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Muhammad al-Mutawakkil 'ala-llah al-Sa'di

محمد المتوكل على الله السعدي

Son of Abdallah al-Ghalib; he succeeded his father harbouring ill for his uncles Abd al-Malik and Ahmad al-Mansur, who fled to the Ottoman sultan for aid. Continuing his father's pro-Christian policy he signed a trade treaty with England — the single act of his short reign — then, after his uncle entered Fez with the Ottoman army, promised King Sebastian all Morocco's coasts for his expulsion; he stayed four months in Ceuta and joined the invasion with a few hundred followers. When he wrote rallying Morocco's people to the Christians, Morocco's ulema answered with a letter exposing his enlisting infidels against Muslims. He drowned in the Wadi al-Makhazin river on the day of battle 1.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
sultan
Era
The Gunpowder Empires
Region
Maghreb
Identifiers
Wikidata
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

Life in time

147515001525155015751600162516501675 c.
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks · The Gunpowder Empires · The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era Contemporaries: Abd al-Haqq Amanat Khan · Abd al-Malik al-Mu'tasim bi'llah al-Sa'di · Abu Bakr ibn Abi al-Qasim al-Ahdal · Abu Numayy II, sharif of Mecca · Ahmad Baba al-Timbukti

Summary

Son of Abdallah al-Ghalib; the last challenger of his uncle Abd al-Malik for the throne 1.

The Christian dependence

Continuing his father's pro-Christian policy he signed a trade treaty with England, then pledged Morocco's entire coast to Sebastian for his uncle's expulsion; he stayed four months in Ceuta and joined the invasion with a few hundred men 2.

The ulema's answer and the end

He wrote rallying Morocco's people to the Christians; the ulema's reply exposed his enlisting infidels against Muslims. He drowned in the Wadi al-Makhazin river on the day of battle 3.

Connections

Explore the connections

Child of
Abdallah al-Ghalib bi'llah al-Sa'di
Opposed
Abd al-Malik al-Mu'tasim bi'llah al-Sa'di
Allied with
Sebastian I of Portugal
Participated in
Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin (986/1578)

People and things also explored

Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin (986/1578)· Abd al-Malik al-Mu'tasim bi'llah al-Sa'di· Sebastian I of Portugal· Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf al-Fasi· Ahmad al-Mansur al-Dhahabi al-Sa'di· Muhammad al-Shaykh al-Sa'di· Hasan b. Khayr al-Din Barbarossa· Prince Philip (Philip II of Spain)

Sources

  1. al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 258-265
  2. al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 258-260
  3. al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 261-265
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Muhammad al-Mutawakkil 'ala-llah al-Sa'di”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/muhammad-ii-mutawakkil-saadi/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin (986/1578)

The Battle of the Three Kings at al-Qasr al-Kabir, Monday 30 Jumada II 986/4 August 1578. Morocco's sultan Abd al-Malik al-Mu'tasim — Ottoman-backed — met King Sebastian of Portugal, who had massed tens of thousands of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and German troops to restore his deposed ally Muhammad al-Mutawakkil. Abd al-Malik cut the enemy from his fleet and blew the river's only bridge; he died of illness minutes into the battle, his chamberlain Ridwan and brother Ahmad al-Mansur concealing it until victory was complete in four hours and a third. All three kings perished — Sebastian slain, al-Mutawakkil drowned, Abd al-Malik on the field — and Ahmad al-Mansur was acclaimed on the spot; the Sa'di star rose until Europe's embassies 'kept morning and evening at her palace gates'.