Abd al-Hafid of Morocco

Abd al-Hafid ibn al-Hasan, also known as Moulay Abdelhafid (between 1875 and 1880 – 4 April 1937), was sultan of Morocco from 1908 to 1912 and a member of the Alawi dynasty.¹ He deposed his younger brother Abdelaziz in the Hafidiya, then himself became increasingly backed by France and finally signed the Treaty of Fes, which gave France de facto control of the country, before abdicating.¹ He was also a scholar and poet who wrote a number of books.¹

He was born in Fez to Sultan Hassan I and Aliya al-Settatiya; the English article, citing Britannica and Burke's encyclopaedia entry, gives his birth only as between 1875 and 1880, while the Arabic article gives 24 February 1876, the French article 1876, and the Urdu article 24 February 1875 while noting the uncertainty.^{1 2 3 4} He was the fourth son of Hassan I.¹ The Arabic article says his brilliance in fiqh, hadith and literature showed by about 1892 and that he was counted a scholar and an accomplished poet.² In 1897 he was appointed khalifa (royal governor) of Tiznit, and in 1901 khalifa of Marrakesh.¹ As khalifa of Marrakesh he was influenced by Ma al-Aynayn, studied religious science under him, and received an ijaza from him in 1904.^{1 2}

After his brother Abdelaziz appointed him khalifa of Marrakesh, Abd al-Hafid sought to have him overthrown by fomenting distrust over Abdelaziz's European ties, aided by Madani al-Glaoui and the great qaids of the Atlas.¹ In February 1908 he was proclaimed sultan at Fez; for a brief period Abdelaziz reigned from Rabat while Abd al-Hafid reigned in Marrakesh and Fez, until Abdelaziz was defeated in battle in August 1908, and in 1909 Abd al-Hafid became the recognised ruler of Morocco.¹ The Arabic article describes the rising as a corrective movement: he acceded under a conditioned bay'a, and a draft constitution was published in November 1908.²

His new makhzen was built up by the big qaids: Madani al-Glaoui became minister of war and Isa ibn Umar al-Abdi minister of foreign affairs.¹ The European powers withheld recognition, and with it the customs revenue, until he accepted the Act of Algeciras and his predecessors' debts, which he did in a letter to the powers; his government was officially recognised on 5 January 1909.¹ He sought allies in Germany, Italy and the Ottoman Empire — the Young Turk government sent a twelve-man military mission in 1909 — but, in Edmund Burke III's assessment, the French position was unassailable.¹

His rule is also remembered for severity: the Sufi poet and anti-French activist Muhammad al-Kattani was beaten to death in custody in 1909, the pretender Bou Hmara was fed to his lions after his capture, and the torture of Lalla Batoul, wife of the arrested governor of Fez, in 1910 spread through the international press and justified increased French intervention.¹

In 1911 rebellion against the sultan led to the Agadir Crisis, and Abd al-Hafid signed the Treaty of Fes on 30 March 1912, which made Morocco a French protectorate.¹ A few months later Resident-General Lyautey persuaded him to abdicate against a massive pension, part of which built the Abdelhafid Palace in Tangier; his brother Yusef was proclaimed sultan on 13 August 1912.¹ He later returned to Morocco to live in Tangier.¹ He died at Enghien-les-Bains in France on 4 April 1937, and his body was transported to Fez and buried in the royal mausoleum of the Moulay Abdallah Mosque.¹

Abd al-Hafid had a reputation as a scholar in Islamic theology and law, and he believed Islam needed purification from saint cults and unorthodox religious brotherhoods; under Salafiyya influence he recalled the Moroccan Salafist Abu Shu'ayb ad-Dukkali to the Royal Learned Council, and he wrote a book against the Sufi orders, singling out the Tijaniyya.¹ Yet he did not break completely with the Moroccan Sufi tradition, and after abdicating he turned to Sufism, joining the Tijaniyya; in 1922 he wrote a volume of verse outlining the history of the order and praising the Sufis, published at Tunis in 1930.¹ The French article states that he became a master of the Tariqa Tijaniyya.³ The Arabic article lists among his many works "Kashf al-Qina' 'an I'tiqad al-Ibtida'", "Bara'at al-Mutahham" and the verse rendering "al-Sabk al-Ajib", and notes that the Tijani shaykh Ahmad al-Skiredj lent him books during his Paris exile.² Later Moroccan nationalists held against him his bargaining with the French over the terms of his abdication and his signing of the Treaty of Fes.¹

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