Abductions: A party in the service of Haramen, of which only two are alive

After the death of Sheikh Abd Ali Idris last week, the centuries-old tradition of abductions in the Haram seems to be nearing its end.

Sheikh Abd Ali Idris belonged to the group of Khudam-i-Haramin who have been performing various duties of cleaning, guarding, managing and monitoring in Masjid al-Haram and Masjid Nabawi for the last 800 years.

Majority of them were eunuchs while they belonged to Africa.

History of Abductions

Agha means leader or elder brother in Turkish and in Haramin this word is used for members of a certain group of Khudam-e-Haram.

According to Sahar Da’a, Professor of History at Umm Al-Qura University, the date of assigning abductions to the service of Haram according to one of the most famous traditions took place in the year 575 AH during the reign of Sultan Nur-ud-Din Zinki, the reason for which was very interesting.

According to him, the story, which Ibn Kathir has also mentioned in Al-Badayah and Al-Nahiyah, is something like this: When Nooruddin Zanqi was the ruler, he visited the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) one night and he was shown the faces of two persons who were in Madinah. wanted to harm.

After seeing this dream, Zinki immediately left for Madinah and organized a public feast where all the people of Madinah were invited to recognize the two faces that were seen in the dream. did not see those two faces.’

On the inquiry and insistence of Nooruddin Zanqi, it was found that two elders from Andalus were living in Madinah. They did not come to this invitation, so Zanqi himself went to their house and saw that they were the same two persons whom he had seen in his dream.

According to the tradition, research revealed that the two had a plan to dig a tunnel to Ruza Mubarak and were sent by the Christians.

“After this incident, it was thought that the responsibility of serving and protecting the Holy Prophet’s shrine should be given to a group regularly, and from here, the process of appointing abductees to serve in the Haram began and continued until 1399 Hijri.”

Abductor’s dress and responsibilities

These Khudam Harams from Africa can be recognized by their unique attire, so the abductees used to wear a special sadri (vest) over the white robe (jaba) and a turban on their head.

According to tradition, apart from this, the Aghaats wore shawls of different colors depending on their rank and experience, and their habits included not wearing watches, rings or any other ornaments.

According to Professor Sahar Da’a, 12 Aghawats were initially recruited, but later this number increased and reached 120 at one point during the Ottoman Caliphate.

Regarding the responsibilities of abductions, Sahar Da’a says that there were 40 different responsibilities in the Harams of abductions, in which there were also the responsibilities of management and cleaning, along with the guarding of the prophet’s room and pulpit.

Saudi photographer Adel al-Quraishi has paid special attention to abductions in his recent research on Madinah, but has named his book as abductions.

Speaking to Independent Arabic, Adel Al-Quraishi said that the people who remain from the abductions are very weak and now their only responsibility is to keep the key to the Prophet’s Chamber, which Adel Al-Quraishi has been trying to get photos of after years. I succeeded.

Apart from these formal duties, the abductees also performed the duties of welcoming the royal family in the last days.

How did the tradition end?

After the establishment of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz issued a decree on kidnappings that retained them in their positions and responsibilities, later during the reign of King Faisal, a detailed procedure for managing kidnappings was established.

According to him, the abductees continued to perform their duties and had good relations and closeness with every Saudi ruler. In the year 1399 AH, the last Agha came to Saudi Arabia and after that the chain was officially ended.

It is said that this happened because parents in African countries were deliberately making their children eunuchs so that they could be offered for harem service.

On the advice of the scholars, the Saudi government ended the process of calling the abductees on the advice of the scholars, but the abductees who were already serving remained respected and formal positions.

After the death of Sheikh Abd Idris in Medina, only two abductees are alive, one of whom is more than 100 years old and the other is around 80 years old.

Similarly, the number of kidnappings in Makkah can be counted on fingers.