Sayyidina Mohammed Ibn ‘Anan

(His shrine lies in al-Fath mosque in Ramses Square)

He was born in 822 AH in the village of Birhamtush in Sharqiyya governorate where the shrine of his brother Sheikh Abdul Qadir Ibn ‘Anan is also found. Due to his piety, Sheikh Mohammed was held in great esteem and reverence in his village. When news of him reached Sheikh Kamal ul-Deen, the imam of the mosque of al-Kamaliyya school in Cairo, he traveled to al-Sharqiyya with the sole intention of seeing him. But when he met Mohammed Ibn ‘Anan, he submitted himself to him and made a pledge to him. He then took him to Sheikh Ibn al-‘Abbasi al-Ghamry in Mahalla al-Kubra and forged a bond of brotherhood between them.

Speaking of himself, Sheikh Mohammed Ibn ‘Anan said, ‘I memorized the Qur`an when I was an adult. I started by memorizing the first half of the Qur`an at the hands of the jurist Naser ul-Deen al-Akhtabi and then memorized the second half at the hands of my brother Sheikh Abdul Qadir.

Sheikh Mohammed Ibn ‘Anan was modest and sensitive. He never refused to help anyone whatever the circumstances. He was a role model for Qiyam ul-Layl.

He died in 922 AH at the age of 100.

Al Gayarah, Al Azbakeyah, Cairo Governorate, Egypt