[6][5][8] The origin of this shrine is attributed to the Fatimid caliph al-Hafiz (r. 1132–1149), who had a dream in which he encountered a woman wearing a cloak who turned out to be Sayyida Ruqayya.

He then led members of his entourage to the spot where the encounter had happened in his dream, where they dug and found an unknown tomb.

[11] The mashhad is still in use as a mosque or oratory today, where religious instruction takes places and people come to pray for the saint's intercession.

This involved repairing damage to the ancient structures and cleaning accumulated dirt and grime over the walls and stucco mihrabs.

On the inside, the transition from the octagonal base of the dome to the rest of the square chamber is achieved through a series of superimposed niches acting as squinches and giving the vague impression of muqarnas (stalactite-like) forms.

[8]The silver zarih (shrine or tomb enclosure) surrounding the cenotaph is a more recent donation from the Dawoodi Bohra, spiritual descendants of the Fatimids.

[8] The mausoleum is located along a street leading across the al-Khalifa area (also referred to as the Sayyida Nafisa Cemetery) which is part of the wider Qarafa Necropolis of Cairo.

Along the street is a concentration of important mausoleums from different periods, including those of Egypt's only female ruler since Cleopatra, Shajar ad-Durr, and of the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil.

[1] With so many tombs associated to the family of Muhammad and of 'Ali, the area had notable religious importance for the Isma'ili Shi'a Fatimid dynasty, who built many of the original mausoleums here in their day.