Sayf al-Din Shaykhu al-Nasiri was the major political authority and one of the most celebrated amirs in the state of Sultan Hasan.

The supervision of the state was in his control and he focused on policies leading to the stability of the nation and peace between the different groups of people living in the region.

Bey, the amir Manjak vizier, one of the Sultan’s Mamluks attacked him with a sword while Shaykhu was sitting at the House of Justice.

Bey was seized in the Mausoleum of al-Nasir, outside of Cairo, by ten of the grand amirs in full armor.

“He said: ‘I brought to Shaykhu a request for a transfer from salary to landed property, but he did not gratify my concern.

Shaykhu was not killed instantly by the attacked but never recovered and died on the night of Friday, the 16th day of Dhu al-Qa’da in 758 or 1357 C.E.

The foundation is said to have been built for Shaykh Akmal al-Din al-Rumi, who was the principal of twenty Sufis attached to it and was ultimately buried within the khanqah.

Maqrizi also made the claim that “no previous mosque and khanqah, in the area of Saliba, has thrived to this extent, nor was there ever created in the Bahri Mamluk state the equal to their pious endowments and the excellence of their incomes” (Smith).

It was built in 756 or 1355 C.E., six years after the Mosque by Shaykhu with the intention that it would serve as both a madrasa, a school, and a khanqah, a Sufi monastery.

In addition to the khanqah, there were also two baths and a row of stores with small residences in the second story above the shops constructed by Shaykhu.

He installed our Shaykh Akmal al-Din Muhammad ibn Mahmoud as head of the khanqah and teacher of the Hanafis.

This surplus ultimately led to the khanqah’s downfall, as the Sultan al-Nasir Faraj confiscated the money.

The foundation inscription in the entrance portal mentions the founder’s name with the humble sufi attribute ‘al-‘abd al-faqir’ which translated means ‘the poor slave.’ The inscription on the khanqah’s minaret differs from the mosque, as the khanqah includes the Qur’an passage XXII, 27 referring to the Hajj under the title “The Pilgrimage:” “Proclaim the Pilgrimage to all people.

Instead of increasing the thickness of the wall to even out the irregular shape of the building, the prayer hall is extended past the courtyard along the street, which is similar to the style of the mosque, creating an additional space in the eastern corner, covered by a wooden dome.

Shaykhu himself is reportedly buried within the khanqah, indicating that he changed his mind after the completion of the mausoleum attached to his mosque.

The two buildings face each other across Sharia Saliba with almost identical exterior aspects, yet the interiors serve completely different purposes.