Faisal I of Iraq
Faisal I bin al-Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi (Arabic: فيصل بن حسين بن علي الهاشمي, Fayṣal al-Awwal bin al-Ḥusayn bin ʻAlī al-Hāshimī; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 until his death in 1933. A member of the Hashemite family, he was a leader of the Great Arab Revolt during the First World War, and ruled as the unrecognized King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria from March to July 1920 when he was expelled by the French.
The third son of Hussein bin Ali, the Grand Emir and Sharif of Mecca, Faisal was born in Mecca and raised in Istanbul. From 1916 to 1918, with British assistance, he played a major role in the revolt against the Ottoman Empire. He helped set up an Arab government in Syria, based in Damascus, and led the Arab delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. In 1920, the Syrian National Congress proclaimed Faisal king, rejecting the French claim to a Mandate for Syria. In response, France invaded a few months later, abolished the kingdom and forced him into exile.
In August 1921, in accordance with the decision made at the Cairo Conference, the British arranged for Faisal to become king of a new Kingdom of Iraq under British administration. During his reign, Faisal fostered unity between Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims to encourage common loyalty and promote pan-Arabism in the goal of creating an Arab state that would include Iraq, Syria and the rest of the Fertile Crescent. In 1932, he presided over the independence of Iraq upon the end of the British Mandate and the country’s entry into the League of Nations. Faisal died of a heart attack in 1933 in Bern, Switzerland, at the age of 48 and was succeeded by his eldest son Ghazi.
In 1932, [King Faisal I of Iraq] reportedly had a dream where the Sahabi (companion of the Prophet Muhammad) Hudhaifah ibn al-Yaman instructed him to relocate their graves due to seepage from the Tigris River. The dream was reportedly repeated, prompting the king to order the exhumation of Hudhaifah ibn al-Yaman and Jabir ibn Abdullah’s bodies. The exhumation revealed the bodies to be remarkably preserved, despite being buried for centuries.
- The Dream: King Faisal I, while ruling Iraq in 1932, reportedly dreamt that Hudhaifah ibn al-Yaman instructed him to relocate their graves. The dream indicated that water from the Tigris River was seeping into their burial site.
- The Repetition: The dream was reportedly repeated, and then, according to some accounts, the Grand Mufti of Iraq also had a dream featuring Hudhaifah ibn al-Yaman, who conveyed the same message.
- The Exhumation: The king subsequently ordered the exhumation of both Hudhaifah ibn al-Yaman and Jabir ibn Abdullah.
- The Discovery: The bodies were found to be remarkably well-preserved, despite the passage of many centuries (nearly 1400 years). Accounts from those present at the exhumation describe the bodies as appearing fresh and radiating a Noor (divine light).
- The Aftermath: The event was witnessed by a large crowd, and some non-Muslims reportedly embraced Islam after seeing the miracle. The bodies were reburied in a new location, away from the riverbank.