Women / Muslim Women as Patrons

‘Muslim women generously provided patronage for the interior enhancement of religious buildings.’

Muslim women generously provided patronage for the interior enhancement of religious buildings; in the supply of elegant Qur’ans and other high-quality mosque furnishings. One of the most admirable is the intricate, inlaid-teak prayer niche for the shrine of Sayyida Ruqayya, the patron of which was the wife of the Fatimid caliph, al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah in 527 / 1133. There are a number of Qur’anic manuscripts commissioned by Zirid princesses that were intended for use in the Great Mosque of Kairouan, among them Umm Milal’s Qur’an and that of Umm al-‘Ilu, the sister of the Zirid prince al-Mu‘izz ibn Badis. A third manuscript was presented by Fatima, governess to the prince Badis Bin al-Mansur.

NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Page from a Qur'anHegira 410 / AD 1020Fatimid-ZiridMuseum of Islamic Art
Raqqada, Kairouan, Tunisia
Fatima, governess to the Zirid prince Badis, endowed this Qur'an to the Great Mosque of Kairouan. Interestingly it was compiled under the supervision of another woman, 'Dura al-Katiba' – 'Dura the lady-scribe'.
Qur'anic illuminationHegira 295 / AD 907AghlabidMuseum of Islamic Art
Raqqada, Kairouan, Tunisia
A Qur'an manuscript that was executed and dedicated to the Great Mosque of Kairouan by a local woman.
MihrabHegira 6th century / AD 12th centuryFatimidMuseum of Islamic Art
Cairo, Egypt
An inscription on this mihrab (prayer niche) tells us that it was made by order of Sayyida 'Ulam al-Amiriyya (d. AH 535 / AD 1140), wife of Caliph al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah, for the tomb of Sayyida Ruqayya.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
MihrabHegira 6th century / AD 12th centuryFatimidMuseum of Islamic Art
Cairo, Egypt
Detail of the mihrab made for the Shrine of Sayyida Ruqayya; now in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo.
Ceramic tile with a picture of the Ka'baHegira last quarter of the 10th century / AD 16th centuryOttomanMuseum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey
The granddaughter of Sultan Bayezid II (r. 886–918 / 1481–1512), commissioned the Neslişah Sultan Mosque in Istanbul, embedding this tile depicting the Ka'ba into one of the walls; the tile was still in situ right up until 1914.