Sa’ûd
ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz had turned back to his den of mischief, Dar’iyya, in 1227,
after the pilgrimage and a visit to Tâ’if where much Muslim blood had been
shed. He was astonished to learn that al-Madînat al-Munawwara and then
al-Makkat al-Mukarrama were taken by the Ottomans when he arrived in Dar’iyya.
Just during those days, the Ottoman soldiers attacked Tâ’if but met no
resistance, for the tyrant of Tâ’if, ’Uthmân al-Mudâyiqî, and his soldiers had
fled from fear. The good news was presented to the Caliph of the Muslims in
Istanbul, Hadrat Sultan Mahmûd Khan ’Adlî, who felt very happy and expressed
thanks in the deepest sense for this blessing of Allâhu ta’âlâ. He sent his
thanks and gifts to Muhammad ’Alî Pasha and ordered him to go
to the Hijaz again
to inspect and control the bandits.
Muhammad
’Alî Pasha, obeying Sultan Mahmûd Khan’s order, set out from Egypt again. At
that time, Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi was in Tâ’if with the Ottoman soldiers, busy
with searching for the bloodyhanded tyrant ’Uthmân. After a well-organized
search, ’Uthmân was arrested and sent to Egypt and then to Istanbul. Muhammad
’Alî Pasha sent Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi to Istanbul when he arrived in Mecca and
appointed his brother Yahyâ ibn Mas’ûd Effendi (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) to be
the amîr of Mecca. Mubârak ibn Maghyan, another bandit, was also arrested and
sent to Istanbul in Muharram 1229. These two bandits, who shed the blood of
thousands of Muslims, got the punishment they deserved after being paraded in
the streets of Istanbul for exposition. Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi, who served as
the amîr of Mecca for 26 years, was given a warm welcome of respect and love in
Istanbul, and he was sent to Salonika where he reposed until he passed away in
1231 (1815). His shrine in Salonika is open to visitors.
A
division was sent out to clear the places far down to Yemen after sweeping the
bandits out from the blessed cities in the Hijaz. Muhammad ’Alî Pasha went to
help this division with his soldiers and cleared the whole district. He came
back to Mecca and stayed there until Rajab 1230, then he appointed his son
Hasan Pasha to be the governor of Mecca and returned to Egypt. Sa’ûd bin ’Abd
al-’Azîz died in 1231 and his son, ’Abdullâh ibn Sa’ûd, succeeded him. Muhammad
’Alî Pasha sent his son Ibrâhîm Pasha with a division under his order against
’Abdullâh ibn Sa’ûd. ’Abdullâh made an agreement with Tosun Pasha that he would
be loyal to the Ottomans on the condition that he would be recognized as the
governor of Dar’iyya, but Muhammad ’Alî Pasha did not accept this agreement.
Ibrâhîm Pasha set out from Egypt towards the end of the year 1231 and arrived
in Dar’iyya in the beginning of 1232. ’Abdullâh ibn Sa’ûd resisted against
Ibrâhîm Pasha with all his soldiers but was arrested after very bloody battles
in Dhu ’l-Qa’da 1233 (1818). The good news of the victory was welcomed in Egypt
with a salute of a hundred guns from the castle and rejoiced over for seven days
and nights. All the streets were decked with flags. Takbîrs and munâjât
(supplications) were recited on the minarets.
Muhammad
’Alî Pasha, who deemed it a very important duty to clear the blessed cities in
Arabia of the bandits, struggled hard to achieve this goal and expended
innumerable gold coins
for this cause.[1]
’Abdullâh
ibn Sa’ûd with his ferocious looters who had tortured Muslims were arrested and
sent to Egypt. They were all taken to Cairo before the eyes of innumerable
people in Muharram 1234. Muhammad ’Alî Pasha gave a very kind and happy welcome
to ’Abdullâh ibn Sa’ûd. The conversation between
them was as follows:
“You
have struggled very hard!” the Pasha said.
“War
is an affair of fate and luck,” Ibn Sa’ûd answered.
“How
do you find my son Ibrâhîm Pasha?”
“He
is very brave. His intelligence is much greater than his bravery.
We strove hard, too. But, it happened as Allah had decreed.”
“Do
not worry! I shall write a letter of intercession for you to the Caliph of the
Muslims.”
“What
was fated will happen.”
“Why
do you carry that casket with you?”
“In
it, I keep very valuable things that my father took from the Hujrat
an-Nabawiyya. I shall offer it to our magnificent Sultan.”
Muhammad
’Alî Pasha ordered the casket to be opened. Three copies of the Qur’ân
al-karîm
with invaluable gildings, 330 very large pearls, a large emerald and gold
chains, all stolen from the Hujrat an-Nabawiyya, were seen.
“This
is not all of the valuable treasures taken from the Khazînat an-Nabawiyya. There
should be more, shouldn’t there?” Muhammad ’Alî Pasha inquired.
“You
are right, my noble lord. But, this is all I could find in my father’s
treasure. My father was not the only one who attended the plunder of the Hujrat
as-Sa’âda. The Arab chiefs, notables of Mecca, the servants of he Haram
as-Sa’âda and the amîr of Mecca, Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi, were all his partners
in the plunder. What was seized belonged to whomever grasped it.”
“Yes,
that is right! We found many things with Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi [rahmat-Allâhi
’alaih] and took them from him,” said
[1] It is now seen with sorrow that the Saudi government is in a struggle to disseminating their heretical beliefs all over the world by expending many more dollars. There is no way out other than to learn true Islam by reading the books of religion written by the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna in order to save ourselves from the destruction of lâ-madhhabism.
Muhammad
’Alî Pasha.[1]
After
this conversation, ’Abdullâh ibn Sa’ûd and his accomplices were sent to
Istanbul. These ferocious bandits, who had murdered thousands of Muslims were
hung in front of a gate of the Topkapi Palace.
Ibrâhîm
Pasha demolished the Dar’iyya fortress and returned to Egypt in Muharram 1235
A.H. And one of Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s sons was brought to Egypt and
kept in prison till he died.
After
’Abdullâh ibn Sa’ûd, Tarkî ibn ’Abdullâh of the same lineage became the chief
of the Wahhâbîs in 1240 (1824). Tarkî’s father, ’Abdullâh, was the uncle of
Sa’ûd ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz. In 1249, Mashshârî ibn Sa’ûd killed Tarkî and took the
reign. And Faysal, Tarkî’s son, murdered Mashshârî to succeed him in leading
the Wahhâbîs in 1254 A.H. (1838). Though he tried to resist the soldiers sent
by Muhammad ’Alî Pasha the same year, he was captured by Mîrliwâ
(Brigadier-general) Khurshîd Pasha and was sent to Egypt, where he was
imprisoned. Then, Sa’ûd’s son Khâlid Bey, who had lived in Egypt till then, was
appointed to be the amîr of Dar’iyya and sent to Riyadh. Khâlid Bey, who was
trained according to Ottoman manners, was a polite person with the faith of Ahl
as-Sunna. Therefore, he managed to remain as the amîr only for one and a half
years. Someone named ’Abdullâh ibn Sazyân, pretending to be faithful towards
the Ottoman State, captured many villages. He assaulted Dar’iyya and announced
himself as the amîr of the Najd. Khâlid took refuge in Mecca. Faysal, who was
in prison in Egypt, fled and, with the help of Ibn ar-Rashîd, the amîr of Jaba
as-Samr, went to the Najd and killed Ibn Sazyân. Taking the oath of allegiance
to the Ottoman State, he was appointed the amîr of Dar’iyya in 1259. he kept
his word till he died in 1282 (1865).
Faysal had four
sons, namely ’Abdullâh, Sa’ûd, ’Abd ar-Rahmân and Muhammad Sa’îd. The eldest
one, ’Abdullâh, was appointed as the amîr of Najd. Sa’ûd rose in rebellion
against his elder brother with the people he gathered around him on the
[1] Ayyûb Sabrî Pasha comments in his text: “It should be thought that Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi took them with the purpose of saving them from being plundered by the Wahhâbite looters. Muhammad ’Alî Pasha said, ‘Yes, that is right!’ not because he believed that Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi really looted, but because he accepted the reason why there were so very few things in the casket.”
Bahrain
Island in 1288 A.H. (1871). ’Abdullâh sent his brother Muhammad Sa’îd to defeat
Sa’ûd, but Sa’îd’s soldiers were defeated. Sa’ûd had the desire of capturing
all the cities of the Najd, but, because ’Abdullâh was an amîr appointed by the
Ottoman State, Farîq (Major-General) Nâfidh Pasha was sent with the sixth army
to defeat Sa’ûd. Sa’ûd and all the rebels with him were annihilated, and the
Najd regained comfort and peace, and all the Muslims prayed for the Caliph of
the Faithful (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih). In 1306 (1888), however, Muhammad ibn
ar-Rashîd captured the Najd and imprisoned ’Abdullâh.
About
one millon savages of Asîr who lived in the Sawwat Mountains between the cities
of Tâ’if and San’a had been made Wahhâbîs when Yemen had been invaded. Muhammad
’Alî Pasha, after clearing the home of raiders had postponed the clearance on
these mountains to a later date. This district was also taken under the control
of the Ottomans during the time of Sultân ’Abd al-Majîd Khân (rahmat-Allâhi
’alaih) in 1263 A.H.
The
people of Asîr had an amîr, whom they elected, and a governor, who was
appointed by the Ottoman State. They frequently rebelled against the governor
who treated them kindly, but they deemed it an act of worship to obey their
amîr. They even attacked the port of Hodeida in Yemen during a rebellion when
Kurd Mahmûd Pasha was the governor, but they were killed by a fatal simoom.
Although they rebelled and attacked Hodeida again in 1287, a small number of
Ottoman soldiers heroically prevented them from entering the town. Thereupon, a
group of soldiers were sent under the command of Radîf Pasha and the dens of
brigands on the steep mountains were captured one by one by the fine plans and
organization of Radîf Pasha and the Ottoman staff officers. The dens of
mischief and rebellion were cleared away. When Radîf Pasha fell ill, Ghâzî
Ahmad Mukhtâr Pasha was appointed to civilize the savgaes in the deserts of
Yemen and in the Asîr Mountains and to establish and disseminate Islamic
knowledge and morals in that district.
The
Arabian Peninsula had been governed by the Ottomans since 923 A.H. (1517), when
Yâwûz Sultan Salim Khân (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih) conquered Egypt and became the
first Turkish caliph. Although the cities were governed in full peace and
quietness, the nomadic, ignorant people in the deserts and on the mountains
were left to be governed by their own shaikhs or
amîrs. These amîrs occasionally rebelled. Most of them became Wahhâbîs and
started attacking people and killing Muslims.
They robbed and
killed the pilgrims.
In
1274 (1858), the British organized a revolution and overthrew the Islamic State
in India and worked mischief also in Jidda; nevertheless, peace was maintained
with the policy implemented by Nâmiq Pasha, the governor of Mecca at that time.
All
the rebellious, savage amîrs were brought to obedience and put under the
control of the Ottoman State in 1277.
It
is noted in the book Mir’ât
al-Haramain that
twelve million people lived on the Arabian Peninsula in 1306 A.H. (1888) when
the book was written. Although they were very intelligent and understanding,
they were also extremely ignorant, cruel and murderous. Their allegiance to
Sa’ûd increased the intensity of their barbarism.
Amîr
Ibn ar-Rashîd, the great grandson of Ibn ar-Rashîd, fought with the Ottomans
against the British during the First World War. ’Alî, his son, the amîr of
Hâ’il, a town south-east of Medina, passed away in 1251 (1835) and was
succeeded by his elder son ’Abdullâh ar-Rashîd, who governed as the amîr for
thirteen years. His eldest son and successor, Tallâl, was poisoned by Faysal
ibn Sa’ûd and, as a result, went mad and committed suicide with a revolver in
1282 (1866). Mu’tab, his brother, became the amîr after him, but Bandar ibn
Tallâl killed his uncle Mu’tab and took the reign. This amîr, too, was
assassinated by his uncle, Muhammad ar-Rashîd, who later captured the Najd and
Riyadh and imprisoned amîr ’Abdullâh ibn Faysal, who belonged to the Sa’ûdî
family, and took him to Hâ’il. ’Abd ar-Rahmân, ’Abdullâh ibn Faysal’s brother,
fled with his son, ’Abd al-Azîz, and took refuge in Kuwait. Muhammad ar-Rashîd
died in 1315 (1897). He was succeded by his brother’s son, ’Abd al-’Azîz, whose
cruelty caused the rise of Wahhâbism again: the amîrs of Riyadh, Qâsim and
Buraida, united with ’Abd al-’Azîz who was then in the village of Al-Muhanna.
’Abd al-’Azîz ibn ’Abd ar-Rahmân ibn Faysal [ibn Sa’ûd] set out for Riyadh from
Kuwait with twelve dromedaries. He entered Riyadh one night in 1319 (1901). At
a feast, he killed Ajlân, the governor of Riyadh, appointed by ’Abd al-’Azîz
ibn ar-Rashid. The people of Riyadh, who had suffered much cruelty till then,
elected him as the amîr. Thus, the Saudi State was established in Riyadh. Many
battles took place for three years. ’Abd al-’Azîz ibn
ar-Rashîd was killed. The Ottomans intervened in the dispute in 1333 (1915) and
an agreement was made with ’Abd al-’Azîz ibn Sa’ûd on the condition that he
would be the head official in Riyadh. Later, Rashîdîs and Sa’ûdîs fought a
battle in Qasîm; Abd al-’
Azîz ibn Sa’ûd
suffered defeat and retreated to Riyadh.
On
the 17th of June, 1336[1] (1918), ’Abd
al-’Azîz ibn ’Abd ar-Rahmân, with the encouragement from the British, published
a declaration saying that Sharîf Husain and those with him in Mecca were
disbelievers and that he was performing jihâd against them; he assaulted Mecca
and Tâ’if but could not capture these two cities from Sharîf Husain Pasha. The
British soldiers seized Sharîf Husain ibn ’Alî Pasha and took him to Cyprus in
1342 (1924). The Pasha died in a hotel where he was imprisoned in 1349 (1931).
’Abd al-’Azîz ibn ’Abd ar-Rahmân easily captured Mecca and Tâ’if in 1924.
Earlier, on February 28th, 1337 (1919), the Ottoman soldiers, who had guarded
Medina against the amîr of Mecca, Sharîf Husain Pasha, who was not on friendly
terms with the Ittihâdjilar[2] who had taken the
government of the Ottoman Empire under their own cotrol at that time, had left
the Hijaz in accord with the terms of the Mondros Armistice. Sharîf ’Abdullâh,
Sharîf Husain Pasha’s son, had settled in Medina but the British government
banished him from Medina to Amman after his father’s death. He founded the
State of Jordan in 1365 (1946) but was killed by British assassins while he was
performing salât in Masjid al-Aqsâ in 1307 (1951). His son, Tallâl, succeeded
him but soon handed the rule to his soon Malik Husain because of his illness.
Sharîf Husain Pasha’s second son, Sharîf Faysal, founded the State of Iraq in
1339 (1921) and died in 1351 (1933). He was succeded by his son, Ghâzî, who
died in 1939 at the age of twenty-one. The next ruler of Iraq, his son Faysal
II, was murdered by General Qasim in the coup of August 14, 1958, when he was
twenty-three years old. Qasim was killed in a second coup. Iraq and Syria were
captured by the socialist
Ba’th
Party after several coups and became dependencies of Russia.
’Abd
al-’Azîz ibn ’Abd ar-Rahmân attacked Medina many times. He even bombed Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) blessed shrine in an attack in 1926 but, fortunately,
could not capture the city. The following news was reported in the
[1] This is not in the year of the Hijra (Hegira), with which Arabic months are used, but in the Rûmî calendar, which was introduced after the Tanzîmât (1839). The Ottoman State used only the Hijrî calendar before the Tanzîmât.
[2] ‘Unionists’; members of Ittihâd wa Taraqqî Jam’iyyati, the secret ‘Union and Progress Society,’ which later became the Union and Progress Party.
paper Son Sâ’at in Istanbul on
September 9, 1344 (1926):
MEDINA BOMBARDED - We had previously reported that the Muslims
of India were agitated by the bombardment of Medina by ’Abd al-’Azîz [Ibn
Sa’ûd]. The Times of India published in India says:
“The
recent news that Medina was assaulted and the Qabr an-Nabawî was bombarded
caused such a great agitation among Indian Muslims as no other event has ever
caused before. The Muslims living all over India showed how much they respected
that sacred place. This serious gireving in India and Iran will certainly
influence Ibn Sa’ûd and prevent him from such vile actions so that he may not
incur the hatred of all Muslim countries against him. The Indian Muslims have
openly expressed this to Ibn Sa’ûd.”
The
partisans of the Union and Progress Party who governed the Ottoman Empire
during the First World War were ignorant of Islam. They lacked Islam, Islamic
training and morals. Most of those who took active parts in the government were
freemasons, who tortured the Muslims in Arabia, too, as they did all over the
Empire. They oppressed Muslims very ruthlessly. The people of Arabia, who were
used to jutice, mercy, favour and respect during the reign of Sultân ’Abd
al-Hamîd Khân II (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih), loved the Turks as their brethren.
They were astonished at the torture and robbery committed by the Unionists. The
son-in-law and other relatives of Sharîf Husain ibn ’Alî Pasha, the Amîr of
Mecca (rahmat-Allahi ’alaih), and many Arab notables were tortured to death by
the Unionist Jamâl Pasha in Damascus.
After
the Unionist army came from Saloniki to Istanbul and dethroned Sultân ’Abd
al-Hamîd Khân II, they locked in dungeons many notables of the government,
’ulamâ’ and authors of the time of the Caliph, and murdered others by shooting
them from behind when they were leaving their offices or mosques after prayer.
They used Sultân Rashâd (rahmat-Alllâhi ’alaih), whom they brought to the
Caliphate, like a puppet, and the legislators they appointed like tools under
the threat
of pistols in running the Empire from war to war, from one disaster to another.
Ignoring Islam totally, they took to torturing the people and amusing
themselves in dissipation. They sent into exile or hanged those zealous
patriots, foresighted and sincere Muslims who opposed this crazy current
flowing at full speed. Sharîf Husain ibn ’Alî Pasha was one of these sagacious
Muslims who held the rank of Mîr-i mîran or Beghler Beghi (provincial governor)
and served
the Caliph and the
Empire during Sultân ’Abd al-Hamîd Khân’s reign. To keep him away from
Istanbul, he was appointed the Amîr of Mecca when he opposed the Unionists’
putting the Empire into the disaster of the First World War. The unionists gave
the name of “Jihâd-i akbar” falsely to the declaration of war, which was
prepared by Anwar Pasha and signed by Sultan Rashâd on 22 Dhu’l-Hijja 1332
(October 29, 1914), and sent its copies to all Muslim countries. Poor Sultân
Rashâd supposed that he was the real caliph but could not help complaining,
“They do not listen to me at all!” to his close companions, expressing that he
was aware of the tricks played, when he was forced to sign orders incompatible
with Islam.
Sharîf
Husain Pasha (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih) saw that the Unionists, exploiting the
faith of Muslims and talking about jihâd against non-Muslims, were leading the
great empire to partition, that they were throwing thousands of Muslim youth
into the fire, that their unawareness and dissipation were not compatible with
their words in the least. He tried to find a way out to save Muslims from the
hands of these bandits, and the Empire from the dangerous consequences likely
to come. Upon hearing that Jamâl Pasha amused himself outrageously and killed
the notable personages of the Sharîf in Damascus, he sent his son Sharîf Faysal
Effendi to Damascus [to investigate the matter]. Faysal Effendi saw what they had
heard was true and informed his father of all the wicked events. Sharîf Husain
Pasha could not endure any more and published two declarations, one on 25
Sha’bân 1334 (1916), and the second on 11 Dhu’l-Qa’da 1334, in order to make
Muslims aware of what was going on. The Unionists called those two just
invitations “declarations of rebellion.” The hired pens of the Unionist press
in Istanbul swore at and slandered Sharîf Husain Pasha vilely and spitefully.
The Unionists, instead of paying attention to Sharîf Husain Pasha’s
declarations, proclaimed him to be a traitor disloyal to the country. They sent
regiments on him to defeat him. They made brothers fight with one another for
years. They caused the martyrdom of many innocent people in order not to leave Mecca
and Medina to those khâlis Muslims who were the sons of our Prophet (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’alaihi wa sallam). Worst of all, they surrendered those blessed places to the
murderers of Islam, ignorant and cruel bandits of deserts. Nevertheless, it
eventually came out that Sharîf Husain Pasha was right. The Unionists handed
the Ottoman Empire to the enemies and fled the country.
If it were not for
the Turkish Independence Victory on 30th of August 1340 (1922), the Turks and
Islam would have been completely annihilated as Sharîf Husain Pasha feared, and
the dagger thrusted by the British through the terms of the Sevres Treaty (Aug.
10, 1920) would have annihilated the Muslim World.
It
will be clearly understood from a careful study of Sharîf Husain Pasha’s
declarations translated below that he did not have any such idea as “Arab independence.” He was not a
nationalist. He wanted all Muslims to go on living brotherly under the flag of
Islam. The pure Muslims in Mecca and Medina believed that all Muslim nations
were brethren and loved them as their brothers, while the Unionist newspapers
insulted the Arabs by calling black dogs “Arab, Arab!” and making up such terms
as “Arabic hair” for “Fuzzy hair” and “Arabic soap” for “soft soap” and “black
Fatma (Fâtima)” for “cockroach.” What a pity the Unionist partisans lacked the
faithful soul and noble understanding of those Muslims. While regarding those
sincere Muslims as rebels, they kept silent for the rebellion of those who
attacked the Turkish soldiers and captured the Ottoman lands. The Unionists,
who ordered the Turkish soldiers again and again to fight with the pure Muslims
of the Prophet’s family, wrote letters of alliance to the rebellious ’Abd
al-’Azîz ibn ’Abd ar-Rahmân ibn Faysal, saying, “Come to Medina with your
soldiers; we shall go to Mecca with you and arrest amîr Husain who raised
rebellion against the Sultan.” ’Abd al-’Azîz did not even answer their letters,
because he did not want Turks in Mecca. He had already made an agreement with
the commander of the British forces, which were on Bahrain Islands in those
days. He was in a struggle of assualting and capturing the Ottoman cities on
the coast of the Persian Gulf with the weapons he obtained from the British and
was expecting Arabia to be given to him. And so it happened as follows:
Fârûqî
Sâmi Pasha was appointed the mutasarrif (governor of a subdivision of a
province) of the Qasîm town to end the bloody battles which had been taking
place between the tribe of ’Abd al-’Azîz and that of Ibn ar-Rashîd in the Najd
deserts. Although ’Abd al-’Azîz planned to capture Sâmi Pasha and the Turkish
soldiers with the view of taking them to Riyadh, the shaikhs in Qasîm prevented
him by advising him that it would be very hard to settle the problem that would
arise with the [Ottoman] State. But he played a trick on Sâmi Pasha, saying,
“It will be difficult to supply food for all these soldiers in Qasîm. You may
suffer hunger.
Go back to Medina.”
Sâmi Pasha thought that this was friendly advice and went to Medina. After the
soldiers left, “Abd al-’Azîz removed the Ottoman flag from the castle, and thus
Qasîm was captured. Next, he attacked al-Khâssa, the capital of the province of
Najd, and captured the city by defeating the Ottomans. The Unionists approved and
did not react against ’Abd al-’Azîz, especially Tâlib an-Naqîb, a modernist
reformer of religion and the deputy of Basra, introduced his assaults as
service to Islam. Meanwhile, “Abd al-’Azîz attacked Ibn ar-Rashîd, too, but he
was badly defeated and ruined. Many in the Sa’ûdî family were killed. There
were British-made weapons and many hats among the booty taken from ’Abd
al-’Azîz. This blow to ’Abd al-’Azîz postponed his attacks upon Mecca and
Medina. With the incitement of the famous British spy Captain [later Colonel]
Lawrence, he declared war against Sharîf Husain Pasha and attacked Mecca on
June 17th, 1336 (1918) but was defeated and went back to the Najd.[1]
The commandants of
Medina, Basrî Pasha and Fakhrî Pasha, although they closely observed the
perfidies of ’Abd al-’Azîz, proclaimed Sharîf Husain Pasha and his sons to be
rebels, deeming it a duty for themselves to obey the orders of the Unionists.
They were used like tools to make Muslim brothers strangle one another. Ghâlib
Pasha, the Governor and Commander of the Hijâz, was not deceived by the
Unionists for he was a foresighted, experienced commander of extensive Islamic
knowledge. He understood from his detailed, careful investigation and
examination that Sharîf Husain Pasha was right and that he wrote his two
declarations out of his love for Islam and the whole Muslim nation. He issued
the following “Daily Command” to defend Sharîf Husain Pasha against the
slanders:
“There
should not be any doubt about the sincerity of Hadrat
[1] ’Abd-ul-’Azîz ibn ’Abd ar-Rahmân took over Mecca and Tâ’if in 1342 A.H. (1924) and Medina in 1349 (1931) from the British forces and founded the state of Saudi Arabia on September 23, 1351 (1932). After his death in 1373 (1953), his successor was his son, Sa’ûd, who was the twentieth descendant of the Sa’ûdî lineage. Having led a life of debauchery, he died in a drunken sexual debauch in Athens in 1964. His succeeding brother Faisal generously expended millions of gold coins, which he collected from petroleum companies and pilgrims every year, in the dissemination of Wahhâbism in every country. He was killed by his nephew in his palace in Riyadh in 1395 (March 1975), and his brother Khâlid became the ruler of Saudi Arabia. In 1402 (1982), Khâlid died and was succeeded by Fahd.
Amîr [Sharîf Husain
Pasha]. There is no such possibility that he would incite rebellion. The
hearsay about him is not true in the least. Sharîf Husain Pasha is devoted to
the Caliph of the Faithful in full obedince and always prays for the long life
of His Majesty.”
Ghâlib
Pasha sent copies of this statement to Jamâl Pasha, the commander of the fourth
army and one of the ring-leaders of the Unionist bandits, and also to Istanbul.
He openly defended Sharîf Husain Pasha by stating that he was a sincere Muslim
and was correct in his cause. Unfortunately, the Unionists deemed Sharîf Husain
Pasha and his sons are great obstacles in their way and feared very much that
they would enlighten Muslims and prevent their oppressions and other excessive
behaviour. They plotted filthy tricks to put the Sharîfs in the position of
rebels. The brave Turkish officers in Medina were ordered to fight against
them, and the brothers were made to shed one another’s blood for years. At
last, most innocent officers, who shot the Sharîfs regarding them as rebels or
even traitors, understood that they were misled. Hundreds of officers united
and founded Merkez hey’eti (the Central
Council) under the leadership of Colonel Emîn Begh, the Chief of Staff of the
Division. They revealed the murders that had been committed in the Hijaz by
publishing various declarations. They said: “The commandant [Fakhrî, or Fakhr
ad-dîn Pasha] and his flatterers are lying. The Arabs and the Turks will go on
living together as two brother nations as they have done before. Haven’t we
been already brothers? Are we not connected to each other with historical and
religious bonds? Will the Noble Nation of the Arabs (Qawm-i Najîb-i ’Arab) be
our enemies if they become independent? If you ask it to them, they, too, will
say ‘No!’ We shall continue working in unity. Hadrat Sharîf [Husain Pasha] prepared
camels for our soldiers to go to the sea-port Yanbû’. He sent medicine for the
sick. He kindly thought of our comfort on our journey to Yanbû’. Is this not a
sign of great humanity? Can there be a better example of brotherhood? If,
instead of this favour, he had said, ‘You can go to Yanbû’ on foot,’ would we
say, ‘No! We are heroes! We shall hang and slay you! We want cars? It is not
bravery to die aimlessly from now on. This declaration of ours is meant for
those who could not see the truth. The majority has come to understand the
truth. Would our master Hadrat Prophet (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) approve of this cruelty?”
Fakhr
ad-dîn Pasha, the Commandant of Medina, was still insisting on obeying the
orders of the Unionist government. The Turkish officers encircled his bedroom
early on 10 January 1337
(1919). First
Lieutenant Shawkat Bey, his aide-de-camp, heard the noise and came out. He saw
colonels, lietunant-colonels, lieutenants, selected infantrymen and gendarmes
climbing up the stairs. They took away the aide-de-camp. Those who entered the
bedroom held the pasha by the wrists and took him to the sea-port of Yanbû’
between two officers in a car. The officers and the soldiers were happy to
travel homeward to Istanbul. However, the British forces took them to Egypt ant
kept them in prison for six months. The pasha was banished as a prisoner of war
to Malta on August 5th. He was kept there for two years. Because he had deemed
it a duty to his country to obey the mad orders of the Unionists, this brave
Turkish commandant had remained inactive in Medina and had not found the
opportunity of fight against the British forces, the ferocious enemies of
Islam. The Unionists, after they took hold of the government, not only
partitioned the country of heroes but also caused many patriots of this country
like Fakhr ad-dîn Pasha to groan in the enemy dungeons. They shed the blood of
thousands of innocent Muslims and Muslim Turks in order not to give the Sacred
Lands, Mecca and Medina, to the Sharîfs who were khâlis Muslims of our Prophet’s family. They left
the Sacred Lands to the bloody-handed, stony-hearted people who were the
historical enemies of true Muslims and Turks.