Sayyid

Sayyid

Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...

 Khalifa I bin Said Al-Busaid, GCMG, (or Chalîfe) (1852- February 13, 1890) was the third Sultan of Zanzibar. He ruled Zanzibar from March 26, 1888 to February 13, 1890 and was succeeded by his brother, Ali bin Said Al-Busaid.

"It is a well-known fact in Zanzibar that Barghash

Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar

Sayyid Barghash bin Said Al-Busaid, GCMG, GCTE , son of Said bin Sultan,was the second Sultan of Zanzibar. Barghash ruled Zanzibar from October 7, 1870 to March 26, 1888....

, as soon as he had ascended the throne in 1870, suddenly and without any cause cast our second youngest brother Chalîfe into prison. The poor fellow had to languish there for three long years in the dungeon, in heavy iron fetters weighed with chains! And why? No one could say. It may have been feared that Chalîfe, being next in succession to the throne, might plot the same treacherous plans as Barghash himself had once tried against Madjid

Majid bin Said of Zanzibar

Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid was the first Sultan of Zanzibar. He ruled Zanzibar from October 19, 1856 to October 7, 1870....

," Emily Ruete

Emily Ruete

Emily Ruete was born in Zanzibar as Sayyida Salme, Princess of Zanzibar and Oman. She was a daughter of Sayyid Said bin Sultan Al-Busaid, Sultan of Zanzibar and Oman...

 p. 398. (Ruete wrote this in 1886.)

According to their sister Emily Ruete, Barghash did not release Khalifah before one of their sisters prepared to set out for a pilgrimage for Mecca

Mecca

Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...

, and "he did not want to bring down upon himself a curse pronounced in the Holy City of the Prophet. But his sister did not pardon him before he had set free the innocent Chalîfe."

According to Ruete, Barghash continued to spy on Khalifah and his friends. She notes one instance where Barghash apparently willfully ruined a wealthy chief and friend of Khalifah, so that Khalifah would be deprived of support from rich chiefs.

Sayyid Khalifa I was appointed an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the United Kingdom's Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George

Order of St Michael and St George

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

 on 18 December 1889.

Titles

• 1852-26 March 1888: Sayyid
  Sayyid
  Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
  
   Khalifa I bin Said
• 26 March-13 June 1888: His Highness Sultan
  Sultan
  Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
  
   Sayyid Khalifa I bin Said, Sultan of Zanzibar
• 13 June 1888-1890: His Highness Sultan Sayyid Sir
  Sir
  Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
  
   Khalifa I bin Said, Sultan of Zanzibar, GCMG