earliest sections of the mosque dating to 970 CE are visible in the prayer hall's innermost columns and structural elements — the oldest surviving element of Cairo's founding.
Student Courtyard Life
The courtyards of al-Azhar are regularly occupied by students reading, memorizing Quran, and debating — providing a living glimpse of the scholarly culture that has functioned here for over 1,000 years.
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