Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, accompanied by his wife Hajjah Naziha Adil, daughter Sajeda
and a number of murids of the Naqshbandi Order visited Cairo, Luxor and Aswan Dam.
During their visit to Cairo, the
Shaykh met with Shaykh Al-Azhar ash-Sharif As-Sayyid
Muhammad Tantawi, the Mufti of Egypt Shaykh Farid Wasil and the Minister of Religious
Affairs, Dr. Mahmoud Zaqzuq.
Here are some pictures, transmitted digitally from our offices in Cairo, of their visit to
Egypt.
Two views of Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo.
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| The sphinx. | Dr. Munir William Sperling, Shaykh Hisham, Sajeda and Hajjah Naziha at the Aswan Dam. |
Shaykh Hisham and accompanying murids at the Luxor Temple. The Obelisk of Thutmose
I lies behind them.
Like Karnak Temple nearby, Luxor Temple is an accretion of structures erected
by
succeeding kings. The principal entrance today is the Pylon of Ramesses II (c.1279-1213
B.C.E.), which is flanked by two seated statues of the king and one standing
statue (of an original four).
The remaining obelisk of pink granite is situated in front of the easternmost
seated statue. The western obelisk has stood in the Place de la Concorde in
Paris since 1836. The vertical niches held flag staffs.
The pylon entranceway is suggestive of the Egyptian hieroglyph which means
"horizon." In
the hieroglyph, the circle of the sun is flanked by two stylized mountain shapes. Most
Egyptian temples had an east-west axis so that the sun would symbolically rise and set
between these pylon/mountains. Luxor Temple, however, along with Dendera has a north-
south axis.
Beyond the Third Pylon and in the Central Court of Karnak Temple is the Obelisk of
Thutmose I (c.1493-1479 B.C.E.). This is the last of four obelisks which originally
stood in front of the Fourth Pylon, which, in the time of Thutmose I, was the entrance
into Karnak Temple. The obelisk is 71 feet/21.7 meters in height, sits on a
base 6 feet/1.8 meters square, and weighs about 143 tons. Each side of the obelisk
has three vertical lines of inscription, the central one being a dedication
by Thutmose I.
Shaykh Hisham thoughtfully eyes the columns of a Luxor Temple, recalling what was visited on the inhabitants of these huge ruins. The Pharoahs of Egypt, among whom was the worst tyrant to walk the earth, the Ramses of the time of the Prophet (s) Musa (as), were known for their cruelty and oppression of the believing Hebrews, who had emigrated when Sayiddina Yusuf (Joseph, peace be upon him) had migrated to Egypt after becoming its Vizier of Agriculture.
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 Abu Simbel, a
monument to the Pharoahs was built by Ramses II. It was moved to higher ground when the
Aswan Dam was built in the '60s. Cost of moving the monument was in the $
multi-millions and was funded by an international consortium, intent on preserving these
symbolic statues, still revered today in the Western world, though to Muslims these
idols are polytheistic in origin and therefore represent the ultimate downfall of false
gods. |
| One of the pylons at Luxor. |