11/02/2022
On 10 February 1918: Sultan-Caliph Abdul Hamid Han II returns to his Lord. Today marks the 104th death anniversary of the great Caliph, so let us commemorate his life and achievements as an Islamic Ruler ❤️
Caliph Abdul Hamid II was the last Ottoman Sultan to exert absolute power for 33 years as he tried his best to halt the decline of the Ottoman state. Throughout his 33 year reign (1876 – 1909) he kept the Ottoman Caliphate on its feet and defended it against the attacks from within and outside.
The rule of Sultan-Caliph AbdulHamid II was very famous for the Pan-Islamic efforts to unite all Muslims irrespective of their geography, to promote education in the state by commissioning many schools and universities, and bridging the gap between Muslims of the Ottoman state by construction of mega railway projects like the Istanbul to Baghdad railway and the Isntabul to Madinah Railway which made Hajj easier for Muslim pilgrims.
During his rule, Sultan-Caliph Abdul Hamid II refused Zionist Leader Theodor Herzl's offers to pay down a substantial portion of the Ottoman debt (150 million pounds sterling in gold) in exchange for a charter allowing the Zionists to settle in Palestine. He is famously quoted as telling Herzl's Emissary that "as long as I am alive, I will not have our body divided, only our co**se they can divide."
51 secondary schools were constructed in a 12-year period of his rule between 1882-1894. As primary the goal of the educational reforms in the Hamidian era were to counter foreign influence, these secondary schools utilized European teaching techniques, yet instilled within students a strong sense of Ottoman identity and Islamic morality.
Sultan-Caliph Abdul Hamid II was a follower of traditional Islamic spirituality (Tassawafa or Sufism). He was influenced by Libyan Shadhili Madani Sheikh, Muhammad Zafir al-Madani whose lessons he would attend in disguise in Unkapani before he became Sultan. Abdul Hamid II asked Sheikh al-Madani to return to Istanbul after he ascended the throne.
In 1879 the Sultan excused the taxes of all of the Caliphate's Madani Sufi lodges (also known as zawiyas and tekkes). In 1888, he even established a Sufi lodge for the Madani order of Shadhili Sufism in Istanbul, which he commissioned as part of the Ertuğrul Tekke Mosque. The relationship of the Sultan and the sheik lasted for thirty years until the latter's death in 1903.
Sultan-Caliph Abdul Hamid II was a Pious Muslim ruler who had immense love for Allah and His Prophet Hz Muhammad ﷺ, and cared for his people. It is said that he was steadfast in his daily prayers and also recited Zikr and Dalail e Khayraat which is a collection of some Salutations upon the Holy Prophet ﷺ.
Sultan-Caliph Abdul Hamid II didn't let the Ummah down and refused to establish any Jewish state in Palestine for which he was finally dethroned by the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) sympathizers within the Ottoman Army via Mahmud Shevket Pasha's Army of Action in the 31 March Incident.
This group was called the third army faction and were members of Committee of Union and Progress (CUP or İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti) which was an organisation created and ran by the Crypto-Jews or Dönmehs in Thessaloniki. The eleventh Reserve (Redif) Division based in Thessaloniki composed the advance guard of the Action Army and the chief of staff was Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk).
Sultan-Caliph Abdul Hamid II was arrested, his Palace was plundered, and he was then exiled to Thessalonika as an act of humiliation. Later, he returned to Isntabul in 1912, when Salonica fell to Greece, he was returned to captivity in Constantinople.
He spent his last days studying, practicing carpentry and writing his memoirs in custody at Beylerbeyi Palace in the Bosphorus, in the company of his wives and children, where he died on 10 February 1918, just a few months before his brother, Mehmed V, the Sultan.
Four CUP members composed of one Armenian, one Jew and two Muslim Albanians went to inform the sultan of his dethronement, with Essad Pasha Toptani being the main messenger saying "the nation has deposed you". Some Muslims expressed dismay that non-Muslims had informed the sultan of his deposition.
In a letter from Sultan Abdülhamid II, who belonged to the Shadhili Tariqa to Shadhili Sheikh Abu'Shamat Mahmud, dating Sept. 22, 1913, Sultan Abdülhamid said: "I quit being caliph because of the oppression and threats by the Young Turks. This group insisted that I approve the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. I rejected this proposition.
They finally offered 150 million British gold pieces. I rejected this as well and I told them: 'I would never agree with you even if you offer not 150 million British gold but all the gold in the entire world. I served the Muslim Ummah for more than 30 years. I did not let my fore fathers down. Following my response, they agreed on my dethronement and sent me to Thessaloniki. I pray to Allah, I did not accept to establish a new state on Palestinian lands on the Ottoman State & the Islamic community."
Payitaht Abdulhamid, named 'The Last Emperor' in English, is a Turkish historical television drama series depicting the last 13 years of the reign of Sultan-Caliph Abdul Hamid II which is very popular among the Islamic audiences these days as it gives a somewhat accurate history of the rule and events of the life of Sultan AbdulHamid II.
May Allah raise the ranks of Sultan-Caliph AbdulHamid II. May heaven be his abode.
Sultan-Caliph Abdul Hamid II Çok Yaşa ❤️
Long Live Sultan-Caliph AbdulHamid II ❤️