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دار العلم بالقاهرة

دار العلم بالقاهرة

c. 1009 CE · 400 AH

Al-Hakim's early piety built Cairo's Dar al-Ilm, gathered jurists and hadith-men and raised the Jami' al-Hakimi — for three years; then he turned to killing men of learning, closed the house and barred much good 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region
Egypt & Nile
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

100010101020 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era

Overview

Ibn al-Imad, in "Shadharat al-Dhahab", says that al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah turned to devotion and religion around 400 AH, and ordered the founding of the House of Knowledge (Dar al-Ilm) in Egypt. 1

What the source reports

  • He brought jurists and traditionists into the house, built up the Hakimi mosque in Cairo, and prayers for him became frequent. 1
  • Things stayed that way for three years. 1
  • Then he began to kill people of learning, closed the house, and prevented many good works. 1

Dating

The date of the event is 400 AH as in the source, and the Gregorian year (around 1009 CE) is derived by conversion. No second source is given for the date here, so it needs an additional source.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
الحاكم بأمر الله منصور بن العزيز

People and things also explored

The Dar al-Hikma of Cairo· هدم الحاكم كنيسة القيامة وكنائس مصر· الحاكم بأمر الله منصور بن العزيز

Sources

  1. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali, p. 165-166
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “دار العلم بالقاهرة”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/dar-al-ilm-cairo-400/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.

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The Dar al-Hikma of Cairo

The Dar al-Hikma of Cairo, founded by the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in 395 — the most famous of the Fatimid 'madaris al-hikma' through which the Ismaili da'wa spread its doctrines among its adherents. The institution began with the da'wa-schools al-Mahdi Ubayd Allah opened at Mahdiyya, flourished at Mansuriyya under al-Mansur, then at Cairo from al-Mu'izz's reign, reaching the chief 'islands' of the da'wa beyond Egypt. Attached to it was the Dar al-Ilm library holding many works for reading and copying; the vizier al-Afdal closed it and the caliph al-Amir reopened it.