I am delighted to share the long-awaited images received from a scholar who wishes to remain anonymous. These images are further proof of the stupendous contributions made by Muslims of the Indian sub-continent to the Ottomans, especially by the ‘ulama.

The images pertain to the gift sent by the Ottoman Sultan to the Darul Uloom in Deoband in recognition of the financial contributions made by the scholars of the Darul Uloom to the war-efforts of the Ottomans during the Balkan Wars of 1912-13.

The gift was a piece of cloth which was used, for many years, to wrap the blessed cloak of Prophet Mohammed
  صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم kept in safe-custody in a museum in Istanbul. The cloak is called “Khirqah Mubarak”. The gift symbolizes a very significant gesture on the part of the Ottomans towards the unprecedented help extended by Indian Muslims at a time when the Ottoman empire urgently needed assistance.

The following is a free translation of the Persian inscription on the cloth in which was kept the Blessed Khirqah:

Reached us with honour the Light of Guidance,
Send Salutations on him, salutations galore! 
The fragrance from his cloak is like that which emanated from the garment of Yusuf.
This is the cloth in which the khirqah-e-pak of Al-Rasool was wrapped.
The blessed piece of cloth in which was kept the Khirqah Mubarak. The inscription in Persian is translated above.
Details of the holy relic on the letter-head of the Darul Uloom, mentioning the fact that the blessed cloth used to wrap the Khirqa Mubarak was gifted by the exalted Sultan of Turkey in recognition of the financial contributions made by the Darul Uloom to the war-efforts of the Ottomans during the Balkan Wars of 1912-13. It was a long-standing practice of the Sultans of Turkey to pay respects to the blessed cloak of Prophet Mohammed each year.