History
Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi is a Sufi saint from Al-Andalus of the Moroccan Merinid dynasty who later in his life moved to Alexandria in Egypt. His complete name is Shahab al-Din Abu'l-'Abbas Ahmad ibn 'Umar ibn Mohammad al-Ansari al-Mursi. Al-Mursi Abul-'Abbas, as he is now commonly called, is one of the four master saints of Egypt, the other three being Ahmad al-Badawi, al-Dessouqi and al-Haggag. His legacy and reverence in Egypt were such that Mursi became a common name in the country.
Shahab was born in Murcia in al-Andalus, in 616 H (1219 CE) to a wealthy family in the trading business and was well educated in religious sciences.
He grew up helping his father in the trading business. He was known for his honesty and for his many contributions to the needy. He left Spain with his family in 640 H (1242 CE) in the face of increasing Christian control over Spain. He was accompanied by his father, brother, and his mother. However, his parents did not make it to Tunisia, their destination.
In Tunisia, Shahab heard about Shaykh Abu’l-Hassan ash-Shadhili, founder of the Shadhiliyya Sufi brotherhood, and he accompanied him when the latter moved to Alexandria in Egypt. Many Muslim scholars from Spain chose to live in Alexandria as Muslim Spain gradually fell under the domination of hostile Christian forces. Al-Shadhili was fond of Shahab who was becoming one of his best students. Abu'l-'Abbas al-Mursi (the Murcian) - as Shahab became known in Alexandria - married al Shadhili’s daughter and had two daughters and a son from her. He lived 43 years in Alexandria as a Muslim teacher until he died in 686 H (1287 AD).
The Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque is dedicated to Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi whose tomb it contains. It is located in the Anfoushi neighborhood of Alexandria, near the Citadel of Qaitbay.
The mosque was redesigned and built in today's current form by Eugenio Valzania and Mario Rossi in the years 1929/1945, and was highly influenced by Egypt's Old Cairo buildings and architecture.