Hajjah Fatimah was a very wealthy Malay business woman And a charitable one in Singapore The 'Learning Tower' of Singapore It was gazetted as a national monument on 6 July 1973.

Hajjah Fatimah came from a well-known family in Malacca. She married a Bugis prince who unfortunately died when she was still young.

Hajjah Fatimah was a very wealthy business woman. She carried on a large lucrative trade and owned many vessels and perahus. She also had good connections with several Rajahs from Celebes, the homeland of her husband.

Hajjah Fatimah was a charitable lady. She built a house in Java Road in Kampong Glam where glam trees grew. They were used to make medicinal oil for caulking boats. The house was unfortunately attacked twice by robbers and also set on fire. When the house was attacked and burnt the second time. She abandoned it and built the Hajjah Fatimah Mosque on the present site and another house for her family. She died at the ripe old age of 98.

In the early years of Singapore an Arab merchant Abdul Rahman Alsagoff settled in Singapore. He traveled widely and died in Grisseh in Java. His son Syed Ahmad bin Adul Rahman Alsagoff married Raja Siti, the daughter of Hajjah Fatimah; he was a rich trader and owned several steamers and sailing vessels. After his death he was buried behind the Hajjah Fatimah Mosque.

In Java Road several houses were built for the poor by the Alsagoff family. Twice every year large feasts were held there and thousands attended them including Muslims of all ranks and classes. On of the feat was held on the anniversary of the death of Hajjah Fatimah.

The Hajjah Fatimah Mosque was built between 1845 and 1846; the minaret and ancillary buildings were probably erected by J.T. Thomas, the government surveyor (1841-1853). The main Mosque was rebuilt in the 1930s by Malay artisans trained by the French contractor Bossard Mopin to the designs of Chung and Wong. It is not true that the minaret was designed base on the steeple of the old St Andrew's Church which was demolished and replaced by the St Andrew's Cathedral.

The Hajjah Fatimah Mosque displays a hybrid of architectural types. It is a walled square enclosure with a domed main prayer hall, a bathing area and a school. The central minaret, the ritual washing area, and the two flanking houses are European in style. Many Chinese features in the windows and woodwork are easily recognizable. The Mosque has a universal flavour. At the back of the Mosque are a number of old tombstones.

After Hajjah Fatimah's death she was buried in a special chamber at the rear of the Mosque; her tombstone as well as her daughter's stand side bye side in the well carpeted chamber.