Cairo
Sayyid Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, a descendant of Sayyiduna Ali Zayn al-Abidin, was known as Sa'i al-Bahr, 'the one who walked the river'. In a year when the…
Sayyid Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, a descendant of Sayyiduna Ali Zayn al-Abidin, was known as Sa'i al-Bahr, 'the one who walked the river'. In a year when the Nile flood failed, Mazarat Misr tells, he walked along the bank weeping for the people and praying for the water to rise, and he was also called Abu al-Shafaqa, 'the father of compassion'. Al-Sakhawi adds that he searched for the letter Umar ibn al-Khattab had written to the Nile and, after seeing Umar in a dream, cast it into the river. He passed away in 330 AH. His small mosque stands on Sa'i al-Bahr Street in Old Cairo, facing Rawda Island, and his tomb is inside. The Nilometer at the southern tip of Rawda and the Manial Palace are a short walk away across the water.