1859 - 1902
Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Sanussi,
2nd Grand Sanussi. b. in a cave at
Massa, near al-Bayda, 12th November 1844,
second son of Sayyid Muhammad bin 'Ali al-Sanussi
al-Khattabi al-Mujahiri al-Idrisi al-Hasani, 1st
Grand Sanussi, by his third wife, Fatima binti Ahmad
al-Fituri, educ. Mecca. Succeeded as Head of the
Sanussi Order on the death of his father. Great expanded
the number of ziwas in Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, Egypt,
the Hijaz, central Sudan and the southern Sahara. Moved
his capital to Kufra, 1895 and Quru in the Sudan in
October 1899. m. (first) at Jaghbub, August 1859,
Fatima (d. at Jaghbub, 1891), daughter of Abu Musa
Umran bin Barakat al-Fituri. m. (second) at
Jaghbub, 1871, Hawa, daughter of Muhammad Abu Zaid. m.
(third) at Jaghbub, 1872, Aisha (d. 1875), elder
daughter of Muqarrib, of Barasa. m. (fourth) at
Jaghbub, 1876, Fatima, younger daughter of Muqarrib, of
Barasa. m. (fifth) at Jaghbub, 1889, Aisha (d.
1894), daughter of Ahmad bin 'Ali Abu Saif, of Syrte. m.
(sixth) Fatima (d. at Benghazi, 1937; bur.
Jaghbub), daughter of Muhammad 'Ali bin Ibrahim
al-Ghumari, of the 'Umran family of Jebel al-Akhdar. m.
(seventh) at Jaghbub, 1892, Khaira (d. 1894),
daughter of Muhammad bin Tawil. m. (eighth) at
Jaghbub, 1895, Khadija, of the Bu Saif family of Syrte. m.
(ninth) Fatima, a sister of Muhammad Hasan al-Biskri. He d.
at Quru, 1st June 1902 (bur.
Kufra), having had issue two sons and three daughters:
1)
Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif bin Sayyid Muhammad
al-Mahdi al-Sanussi. b. 1861 (s/o
Fatima al-Fituri). He d. young.
2)
Sayyid Muhammad bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
al-Sanussi (s/o Fatima al-Fituri). He d.
young.
3)
Sayyid Muhammad bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
al-Sanussi (s/o Hawa). He d. young.
4)
Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif bin Sayyid Muhammad
al-Mahdi al-Sanussi (s/o Hawa). He d.
young.
5)
Sayyid Muhammad Saddiq bin Sayyid Muhammad
al-Mahdi al-Sanussi (s/o Aisha Muqarrib).
He d. young.
6)
Sayyid Muhammad Idris bin Sayyid Muhammad
al-Mahdi al-Sanussi, who became H.M. King Idris
I, King of Libya (s/o Aisha) - see below.
7)
H.R.H. Crown Prince Sayyid Muhammad al-Rida Pasha.
b. at Jaghbub, 19th April 1890
(s/o Fatima), educ. Granted the
title of Pasha-wiya, 1918.
Appointed as Heir Apparent to the Amirate in 1920
by his brother. Personal representative of King
Idris after he went into exile in Egypt
1923-1928, exiled to Sicily by the Italians
1928-1935. Chair. Libyan National Congress 1948.
Confirmed as Crown Prince of Libya, 22nd
December 1953. Rcvd: Grand Collar of the
Order of Idris I (1951). m. (first) at
al-Jauf, Kufra, 1896/1897 (div. at
Ajadabiya, 1921), his first cousin, Sayyida
Fatima al-Sunniyya binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Sharif al-Sanussi (b. at Jaghbub, 1876;
d. at Medina, 1940), younger daughter of
his uncle, Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif bin Sayyid
Muhammad al-Sanussi, by his third wife, Khadija,
daughter of Abu Musa Umran bin Baraka al-Fituri
of Zlitin in Tripolitania. m. (second) at
al-Taj, 1907 (div. 1907), Fatima (b.
ca. 1897; m. second, 'Abdu'llah al-Sharif
al-Khattabi, and d. at Mersa Matruh,
1931), daughter of his maternal uncle, Arabi
al-Ghumari. m. (third) at al-Taj, Kufra,
1907 (div. at Ajadabiya, 1921), Fatima
al-Furiyya, a lady from Dafur. m. (fourth)
at Kufra, 1908, Halima al-Tariqiyya (d. at
Kufra, 1916). m. (fifth) at al-Taj, Kufra,
1911 (div. at Jalu, 1924), Kulthum
al-Mubawiyya, a Sudanese lady. m. (sixth)
at Kufra, 1911, Hawa al-Hajarawiyya. m.
(seventh) at al-Taj, Kufra, 1911 (div.
1911), Fadila (m. second 1925 and div.
1928, Humaida bin al-Alami al-Ghumari; m.
third, 1928, al-Shuwaikh bin Mukhtar), daughter
of his maternal uncle, al-Sanussi al-Ghumari. m.
(eighth) at Kufra, 1911, Zainab al-Quraniyya. m.
(ninth) at Ajadabiya, 1922, Karima, a lady from
the Wadai. m. (tenth) at Ajadabiya, 1922 (div.)
Imbaraika al-Fallatiyya. m. (eleventh) at
Jalu, 1923, Fatima al-Tariqiyya (d.s.p.
at Jalu, 1924). m. (twelfth) at Jalu,
1924, Zohra al-Quraniyya. m. (thirteenth)
at Jalu, 1924, Masuda al-Tariqiyya. m.
(fourteenth) 1926 (div. 1929), Mabruka
al-Tariqiyya (b. 1899; m. second,
1930, 'Ali bu Madwar al-Majabari, and d.s.p.
at Tripoli, 29th December 1996). He d.
suddenly at Tripoli, 29th July 1955,
having had issue, five sons and ten daughters:
a)
Sayyid as-Sadiq bin Sayyid Muhammad
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at al-Taj,
Kufra, 6th November 1908 (s/o
Fatima al-Furiyya), educ. Banished
15/10/1954. m. (first) at Jalu,
1926 (div. 1927), Zainab
al-Barnawiya (m. second, his
younger brother, Sayyid Hasan bin Sayyid
Muhammad al-Rida al-Sanussi - see below).
m. (second) at Siwa, 1930,
Ruqayya, daughter of al-Fadil al-Kammash.
m. (third) in Egypt, 1942, Karima,
a Sudanese lady. He had issue, three sons
and two daughters:
i)
Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif bin
Sayyid as-Sadiq al-Sanussi. b.
at Ajadabiya, 1927 (s/o
Zainab al-Barnawiya). He has
issue, a son:
(1)
Sayyid as-Sadiq bin
Sayyid as-Sharif
al-Sanussi.
ii)
Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi bin
Sayyid as-Sadiq al-Sanussi. b.
in Egypt, 1937 (s/o
Ruqayya). He has issue, one son:
(1)
Sayyid Idris bin al-Mahdi
Sayyid as-Sharif
al-Sanussi.
iii)
Sayyid Husain bin Sayyid as-Sadiq
al-Sanussi.
i)
Sayyida Thurayya binti Sayyid
as-Sadiq al-Sanussi. b. in
Egypt, 1937 (s/o Ruqayya).
ii)
Sayyida Zohra binti Sayyid
as-Sadiq al-Sanussi. b. in
Egypt, 1941 (d/o Ruqayya).
b)
Sayyid Hasan bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Rida
al-Sanussi. b. at Kufra, 1913 (s/o
Kulthum al-Mubawiyya). m. (first)
on the Jabal al-Akhdar, 1928 (div.
1930), Salma, daughter of Muhammad bu
Najwa. m. (second) on the Jabal
al-Akhdar, 1928 (div. 1929),
Sharifa al-Furiyya. m. (third) on
the Jabal al-Akhdar, 1929 (div.)
Salma, daughter of al-Alami al-Ghumari. m.
(fourth) at Benghazi, 1930, Zainab
al-Barnawiya, former wife of his elder
brother, Sayyid as-Sadiq bin Sayyid
Muhammad al-Rida al-Sanussi. He d.
in Sicily, 1938, having had issue, two
daughters:
i)
Sayyid Fatima binti Sayyid Hasan
al-Sanussi. b. at
Benghazi, 1930 (d/o Salma
bu Najwa).
ii)
Sayyida Wanisa binti Sayyid Hasan
al-Sanussi. b. at
Benghazi, 1930 (s/o Zainab
al-Barnawiyya).
c)
Sayyid al-Sanussi bin Sayyid Muhammad
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at
al-Azziyat, 1918 (s/o Fatima
al-Furiyya). m. in Egypt, 1940,
his cousin, Sayyida Fatima al-Jaghbubiya
binti Sayyid Ahmad as-Sharif al-Sanussi (b.
at Kufra, 1916), youngest daughter of
Field Marshal H.H. Sayyid Ahmad as-Sharif
Pasha bin Sayyid Muhammad
as-Sharif al-Sanussi, 3rd
Grand Sanussi, by his eighth wife, Zainab
al-Quraniyya. He d. 1984, having
had issue, two sons and one daughter:
i)
Sayyid al-Rida bin Sayyid
al-Sanussi al-Sanussi.
ii)
Sayyid Loqman bin Sayyid
al-Sanussi al-Sanussi.
iii)
Sayyida Rajah binti Sayyid
al-Sanussi al-Sanussi. b.
at Cairo, 1941 (s/o
Sayyida Fatima).
d)
Sayyid Mustafa al-Rida bin Sayyid
Muhammad al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at
Jalu, 1923 (s/o Imbaraika
al-Fallatiyya). He has issue, one son:
i)
Sayyid al-Rida bin Sayyid Mustafa
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b.
1960. He has issue, two sons:
(1)
Sayyid Mustafa bin Sayyid
al-Rida al-Sanussi.
(2)
Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
bin Sayyid al-Rida
al-Sanussi.
e)
H.R.H. Crown Prince Sayyid Hasan al-Rida
al-Mahdi al-Sanussi, Head of the Royal
House of Libya (s/o Imbaraika
al-Fallatiyya) - see below.
a)
Sayyida Aisha binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at Kufra,
1908 (d/o Halima al-Tariqiyya). m.
at Mersa Matruh, 1932, her cousin, Sayyid
'Abdu'llah bin Sayyid Ahmad as-Sharif
al-Sanussi (b. at Kufra, 1906),
fourth son of Field Marshal H.H. Sayyid
Ahmad as-Sharif Pasha bin Sayyid
Muhammad as-Sharif al-Sanussi, 3rd
Grand Sanussi, by his sixth wife, Maryam
al-Tariqiyya. She had issue - see below.
b)
Sayyida Fadila binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at Kufra,
1909 (d/o Sayyida Fatima
as-Sunniyya). m. at Mersa Matruh,
1932, Sayyid Muhammad al-'Arabi bin
Sayyid Ahmad as-Sharif al-Sanussi (b.
at Kufra, 1906; d. 1963), third
son of Field Marshal H.H. Sayyid Ahmad
as-Sharif Pasha bin Sayyid
Muhammad as-Sharif al-Sanussi, 3rd
Grand Sanussi, by his second wife,
Khadija, daughter of Ahmad al-Rifi. She
had issue - see below.
c)
Sayyida Khadija binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at Kufra,
1914 (d/o Zainab al-Quraniyya). m.
at Abu Rawwash, Egypt, 1944, her cousin,
Sayyid Ahmad Idris bin Sayyid Muhammad
al-'Abid al-Sanussi (b. at Kufra,
1907), adopted by King Idris I, and
fourth son of Sayyid Muhammad al-'Abid Pasha,
by his first wife, Fatima, daughter of
Ahmad bin Idris al-Ashhab - see above.
d)
Sayyida Ruqayya binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at Kufra,
1915 (d/o Kulthum al-Mubawiyya). m.
at Cairo, Egypt, 1943, Sayyid Muhammad
as-Siddiq bin Sayyid Muhammad al-'Abid
al-Sanussi (b. at Kufra, 1922),
eleventh son of Sayyid Muhammad al-'Abid Pasha,
by his sixth wife, Maimuna, a Sudanese
lady from Baghirmi. She had issue, one
daughter - see above.
e)
Sayyida Fatima binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at Kufra,
1917 (d/o Fatima al-Furiyya). m.
at Mersa Matruh, 1932, her cousin, Sayyid
al-Zubayr bin Sayyid Ahmad as-Sharif
al-Sanussi (b. at Kufra, 1908),
fifth son of Field Marshal H.H. Sayyid
Ahmad as-Sharif Pasha bin Sayyid
Muhammad as-Sharif al-Sanussi, 3rd
Grand Sanussi, by his fifth wife, Hawa
al-Qaraniyya II. She had issue, three
sons and one daughter - see below.
f)
Sayyida Fatima as-Zohra bint Sayyid
Muhammad al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at
Jalu, 1923 (d/o Hawa
al-Hajarawiyya). m. 1939, Sayyid
'Abdu'llah bin Sayyid Muhammad al-'Abid
al-Sanussi [Abdallah Al-Abed Al-Senussi]
(b. at Kufra, 1919), tenth son of
Sayyid Muhammad al-'Abid Pasha, by
his fifth wife, Umm Bashayir, a Sudanese.
She had issue - see above.
g)
Sayyida Hasaniyya binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at Jalu,
1924 (d/o Hawa al-Hajarawiyya).
h)
Sayyida Zakiyya binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at Jalu,
1924 (d/o Karima).
i)
Sayyida Anisa binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. at Jalu,
1926 (d/o Zohra al-Quraniyya).
j)
Sayyida Fathiyya binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Rida al-Sanussi. b. Benghazi,
1930 (d/o Imbaraika
al-Fallatiyya).
8)
Sayyid Muhammad Yahya bin bin Sayyid Muhammad
al-Mahdi al-Sanussi (s/o Aisha Abu Saif).
He d. young.
9)
Sayyid al-Rida bin bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
al-Sanussi (s/o Fatima al-Ghumari). He d.
young.
1)
Sayyida Safiyya binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Mahdi al-Sanussi. b. at Jaghbub, 1883 (d/o
Fatima al-Fituri). m. in the Hijaz, 1928,
as his ninth wife, Field Marshal H.H. Sayyid
Ahmad as-Sharif Pasha bin Sayyid Muhammad
as-Sharif al-Sanussi, 3rd Grand
Sanussi (b. at Jaghbub, 1873; d. at
Medina, 10th March 1933), eldest son
of Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif bin Sayyid Muhammad
al-Sanussi, by his third wife, Khadija, daughter
of Abu Musa Umran bin Baraka al-Fituri, of Zlitin
in Tripolitania. She d.s.p.
- see below.
2)
Sayyida Khadija binti Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
al-Sanussi (d/o Fatima Muqarrib). She d.
young.
3)
Sayyida Atika binti Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
al-Sanussi. b. at Jaghbub, 1886 (d/o
Aisha Abu Saif). She d. unm. at
Kufra, 1914, while engaged to her cousin, Sayyid
Muhammad Abid.
4)
Sayyida Nafisa binti Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
al-Sanussi. b. at Jaghbub, 1888 (d/o
Fatima al-Fituri). m. at Ajadabiya, 1920,
as his tenth wife, her cousin, Major-General
Sayyid Muhammad Safi ud-din Pasha bin
Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif al-Sanussi (b.
at Jaghbub, 10th August 1895; d.
21st October 1967), fifth son of
Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif bin Sayyid Muhammad
al-Sanussi, by his fifth wife, Khadija, daughter
of Mustafa bi 'Abdu'l Wahab al-Mahjub. She had
issue - see above.
5)
Sayyida Umama binti Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
al-Sanussi (d/o Aisha Abu Saif). She d.
young.
6)
Sayyida Radiyya binti Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
al-Sanussi (d/o Fatima al-Ghumari). She d.
young, at al-Taj, Kufra.
7)
Sayyida binti Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
al-Sanussi (d/o Fatima al-Biskri). She d.
young, at al-Taj, Kufra.
8)
Sayyida binti Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
al-Sanussi (d/o Fatima al-Biskri). She d.
young, at al-Taj, Kufra.
9)
Sayyida binti Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi
al-Sanussi (d/o Fatima al-Biskri). She d.
young, at Qiru.
10)
Sayyida Fatima al-Hasaniyya binti Sayyid Muhammad
al-Mahdi al-Sanussi. b. at Kufra, 1902 (d/o
Khadija Bu Saif). m. at Ajadabiya, 1922,
as his seventh wife, her cousin, Sayyid Muhammad
Hilal Pasha bin Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif
al-Sanussi (b. at Jaghbub, June/July
1894; d. at Alexandria, Egypt, December
1929), fourth son of Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif
bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Sanussi, by his sixth
wife, Aisha, daughter of Muhammad as-Sharif
al-Khattabi. She d. at Tarabulus, 20th
October 1966, having had issue, two sons - see
above.