Tanta prepares for 3M guests for Badawi birthday

CAIRO – 7 September 2017: Three million people are expected to visit Tanta, the capital of the Gharbia governorate, to participate in the celebrations of the Mawlid (Birthday) of Al-Sayed Al-Badawi, considered the largest mawlid in Egypt in early October.


Visitors prepare for the Mawlid of Al-Sayed Al-Badawi

The annual celebration of Egypt’s largest mawlid will start next month from October 6 to 13, gathering people from northern and southern Egypt. Many Upper Egypt residents only visit the Nile Delta region during the Al-Badawi celebrations. Visitors buy hummus, meshabbek and halawa, which are popular types of snacks and desserts sold during the celebrations.


People pray at Maqam Al-Sayed Al-Badawi in Tanta

The mosque, which occupies 5,000 square meters, can hold up to around 20,000 people during the mawlid. There will be imams from all over the world, especially from North Africa, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. About 70 Sufi groups will participate in the celebrations with their own folkloric shows and sessions, according to a source at the mosque who refused to be named due to not being authorized to speak to media.



People from different places come to visit Al-Sayed Al-BadawI


The mosque is covered with lights, and loud, devotional religious songs are played from speakers in every corner as circles of worshippers whirl, chanting the word “madad” (God help us). Simple tents are set up in the streets and alleys surrounding the mosque, full of people sleeping, eating, gathering and chatting.



Maqam Al-Sayed Al-Badawi

Al-Sayed Al-Badawi is a well-known Sufi saint whose lineage is believed to go back to Imam al-Hussein (may Allah be pleased with him), the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He is also the founder of the famous Badawiyya Sufi order.


Visitors prepare for the Mawlid of Al-Sayed Al-Badawi

He was born in Fez, Morocco in 596 AH/1200 AD and then studied Quranic sciences in Medina and jurisprudence in Iraq, before settling in Egypt in 640 AH/1243 AD to spread Islamic knowledge. There he joined the Egyptian army in the war against Louis III, and he played a significant role in his capture. He died in Tanta in 675 AH/1277 AD and is entombed at the mosque that bears name.