Sayyida Nafisa was born in Nafisah, Mecca present day Saudi Arabia in 830 CE or 208 AH (after Hijra). She was a descendent if the Prophet Muhammad (SWT), born to the great great grand son of the Prophet. She married a fellow descent of the Prophet and along with her husband, moved to Cairo, Egypt where she had two children. Here, she made her career as a scholar and teacher of Islam and became the best known scholar of Hadith in Egypt. Her students came from across the region to study from here, including her student Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi’i, the first contributed of the principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. Upon his death, it was said his body was brought to her house and she prayed over it. According the historical reports, Sayyida Nafisa was an ascetic, eating once per three days and dedicating her life to the service of others in the name of Allah. She helped a number of the vulnerable in her community, especially the paralyzed and severely ill. More than 150 miracles are attributed to her throughout both her life and death, including curing a paralyzed woman, during a blind child, intervening when the Nile did not rise, and preventing a ship from sinking. She is remember across Egypt and the region as a pious woman with abundant virtue and a masjid in Cairo bares the name of this extraordinary woman who rests in the mausoleum adjacent.