Prophet's (PBUH) cloak on display in Istanbul

The cloak of the Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is now on display in Istanbul, Turkey, and officials said it would remain on show through Ramadan.

The cloak was unveiled at Hırka-ı Şerif Mosque in Istanbul on Friday during a ceremony attended by scores of Turkish officials as well scholars, diplomats and dignitaries, including Istanbul Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu and Istanbul Mufti Mustafa Çağrıcı.

The cloak is normally exhibited throughout Ramdan every year but it was displayed last year due to restoration work on the cloak.

“Do not show your respect to the materialistic side of the hırka-i şerif but to God and the Prophet (PBUH),” said Mufti Çağrıcı said.

“The cloak is like those we all have. Sure, this one has a historical importance and value. What makes it valuable is that it is a gift of our Prophet (PBUH). Thus, we should show our respect not to the material of the cloak but to God and our holy Prophet (PBUH). We should not degrade and make our visits invaluable by asking for favors from the cloak itself. We should only understand this cloak as a gift of our Prophet (PBUH),” he added in a speech, reported by Turkey’s mass circulation daily Zaman and the Kuwaiti Alwatan newspaper.

Barış Samir of the Turkish Köprülü family, the current heiress of the relic, said the holy historical object was brought to Istanbul by Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamit I in 1611.

“This year, our people are visiting the cloak for the 400th time. By the will of God, I hope that people will have the opportunity to visit this sacred trust for many hundreds of years to come. I hope we understand the message behind our beloved Prophet gifting this cloak to a Yemeni shepherd he had never before seen,” she told Zaman.

Samir, who is a descendant of Uwais al-Qarani, the person to whom Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) gifted his cloak to, said the cloak was under restoration for more than a year, and thus it was not exhibited during last year’s Ramadan.

Large crowds turned out at the show following and many of them were emotional and prayed during their visits, according to Zaman.
 

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