Al-Mustakfi II

Abū al-Rabīʿ Sulaymān ibn al-Mutawakkil (Arabic: أبو الربيع سليمان بن المتوكل, c. 1391 – 4 February 1451), better known by his regnal name al-Mustakfī (II) bi-llāh (Arabic: المستكفي بالله, lit. 'He who is content with God alone'), was the twelfth Abbasid caliph of Cairo under the Mamluk Sultanate. His reign lasted from 1441 to 1451.

Biography

Early life and accession

Abu al-Rabi Sulayman was born around 1391, one of several sons of caliph al-Mutawakkil I.¹ His elder brother al-Musta'in succeeded their father in 1406.² After a brief stint as nominal Sultan of Egypt in 1412, al-Musta'in was deposed by Mamluk sultan al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh in 1414,³ who installed another brother, al-Mu'tadid II, as his replacement.⁴ Having no surviving sons, al-Mu'tadid II arranged to pass the caliphal title to his full-brother Sulayman near the end of his life.⁵ Shortly after al-Mu'tadid II's death on 23 July 1441, Sulayman ascended to the caliphate as al-Mustakfi (II) billah.¹

Reign

Unlike his brothers al-Musta'in and al-Mu'tadid II, al-Mustakfi II avoided politics and courtly life, focusing instead on the religious duties of his office.⁶ A skilled Shafi'i scholar, he had strong ties with the and a patron of the Suyuti family, securing a scholarly post for Abu Bakr Kamal al-Din, father of . When died in 1449, al-Mustakfi II was a notable participant in his funeral.