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Contents

Foreword by Sheik 11 Sa id Ha ww,a,~~",~,;..-, ... ,-"~,_, ..... -,~~~,~~,~,,u,,~ ,. Preface to' the Second. and Third. Bditlons.... .. - . ._~~,~~,.~,~ m, m Preface to the First Bdwt~ on."m'''~~'''~,~ ... -.- .. -'.- .. - .. '-.- .. ~.- .. -.~'.-''~'''-'._.".,_ i ,6 1-- Salah ,Ad,-'DiD,'~S F andl:y flJIUI, U" bringillg,_ .... ,,'.,y~'.""_'m"_'~~"~" 1'9

Lineage .. _,-,.~;- - .. - .. ~- .. - .. ,-, .. ,~~,y",g,~"y""."u"_."".",_,",,,.,,~,'.;,,~","~,~;~;"",""'-"""""";~,~,.=_, i 5)1

Birth.,,_m"w'~~"' ~,.- .... ,.-;,~;~.-.- .. -.-'.- .. '.-'~"_ .. _ .. _.,.g".,,~"'~,,~"'_'_'m,,_,.u'_'_'_'m'._'m"m""~ 2~)

U b '. '! 22

p,:nngJll,!g_. ,_.~"_"-"_,,--.- .. -.- .... -;.-~~,.-.~-,~~"~"~.",.,~, ... "~y,.,."~,,,,,,-,~,,-, ... ,-,~,- ~.~

Education, .. -,,-;,~~-- .. ~-.-.-.--.-: .. ~,~. ~"_""~'_'~"'_"""_'_" __ "_'_'~"_""~~- ... 2,5

,2,;" The; De,ginning: of ;Sa,bl.h Ad,-D~n's Rulle...,_,_"~_,,.,_,_.,~"_,_. __ ,:28 Egypt durin g: the Fatimid Rule.,~"~.~"~"~.~~~,,~,,~,,.,,~,"~ .. ,,,~ .. ,,,- 28 Shawir As es Sa"d:P's Rebellion .... _ .. _._"_"~,~,~. ,,~. ~,~~"~,.,~ .. ,,~,,_,, 29, Second Stage ofthe S,t ruggle ever :E,gy.Pt_,~,~-~,-,~,,~,-.- 3- ill Last Stage of the Struggle over 'E,gypti~"_".".~_,~,~,, ... ,,_y_, 3:2- Analysis and Commentary.Li, .. ",."_,~,"."~,,~,~,,,,~,,~,,.,,_"~'_'m'_'_" 33,

3~, S,;d;a& Ad-Din in E,gypt..,_'~''''m''.''~",'_ "m'''.'''Y''_'''_".'"_,~.''~_'m'''~''_'_ .. u~,'';.- 314- Virii,et.' fa r the Fa timid ,CaU ph _"_.Y_''''''''''_''''''''~'''"Y_'' "_,_"".".,,,.,_"_,~,34 Endi ng In ternal Conspiracies ,~,_~~".""~"_",g,="~"~y.".,,,,.,,.,,,~,_,,_,,_,_, ,35

E-- . ...:aIi ... ,,,,~ - ' .. E" ,~. --- 'II 'P,,'II· t 'Ji1Il

I31J1J lea un,g, ,'_: x 1~;e:rn;a,JJ, ... ,11.0 . &,~~,~.,._~."~,,~,~,,~._,,_,,.,,~_,_.,~, ~,mN.~ .. fY'

Sermon ~n ' he Name of the Abbasid Ca.Hph __ ,~ ,.,. ,4 'I

:3

P oli cy wi t h N'n r ,A dm,Din _...... .,_, .... '.0 ••••••• _ •••••• _ •• _._ •• _ ••••• _._.,_, •••• ,_ ••••••••••• , •• , •• _ 43

4 - Salab ,Ad,e'Dlll in Syria, ... , M~"'''- ., •• ,. "" ".,. ''',.'' e r ,,'''' "".~,. "'U",,, "'_" 46

Syria ,a Iter N ur A,d, .. :Din,., , .. ,., ""_"~"",,,",,,,,,_,,_,, ,,.,,_, .. ",." .. ,'_'" "W','''''''.' 4 6

Damascus Sends for Salah Ad .. 'D:~11. ".,."'~, ".~ "." ,,,_. " .. ~" 47

Salah Ad .. Din in, Damascus. , .. _. _ _.,_ _ _._ _ 0 ••• _ _ 4.7

In Horns, Hamah and Aleppo .. _ _., _ .. _._ _ _ .. _ .. _._ ,........ 5:1

:5 '" Countries Uni't,ed under ,His RI'~,e.,,_ ,~ .. ''' , .. " ...... _"' .. ,~, , "".,~ .59

(} ",,' Crusaders" Plots Ind W'ors" ,_" _ _ . ," ~" .. "." ",. .",.", _,_ .,,~.u ,6 5

'Wha t 'Were the C rusa des?_._ .. _, _._. . __ . _ ,_ , " ,~~.~~,~._ ,n,,, '.,·u. 65

Reasons for the Crusades. .. ",.,,' "'~, .. " ""." , "M'" ,~""'~,~,~,- ..• ~,~,~,'" 65 first Crusade and Occupation 'Of Jerusalem .,,~ ... m'~' 67

Reasons for the' Crusad ers' Victo ry .. _.,_ _,_,.,~,~,~",~"~.~,, _, 69

'Second Crusade: Prelude to Victory a tHa ttin __ . __ ._ _, .. 10

, SalahAd- D'in 's, Victory' in ~be B'3 ttle ,of Hattin .. _ , .. ,12

Reasons for 'the Battle .. _ _ _. __ ."., .. _ ,., ,.,."'"'~".,,~y~''' "~,_.".,,,,_.,,_72

Battle of H,att]" and Conq nest of Jerusalem .~_"."~, .. ,, .. '."_'n'~.' 73

Salah ,A.d-,D~n's Treatment of the !C nus aders, ... "., .... ".", ." 84

'Blockade of Acre and Third Crusade.. , ; ~,-." .. ''''' .. ''' .. , 90

10'" . erm an ·C····-· 'a' unpa ig n 9.1

-'.- .~ ".- ,If!l "."_ '" !t;L,JL '. . .. _"_'.OT ... _ ....... _ ... · .: .. :: ....... , ... ,_:_.:._ .... : .•... _ .. __ .. _ ..•.....•..•.. _ ... __ .. _. __ .. _ .• _.,""""". _ JlJ

F re nch and En glish Armies. ,_" .. " ,_"_, .. ,, .. _ ',_ _ _ .. _ _,._ _ , 92

M u slim Re sistance, ~".;.,,_.,,_. " ~,,~"'~,_ ,,~'" " ".,.,._ _ _ _ .. _ .. _._ _, .. 9 3

4

E---1I"'I·d' of ':W··~-"ljjill" '(\5-

JI..Il .. ', Y. "_ I~~ 11_111111.1111 1I_1I.""IIII."B""lIlr"""'Ill'IIPr'llIr"'Iln I,....,··~II······~·II...,IF III"IIII-III'II''''''III~III IIl"lIlIrlill-II-II"I-II~r'""Ili .7, '

8 ... ,S~>iji!l,a'l'il~', d-Dln ',~ 'E~.·:-Jild ,t'I,O

.~" ,~, .~II, - _ 11" "". I. . ...... .•. ..'" ... ,.. _ _.~ .... ~ ..... _._,_..... .._.. . ... , ... _. .. .. _ .. , .. _.. " ,::;1 0

A '""1 R.··. Ji].Q,iC'nm.- ,i:!i'~rn,'-r- ·V····'~ t'ij~.;;o;. rv over !·t- he C- rus ~ ders '109

"7 . ..:.~A~V _r_~ ,1l.U1_ . ll~ 1l)U. " . .;r ~,~, . _ "_. . .~ -, - .r~\IUI,.· ,~, J ~ __ •• _ .. _ .... "._ I _.~ I ,._.-O

Fear of AU,ah and Avoidina 'the Prohibited- .. - =~-.~ .. ill lO

~

,Fun Preparation and Bxten si ve' ,e once'rrl_ , .. _ .. ~._, ..... ,.... ]] 6

Political 'Unity of' Muslim Countries ~. ~ _._._ .. __ 'li 18

Aiming to Ma,kc' ,AUa.h's 'Word Supreme, .. _ ... , __ ] 19'

Liberation was the ssue of Islam and Muslims ~ .. l 22

10 '''' Palestfue Y'es:terdlillY and Today _ ..... _ ... _._,_.-.-.,---; __ .. _ _.- ],26

Decline l,n the Moral and. Spiritual Side: ._ .. _.y .. ,,"u w •• 126

Diff cme:nce s ~ 'Q uarrel sand Disputes, " , ,,_ .. ~ .. _.~ ~,~Y 13, :],

Interest in 'Word but Not. in Deed ... " m ~ ... H w .. m ..... 13,3

'·W·'" -',i"'iIo'-~O' A-', '.,-c- of War 'ru]>!'i

.. r ,n';e, .~. ',[:Ell, '.,:. ._ I~~r,,_., _ ~- -'"--- -,- _ .. n .. u._ .. ~._ IIJ.,- ; -. ..)

J' j. A' b I '14- '11

__ U,S'I~. an . <,r,l, ,--', ,ss:ue ._'- ..... ~ .. - .. ;~ .... ~ ... _. ,~ ... ~ .. ~ ... _ ...... ,._ .... "., .... ~ ... , -' ~.~

11 '[-' ... ·S·-·.':o:II:'~Ii1I·h A·" I'd: ... Din's ·C.···.· haracteristics ']-- ·4' 9-

.," '_ -. AIIJ.AIl I· ',' '1IiIJI!iJ· -. g., A~I,~· ,1l~L ., .,.. __ .. _ .... ~ 11- ......... 'P~'I"'II~'" '_' _ ,"

'Piety and \V'o rshi p ~ .. - .. , .~ .. ".. .. "".. n. • _ .. ~..... ... "... ... 149

Justice and Mercy. .. _.~.... _ .. _ _ _ ._ .. __ ._ .. _._. _,._, :l S.2

Cou rage' and Perseverance, .. .... ...~. ,,_.. . _.. .... .,,_.. ,_'" _.__ 154,

'U. Jnderst andin ,0' 0' n -4 F- or given _':::"J:: It" '] 5·:· '7'·

. J&-~I _ -, ...:., ~ A-,It.~· . ~1i:.te'!;Ib. ,U U ,I .Il _'~ ~1\r·~,~liII., I 11_1 __ ••• • 1 _._._ •• _ r._. . ,;, ,

Chivalry and Magnanimity _ ... _ _ .. __ , ..... _. .. .., ..... 159

Love of Poe try an d Literature _ _. _ ... _ ._, ._.,_ _ .... ,~'". "mY •• ~.. 167

5

Ascet i Cl sm. and G enerosity ~"'---;-"'~"-"-"'-"'-"-. -~~~ ~ _.~ __ ] '70

Activity and Interest in J ihad .~~.~~.~~~ ~. n~. ~ .. ~. Th. 73

12. - :R.'e'for~ms. ,A chiev,ed. by S,;alolll ,~,d""Din ~._ .. ~ .. _~~ .. _~.~ .. _ 17·8

Constructi 0]], Imp ro"vemerrt~L_.~~_._~._ _ ~ .. ~.~ ... _ .. _.~~" 178

Educat ioual Reform ... _._,.~._ ... ---.~._~ ... ~. . _._ _.~ .. _'"_ .. g •• _ .. _ ...... ~~ 18::2

Economic Refo nU~~~'="~"~'~"~"_" __ '_"'._'_"'_'.'H_'_''''_''_''~''~~'~''~",",". 186,

Social Reform _,_'_,,_''','_~'~'_,'_'',' .",~,.-"~,,~ .. ~,,.~,~,~ .. " ~ u •••• _.~ .. ug •••••••• ~.,._.~ l8:9

Religious Rje:fCi:rnl'~~-"~''''-''~''''-'''~"H''''''''_'~'''~'H_''''_'"H'_" __ '~'~"_"~"_'~'~ .. _._, .t 94

Fin,al W ord ,.~ _,._ ,._,~.,._ .. ~ _.~ .. ,_ .. ,~_,.., .. _._. __ .. _,,.._"'- .. ~ ~ n_ ..•.. _._.~...... ill 918

P 'ra ; "",p, bv PI" ·", .... of ~'A- bd ul .. J-'!:£Ii bbar A~'iI"'-·R' ahbi 2-:,0"'1

,. ,u.J,!iJf~1 ',J'- " &. U '. . t]., .'. >~ ',. g., .1!JJhUJ, I, _: - Jl. -,' ·_€L:Ll . .:._ - ~~~~~~~' -~~" -, ~

R'e,fe're11ces=,-.,-~-,~ .. _.= .. ~ ... ~~~.~.,.~~.=~ .. , ... " ... ~_ .. _ .. ".'" ... ~." .. _ .. ~.~.~_ .. _.~ .. ~.~ 210,6

'F::":OI-r-\D'~"nr-~ .. d

, . _ ~". "UP ,'.:

By

Sl1e~i.kb S:a,'~d Ha"wa

AlI praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings of'Allah be upon, the Messenger ofAllahand his household.

The author did well :~11, choosing to write about Salah Ad-Din's life for the following ,r,'6aSQ!l1S:

1.. 'The Muslim 1l,11Ul'UJh (nation) urgently needs a person like the hero Salah Ad- Din. in order to regain hID S epoch. Therefore, Muslims should search for one wh ose eharacteri sties rna tch th ose of Salah Ad- Din.

"J, J'if'IIiI'-Ul.'!'a]J!3m' 1 ,ri: if! ilI'IiFlI d' -I erg i"II/I:]-l- tQF ,"11 OAoV'~'f-il':lI' trial 'n n"'IIHl d '1- ,o'Jjl'V,(I Q 0 ~iI' "~L.I ._o·u- JI~' . I 4Ii,'~' l!l-J"I!.~, ~_,~_" I~~" j ".~ l~ ~Wj' ~, ~ 'l 111,(:_'. J ,,'ul.,tVn' '~J' a., ~I'::

Muslims should read the history of their forefathers to realize how Jerusalem, was liberated in order to liberate It again.

,:I., Our Muslim u~nrJ1(Jl1 has strayed from the straight path and deviated from the 'way of the exemplars i Thus, the :~fl1?}11'al1 should, search for those 'who set ~'L good example and realize 'that Salah Ad-Din W;QS one of those who had an ideal character over the passage of time.

4~ Our l<nn'~;~ah has ignored 'th,e W:I,Y of jihad.which is the

7

only wa Y to liberate Pa Th'6sti.nemR:a ther, it has indulged. in lusts and. sopbjsm. So, it should be

,. ded ., 'iIL. ' , , ~ .I!...', ,ill.. ' 'dl th ·

remmoea w:rntru.~. an extensive 1!!')'Jog:nllp,uy" an . t . ere is

no ne be tter than t 1121. t -0 f Salah Ad - Din. in this re spec t.

'Til\.. ~ auth """'r 'Ii.. .1(], if' d - .l"ii 'I'Ii,,;a; WA ~II ';;'n c'h- t"ii; n ~~'ng t' '0 '-'~m'-'-- - b 91 -

. U!,;; ~III, _ ',' 'v, .n;d,j, " U''':.~.~' ',.,~'.Wll Jiili: ... I,:. ,!~I\./oJ;.IIl: 1," .f!l;;i.1 .. em:~~r

this ideal character, We hope also that the M usli m um:mahwiIDl do wen :~.11. seizin .. g the means of obtain ing victory ..

Hie: also did 'well when 'he brought Salah Ad .... Din's biography to light because he had a great, singular character. Islam was 'the source of thi s ingenuity and, the reason people loved. him. :M:o'reov,er:;1 their trust in his character 'and the ummal1·js faith were other reasons for Jerusalem's liberation, This issue needs to be empha Sl zed. 80 that M uslim leaders find. the true' manner of leadership in eurren 1: times ,.

'The only' way to lead the Muslim umrna'htoday iSI to adopt the issue of Palestine sin,cer1em.y and in a, manner harmonious with the hop eiS:, b e,Hefs; culture and Ili:s tory of the Muslims. The Muslim 'ummah: has preserved the best memory of Salah Ad .. Din because he performed likethat.

As for those who th~'n:t that the w'ay of leadership is

10 o

the false adoption and lying pmmises.vthey are wrong, If 'they fo U ow this devious way, generat ions will curse 'them. and history- will prosecute. them,

As for those who think that the Palestinian issue will be solved by another belie f' t bat is separate from. the heritage of the' Muslim ummah, they are wrong; Sind will meet the wrat h of Allah, the curse of generations and the prosecution of history,

The Palestinian 'issue has been. the pivot of events in, the region throughout the ages It has also been the pivot of glory and heroism. The unification of Greater Syria (whatt is now Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and. Sy.ria ) a,nd Egypt under the banner of Islam was the starting point of the destruction of the Crusader 'in vasion. Thi s uni ty needed the support 0 f the Mus-lim. world represented 'i[1f1. the '~'A:· bbasid ·C·· 'i\'.I;'ll.~lP· hate

yv .... [1 ~l'" • ,.I~, >, I V!J!!'jr~,!Ii,~~~lU ,!Il,~~, l~ __ ,~ s: -: :..._ .:_: ~~j~,tl,'~ I ..... -i~,I.; ''":"' I, ~I~' . I!!

T'L., - Palestini _. ~. . . 'iI" ··d· . J ... J'" .. ·..JI . .."'" 'l'''k

ne j-ates iruan issue I~O. ,a.) a so neeas UUIty . Lie

that which was between Eavot and Greater Svria, a

'--->--~"- '. ",~,-,-,.,_: "_'_'':'' ,':__:"_ .. "." ...•. ,. " i'l,bJ,Y .. 11' " , '." ". !-" ' .. , '_"J" ""; '--'

unity based on religious co n ten t and Islamic teachrogs,. Unity needs all the potentialities of the whole Muslim world,

This book is the practical lesson and 'the realway 'to carry this out Hence, we should read it, distribute it,

and give it as a present ~ 'We ask Alhih ,tJP bless 'the author for it,

1.0 die N IU3i0 Qf' AUa'hi,t),e Am~-Mercifll" tbe Efcr: .. ,Merclfu( Preface to ,the Second a:n.d Third, Edi,tions

AU praise be 'to AUaJl~ by Whose grace good, deeds are completed, Peace and, blessing of Allah be upon the master of fighters and champions, Muhammad, and

upon hi ~ auid A ",,1 C,-, om panion C' g 'D' d-I th ose W·.-._' ho follow

U.,',!VU ,W"l,~iJ! ,b,l!i-;.W,UD~U~ .: -1"1,, "hi, ,.1 ",P" I. ,I,: ~I 'I, :_, l .. :.)Q¥ '!LlI lV' ,W,~,t· ..

them until the \V 0 rld ends.

Unfortunately, SOID,e Muslims are' afflicted by despair and despondency because they th ink that there is no sol ution to reform and regain the glory of tbe Islamic ummah. (nation) nowadays. Other Muslims call for seclusion ,and sitting at horne beca use they think that the end of the world is. imminent. They 1,1:8,0 think that the time has C01TIle for man, to go 0 u t with h is goats to mountains and, rainy places hllJ, order 'lOI keep away (ro:01, the trials and, telD ptations until be: die s ,( 1 )

l'l) A.]. .. Bukhari ~","""F'i;;r,,,!I;:I'.fI :t;'~1I?1j"1i-~"" P "Il"'o-'n,t.'I~'~'~.Y. ~'fO'i~ 'M~ time '\iV]"m'l

'( '_. .~, D ~,~_jl.~ ~ ~ I~~, UI~UJ IILl, .~l ~ Ib_JL[~ ',JJ.. l~lJl'-' ~ ~ 1I1!Q.J1U:II nJ ~.y,~ ~lll" _. ,W I

come when the best property of a Muslim wHl be sheep U:U~,I~ he '~vUl take to the top of mountstns and, the places of rainfall (v:~,II'ey,s} so, as tOI :f1,e;e with his. reUgj,Qil1 from trials and i[Jdif1ict].ot!ls+" However, the Prophet § here refers to those who are forced '~O ap ostasy, As long as there are M\ll1;Jim,s 'w-h(} perform the -ri~ua~;s and. carry out the rules of 'Es~am, and! 11;1 ve the chance to cooperate , isol ation It~i'!d, secmu.sruon ,an~ unla WI']]].,

11

Moreover, some scho lers aJ le,I'e tha t there is no wa y to reform this ummah' unless Allah sends Al ... Mahd: ,AI.., Muntasha« (I,) Of Jesus to fin. the 'world with justice and faith instead of injustice and disbelief, When the despairing people adopt such ideas, they are going .,! 0 be destroved before other Muslims -T~'~ Prophet ~l,,",

~ .. )1 ... '11) ~ " ',J ~ru . ~ llu ~ v, ,W,lI~· ,' .. , ~J~ , ',' ,_,~,~ ,~I~, Y. , .. 1Jl. .. .~I

said, "'Wb(H:~'Ve:r says Muslims are destroyed will be destroyed before them, tI

Who could have 'believed that the Muslims would regain their honor after the Crusaders had occupied most of '[be: Islamic countries and Al-',A,qs,~ Mosque for one hun -d"- red years?

t. 'ld~,1 . , . 'lUll .. ,.1.'_ .,W, ~-._- I ~~. ~~~, ,~I!I

Who could have believed that the bold champion Salah Ad-Din would liberatethese countries and regain, power honor and glory in the Battle of' Hartin?

Who could have believed that the Muslims would regain their power and honor after the CIOn21p:$e:~ rape,

,,.;QI k'"n'" I:' l iIr 'II' ld f" d th

ano nnmg O.IJ. the tssanuc W'OI',_, ',~t0111 one end 'to ":,I.[![:

other' at the hands of the Tartars? (]t was said that their leader Hulaku made mountains front Muslims' skulls) .,

(l) A.I'-M'ahtlt A/~Nll~ruaz/far rus "The Direc~~d, One", a ruler who will appear upon the' earth in the :1 [lJ,st da,Y5; and .@:\dde people to the right path, (tra nsla tor) ,

12

Who could have believed tbat '~,he bold Qutuz 'would liberatethe Muslim world. and regain their glory in the' decisive Battle OIf 'Ain Jallut?

Optimism plays a great role in, the victory of nations, and a spi ri t of s trength motivates men to achieve more, victories.

I advise youths to read the biography of Salah AdDin (may Allah have mercy O~l him) and study the reasons for his victories, I am sure that if our leaders and youths follow Salah Ad .. Din's approach and his way fe victory, they wiU liberate Jerusalem regain Palestine, and r:a!isetbe banner of Islam again, Almighty Allah says:

~:A n.d We :tv,is,lted to (10 III IQ'JJorl,~f to t/',(J$Jt "iv,lI",

JI~ (.. d d' l" - ""..1' . .J!

w,er:e' ~iJIt{ln .' Q'IJ·'·· .. ofJl'.~e,s,'st-,:i ,1'1" tne l~~{j'hl, ,an'N

to make "/Itt-In ,~~,lil.l'e"'$ R'I'd to malul II,em' t.llle'

,i"JJeriIO,'~S,' (Al-,Qa.s as 2,8: ,5)

01 youths" in, the future Muslims certainly \vUI be victorious and, restore the glory to Islam, This i 8, based on the word s of the Prophet ~,: "'The r ule at the begitl'11im,g of your religion (Islam) will be: pro phetie and merciful and :rem,ain, for a fixed time un til Allah erases

13

it, Then an unjust a .. utho:rity (power) will come and remain for a, period of time, and, then Allah \viU erase :it. Then a dicta torial auth 0 rity w:~ ll come and remain for ,[{I.

..' 0, d t'~! A-' l-~ 'iik. ~n .' Th

certain time, anc _ '. nen ." ,···._J,akl W,ill,W erase It, " -,-- ell a

caliphate ,,\lin C'CHne an d, follo w 'the 'way of the Prophetic traditions ~Ul.d people will follow them, Then Ute teachings of Islam will be revealed to the land and win satisfy the people of the ear ~h and the people of Paradise, Then, the sky w.H:l rain eontin ually and the' la -'d'c W' il '1 orod uce all kinds of --1Ia-- ~ - n

tan _- ,_~ I ,:~I 1._, ,-'~' '._.11, J!ii..Ji,I,I-fj. 'v, p,~!_ UII(.S"

It seems that the unjust authority mentioned above has ended with the Ottoman authority, Now 'we -8,:I'e, living in the dictatorial authority in which most leaders reached power by force These dictatorships started

W"]' th A- UI\ turk in Tur ;tle.~y'. oQ nd spread e very w···· 'here __

" ' ~~, " _~w"~~ .. _._ U·l..l. Q .l~ .. , ... ~-~,1. ... _J,~1~, .. 'fl

, .

However, the indications of an Islamic awakening give promise that this will nev-er last, The caliphate: win follow 'tile approach of the Prop-het 3, '.' I hope- thatwill soon 'be real ized ~ Allah wi1~ing~

]I[ am sure and optimistic that the hands of Y01U:ths~ the strength of men, the perseverance of those who IcaU 'to Islam, and the generosity of the rich 'win achieve this, And 'for Allah that is not dif:fk~u.ltt or hard~'(l)'

Fin.aUy'" 1 would like to thank an the brothers 'who praised the bo ok, I thank ;8;1;80. the great poet "Abdnl Jabbar ,A.r, .. Rahbi for his honest praise, good poetry, and di~ep trust. ]wiU reeo rd 'his, praise and, poetry for readers lin the last pages, I p,r,~y Allah to 'make our good, actions sincere to ,FUm and guide us always ,to write about 'lh:~ :~,ives, 0:[ out bold "foE',efathers and champions so that the corning generauons may follow their 'way" Aliah is the Only One 'W·ho answers our prayers,

IS

upon the Messenger of Allah, the master of brave men and champions, and upon 111i:S, companions and those

wh n, (;' n,11'~1 'j"Ii1~W"~': th em' n 'i 'iiI nl'~ ';:~I ~1"1l1;9, W-·' ,.oc: "r- 1 ~I al'n" ·d· -:~,

._ ,',,·u IV1.lI~'.· .~,W.l,~, ... , Ull~JIJ iL,.wl 1iL,. ,lIl.'i;I '.-_'1, .. ,. y, ~ , .' ·g!11

Talking about the lives of'our great figures in history, leaders in, jihad, and men in the field of reformation is the best talk and the Dl0S't beloved remembrance because they were the guiding lights for people, Salah Ad ... Din was one of those who guided, people to the- right path, raised the banner of unity in the Muslim world, liberated it from Cru sad ers and col 011 ists, and recorded

,. '~,.' '~- ,. .. I

1:8 htsto ry nis victories over them,

One :m31Y ask why th:e autho r preferred S alah Ad = Din's, biography over those of other figures such as Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Khalid ibn }\l .. ,W'~aHd~ and Abu Ubaidah ibn Al .. Jarrah, The answer is 'that Salah Ad ... Din's life is connected 'with the manifest victory and, liberation of Jerusalem from tbe claws of the' Crusaders and the' detested colonists, 'WIlen I show 'the present generation the secret of and reasons tor victory 'I't the Battle of Hartin, I draw the M uslim 's attention to the right path in liberating Jerusalem frOID criminal Jews,

16

OOjillS;t. Zj onism, land those who supp art them in the Bast and West, Remember that Jerusalem is the first of the 'two qib.lalJs, the third mosque in rank after the two holy' mosques in MakIk~h and, Al-Madinah, and the: mosque from which the Prophet ~ ascended 'to the Sleven heavens,

Readers will find in these chapters h,QW such victory 'WItS achieved by a. Kurdish man, not an Arab; how he unified the; Muslim ummah. under his guidingleadership; how' he convinced the people 'to follow the Islamic Shari'ah; bow 'he fought in the name of Islam and 'to make Allah'sword supreme; howhe triumphed by faith amd, by adhering to AJUab' 8 rope; and how be treated 'the enemies whh good manners and noble morals.

Readers win also find the noblest qu,a~lti,es by ,ii:lich he 'WBlS distieguished and. the most imp art-aut reforms he

h ~ d 'ill 1l.... fL. ·11~1C::'..:iI 't. ·S·· '~ 'IIJ,.;, A· ,;I D ~

acmevea, in ulle:~:~, they Wll11Jll tmd 'W'.lIiO '.Jl~,iLlIl.l~'~,'-';lin was

The Islamic ummah needs to benefit from his life story, for' it may he a w:ay to regain honor and glory and triumph over our enemies, Muslims also need to benefit from knowing: 'the reasons and ractorsthat paved the way 'to victory in the Battle of Hattin and the regaining of Palestine,

17

M· - A' '~I] h aid ". 'Ii\... H"~ . . A'" d' ,f" A]II] 'l

':: ay-~ a 1 31,-_, us W~bi, 18 v~ct,~]ry",11L,J ror Auan

that -],S, not difficult.

,I pray AU ah to inspire M u slim rulers everyw here t 0- follow Salah Ad-Din's approach that is represented in sacrifice and j iha d." raj th and piety, I ask Him to inspire them to erect an edifice of unruly and glory as he did"

And 01~.lJ A.11ah can answer our prayers,

'The au thor

'AlbdilllllUah Naslh "'UI,wan

11

"", 1 iiiii

8,al8111 Ad-Di'n'sFamily' IlD"d, Upbringlng

Uoel,iOm'

I~I

Salah. Ad-Din was of a noble, highborn Kurdish fam li'~v that ruled Egypt :""'D'-1 G reater Syria '("W'1kQ"t ,~'ii:'l -1' O"~~'

,ill" I "It~i 1:." ,tlIi, 11 !;.dlll",.~ " -l~b "',, ,!. ,,'U, '" rn"~E;JII,,,,,I!i;,,, blI,', lii/;.,- I, u~" .l,:;, I .. '_ ,,1"

Syria, Lebanon and Palestine), It was called the

Avvi l bid c; ,t-~ ':t,j!!!; -T~ it,. ~ ''"!\II 'In;' 1 v aneestrv l' ,it' tr (]; J!"'~,~I b Q; •• "J'!'" ,jl,......

'- -,, J -.~ UJIi ~- kJ! .~a~Yill ," ~,11!iJ. JL.~. J..IJ U" 1\.;r_~~1 ,( J' . ijJ! -L..", !tjI:l!i..;!~U .,." i~_~.K. LV

the noblest Kurdish tri be', Ar- Rawadia' il) :[1, on], Hazian ~ which was one of the largest Kurdish tribes, Some historians stated that Salab Ad-Din's ,gene~llo,gy W,lS, traced back to Mudar of 'Adnan, Undoubtedly, they 'wanted. to trace the lineage -0 r every grea t character to the Arabs. This surely di sagrees 'with the me thad 0] ogy of'research and 'with fact.They thought that virtue's 311d m ora ls ar ~ co -r1 '-II' p..:iii n 111~'u to A'- . rab -'~' iIll'E!]~ ,1('[", n 0"1'1 A" ra ~Ir:o

,J.-:,,:~_/~~'_"W~,~ y;',~ ~~··.,lUJl vU, !Ik.~I· ',[ J.' .. ~ 1·--,·1'1IL'~,. ~LJ!~ ;I~I!LJ JJ. ,."".:,.;"",~,.~', ·~I~O.;j!

co uld nut. est ablish culture or glory,

If we read history and se arch for our great figures we win find that most of those who played a great role in establishi 11,g: cult UF!e an d, em. vilizatio n 'were non- Arab .. But 'by falsely tracing all great. characters to the Arabs, such histori ans e neouraged unj u ~d fana tieism and

,~, Jle,~!'iIJ'J tll,e' "ntl t 1I,(}!lI:o'Pflble' til ';D~l ,i,,, ~''''e Sight.'

lol" ,A IlilA is :rhQ.t ,( heJiln~tr'} 'w'ilo ,II,a,s' ,AI t.'-,J' a,~,' tva

{is jJ"iolls t"II,d,' ,r(,'httlOII'S , e. (A], .. Hujarat 49: l3) Then 'whal message, a fter tha,:t~lwiU, they 'believe in? Salah Ad: .. Din 'W'8a], tbe 'S011, of the Kurd, Najm Ad- DiD,

A' iik, i, 'L,. Shadhi '. b M' We will lt 'h- 1k

, yyu.lo'~ on 1L:),u31Qlt ~U, 11. :c,:a.rW';I:n;, ',,: '"',, e wL_ touch Ion the

early life of hi 8 famny' and .. i 'U;, im,po:rtan,t deeds

B,ir'rh

Sultan Yusuf Salah Ad-Din was born. in 53;2 A.B" (ll37 C~ E . .) in the castle of an ancient vnlD,ge called Tikrit near Baghdad, The Persian kings bad, built the castle on the Tigris River a 10'11.1; time before to store: ammunltion and serve as a surveillance post The Muslims ,00 nquered Tikrit in l 6 A,. H,. during the caliphate of ~'Um91~r ibn ,A1,-Khattab,,(~'}

It remained under the control of different Muslim leaders, Wben. the' Seljuq Turks came '[,0 power, Najm Ad ... D.in. Ayyub ibn Shadhi, Salah. Ad- Din's father" contacted a major figure in the Seljuq police in Baghdad. named Mujahid Ad-DinB3111rU'z~ He ap .. pointed Ayyub as a commander over Tikrit castle, with his brother Shirkuh As ad Ad- Din as an assi stant, 'The: two brothers thus moved from the village of Dewin in. Azerbajjan into Iraq, TI1L.ey were from the Rawadian Kurds and. carne to Tikrit in. order to 'work w.n. Bahruz's

police

. ,.VI~~~!!1

Stran aelv Salah A:', d-Din W"'3IC l!.;1 ..... rn on the ve ry d: i!JiIY,,"

',-I!V" e''''"'.J'~ -~, w_~ ',c . >·,U . .II!. 'I'_~,<;l! ill)v .u. \,1.1 ' . ._-I " . - .'iL'II, "

on which Mujahid Ad-Din Bahruz exiled Najm Ad-Din A.yyuh and his brother' Shirkuh because the latter had killed one of the castle guards.who had slanderously accused a woman 0 f being unch aste, Shirkub kil led him wheu the woman asked for his, help, .. At 'the beginning, M uJa:hid. was confused whether to expel or leave: them, Then he decided 'to' expel them, tearing the. guard's famUy would tate revenge, He expressed fear for them and ad vised 'th'6111. to depart at night. They 'to ok their families and the newborn Yusuf Salah Ad .. Din and departed. to Mogul.

Ibn Khalikan stated in his book 'WajaY'(lt A l~ A );OJ1

21

that Ayyub became so pessimistic for 'the newborn, bel ieving that cal amity w as portended by his crying at their departure, that he wanted tOI kill 'him", Someone warned h im l' "Sir, do 110''[ 'be pessimistic for 'the newborn, as he knows nothing. 'This, is divine destiny" How can you know but that he might become ,8, famous king and 2\ gre-at character ill the future? So, take care of him], as he does not realize your pessimism." These words 'had an. influence on Ayyub, aud.he soon. returned to his senses and. to the path of Islam,

U·plb.nu.g,i:n.,g,

Ayyub and Shi rkuh Jeft B aghdad to Mosul and stayed with "Imad Ad-Din Zankj, the ruler of Mosul, He welcomed them. and gave' them gifts 'because they 'IJ,.;, ad ;eo olj, ved ~ im " ,If':r·I'''''·'IIn· b ei '0-- o· 'II .. '1~ lled O-··1Il" ·t-··~ ken ,til' (!I a 'p .. 'r-; co 0 TIIe"·r-· tJ.(Jb .. ,a\~¥I~< .. ~ll "',, 1.1 u~~ .. _,I!;!",.~ ~.:l'~~'~'l ,~,~ ._.!~,~\#,_~. ''-!iJ' U ... '~.w" ·1~lJL·.I'

of 'war when 'he was Iighfing agaw I1.S t the Seljuqs whe n Bahruz WD,g, the governor of Baghdad .. , We mentioned previously that Ayyub and .h~ws brother were appointed as commanders over Tikrit and its castle .. When 'Imad Ad-Din Zanki was defeated by the Seljuq ruler he withdrew w.rutb. his troops and passed through Tikrit .. 'N ajm Ad-Din Ayyub detained him for a while, Najm Ad. .. Din had two choices, to ki~~ or imprison him, However, he preferred to release him and help him to

22

get to M08'ML 'Imad Ad-Din did not forget 'the favor, When the two brothers arrived ].11. Mosul, !U3 we have mentioned above, he generously gave them land on 'IIJ",!, h " 'l~

W,IILU,C r to , ].vle"

The family lived wen under the patronage of "Imad ,A d .. ,D in". Moreover", be appointed the two brothers as commanders over the army. 'WI, ell 'Imad Ad -Din occupied Ba'albak in 534 ,A,H,~ he appointed Najm Ad. .. Din Ayyub as a governor over it, Tellis appointment indicated "Imad Ad-Din's confidence and trust in Najm Ad. ... Din and 'hi s dependence 011, him.

Salah Ad ... Din spent part of his childhood in Ba'albak, where 'be lived. the best days of his, life. I~I,~ Iearned horsemanship, trained for war and jihad, and practiced panties and management, The PIQ,et declares:

Boys are brought up according to the, ways of education the father used to roll ow",

After '~m:nlad ,A d .. ,D.J.:D, s SOU; Nur Ad-Din, occupied Damascus [in I 154 C,.,E.]~ Salah Ad-Din spent :S01[[J,e of bisbes't day's in, D(1111;a-SC:US where hisbraver-y' and strength were p erfected ,i He had a high status ~11.d. the respect of the son of Damascus' ruler, He became well known for 11 is calm, polite and pious character ~ He al so

23

b ed --~'+'Ik zeal for Islam an d 'M""1'U:·'~]'·m'iE'!

.'U[Il,'I;}:, 'Wl~u Z,\,f.a_ Jl,I,I.c ~,~;(.:I!,l'" ann r .usn r d •

. - .

~'11 Nur Ad .. Din's time he was appointed as the head of the police in Damascus, He succeeded in the n,e;w' office, cleaning up Damascus of' criminals and robbers and regai uing stabilit y and, security. The people lived In safety and calm under his administration, Hassan fbn Numair, nicknamed 'Arqalah, rejoiced in Yusuf Salah, Ad-Din's office and success, as 'be sa~d in a poem:

o robbers of Syria:~ take your time, then I '\ldU advise with my words, YUSJuf has, come 'to you" whose name is

like the Prophet Yusuf, insightful and handsome,

That 011tl cut women' s hands and this one

C\1 ts off ro bbers ,I hands,

The period. be ;spent in :E;gyp't was the: most important

'·1'" If.'n'l"'i:'¥ii'~I-9li'g" hi :~~ heroi f" ''!Ii "1"11 d militarv exp erience Shawir

,~.l!. !!l!v,."I.~,I"~, ,.11.:.' ' . .:Jj .W.lll!i.i ,IU, "'" """,,JIj}'" ~,~,~,_w!!'_::~y_" !!!;,;lA, '!!.o ',J'''''"''''~'''''''''''''.c,i.l.G11.'",!l,

As-Sa'di revolted against the Cairo-based Fatimid Caliph AI/,Ad:~d in 558: ,A"H" and sent to Damascus to

T .. , iI ~d' f' N A' ,.JI D" 'M '1 .. , d H d

,a.;s~ the aid 0·-_'.'0[' ,'<y,-tn', J:I!ULmu-. " e aceepte __ , to

help him, He provided him 'with troops led by Asad Ad .. Di n Sl1irknb"w hOI 'to ok his nephew Salah Ad-Din 'with bhn~ Salah Ad-Din displayed great skills, and military

24

genius in the arts. of war and! fighting, As a result, they' triumphed over the: enemy andjoined B,gypt to Nur AdDin Mahmud's kingdom in 564· ,A.[~I., 'This wHlbe explained in details in, the next chapter,

'To sum up, in his early life :andJ. in the second and third decades of his youth, Salah Ad-Din was brought

up" on go 0'...1 virtues and noble q" ualities He aeq uired the

_ '::. Y' & J ,! . - -··u. v." L:u\;.,il~ u ~ "._'. ,I IV. !_ .. ,~:~ ·._,:....I1i- __ ._(J.i~.1 _-,Il,~~~ l ._.W c.lJI4~i,_", _:'_.lLI.!. __ . .:1, !L:._: _,.:_ I

military skills, deep-to oted COSbJ'MS, 'Islamic zeal, and literary and financial boldness by means of his, co '''':''m'''' p: [110 'D' ;;i"'t1j'iJ iI'!"il\.."~ p' I witb ki 'fill a~~ a 1!"I,..-iI p~~'n"'~ nees , TI L. is fo rmed

~"., ,- .er- ,U . ~IUI1LJ1!iJI,UJlt '~'. ~-r'J!l, -:~1, ~~~ I _'JbI~ . ,~,=,~·~~~.i;).111 ,l~"Il.:_. ,1'._· .,1 "_~'':_

his, unru . que, excellent character that changed the course of history,

Ed;ueatio:n

We menticned above that Salah A d .. Din spent. 'his early years in Ba 'albak. Naturally, his place of educati on changed from one city to another, He learned how to read and write, memorized the Qur'an and the rules of Arabic language ~S' ehlklren of Muslim no blemen used. to learn,

The author of Tabaktu ,Ash-S/lafiJi,ah stated that Salah Ad, .. Din learned. Hadith from Al .. Hafizh As .. S;l~;afi., Ibn ~ Auf, An- Naisaburi and 'Abdullah ibn Barri.He was ajurist, a reciter of Qur an, and ,a:n enthusiastic poet.

Historians agree that most scholars came from east and '~:~·'J"1I;:r;·t from Samarkand an d Cord O'V(!l 1(n D" am - asc 'il~lifj a.uu west, ., .... ,,_u ~'~.!~.~~""IiiL_-_, I_.__:, anu .... y,'-.,' "IW_, li.y -';[!l;",,::~~:-~~@

in order to teach and lea rn in mosques and ,SCll,O ols, Certainly, 8;,1,111, Ad-Din leamed from, most of them, -I!!- -- -'C'I" iI"'J.'n]- V' ~A'" '~"AI'I'l:] I '~li'L.. ibn A···· 1J...,,[, '~A'" [>'iI1"!i~ -]- who '1 ec tured 'J' n

le~pe ~,~('LJ .: ."!!!JiY,~~" ~,,,~,U ,~,-,_ _ ····"ID, .. ',' :,,:j,~ '!It~JJ:IIYY !LIi;,)I' '~!"":"''''''' _ ,

Al- Umawi Mosque, He W~S' brought to Damascus by Nur Ad. .. Din, who built schools :in Damascus and the major cities of Sy,r~a"(~) 'to. tea,ch, people and spread knowledge. Abi 'Asrun occupied such a high position that be becarne the head ofjudges ill Damascus, Salah A d- Din respected this scho lar and to ok CII,re of him ~ especially when be: lost his eyesight.

Salah Ad .. Din was very skillfui in ridirlg~1 javelin throwing, hunting and military arts, because '[be environment in which he lived excelledin these fields. As a result, be acquired experience and could lead soldiers and wisely solve dilemmas in wars. Besidesche had the basi c characteris tics to be at great fighter: talen t~ intelligence, heredity enviroument, training and ednca-

't-; iii 11 1f'1I- 'L''''' r·'~!''If"e .. ·, I~'O"- find 'Ii:'UI;f'O~' eharac .. ~.'fr.:i~·'I~'f"I:~;i'ii:t" in 0: '11i1~ P'IF-!i;'f''-'O:' n .

. ~,V 'Ii ,IL ~ ~ 1~~AL .. !Jr 1t:l11lL~J. Iii>. _.,'!ir.i".!Jj.~. \r.r:. ~" awL~.w. al~,L~ .!l._~ '.. ,,~~ .~~ 6J . UJ~

I( :~ )Tbtrougbout the bo nk, S:,yr:ria, and On:ater Syria re["e;r [10 the a rea ItlO;W' covered b:y" Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, ,a.nd S:yria,. Il \V'IS at that time known as A sh-Sham , but Ash .. Sham today refers only to Damascus. :( editor)

26

Other characteristics that made him a great [1g1lre were 'his steadfast heart and balanced intellect when others had. lost heart and reason" For example, during the conquest of Syria, be was told that his brother Taj ,A]: ... Muluk was ki~]ed,', then he learned. of the death of his brother Al-Malik Aj-Muzhzhafar after the defeat of Acre, The: latter \VoI,S one of the best engineers in fortifying, safeguarding and organizing castles" How ... ever, the bad. news did not affect him in battles.

In s um 'jl from the previous glance at Salah, Ad-Din's early life, we realize that he was a skilled politician, an experienced leader, a trained fighter and all exalted schol '!;II r _, ] t w.,' a />;' as if des tin ,., 1.1 rQn't-/ZIiId.· ' 'Lt' em t- ,n b-~ ":II

i.J\J. u.w!t,u~ , _ ... -!.J.! "~.L " ' __ 1_"_ '--J '~~~_L, .~._ ll~" J .V -~ IW

champion in the Battle of Ha ttin, to strike terror in the hearts of 1:11,e Crusaders, to become well known IDn. the E;[1S't and West" to set a go ad e x. a. mpl e for fu t ure generations, and 'to be recorded among 'the great figures of history. How impossible for mothers to give birth I~-O another like Salah Ad ... Dill. with his zeal and bravery, t11.(2 defense (If the stronghold of Islam and the land of the prophets, The p oet said:

Those were my good faU.1Je:rs.~ then bring me with fathers like' them

When we, 0 Jarir, are gathered again in the h~: eeting 2"1

Egyp't ,dur.in,gl 't'h,e Fa,tim.i,d B:lle

Sho:rUy before 'the appearance of Salah Ad, .. , Din , Egypt WI'S ra vaged by' local re bellions and, in ternal

'11:"jt.'[··U, ggles am ions '~'1111-&!···· various p"; arties of th ~ M······· am' ,C._ elukes 1i;)!Ii. ,1_ • ,~,WII!;;)~ ",-..,'" ,~,I,~, !~~ Y ~.1Il ,I!.U . ". ol' I. ',IL!I, •. !IWl1iol',",' y, _ !I;.I, '. _'.1 .""",Ji:..., ' .. ';;oo;iiiI"

Turkish, Sudanese and Moroccan,' ~) Starvation and e:p,idemiics prevailed and 'we aken ed tile strength of the people, As;s:as:~d:n ations were plotted agains t viziers and

1" 'r[.." "

ca ipns run ~1:r,101ll11S ways,

"---'-1.., F ., .~ . .A. I~ t, h . ..1 1 . . h'l b""'~I- .~I h

T ue . " atimju Cill]p,lll " }au lost t J~ a,bily '~;Q control the

country ~ Power W,iS, in tbe hands, ofw hiehever vizier or general triumphed, Many massacres and bll'~Ues broke out because of tile disputes over the vizierate i tID the Fatimid caliphate. Stability was achieved w:ben. Tala'i" ibn Ruzzik gained, the vizierate in, .5'49 A~H,.,. Chaos broke out again lifter he WI;;!.! assassinated 'and, his, 80[1" RUZlik~bo Tala!:~F took over in 5:58 A,.Hm (m m6:3 C.,:E,.),.

Both. Nur Ad .. Din and the Frankish Crusader King

( .I.) Tbe M::~une:mukes were wbwte :S~I,Vies w'he 'Were: eapdves of waf' or pUFcba,sed in the slave markets of ' Asia MinC!!\'!f',~ Pe:rSj,3" central ,Ashill, slIld e~Slew:l~efe. They were p:r.~m;IiIl,r.Uy' baim,eo as sOt:~dil~rs ,and. d~d n~'t mix 'with. the oommon peQi~:lle' but kept Ilbeir Oiwfll,-harru:;1e:,r.j;st~cs~ (edhor)

28

1

Almaric of Jerusalem (known in Arabic as AI ... Amuri) paid particular attention to E,I.YP't;, Each did his best 'to occupy it. it'D order to s;tr'e~gthen. his own power -and,

k " do b it tbe 'y' -W"'~ -- ~ o:i fr '0 i ,,.I 0" 'f" ~,Q j"!! 1!... ,n .. t~ her 'T' h ~

-rng' : om, . U' ~: ,'," ,~[t..i ,{;t",-- ' __ ,uH.Jl ~,: 1i..~~Jl.1. u: [,~Il.~ ~ ,. !i;;o

internal dispute over the vizierate in Egypt was a reason for the, intervention of both Nur Ad-Din and Almaric in Egyptian policy,

Sh--,o, -- wir~ .. ....S~-::a' "f'fl'.·'1D .1 ,,' Gi:' .... -.,.;.'I'=Ii:~'o,' -0'

1 __ ,"' ••• ~ _:.,_ 111._, ~. ;'Lr1tC '_ .. _ .

When Ruzzik ibn. Tala "i,~' was the vizier in the Fatimid caliphate, Shawir ibn Mujair As-Sa'di, who 'was the governor over Upper Egypt, rebelled aga:hlst him, He W,El'S able to defeat and kill Ruzzik and replaced him, as the vizier for the Fatimid CaLUph Al,.,~'A.dlid in 'the month of Muharram 558 A,~H., (1163 C.,:E.,).,

Wh . - S· h 'o!'lIIW~ rAs S ~a"';l1: and 11L..~o "'0' ns beeam ~ corru nt .' en I__,_U':JI._ As-eaui "JIU~. ms sor s oecs . i I,~ ,,",v,~~-u:r<t

Dr-.:-.,L,.: ~ ib .. - "A,nfii~" A'I ... Lak h ami one of the senerals,

urglllam~. I] U.H[ ~:y, =~ ~_ ,,~~ __ ~~ ~/'i!!" _ ~~ __ ,

arranged 'with the Fatimid calipb to dismiss him, The caliph rebelled against Shawir, forcing him to flee, Durgham replaced ShawirAs .. Sa'di, who thenturned to Damascus, seeking the; help, of' Nnr Ad-Din Mahmud, He pledged, to pay the: expenses of the campaign over E,!y'pt and en annual tribute: of one third. of the Egyptian income. Nut Ad" .. Din hesitated at first to 'help

29

him, News came that King Ahnaric of Jerusalem had attacked :B;lypt and overcome Durgham, who then 2IlUied. with Alm a ric at nd paid! tribute to him ~ fearing that Shawir would ally with Nur Ad: .. Din against him, At rhat, Nun' Ad ... Din was, compelled jo ClCJ!'operate with Shawir against Durgham Hie: sent with him Asad Ad ... Din Shirkuh, who took his nephew Salah Ad .. Dinwith him Asad Ad .. Din overcame D"urg]:U3JU, and Shawir became the vizier again,

However - Shawir did not carry out his promises to NUl" Ad ... Dill" Rather, be allied :hl secret with the King, of Jerusalem, Asac A,d .. Din and Salah Ad-Din were then compelled to. fight against Shawir, who sought the:

King of Jerusalem's help, The Syrian army held out against the Egyptian and Crusader army in Bulbais

from R' am i'l d ~I'n until D.·'~'~"I]l- H- 1·'1'i''!.111l... '5"005--10 A" H'··· (ill 'mt.::4:

,,-IU' ". "."i~,~:" .it',. ",,~ ~::.. I", "lJI, II--~" , ,'"11 !i!._ '~o w:u],u. "I, ".~., ~. 1.II!.U,J' " "

C .. E,.). Nur ,A,j.- Din. seized the opportunity when the King of Jerusalem 'was busy 'whh E,IYP,t and conquered Hamm and Panias strongholds. Consequently, Jerusalem's Ki ng Ahnaric feared for his kingd o'm, and 'WlU(S: compelled to settle Il truce 'with Asad ,Adl .. Din Shirkub on the condition thatthe two sides withdraw from Egypt. Thus ended the first stage of tile struggle between N1ILlf Ad. .. Din and the Crusaders (also known

30

Second Stage 01(' the Stlugg:'I,e! ove~rE:gypt

Asad A,d-D,]D, Shirkuh profited fromgoing to Egypt, He explored and studied it thoroughly and made sure that Egypt was the land through which 'he could overcome the Crusaders. Therefare, he facilitated the matter for 'N tar Ad. .. Din and asked his permissio n to occupy it, NUl Ad-Din responded to his request and provided him with a second A~- -~;:,;; -~']·I'iIf'l· o· - 1',m...31i;.., - 'C'ih--" --t... 'L

,0,,' ,I~.I_ mmw :,JLI. a secori _ ~X;P-w(~ ,IL.:~U I~U l!Jy ~: nrxun

and Salah Ad-Din in ,5'62, A,.,H~ When the vizier, Shawir, heard that the Syrian army was headed 'to Egypt, 'he sought the help of his Crusader allies, who agreed to' help him. The two armies tonfll"o:ntedl each other in M unia in Upper Egypt, The Syrian. army was victorious over its enemies in. 563 A".H. This battle' proved Salah Ad-Din's bravery and strength.

The Sy,ri an army then headed north and conquered Alexandria with out resistance Asad Ad .: Din appointed his nephew Salah Ad- Din as ruler ov-er Alexandria. It was the firsttime for Salah Ad-Din to become a, ruler 'as if destiny hac). given, him the opportunity to dew onstrate his tal ents, skills, heroism and genius. As scon as Asad Ad-Din. had gone to Al-Fustat and Cairo,

31

_L

the Crusaders, 'with the aid of Byzantine troops,

"a:ttaJcked Alexandria and blockaded it by sea and land~The besieged people 'in Alexandria were close to surrendering, but Salah Ad .. Din was able to resist the enemy unJ.U, his uncle joined. him. The result of this stage 'was that the two sides signed a truce by which they withdrew from Bgypt,

Last IS'tage of the :S:uU!ggle over :Egypt

Jerusalem's King Almaric 'broke the truce by not withdrawing aU hi s troops from Egypt, intending to occupy it after the Syrian, troopshad withdrawn. He prepared an expedition, occupied the; city of Bulbais, killed many people, and then headed 'to Al-Fustatto occupyit. When. vizier Shawir 'was told that Crusaders intended to occupy Al-Fustat, he set iton fire for fifty .. four days, The Crusaders then headed to Cairo and blockaded it Shawir negotiated with the' Crusaders until the Syri,an. troops he had recalled arrived.

Nur Ad-Din seized the opportunity again to occupy Egypt. Therefore, be sen t, for th.e third time, another

di " l ...... d b Sh '. 11 .. h d S-~ 1 h Ad 'D··' 'UJ'iI! ...

expe _ltlon ,I~ ,~y ~llr"'.Ll::I~ and Sa an v ",jn.II"vuen.

they reached Egypt and joined with the Egyptian, troops, the Crusaders withdrew without fighting,

32

When Shirkuh entered Cairo, the people welcomed him and. 'saw a good omen in him, The Fatimid Caliph Am,-,I~Adid brought him near to him ,~dld. was generous 'to

him. There was a. conspiracy again st Sh:B! wir As-Sa'd ]"" and he was assassinated in 564 A,.H:"." Asad Ad-Din

'c:'Ih·I·;r·'~""11'1111·1 reolaced 1J,.'~;1A·l '!\llf' the vizi ~'IF ,tn'll" 'iIf'1-11 ~ Fatim '~d'

riill .•• lI ... lL~" ~ ~¥,~J~1\#Yl .Il.IJl.lILI:, ~~_~I~I . 1l.1~ '~'I£."~'W. ~lIO,~ l~· .. ~ ,~l~ ,~ Jl'.·~

caliph, 'but be lasted. for only two months dying in 5164 A.,H" (1169 C,E.,),

Analysis a·.d. Co:mme'D'tar:y

From U'M3 foregoing situations with his uncle and the battles, we conclude that Salah Ad-Din had a rare character combining bravery, wi.sd om through nials and pohtics, and experience in the arts of war .. It Was as if destiny had chosen him from his early years to be ,~ unique character and a. great champion in history. Undoubtedly, the baules i.n which he participated increased. his experience, confidence and faith, and manifested his, rare heroi s:m tha t dominated in history In. the next chapter, wewill explain how he 'was, able to umf)r the Muslim countries politically and form one Islamic front" Thi s 'was, one 0 f the main factors in. the triumph over the; Crusaders in the Battle of Hartin. That victory, which history is still mentioning, will 'be an example for succeeding generations .

33

j

,iiIi, 3 ,iiii

Salah Ad-Din :in E:Kypt

Vizi,er 'for 'titre Fatimi,d C,aU:ph

When. Asad Ad-Din Shirkuh died after ruling for two months, Salah Ad-Din held three days of mourning, The ,_ .-'atiufJL:id Caliph Al .. 'Adid then chose Yusnf Salah Ad-Din 'to- be the vizier despite his young age and. despite the: presence of senior generals and great :nlul,es in Egypt at that time, Historians. stated that 'tile reason s for this selection were that the F anmid Caliph hoped to have mastery IOV'i6!f him and that he would be an obedient pawn at his beck. and can because he was young" But destiny determined something else" as 'we will explain later,

Salah Ad .. Din 'was thirty-two when he was appointed as vizier, a-nd he had acquired great experience in warfare with Nur Ad-Din and his uncle Shirkuh, whowere U:U! major reaso l1S fo r his S'U periority,

Salah Ad-Din attempted toO satisfy tile Bgyptian people, showered them 'whh much money, and treated! them kindly lest they might cooperate with the Bgyptian princes a(,ga~ n st h im, As a result they'~ oved

34

him and became closer to him,

M oreover ~,v:~cto ries over the Franks and the Ii beratio n of Damieta, Gaza BInd "Aqabah [[10m them comributed 'much to his fame Hie liberated these cities and 'Aqabah harbor, which was the ga tewa y to 'the Red. Sea 'through which the Egyptians went to, Makkah fur Han. 'This great victory and the pro tection 0 f the pilgrimage rou te were major factors in the love and, confidence between him and. the Egyptians. Consequently, the, Egyptians, left the Shi 'ah (Shi ~ ite) sect and joined the Sunni ODie with Salah Ad-Din in. order to fight against Allah's enemies and 'tbem rs,

'EndiDg Internal C'onspil!'ocjles,

We~ men Honed previously that Salah Ad .. Din took office at a young age, Therefore, the men who worked under the patronage of the Fatimid State envied him,

"r·~"O'!(]j rdi t"ri1'1J' L! 'm" , "3![11 <']1 ,:r If'iI it"Iji3'~i 'ilJ'O er !!lin, d "UI ;tou' rp"" p'r' Ilf'!j.iIr thei r r;"11:11t" ¢ .. ~e'~,It'.· A..~le lUI _' . Q.i-]i I~ llu~I~I~,e t. •• :~, u,1.JIl,'· _ .. _ ~ .. _ . I~, V"Wl L .~.~~ ~'~' ~' -~I,~

Furthermore, they attempted to strengthen the = atl .. m 1'..;II![!i' P" FiI,1i'li il\gi1 r ~ n 'E' 0'yili"ll'" at oIJI "I1'V eo ost T' hey eo 1"!i, spired and .:. 1·_.,Ug :t:.!OY~I!!.;:- tr Co -'~~,>.:·p.l~ ,~." '" a ... J' ,,~/.- .. :~I·,.~ . " .. ,<.~ consm l~.:. a .. 'u,

Themost outstanding plots were those of Najah, the caliph's confidant; 'Imarah Al- Yamani; and Kanz Ad .. ,

3,5

D '~. "11

. ',' iI ,.,'

awian,

Th.e Plot of N'~'''ah

In 564 A"H,." ··'·'.,aja.h" who was an. influential eunuch :~~l the: palace of ,Al-,"Adid, the last, Faramld Caliph, cooperated with 2\ group of . -:g,yp'ti:ans 'to ally with the . -ra nks against Salah Ad -Din,

The eunuch sent a message 'to tbe Crusaders asking them to' advance on Egypt, He' planned tha t w~" en they arrived and Salah Ad-Din fought them, be ·WOlUd. attack him from behind, thus putting: Salah Ad ... Din, between the two, armi es, After 'he wrote the message, he put it inside a new' shoe and gave it to a man. 'to carry to the Franks But 'the. shoe fell in t 0' Ute bands ef one of Salah Ad. .. Din's followers, who quickly took it to 'him", Salah Ad-Din knew the: truth but concealed it from his followers and delayed 'N ajah's punisb_meot lest the latter's followers and supporters should rise against him. He bided his time and lay ill wait for him,

0·, ';EIi whO ell . ajah wp-- t - f I' h 1",,," own" p' alace

}iIlC'~:~ ,.:. ~ •. ' I, ,> I~.:'" I· '~',!Iil' I IOU'1i. '110 ' ' :~ I <.' ' ,I" l' ,II!!ij.. -:

outside Cairo, Salah Ad .. Din sent :I group of soldlersto kill him, Consequently, the caliph's army of Sudanese soldiers. nearly SO~,OOO. pledged bJI take revenge 0:11 Salah Ad-Din, The battle between the caliph's

..

Sudanese soldiers and Salah Ad-Din's ,a.:nny lasted for two' dl31YS. Salah Ad .. Din defeated them and thus .IO't. rid of N ~j ah and the Sudanese soldie::I's,,' ho re belled

a g<!li ·~'¥iii'~·j). h im ..

! l~,~,I..~I~ IL .. : I i

Not. ably the Sudanese conspired against him, but also the Fatimid princes kindled the fire of war and discord. in the 'State ..

'The Plot '0,1' ~':lm,al'abA-I.-'Y·aD1~Uu

Among the great conspiracies against Salah Ad-Din was the one arranged by the well-known chronicler "Imarah Al- Yamani. He gathered I, large number of supporters in 'Cairo in order to appoint one: of .AJ:", 'Adid's S~JiD.S,; .ho ping to regain the Fatimid rule and expe] Salah Ad-Din, and hurriedly sent a. message to the, Franks in order to cooperate with then], to smash his

rule Man '\I' m- alici AJ·U·. "'" d'n' d h ·.g' .. ' .... :fl· 11'] m---S't'iil joined with

U\I,~~il . :."", J~ln .. J' ~,g,_ll ~\ 'V .~QI ~ _!_,'.:..., ._,_~~,lll.~.~ _' ,,_. '_ ~,UIJ, . V .lII..I.i\,.l.~, 'VM'~,.,

'Imarah to get rid of him ..

One of those conspirators, called Zain Ad-Din ibn.

Naja, betrayed tbe.n1 'to Salah Ad-Din, seekinga reward from :hjm., Salah Ad-Din arrested them all and. killed 'them to make them ,8;11, example to everyone who plotted ~."!I11~ 1- fo if'- th s;Iio ~O':' ','1l'n, t .iIi'y.... The eo til "¢JP' -I" ra ""'y- 'W' . ~ i~ 'I"·~ ~·t;,9:

; ',ufk _~.,-; I~,·'f.' ."', l' _,"' . JIJ.j~ ~ ." UdJIL _~ n 'i' . I 'IjJ. ~. ' .. ~! . & _ ~!,' ': •. ~LJ Ililul jO .'

- ~

A.H~

31

The Plot, of K,I,HiI' Ad~D;a,wll'h

Another conspiracy tIOII~)k place inAswan and 'Qtl}S in ,5:70 ,A,. H., ,AI .. ,M aqrizi wrote about this plot in his book As -S'ii€:l~tlf,' u- Ma ~rlif(i t Dewal A {",M u,luk:

In .5101 A.H ."~ Kanz Ad .. Dawlah, the ruler of Aswan, gathered the Arabs i md Sud anese, They jproceeder] straightaway to Cairo intending to re i;li.tl the Fatimid fU]:C., He spent much money to achieve this purpose Another ,gr'IOUP joined bilU and killed ten princes 0 r Salah Ad-,D,ID.n"s, followers, ,A, man called Qlyas ibn Shadi frOUI the village of Tud attacked IQUS, and plundered its '\weal'th,. Salah A,d, .. Din prepared a large army :~ed, by his brother A,'~~'M alik ,A1- ~',A.dU to fight him. Al-Malik AI, .. , Adil killed Qiyas ibn Sh..ld:~, and dispersed 'his soldiers. Then he ':yl~r[]l to, Tud to fight against Kanz Ad .. Daw lah, who fled a fter a bart tle that killed mo st of

h ~ l..:a! ; - - Tl 'iil,." 11", ,,,~ 11- d 7- ~ ,r' A'· '1- 'M··' lik

"~,s :so I~,u~rs~ 1J en ,ne 'wa:9 ~J Ill. .'e s on. , il ELllru.r j, ,'- .1': I a, '."

Al .. ~',AdH, went to Cairo om 1 ,8 Safar,

Thus, Salah Ad ~ DI:i11 eradi cated '111u: conspiracies and got rid. of the unjus't~ the aggressors, plotters and schemers. This indicates his intelligence and in terest 'h1 his subjects' affairs,

Mutanabl's words apply to his characteristics:

38'·

" '

::.

Hardships always come to those; who have the ability 'to endure them

Just as the good. qualities are to be found in the honored people.

A mmo r thing may seem great :h1. the eyes of a, minor person

Just as a great thing seems min or in the eyes of a great person.

'Er',adi.ic.ating; Ext'Effn,al Plots

After Sal ah Ad -Din had taken the viziera te in. Egypt, the Franks began 'to observe his activities carefully and :fo llowed his news eagerly, Theywere 'Very fe a rf ul of him lest the people' join their hearts with him and liberate the Holy ,L and. " They prepared and '~;ay' ill wait to ,eUmiuate him"

The first attempt was 'the attack on Damietta, When Salah Ad- Din had firmly established his, rule" the:

Franks in the Levant felt endangered, Therefore, U],ey

sen ,II messa cr~€' '~,n :8·· 'p" ain and S···.·· icilv ~1~1 ord er '~""I provok ~ ~~ ~,~, '_ ~~~'~'~b'~~' ~v- _' "'"":..._ Q ILL .~ ".- .. - _ . .I1.~ ',J' .!l,LI!, U . -,. ,!pgo, I~U' . ,]L ,,_. ' .~ ',." -' \.!!

upheaval and remind them of fear for Jerusalem, Furthermore, they sent a group of priests and monks to incite' people to rebel and provided them 'with money

men a nd weapons,

Their soldiers soon blockaded Damletta in .564 A~H.

Salah Ad-Din sentto Damietta, via the N[I,e~, all, army equipped with ammunition and weapons, He, asked Nur Ad-Din's assistance 'to drive iIWa,\y the: Franks, Nur Ad .. Din responded by sending a number of expeditions to Egypt and by going himself with. his own soldiers to' the Crusader principalities in the Levant and Palestine, When. the Franks found expeditions corning to' E,gypt and Nur Ad .. Din 'entering: their countries, they' 'withdrew d"i:s;lplpoi:o:ted. They had ,s'hlY'edJ. fifE" dill'S in Damiet ta,

Five years later, in ,5:69 A.H~~I Franks from Sicily attacked Alexia ndria, Their fleet reached the coast carrying f Iteen hu n dred horse s and thirty thousand fighters, cavalry a nd infantry, equi pped wi tb weap 0:0;8" provisions mangonels, siege engj:ries, and boats. 'Wheu they reached Ul,es:b.o:re~tbey killed S6Y6,D. Muslim soldiers, sank S,O,ttH;) of the M uslim ,15,h~,PSl~'" and pitehed three hundred tents. Then they proceeded to Alexandria,

Salah .Ad .. Din 'w:a,s in the city of Faq us at that 'time.

When he leamed on the third day that Alexand ria, iliad beensurrounded, 11(;:, :pr'ep'D"red a. great army equipped

401

witbweapOl1:S, and ammunitions, The encotmtee lasted until ]ate' afternoon on the fourth day, Salah Ad-Din was able. to deteai '_ hem, sink their ships, kin many of them, and, take their baggage and weapons as spoils. Thus the' hero smashed thei'r' blockade a'Ddt br-oke, 'u'p their troops, The remaining soldiers went back to their country disappointed.

To 'S,UIU u;n~, S911a'b. Ad-Diu 'twice rescued E,ct\fp,~:,t from

~'. =\JI,

tbe aggression of the Franks, and destroyed. their pilots.

This indicates that SaJ,I'b Ad-Din 'was, llke a sword on the Crusaders ~ necks, and Iike a lio n thatprctects and, defends Islam, and Muslims,

S- erm I ,0." U-'- ).,'1]1' ,t-_'Ir,~ N"',',' 1 t1Ii'III' "- 'iilI' ~,f" ,4.'-re~ A,' -:' b - 'b-,flii:'i'I"d,'-, C, =:'DIU-',ii'p'b'

__ ~ ,'. ,11111 .111!IQ. .. IA_ I ~ V,_ :U-!I,_, '''~' __ o __ ._~ __ , 'O_' __ ' ,0

,A fter .s alah Ad .. Din had elimi nated In ternal and external plots and. bad, become fl.:rmly' established, he wanted, to take other steps 011 the, road to independence,

Seeing 'that the Egyptians exaggerated in following the Prophet' s family, i.e, th'ey followed the Shi'ah sect, be: began tocall them 'to the Sunni sect, which most of the people in the Muslim world follow, Therefore, he est l"1i 'b- ')-J'" shed 't- wn ,i1f1"\O'':I, ,t -'t!..,. '1- th , N' o:!I, ~'a -" 'U' h 'Ci"h-I,",' 'I

es ~,:, is 'I~ ': ','..J.i6_..-"""'~-~ SCJL!lOO 8", tr ,i3 ,:~.:t - nya ;-~C 100.11.

and the Kmniliy,tl School so that 'people might '[oHow' the right sect, The desired change was easy l' 1£0'1':' Nur Ad: .. ,

Din urged! IUm to have: the Friday sermon delivered in the name of the Abbasid Caliph rather than the' Fatimid 'Caliph (thus effectively deposing the Fatimid

Caliph), It was, nOI'~, only Nur Ad-Din who urged the change, but the whole Islamicworld agreed to it A~ ... , 'Imad, the khatib (the Q1l1.,e 'who delivers the sermon) for

Salah A·,·" ;:g,-D'~'[-J· ii'lJj ·~";j'Iil~f!~~4i h im 'I·}"II· 'PP.[,' ~.iP saying ~'tl"~,, ,~ " ·u, ',IL 0 ,', it.t<\J,!IjJ,L ,,",~~"_'iIL!I ~ ,cUlt, ,,I,I! ''1'',.., 1;;)'1;,;;0 g,!l;Ii,.,J' JLlllL""

Bring back the caliphate 'to the A bbasid rule And leave the liar until 'he dies,

'Do no t hesitate 'to do a w'.ay wl HI al] plots and conspiracies as s ()Ol1, as yo u realize them

SalahAd-Din thought that be should 'waft for. the propertfme to change the sermon until he had completed the call to the Sunni sect and a t tracted the gyptians to him,

When the Fatimid Caliph became ill, Nut Ad. .. ,D~,11 insisted, and Salah ,Ad .. Di n gathered his advisers 'to' ask their opinions, In. the council, a non-Arab scholar called Al-Amir ,A:I.-~AHm~, "the Scholar Prince" asked to! undertake the task, :FIe went to the mosque and delivered the Friday sermon in the name of the Abbasid Caliph instead of the Fatimid Caliph, Salah

,Ad. .. Din CO~~1l1111al1d"ed his followers to conceal that from

1!.. 'G .. , '..;a, c ~.'~ H id n]f 'I\.. . ," 'iL". 'Ii '1'1

tne Fatnmo ··.·aJI1"~1;" e $.:8,1,"" rne regams ms health,

he \yin Deco gnize :" t. I f 'hie dies, we should not 'tell hi m that bad news." The sermon in (be name of the Abbasid Caliph, \;V,I"!) accepted calmly by the people, without

str iI1l11l)'!,)·11,~, '!:II'iC'" ]' bn A' '1 .. A:· j'1'ii 'J. 'm" '1' -)'JC I j.!o.'i"iJ, ti o n . ed inh ,;~, L ,: ~'tIi- ory : A'~"" '~-

~IIJ., 1IbII10bjW'\r.i~ 1C:~,!Ll! 1,1 .Il.._<~J 'J .•• ~ .. .:.II:,. ... lL .. t JI!. ... ·~U ... ,' ... v.. _ . I... ,LJ,JLkl .W_U!iJ1!L,.Y' _,' ,!!. . '_ ~

'Adid died in 5($.1 A.,H" (m 171 C, E,,,) " and 'with his death the Fatimid era ended;

Salah Ad .. Din became [he master over Egyp,t after Al .. "Adid's death. He held the mourning for three days and took: C3!('e: of and honored Al-"Ad:ru.d~'5 family and treated them kindly,

Po'Uey with N ur A,d ... Din

After the dearth ofthe Patimid Caliph" Salah Ad-Din i nereased his efforts to im prove hi s rel arion sh ip with Nur Ad .... Din SOl that the latter ,vould. not think that h,e wanted 'to seize power-He kept the previous; strong relationship that had existed at the time of his, uncle Shirkuh and did not forget Nur Ad- Din's fa vors to him

~,- t]' ~;l" vouth

U1 ms .Y' U "U.,

"A short time later, he ordered, d],e Friday sermon to be delivered in. the name of Nur Ad-Dln instead of the Abbasid Caliph, He also coined ill 'bis name and gave

""3': ~l-_

him, p .. ·.·,ecio us .gifts from the treasures of the p-~ alaee, He

11 _ '

'was, gratef ul to NurAd .... Din for his previous actions and showed his h)'Y~d.ty to him,

During this time 'when h,e 'fulled. Egyp'£~1 some traitors amo:n"g: 'the army commanders disobeyed 'him and refused to Uv,e in EIY,pt. They sowed dissension

'Le ,;,.. ~ '1 'Ib, A..:il 'D'" . (1- 'N" A-' d'- -D-o- dl 'il .... !, dll d

eerween ;~adh;:-~ ,~, _Ui:''''',c_',uw. ana .. ur .:.,< -L1D. an .,Lln,;. Ie'.

'the fires of enmity' and 'hatred ..

They succeeded in some of t~he.ir low attempts 'to cause ,~HJmJe disc rders and conflicts. However, 'wise: people recognized these attempts and warned against enmit '\1' between the ,t--'!I''i~'IQ'" C'.~..:I~il'!_ T--I '1f..~ 0',"o-,1Iy-' beneficiarv of

'\.iI' _, ._. _ J • ..Ill.. JI ..i~ IJ.. ':. "'~, I. ..:__, _,I~, I ~' ... ";I;UI~~ ~ ~ JUI~ '. - ..... ,11_ .. , ~~ .!LJ .. '/'-"~ J 'IWIJV~· 'rl 'u

ditferences and eonflicts was £ 'he: lurkingenemy, .. A short 'time later, go ad fl'hh '- con6.dJtl1,ee~ and lin,oe.dty between tbe two :s:ru.des \V',as restored Salah Ad .. Din remained ~.oyal and. under the rule of Nur Ad-Din until the latter's death in $169 A.H., (I :1,731 IC'i'B.).

From the foregoing p,r,e:vie:w of works achieved 'by' Salah Ad-Din in. Egyp;t and. plots overcome by him, readers can, recognize his character and political experience, his firmness and Q,[lan:izl'D;S of affairs,

In this period, Salah Ad-Din was, able 'to remo ve all the obs .. taeles he met and in, a. short time became ,the

master of Muslims ill, the East and an adept fighter in battles, of Uber~ation" Divine, destiny chose him, 'to remove the' setbacks that bad befallen Muslims during the Crusaders' occupation in different times, In the next chapter, 'we wiU explain how Salah Ad-Din unitedthe Muslim countries under his rule and defee ted, the Franks in the decisive Battle: of Hattin and bow be regained, glory for Islam and Muslims.

4. I.;!!!. ' .. -"" )J'S'r.. Jr, ......... ' ' ...... ' _ '.'.'~' '~;! .'~.'~ ~,,' r' '0:' lc.. .. ,

'!' ''''{ ,~» f:I:J -;W;1J ... ~, o- ~)'! ~Il ~ ~li Y

~ Tllat is tb'6 Gf,"~ ~f'Atlah,,"'itll' He bestvws

lOft whom He wil&~ And A'lla/': is All~,Sllfficie"t

for His ereaseres ,needs'" All'-K"o'~er ~ .

. (Al .. Ma'jdah 5:.5:4)

45

Salah Ad-Din in Syria

8 yli I .• flier Nur AtI ... Dln

After Nur Ad-Din's death, his son Al-Malik As-

-

S31Hb Isma'il inherited his kingdom, He had not yet

reached his majority, 'being only eleven years old, Shams Ad-Din ibn. Al-Muqadim was his guardian and trustee .. The princes in Syt'ia vied with one another and attempted to weaken slander and. plot against one another. The young king knew nothing about tile: state's affairs, He was a toy in the hand of those princes 'who competed to usurp the throne for their personal purposes,

Saif Ad-Din, Al-Malik As-Salih's cousin and the ruler of Mosul, seized Nur Ad-Dil1"S cities, in Al-Jazirah (the area between the Tigris and the uphrates Rivers) and permitted other princes to rule the cities under their control, Some princes resorted to treaties with the' C rus ad ers [10 suppo rt ,til em. against the other princes i' Divisions, conflicts and dispute over authority prevailed in the countries and the conditions. worsened, 'Destiny chose Salah Ad-Din to rescue the countries from shameful divisions and hateful differences.

46

D:I:m:IJ,Scu, Selds for' S,alall ,Ad-D'in

Salah Ad-Din knew' about 'the struggles and disorders. H'OW'SV~;r.~ he waited for the p.roper time in whlch to intervene, He 'was, afraid of tile Syrian'S" anger and. objection if he intervened at the wrong jime Therefore, be always sent messages to AI-,M'aUk AsSalih Isma'il showing his sincerity and loyalty to him, He coined :i.11 his name, had tbe Friday sermon delivered in. hi s name, and showed the S yrians that he' was taking care of the young king's interests.

The people of Damascus knew' that Saif Ad-Din bad 'seized the citi 88 of Aj, .. J azirah; that Shams Ad -Din, the guardian IOf' 'the young, k]D.J;, 11Jad made a. treaty with the Crusaders in Jerusalem; and that Nur Ad-Din's princes were doing their 'best to usurp the throne for their own interests, Therefore, they sent a message to Salah Ad .. ,

D" m", • .iiI-. '" .,ji.:1.. d '~I '" " . '!J,.. d"' ,..'lll

in a's]t\lol ]1:U;h1, 'to rescue tnem anc tmnt tne r I J soroer

and sedition '. They asked him to take charge of their country's affairs an.d protect it from dangers and risks.

St~da~, Ad ... Din i.D, Damascus

S21~;a:h Ad-Din W31S 'very happy whenhe received the in vital tion to visit Damascus, fl):r it 'was a j ustificatio n 'to intervene in the state' s affairs, He \~tte:nt to Damascus

47

without fearing the Franks, Rather - be trusted in Allah.

1I!-!I!I!'~,U,:J!,V' I_ "o_.' _, \. _ .•• - J • - __ L!""!' l!I' __ - ... , '_' ' __ ' _-_ "_. ' __ '_ , _ - - '"

in himself, and in his strength.

Salah Ad-Din traveled 'to Busra, 'whose prince welcomed 11.11'D, generously with epen arms, then

a rrived ~ 'ii"iI 'D-, am ' "°1 se :~"U:~ '~n R--:.,." 'i,]i '~/' ",J.\ ,'~'",A--~' "'W', ,.'a~'~ 5':' -7",:'O~' A> L'f

I~IJ ~ ~ .y ~'._ J.Jj.j , ~ O~. _.:J. ,I, Q lUI J 1~1 ' u,lt .' ". . !Ii JIr:l ~

'(,ll74 C:;,E",).,H'B lived in his, father's house for aJ while until the castle was surrendered to him, Afterwards, be went to i.t and seized much of its wealth andtreasures, He didn,et exploit authority for coUec,~i'ng' money, accumulating wealth or indulging ~11, worldly pleasures and. a hixurious life, To the contrary, he llilvled. ,3 life: of' sufficiency ~ Wier \:yilt mention i'n the chapter concerning bis virtues and characteristics that Salah Ad-Din died in.

never -t·v WiV"!f.:I~.·- "J"'I'

HO\\1 did S:ahd] Ad .. Din spend this, wealth and treasures? He distributed 'It a,mong the poor and needy In order 'to accompli sh the principles of s,o cia] justice

d- Ii- i " ~"'" ~ - iii dl- ,..:iI ., ,.

an ' e immate ignorance, poverty, ,1,0.· ulsel~tSies~ Ul,

0, ceord - q '0- ·C·r.i; with '1- If iii:! 11 aID"; n tea ,f'I,:h';;'IMI, p~~

~~,~, .' itlt,·, ··'!I.i''Ii'If.II, I. !!J.·dJ!''''l""L~-~-1I;,.i ~~'" _/1;# _ I_w_!l,~_,~~

The popular delega tions recei vied him by sta te~y procession expressing their joy and happiness. 'They pinned. their hop es IOn him that he could unite the country, free Jerusalem, and establish the Muslim en.'li:ty in. the whole; world.

Poets exhorted him to jihad and 'to achieve the hoped for victory Wailsb A" 1 '~A' l'ii'lil.J,j; .... ddress ... AI him in

' 1 :1: ~" .~IJI/v 1 y .J.,~. ~ . ,_" ,Ii LUJ. Q_= '_ .' _, :_,,' ~ulljj. 1ia.U; .. :,~:__ !!l.!".t.7rY ~,~ '_ .

i'

verse saymg;

Vlctory and success have been accomplished at your hand, 8,0 try to achieve them more and

By Allah, Sal-ah Ad: .. Din resembles a lion that ravens many preys if it jumps.

You conquered Jallaq, which W,~S a fortified border, and r ebuilt what w_.~' ~,~ ruin ed

,:_: '" '.: ,!!w'" u.JIl.l , ' """ ,_.itJ! _ . 'j , __ ,-,,~11j. ." ,[;11..., " ".

It iCI~,k:iI!JI'd, your help in '91 humble 'n,'~=y" when there

,. ' rg,g _ v" ," li¥ . ,_Ill", ~ .W .. IIU_ _ IU Jl~ If'll' u· lll~~Jt Ill~l, ~

, . ,

was no othe-r helper and people decided to run aW;81Y,

You returned life to' it as you did, in Egypt, and regained justice artier it bad, gone away,

This is the ch ampion 'W ho achieved victo ry for Islam, and showed its way ,and. humiliated the dis believers and Crusaders,

H . d le' ,i b "h"

,-e rejecter ., peo':pl, Ef:S praises i. ecause I' e is

humble, and refu sled. wor ~d Wy pleasures be ... cause he is ascetic,

[f' h - 11·. de . c' -, t . ....:11 SC:J ,-'~. - , , ., . -. ,if, - -,,- ild

, ., , .. I,e lUll;· DJO, saveU. :'~o'y.n:a,~ m,r(rl!1umen[~s, WOU:,

have been destroved a '"'dCI its m arks would b- "i':'IV@

p,', ',=. .>~.:- " .: .,~~J. U1J ·-.,U .' .. £JIlI ... " ~ ~ "=i'_Q-;_ ,_ .... ~ ,"', < ... ::1 __ .1.'_ I . i. ,C;~''''I~

di,sappeaIl~d for a long time,

Nashu Ad-Dawlah Abul .. Fadl also wrote poetry:

lie C81me Jate to DalIl3SCUrS" after they had prayed to their Lord ,; I was, touched by harm ~

All praises and 'thanks, are always to Allah for His graces and bount y"

He also granted us ,8.\ king whose era. 'was, one of His servants"

Allah put His, secret in. him, 80 he became well Known in the: East and West.

Salah Ad ... Din sat ill the House of Justice in Damascus to remove injustice" ,give people their rights" and remove unjust taxes imposed by the rulers" Sa "ad all ibn "Abdullah wrote a, poem ab ou t this:

You removed .~ I]j ustice from the: p eople of Damascus when you came,

So, you occupied Hi high rank in the palace and

'P'11't G'D t 'iI!le' C·I' ...... 'l'uil!"i OA .... honor

~II,U' .... I . .w .. '. ~ ',!U'hfY·,lILI. ,,:~,,~, .~~'V~AI':·11 a

The' subjects' hands reaped the fruits of security from its garden,

A,~· . S' '1] A'·;3 D "" ." h d b . .. f "

~ tel' :>,(1 :a. :}, .. ·.U='· in s power nau oeeome .' mn In.

Damascus" he emphasized in, his messages, and

50'

,

",",'

dialogues that he had come to DaJl11.,SCllS, to support Al-Malik As-Salih ~ ·'or instance, after taking control of Damascus, be said to tbe messenger of Aleppo, "You

should know ." that ] did 'lifii'O;·t com -~ ,jo,n D: .'JIlm·~liI;!'i]""'1I11~ excep r' '''0'

.:I" ,OJ.' .Ii, . .JL.II:.U. u,'~, '. "-!h.cc ,u. _' ...... -., _ -"-'''''' Lv . '!;ott ,U,;,:JI",,",'!U,iJj . A!i;.o'!;., .' III.. 1,'_

unite the word of Islam, set matters right, guard the public, block the enemies, edueate Nur Ad .. Din's son, and get rid of the aggressors."

In Ho':ms, Haraah and A).ep'po

After hehad conquered Damascus, be stayed a short while organ izing its affairs and rectifying the evil 'i n :w t, Then be appointed his brother Saif Ad-Din Taghtakin as, ruler over H and went to Homs, He conquered it except for the castle, He left hills commanders to besiege it and, protect the city, then marched 'to Hamah, The ruler of Hamah \~l11;S 'Izz Ad- Din Jurdik, who had been one of his Iieutenants in. the third expedition to Eogypt... He: did not surrender to Salah Ad-Din. However Salah Ad-Din 'to ld Jurdik that he had come to, protect the city from Ute Franks and retake the cities of Al-Jazirah occupied 'by Saif Ad-Din, 'the ruler of Mosul, He told him also that be 'would obey 'the young A1 ... MaHkA~Salih Isma'il. Hamah's ruler was convinced and surrendered to him, He ul so accepted 'to serve as a messenger from Salah Ad-Din to Sa'd Ad-Din

51

Kamashtakin, the ruler of Aleppo,

Sa 'd. Ad .. Din was the, one who had seized Aleppo from the criginal ruler, Shams Ad-Din ibn Ad-Dayah and replaced b i In. He mnlp,r.rusoned Ibn Ad-Dayah ~ his brothers, and other princes, and allied with 'the Crusaders to s upport hjm ..

Salah Ad-Din sent his, messenger Jurdik to the usurper Sa'd Ad ... Dill 'with the recommendation that be release the. prisoners and Ibn Ad-Dayah, When Jurdik reached Aleppo and told him the message, Sa'd Ad-Din imprisoned him with Ibn Ad. .. Dayah. Undoubtedly, Kamashtakin would carry the responslbility for his action, for Salah Ad-Din lay in wait to encounter him to make him, pay for unjustly and hostilely imprisoning th ,--

tnem.

Kamashtakin did not stop at ·UTIs., He sent a messenger to Rashid Ad- Din, Sinan, the, head of the ls:ma',~li:ya,fI) s,ect who liv.,sd in MiJsy:8!f~, as,kina ~or his help

('1.1 Imam ,A'I.~Gb(lc~an say in the' treatise P'adaJlh AI .. Bat~'f'JJiy,ah ian ,MabadC AI~/srn{J'liUy:a/~ that their sect bdollg,ed ,QJutwa:rdly to the S:hi'~ ah sect, but ~[, wardly tbey were pure' dlsb elievers, They believed ~n absolute llcentiousness laud. rel'Do1v,al [of hUab. They also :perll1jued. the p'[o,~fb:i.fea: and denied other religions. However, I hey denied these beliefs if 'they wereascribed to them, Ra ther'!J~hey. ascribed them to Isrna'il Ja'far As-Sadiq,

51

,1(Od. support. Rashid Ad-Din sent '9. band to kill Salah Ad. .. Din .. They followed him. into U~U!, Jnshan camp m 11 'the west of the Aleppo region and 181't tem pted to enter his tent, but the soldiers attacked them,

Another assault took place \1J:hH,e be was in 'Azaz, a

villase ~'n- AJ'-'·, ep 1i"iIIif'ii, in ,("'1-'"'1i Ai. H:_' W· ·:11-~n some fedayeen

~ '. ~Jg.b~ .ILl., .,,". -. :-'_ ," ,~,1u".1 J '. ,Jl l-' !I' " e , ,",. I.~> ~V' ,Jl.,~\# ,~VY..", ~" ~-~ .,1

attacked hi's tent. Three men succeeded in ,entedn.g his tent wearing military uniforms like those of his guards and injured h I!'" head H- = e 'W'!fI ~ nearly k cilled but was

p.u _. .In _. I'!!I;;l' . . lit . _ .'-'~!JI • 'I;,; . Q.!;.'!! ,""''1;#'__ =_= _ _ lUI _ _ __ ~

. -

saved b ~ t .. :~!f'j wearin ig a coat of" m a:-']'II 'T I he Isma'Ili

savec J) ms ",!,II;J .•.. - ",:'" a ~0';uJ., . "J J_~_ JI., I. ~ .~. C:-',iC .. i.b,

fedayeen fought with Sultan. Salah Ad ... Din's body .. ,s:ua:r.d 9, and leach side 'had injuries" When other soldiers joined, Salah Ad .. Din, the fedayeen ran away, SalahAdDin's soldiers pursued them and killed some ofthem .. ,

The sultan planned. revenge Wben he came back from. A'I,eppo 'the: following year, he 'headed to 'their castle :wn Misyaf in the west. of Hamah and prepared maneonels for them, He .killed and cap tured most of

It;;.! J

'them, regained the money and cattle, etc a. that they had.

taken, destroyedtheir homes, aod taught them ;8,. hard lesson ..

When Kamashtakin was disappointed be asked the Crusaders' support ., Upon this, the Crusaders sent an army ]ed by Raymond ]][ .. Salah Ad-Din liberated

S3

Ah~P1J'O' and then went to Horns to fight against the Crusaders. When they knew that Salah Ad-Din was coming, theywitbd:rew" Salah Ad-Din then headed 'to Dama sCU'S a nd co nq uered Ba'albak ,i

During 'this period" Salah Ad .. Din faced difficulties ff"OID, the plotting of 1 iur Ad .. Din's princes against him, for the reason s tha t toll O'\~ "

Artier Salah Ad-Din hid conquered several cities in, Syrin, they feared that he' would conquer more and seize power, Therefore, they asked S:aJf Ad-Din Ghazi, the ruler of Mosul, U) S'1.lPP01"t his cousin Al-Malik AsSalih, 'FIle prepared soldiers, weapons, and p,rQivi:s:~OllS. to aid hi s cousin,

He arrived in Aleppo andjoined forces with. its army and: headed towards Salah Ad: .. Din, The latter asked t:henl Co r reconcil 1.:1 tion in order t.OI preven t bloodshed, sedition and disorder that would be in favor of the Franks .. Among his offers WIS that be hand over all the cities he: h~ld, Icol~q,ueF.'ed lon, the condition 'tb3lt he

., ,. D·· - . 'Ii!-. 'AI ... ,. ~ dl . H'~

remams l n , ··a;:Jllascus, a's, tne kmg' s c eputy, r: owever,

they reject!ed tha t and asked him tOI hand over all the cities and return to Egypt. Salah Ad-Din found no other solution but to fight them, The Arab poet said:

54

If one does not find a safe way but the w'a~l that is full of risks and dangers, There is no 0 tiler choi 01::

sa vie 'to walk Oll. this way,

He made preparations and encountered them, near Hamah, defeating them on 9 Ramadan .5:701 A .. 'H .. , He terrorized and horrified them so 'much, that a soldier did not ·C·8Ile about his comrade, They ned 'to Aleppo. S alah Ad .. Din pursued them, seized. their provisions as, spoil 8, and. surrounded .. them :i n Aleppo .. After this defea t, Saif Ad .. Din. 'went back to Mosul to resume preparations. Salah Ad-Din followed 'rum and encountered his army at Sultan HUl., Salah Ad-Din triumphed over them again and captured most 10[' Mosul's soldiers and took their baggage as, spoils,

Afb~l:rwards~ Salah Ad: .. Din 'went to Baza'ah, a.ad the castle fen into his handsv N ext he occupied M anba], then he besieged 'Azaz un 'til they surrendered to him ,a:nd be took 'Azaz castle, He then headed again to AJeppiil' e- When. be had. Aleppo 11.11dersi.'eie~ Nur AdDill'IS young: daughter, the sister of Al-Malik As-Salih, went out to, meet him ,. Salah ,Ad - Din welcomed and honored her and gave her lD1:Ul,Y precious gifts, He

asked her about the requests ofher subjects, She replied '(bat '[bey' wanted c'AZBZ: city,. He granted her the city'" and then, 'vJ',ru,th due respect and esteem for her father' 8, posi tion, he bimself aeeompanled her back to the walls of Aleppo,

Whel] the blockade intensified, AI .. Malik As .. Salih iJ!"Onr:tli' sult ed his subjects ;e,; n d decided to accept reeon if",l"l1~:'a' ...

~VJ,~~ _. \~ _~. 1 ,lJllll,jjJ i3... J~W' ~ ~I U U!ii.lw,~. Jw . . . ~~,~_'" 1Iir.r,.,_. W: .IJ.~.

tion. He stipulated tbat o:n.~y the cities that Salah AdDin had conque:r,ed. were 'to be under his, control. According to the agreement, 8.8013]1, ,A.Jd- Din. became the

'~ D H H' 'bA'~M' 'L AI

riner over Damascus, . -lorns, '.:a:mai,LI~, u-i .a'arrah, anu

ether :sm:a,n cities and their castles. AJ .. M.a1ik, As-Salih eontrolled only Aleppo and other cities next to, it

After '(his reconciliation, Salah ,A d-D ill, returned to Egyp't in. 516 ,A",H. in. order to review and settle its, affairs. He had hardly arrivedin E,gypt when 'be was told rhat Al ... Mldik As, .. Salih. had, died, He was only nineteen Yie:,lfs old, He had decreed b,y 'wiDth_at his cousin 'Izz Ad- Din Mas'ud, the, ruler of M osw - s ueeeed him. Wh"e'n "Izz Ad ... Din 'was, informed, he departed M:osul immediately to take over the new position in ,A:~eppo,., As ,SOO'H ashe: took office" 'hi! brother "Imad Ad ... Di'D" the ruler of Sanjar, asked to trade places 'with lu'm. "IzzAd-Dia agreed to his request and became the

5'

ruler of Sanjar while 'Imad Ad, .. Din 'took over Aleppo

I~ 3- 'M '1.., ~1'o' A' '-H'

on ',~: (;\ .unarram .i:'b ", '.,,' ~ i"

At last Salah Ad-Din was able to subjugate "Im ad, A.d.- Din. 'to his rule when he, conquered Aleppo, TIle: people received him joyouSly on, 17 Safar ,579 ,A.H~

Po' . iIJj,.,Il:!' an d orators po, '1['1') ised 'hi'''~ ~ action s an dl"- 'C~'~~A L'I"1i:!

." ~1L:.ki ll;!&, .. 'to,'" ." I :- •• _I. -ee ~ -:- l,_, €..~ dw_" . . ,jD.1 l!W:i~W[:- 'UI J.': g. [:_:__ .:_- J!~~fU 1,[."1

exploits and immortal heroism. Among the wonderful sayings was that of Mohi Ad-Din ibn ,A:z .. Zaki Damascus' judge, who praised Salah Ad-Din in. II 'poem S!,YI,ng:

Your conquest of Aleppo with the sword in Safar

is a go ad omen of conquering Jerusalem in Rajab,

It is, agreed hi storically that J erusalem was, in, fact, conquered in Rajab four years, after ,A1,lep:po~s conquest,

Among those who 'praised and, congratulated Sultan Salah Ad-Din ill poetryafter Aleppo's conquest was Yusuf Al-Bara'k

When you conquered AI'e:PPol, it became illustrious with. Joy's and light prevailing,

hev aav 'Eli, vou the lead ership b ''\I' 'W' zhi ieh '\1'O-"'U'1 'W~:~'~I~n l,~, ··oj. ~'" - _ [~ ,J- 1 '. I~j~j~.w, .~-Q.' ~, !aIIJj, "I. _. J: '.: ,1.1 !Iiii!!"!. J .... ; . '.'[ II_J!I

57

11- ~- '[-' I~· d' h

.- , .-. ...--= - -, - -, -_ 'I -, '., - . " J ',1 . -- -;, ---

, ave an aC'C~UfJl ano 'I,OO,OC ,0 ve', you,

Abu Taiy An-Najjar praised the status of Aleppo

Aleppo is the masterof Syria'i and it increased in. glory and beauty when Yusuf came,

I tis, the origin of glory, Wboever attained

the: highest ofi t, increased in majesty and glory, The place of glory :]S' that: whoever '~iv-ed

in it, had all glory, pride andmajesty,

,And whoever ruled :i t, :flA\led ,aU

lands 0,[' hills, amd 'moun tabu]".

To summarize, in this peri ad Salah. Ad .. Din faced three conspiracies; from the Isma tG'ilis, Franks, and Nnr Ad-Din's prince's" These three power,s allied against him in order to Impede Islamic unity in Iraq Syria, 8'nd Egypt. However, 'be triumphed aver them with the wisdom, power, determination and. acuity that ,AJllah era nted t· ,n him

0'*: 1 . .1. I~l._ •. Y .,.IJ. _ "Ii

In the next chapter we wnlle,xp~ ain howthis hero 'was, able to unite the Islamic coun tries under his leadership and truthfully regain the spirit of jihad against the e1]_le:~1l,y Crusaders

,51

....

.. ,5 -

CODD.tri.!eS, United 'unde:r' His Rule

L After the deathof Sultan NurAd-Din, 'the' hero Salah Ad es Din had every opportunity to unite the: Muslim world under his flag.He could unite them, one, after the other, because of his military talents and his experience itt p olitics and 'war, In Yemen the: vari ous p arti ~,!f'j were I;!J] I,; 'iP! eontin 'W- I t"I"UI e co n ··n·· .. ~ ct an d

V'IU= .- ,10 .. , Q. ,:," I~M. lI,~~ ",» 'fv.r - ~ ~,_,~, ,~,Il-t I~VI!l1 ,~-" - -_~v' - .. g :1J.t.-_ .. , •. ,., jJ.~ [.t.', !~.

fl.gh.tin.g against each other during Salah Ad, .. Din's era. As a result, the country became shattered, 'torn to pieces, The Hamadanites at Sa'D,i!',R and the

Najahites in Zubaid fought against each other over the ruling authority, T n addition, there W,IlS at fal se propagandist who claimed '[bat he was Al- M'a-h.di A lMuna/;.az:nal' .. (~,) He caused some unrest and. disrup ... tion that led to massacres, civil strife, and. anarchy in,

Yem en Salah A'" d Din 'W' '!'lII'~l named to e;~C!; MI.· .uslims

II 1\# . j',' _. Ii JLJiuJII,.',· ..... , . ',' - J!"'" ·.··,i,.L.Jj, ._' . .".' IJI.~ r' W~,Ul}~~ _. _', .' ._I' d/~\J. .. .. .J!.ru .. _ ..ll .... ~

killing and plotting against one another, so he sent his, 'brother Turan Shah to Yemen to end {be discord

- .

and 8 trife,.,He succeeded in joi ning :~t to Egypt aed Syria underhis rule,

u) AI·"Mandl A..l .. ·,MufuQzhar :is 'r'T.h~ Directed One", a 'ruler who 'wi! ~ appear U!pO[}, the earthin the last days and guide people to the :ri:gh t pa th". (tr.an8bl(,~O.F)

2~, Turan Shah went with .bis, army via. the 'Nile River 'untH the city of 'Q'US", Then he went by bind. to the' Red, Sea coast and, :from there saned to Jeddah and. Yemen, Be' 'WSJ" able to seize the Zubaid terri tory and some other forts, Some historians stated that be conquered. more than eigh ty forts and cities in. 'Yemen. It seems that the Yemeni people rejoiced at Turan Shah's comdng, :fb'.rhe would stop the disorder and anarchy in which the'y' lived, Some:

Yemenis paved tbe w',ay for Turan Shah to conquer the state without bloodshed, for castle guards sent him the keys of the citadels 'to spare peoples," blood. They desired to UV'e in stability, When he bad conquered Yemen, he 'took COU'Ds:e:~ with his companions in choosing the proper headquarters. He ,decided to take Ta'z c:lty as headquarters.

3\i Salah ,Ad-'Dl;D appointed his 'brother Turan Sheth. as ruler over Y·em!en,a:nd. then appointed his brother Taghtakln ibn, ,Ayyu'b, who remained its ruleruntil his death in :l'~~13, A~H!,T}he ,A,yyubi.d. rule in. Yemen remained fb:r more than 8:0 years from 569 to 6:5,2 A". H.

4\i' The same year in whi.en Yemen was conquered, Salah Ad-Din conquered Barqah, Tripoli, and the eastern p1a:rt of Tunisia to Qabis in 569 A,.,H.,

60

Sl~ In 579 .A,.,H .. :, Salah. Ad3DbLl. caned his brother Al-Malik AI- "AdH 'til attend the Islamic conference held in Damascus :fior ambassadors of princes in the M uslim world. Among the attendees were [hie Grand Sheikh Sad! Ad ... Din; Shihab Ad-Din Bashr, the envoy of the Abbasid Caliph ,A'D,." Nasr Lidinillahit Al-Qadi Mohi Ad-Din Ash-Shahrazuri; Baha' Ad .. Din ibn Shaddad, the ambassador of Mosul's ruler; and MU~'izz Ad-Din Sinjar~ ambassador of Al-Jazirah's

:r- ~ I ler: ,If,l, nd - m anv oth P!!['" '~'!lIi 11 !;iii h A" ". d'c: -Din end eav o 'i~d:'

_ly .• ,~._ ~~ ~.IJ.lIL , " .g.,,J- V lU.~ 0',," ~~\~~JI 1 ., "'... ',-.lJ~, ~'1Il_1._1_~~ _. <_"J,~.-

to remove all disagreemen t~ and conflicts among the Muslim princes and implant Instead brotherhood and reconciliation, An the ambassadors agreed to unite except for Mosul's ambassador. He was, the only O:D:e: 'who disagreed wldl and strongly opposed Salah A,d-:D~~n,.

,~ When Mosul's ruler refused 10 unite 'wid1 the: Muslim World, Salah Ad-Din was obliged to fight him to deter and guide him to the right W'8..y. When Salah Ad .. Din besieged the: city, its ruler, 'Izz Ad-Din, submitted. 3\'nd, reconciled in. the Harran Treaty of .581 A"H~ Aeeo rd,] 'Q..lQr 'to the 'treaty, 'Izz Ad-Din handed O'V1~r' the cities of Sh ahar Zur, Aru ... Qarabili, and. T'afj ak, and their surrounding provinces, 'to SalaJl A,d.-,D~n. On. the other hand, Salah .Ad.'" Din

61

handed over Mosul to "Izz Ad-Din provided that the

Friday' senn 0'·-'11- :CII)-d'i coins r--J'/JI:m:" ained in Salah Ad-

, "_J ~ ,~ __ I f~ Jt. ',_, 1 U· _' .. tIl, __ ~ rv.~ .,_,_ . ..!",~~._'l!.t. . .;_-_ . ....:_., :_: ~,_!~_, :...' -._" .

Din's n ame '. In addition, 'Izz Ad .. Din wasta follow Salah Ad .. Din's policy,

Ibn Wasil stated in his book ,Ma/raj AI-Kur:ub fl T{rM~'a~~.ikh Ban i AYJllub' that after the H,arr;911 Treaty, S.aJah Ad-Din gathered under one banner soldiers from Mosul, Sunjar.Al-Jazirah, Arbil, Harran, Diar Bakr and other places, after' they bad been. factious.

7~ One ofthe matters that Salah. Ad-Din undertook was to send, a message to the Abbasld Caliph AJ~ MUSt8,d~'i' in Baghdad. Al-Oadi Al .. F,ICU,~, Salah ,Ad.Din's v:iz:w,er', wrote the message :hl w hi ell be reminded them of Salah Ad-Din's feats (If jUlad. and his '~u::hievenl"e~rts,~ such as his fi.ghtw'ng against 'the enemy; conquering Egypt, Yemen and North Africa; and ehanging 'the Friday sermon to be: in the: name of the Abbasid Caliph A···,·,·,'~iC1n!_ he asked the

~~III;-L~ ~~ v., ... \W,l~ "l JUUUr.~.lll... '. "'~IJUt - '1I!rl~1 ~JI~IV, 1:_'- ~ ~.~~_ -~,._-., . ~.l~

,A b basid Calip h. to app cint :hi m ruler over Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, Syria, and other coun tries co nq uered later by him .. , He also 'asked that his brother or BOrn be: appointed after him, The Caliph Al-Mustadi' responded to their request by sendmg delega tiona to specify the states be wanted to rule:" He also. gave presents aad robes of honor to the

£:"'Ii u.

delegation and the SulUtn'~s relatives,

8·., From the aforementioned, we see that Salah Ad-Din joined numerous states find. cities under one banner, He ruled many eities B:nd towns, from Ramlah to the Nile basin, and from North Africa 'to' Tripoli, and he conquered Yemen, Aden, Tripoli coast, and a part of Tunisia 'to Q,ahi Sj hi .addido'll. to E'LSYPt, Syria, and northern Iraq, In these states and towns, the Friday sermon was delivered in his name, The countries under h:h~n.de were as follows: North lrraq (Kurdistan), Greater S:yti:a,) Yemen, Egypt, Moroc~co, and the coast of Nortb Africa .. ,

Undoubtedly, Muslim natlons set great hopes ,011 Salah Ad ... Din. and saw I good omen in hlrn tc achieve Muslim unity, Af~~:f this strong unity ~ 'the time had come to al ttack the Crusaders in 1 erusal eU1 and expel them in a decisive war that history 'would record and generations 'would, 'be proud of.

,.~ Poets viewed the unity under Salah Ad.-DID/S, ruleas goo dness for the urnrnah (tUi\t~ on) and ,8. glory to [!d.a:m~ because the urnmah had. suffered so much from incompetent rulers, Ibn Sanan explained tha t in. a poem saying:

The nation did not find. a good ruler 'h)

63

administer it; every ruler is incompetent and has at miad like 'f.:Iil c. 'L11' ld

~ _ ~4U ' y, ~.IL . ~ u. lllL.Il ,ill

As, s,oo:nas Salah Ad .. Din came to power, corruption was removed and diseases were remedied,

T'h~y also believed that [be unity of 'the 'Muslims," word was the starting point to liberate Jerusalem from the spiteful and ign,obW,I13 Crusaders and to mate Islam, triumph, The conquest of Jerusalem would be' a step to other conquests because it was the aim, hope, and the complete' control over Palestine, AID,' .. "Imad ,A), .... Asbahan] praised Salah Ad-Din in a poem:

Wmth YOUlr conquest, Islam became proud~and with your victory, days became lightened,

You. provided the 'world and religion

'wi th strength and hopes,

You ha Vel to complete the conquest 'b:y' conquering Jerusalem.

0,0 ahead in conquering, ,S:O that system may continue, and 'be a M uslim j 0 order to make lsb\m triumph

64

Crusa di I&'[--S" p.'IO' its' ;', 'IQIII' -d' ,- w,r" I(]PS·(l)

_ ' ,',' ~ , ,',. "'"' ' ", ~ 1,_.,_.", ,",," ',. A,II:, ,',.

Wh:a't 'W;ere the C~rus;aldes'?

The Crusades were military campaigns carried out by Europe Cor two centuries. The aim. was to liberate Jerusalem from the hands of Muslims and 'to' limit the, advance of Muslims whohad 'beJllul. to invade the rest ofthe world,

!R,e',a:so.s fur (be Crusades

The most important reasons for the Crusades are as follows:

1.. 'The Crusaders hated Islam and Muslims because tb~' had conquered Jerusalem and other places ,tha't had. been under Christian authority in parts of'Asia, Africa, and Europe

l~, Const antinople was under threat OE occupation by the Muslim, Se]juqs~,who had spread closer 'to it. The Byzamine Emperor Alexius Comnenus appealed for' the; help of the Christian countries against the Muslims.

3,~ Christian n,~'i O'~~~·:-:-,-::: t'.c: J=' - '0' , ifji- 'n:,_ .... , " .' ,II ' .:~~, .,~II . f ba d , .' " ~:,[~, "il~u,h .. "" I;#I~ ldfm,ms I~,O :._ 'e,~ UJ!J~uelU com,pw~llneu 0, U),tJ' c~

treatment from M' uslims, After retumi Jlg to Europ e:~ ~:bey alleged tha t they had suffered hardships and injustiee from Muslims. ,AU1(};11.g: the most determined wh 0 impla nted hatred between Christians a.nd.M'usUm:s was the French monk Peter the Hermit,

,4,. Rel j gi ous zeal i the desire to liberate J erusalem from Muslims, and forgiveness of sins, Co r those who participated in war against Muslima were great motiva tors, This zeal 'was, aroused 'by the sermons of priests, bi shops, and the pOop-e in ch ureh congregations,

,5;:" The Fatimids in Egypt were inclined [0 ally 'with the Byzantines to help them liberate their lands, occupied by 8e1jl1.Q M usl ims,

'We 5,hoiuldm,enfio'll 'here' that P op e Urban II delivered an important speech :111. the Council of Clermont ~J1J. France They' agfleed 'to wage the flrst Crusade in 4,8,:8 A,. 11 '. (' I 0915 C"E,,)~ The speech :ii'idic3.'t.'ed the animosity and enmity fer ls~,am, and M'usljms" He dec] ared, ""Tl~,is war ~ S not to conquer Ollie c,1 ty but to' conquer the whole of Asia and 'tOI seize treasures and wealth which are innumerable, You have to perform

66

pilgrimage in Jerusalem and liberate the Ho'I:Y' Land from embezzlers; :you ha ve tal take this land because it, as the Torah declared, is a, band flowing withmilk B,nd 'b[)ney,"('~ )

First Crusade and Occnpati1on of ,Je',fu.salem

En 486 ,Ai,H:~, the = rench monk Peter the Hermit visited Jerusalem, 'WIlen he, returned ,be met the pope and asked. him to IC8R'~l for the Crusades, The pope held ,8. CO'IJnci~ l;n P:i,a,Oen21J, in northern Italy, then the Council of Clermont [France] '~11 which they agreed to launch a

war"

The Crusader armies agreed to meet at Constantinople, When the first contingent, which was extremely disordered and chaotic, crossed Asia Minor, the SeUu,q 'Q',aUji Arsalan defeated them in a big battle near Nicaea, ,8, city close hJI Consta ntinople,

The other contingents organized by princes and feuda ~I :1 ords, ca me from s 0 u them all d northern ,_ -rance [and thus they were known as Franks] and from southern .I. tall'. They gathered at Constantlnople. W11.en 'they crossed Asia Minor, Qalij Arsalan intercepted them and war broke OIU'~ between the two sides The

Crusaders defeated him and occupied Antioch after a siege that lasted for eight lnon'tbs"Aft:e::rWiilrds,~ they occupied Jerusa I em after a :m onth of siege in 492 A, ~FI., (:~099 'C".E~)., They did all sorts of deeds in contradiction to human mercy and divlne religions and committed hideous atrocities against the rights of Muslims, They killed about seventy tho usand M uslims till the blood. flowed copiously in Al-Aqsa Mosque and the quarters and alleys that b ranch ed off from i t.

Ibn Al-Athir described the resentment oj: Islamic society at that time saying:

Peop ~e ran. a wa,y from Syria '[0 B aghdad jn the'

f'A' Q' di A 'lib., (;II 'id A" '11 H' • '. n, d

COln.p,I1IiIllY o ,>'~ ac i', eu sax ,,~'-,~ iarwi H), rsama an

He recorded. ln his me's sage horrible actions and terrible crimes tha t filled the eyes with tears and hearts became ill. They offered. Friday prayer, asked Cor help" cried a.nd remembered the kilfing of Muslims, the capture of 'W om ell. a nd thUd ren, fbi e plunder of mo ney . So, they 'b:r.okre their fast this day,

Thereby the Crusaders dwelled in, the Syrian lands, and, set up numerous principahties ,un the coasts extending from fhe Gulf of Alexandria to Ascalon and from 'the: Gulf of ~ Aqabah 'Gulf to the north of Ar .. , Ruha (:now known as Urufa flit:k~oy) '.

68,

R· •.. a~?[~~n-- ·If2i'o·· ir- ·iIf .... ,jI']j, Crusa . .J ers' ViC·' ·,t·-[·O~ .·r' 'Y"'"

___ ~~au . a I) _." ~llIJ~ ~., _ i3 .. 'U'. ~ . '~J •• "l ,

The most important reaso n for the Crusaders' S1IllC'OeS8 run occupying, Jerusalem and the surrounding countries was the conflicts, disputes. and disagreements 'wi-thin the Muslim society. Theenemy was not able to. penetrate into the Muslim lands dominate the holy places" and. rule Jerusalem (from 'which the Prophet 3.ascended to the seven heavens) except when they saw the condition O1f the Muslim ul11J1'1tJh with its disputes, weakness and decline, They then seized 'the opportunity [and attacked the Muslim world, destroyed their buildings, and regarded the noble people. as ignoble ones.

Thereforermany historians talked about this period and the conditions 0 f the M uslim so c.i .. et y in the F irst Crusade with examples such ElS these:

• Wh.ile the Crusaders blockaded Jerusalem .~ M uhammad ibn Malikshah fought against his half", brother B arkiyaruq, • The Franks took over Acre while Syrian kings

C h ." h hi

fought against eacr ot er ..

• The Muslim countries were divided and plotted agains teach other ,. So DlI. e M uslim countries: as ked the Franks for help in fighting other Muslims,

'0 ther hi stonansalso reco rded othe r comments abo tit

0'

this era such as those of Ibn Al-Athir and others, The !(}()IrJ1 men ts prove that U16 M us Hun ummah was the reason for this occupation, And Allah. did not harm them but they ha trued thei r own selves"

SeeO·l:ltI, 'Crusade':: Prelude ,to VIctory at Hatdn

W·e mentioned al. rve that 'the' d1ec'~illj]1,g state of the Muslim society was a major factor in the success of the 'Crusaders In occupying Jerusalem .. Therefore, there was no solution to overcome the Crusaders without a. comprehensive renaissance and unity, Indications of this renaissance started when 'Imad Ad-Din Zanki established ~ strong state extending from Mosul to Ma 'arra t Au .. N u 'man IDa 521. A.J-I. ~ lmad Ad-Din fought the: Crusaders rn numerous encounters, one of the greatest of which was :in Ar-Raha, which removed its principality in 53,91 .A.H.,

Such defea t8 were the ma in reason for the escal a t ~ 0.11. of the Crusades. and the Second Crusade, inwhich King Louis V of . ranee and, Emperor Conrad MIM of Germany participated. They agreed '[0 kill 'Imad AdDin Mahmud,' ~) who governed the western part after

(t) Whte;m 'Imad Ad .. Din Zanki died, he ·~en a lot of sons. The two eldest were Saif ,Ad",·Dh1 and. N u:r Ad- Di n M,m hm ud, The 't we ~

7.0

*]1' e dea th '0' f h ]', ~ fa :tiih; r.l!'!i" "Im ,iI!j d A·' . d .. ' -Din Zan ki b Ali'" Q'1IJ'C'·e"

,1., ... 0 u'!Ik.', I..II..'~ ._.'. ,,., .. ~LII.J[.l!i.';.[~, .. U.,o...~. :._:,-.,.!!,!,~~'U~~ ~~ .. ,IV!j;,."~ _.J

they regarded ~ltocl,adAd .. D in as, the major threatto the Franks, The Crusa ders headed to Damascu s and besieged it for a sho rt time, then. withdrew. 'The siege W·Sl'S lifted in 543 A, H. Thus, the Seco nd Crusade fai led .. The withdrawal revived the Muslim society, raised its spirits, and. paved the way to victory in the Ba ttle 0 f Hattin,

.- brothers divided the l:e:i.ngd(nn. into two: the eaetem part fo r :s.n~f Ad- .. Din with the eapital in 'M:o:s:ull, and the western part for 'N1!lI' Ad~DiD Mahmud wiUl. the capita] in Aleppo. NU.f' Ad.-Di.l"IJ ·M:ahmud'~.s kingdom was adjacent to. the CrU81'fIDd.,er states. This was. one of the reasons that ~ed to the escelation lof the confflct.

71

.... 7 ...

Salah Ad-,Din"s Victory in the Battle of'Hattin

Reasons for tbe, Battle

We mentioned in chapter four that Salah Ad .. Din es tab lished a great uni ted kingdom that inchided the north of Iraq (Kurdistan), Greater Syria" EgYP'b:, Yemen, and Barqah. 'He also prepared an army 'to invade the' Franks and regain Jerusalem and other cities they occupied. But he waited for the proper time to '!take reve'uge for the massacres and crimes they had committed in Jerusalem and ,AI""Aqsa Mosque and to teach them a lesson they would never forget

The time for retaliatiou came when 'the lord of 'U', k' R " 1..J1 f C' t, '" 1~1 ("A" bO' A ') , 1i". dl Alera, Regina 0, 0. ,cl~,tlru.o:n,',rai,c: ',' irnat " attacke i

a trade; caravan loyal to' Salah Ad ... Din in 5:82 A"H, (I l,87 C:,;E.,)~ The Principality of Kerak, located between Egypt and Syria, had a truce with. Salah Ad- Din."

A,·- -OT-' 'the; articles of the truce 'was the 'p" ermission for

.w_ Fl,g _' ., 1 .., __ _ _ . _ = _ ,_ _ _ _ _

Muslim caravans to pass s,afe:~,y and peacefully back and forth between E'Sypt and Syria,

Reginald plundered the caravan's money' and captured its, men" Historians reported that 'when the; Muslims' caravan was seized by the lord of Kerak, he

12

despised Islam and the Pro phet ,lit and sai d, to the 'M" II" '. u[=f' t; 1; 'M '1. .. , All 'ml , <, 'US,llm, C1a\.pU VieS, 'I ' yO·U [uJe 1eve In ":1', U1.ltam'~na u:~ cau

\

him to release you and free you from this captivity,"

When Salah Ad-Din was, told that, he ";,18 furious and. swore to idU him with his own hands, The sultan kept his. oath as, we will see ill the following pages,

Reginald's attack wasthe spark that ignited war ,~ between 8813111. Ad, .. Din and theF[lU1OCS" Salah Ad-Din waged battles against them and unade them taste suffering an d. 11.a rdships. His name 'faecal me public i.n Europe ~ and m others fr.igb~ened, their children w:] th his name. However, the hero treated captives, women, and childreo kindly, He Wl1lS regarded as 31D. object of pride for history and, all, example for generations

Battle: of Hatthi :9Dd Conquest of lerusa'l,em

After this infamous attack on the eara van, Salah ,Ad, ..

Din mustered his armies and broke them into contingents to deliver an exemplary punishment to the F ranks, one and, all ~ and regain the holy cit.Y' of Jerusalem, 'which. was the place from, whichthe Prophet ~ ~ scende ,d,'·, t·'0: the seven 'iIL':f.'Iio'~''1Ii'~'n,!C1< ;'!':!I"t'!IJd:: '''~']~I;i&I!: birthplace of ~ Q~~ . .ILLY .. ,lV 1!Jr _ ~ !.J!. ¥~ ~~ ~~VI~Y~ __ ,~ .~,l.A. __ ~I_,~ .·.W, , _,I, •. _ .. l~_~ .. _.w v"

the prophets,

During: that time, 'th.e: ruler of Kerak prepared an

73

armyto attack the Muslims returning from Hajj, Salah Ad .. Din caUed the people for Jihad. to protect the pilgrims .. He camped at Qasr As-Selamah, near Busra, and remained tin, the pilgrims had, come in peace and. safety" The pilgrimsthen prayed Allah to grant victory to' Salah Ad-Din and overcome his enemies who were always vi ola ting 'their covenants and b reaking tree ties, Panaticism and resentment b~i:nd,edtbe Franks, and enmity and ignorance hardened their hearts. They Vl ould taste of the sam e em Pi

After making prepara tio ns, Salah ,Ad. ... Din consul tied his advisers regarding the proper time for war, They fixed the date on 17 Rabi' Al-Akher 583A.I11.. after the Jtln11ilah Prayer, between the cries of "Allahu Akbart" '!:I,M,d' ,iV'l ip 'p r. lications for victo rv if n

Q,,,U"_ iOIYI..I-W·g. L~, OJ! .. v, "~],'!i;;.; ....•. ,i"

( ~) M ~I,s'l ims sh ould know t.h W~ facrand real i zc t h at p rcpa rat io n S for war and echieving triumph cannot be realized only by supplicationsand resort to Allah, but by preparaeions for rurn.3,mciaJ SlTcn.glh and for battle, Supplications and praying for victory are h~ UB:=. 'balUe,l1eld., S,alah Ad-Din a.rJ.dl the rigtrteol~.s. caJru'plw:s before hj:n"l roHowed thiSlwa,Y and did as the, Prophet II; did in. the B IU],eS, of Badr, H: u l~uj,hflj, AII~·.Ahza,b, ,!:9J:r. dUh nd, He asked the beJp of Allah il1l the battlefield saying: !~IO' .A.U~dl.~ grant me 'vrnctory as You prornised me'. 0 AIIH.~l,'i if the enemy defeats this bend of M nslims, Y QU. win not be worshiped In the earth again, Ui This, '~'em t t;oge'Lher ~v]th the ,_

14

Salah Ad- Di n le It Dam ascus an d headed to Ra So AlMaa', which was used as a center for mustering the soldiers, His son ,A~-MaJiJk AI ... Afdal remained in Ra's AJ-Ma~,'~ while he went to Busra, and Muzaffar Ad-Din Kubri went to Acre" From Busra, Salah Ad .. Din headed to the castles of Kerak and Ash-Shubk and then returned to' Tib eri a s, I~I e (m a, y Allah have mercy 011 him) spared no effo r t to keep the M usli m soldiers a lert and awaken their zeal to figbt for the sake: of Allah, He was always grief-stricken, sad", and heavyhearted, file

b . li 1 '-W-- . '~, 'II_. d 1 t..,~i· d' 'lit L~I

ate bu t ,Itt ,e i " , .... - ,[len as'l'!.:,el. t :l~e reas'on ~ 1 w,e repi I e:i 'jl - r. OW'

C,31fl mirth and food and sleep 'be agreeable to me 'white Jerusalem is in the hands of the Crusaders? n His companion and friend Al ... Qadi Baha' ,Ad-D'~l1 ibn Shaddad described his state' during the Crusades saying:

The occupation of Jerusalem was a great matter that

~ financial preparatinns. H,Q'W w\e]l a poet expressed this, when he addres sed Salah Ad- D'iJ:1l sa,yj og:::

You ]dl generation s of friends whose life stori es filled the world ww'tl1 basil, and perfume,

Tbeh~ conquests were rwgbte\(}USl1JeSS, and, wJer(;Y'I' and fhleill'

'i"i!"",!,'; .... ]. J1!;l'! 'W'·" ·I!l;'r~ i ~,,~ C ,~';..-.;il'O ;Ij; 'n,d['-I (lrh"'" i~ deeds ,~v ~~,~ ~~ _' : '~'!'1!# .J l~~~ 1l_:I!,"'~ I~~I.W.'- ~u u'y, Ui\.I' u~~

Tbey' realized that religion is no'f, oraily supplicatiens and p:ra,yer beads,

BMt also :nldig;io'n is. ][1 prayers and tile battlefield;

7:50

a. mouutain 'co uld not bear .. ,.," Hewas fike at mother who is bereaved of her child, He rode from one place to another urging tbe people to jihad and wandered about. places crying, 1!'Oh for Islam!" and his eyes shed tears, The more he looked at Acre and 'the 'trials that afflicted 'the people, the more he urged the people to jihad, At that time, be ate nothing, He drank medicine given by the doctor, I W,IS told by seme of' his, doctors that from Friday until Sunday

'~'1' JiI" ,ai'ilfj31, ,O.-'_I'n.~IV an' insignific ant a moun ,'It. "b-I~~~,UI' 1f''';Q, he '~'IJ:!;li,'Ii1" ,l[ ,rJIJ. Q.t~ .. JL,J' u. 1 ~~~J(.' .. - ,~J. u.u .. V1U ~ . ~~~ .. ~~ I. ~ W,gll.)

so interested ill the war.

When, the Crusaders were sure that Salah Ad-Din was organizing ,8. great undertaking against them, they made preparations and headed to Tiberias. The two 'Sides encountered at a place called H a ttin In 'the moming, the sun. was hot like fire, The Muslims toot control of tbe water sources to destroy them by thirst, The hero Salah Ad-Din seized the opportunity, attacked and. dispersed them, Their troops withdrew to the Horns, of Hartin, terrified) thirsty and fearful, The battle ended with a great victory for Salah Ad-Din. and a. hateful defeat for the Crusaders, and none escaped, Salah Ad ... Din killed 'ten. thousand person s and took captives from them" He also lti~led, the; Bishop of Acre and seized his, C,fiOSS" It was the most disastrous

'6

defeat they had suffered.

The Muslims advanced onto the mountain summit.

The remaining Crusaders were the King of Jerusalem and. one hundred fifty cavalrymen wbo. could not fight because of their severe thirst, fear and exhaustion. The: king' and caval rymen were capt ured, Reginald, who was the reason for the battle, 'was also captured .. Sultan. 811al1 Ad .. Din. co nsulted hi s advi sers and, tho se of his followers who had good opinions ]D. a tent, They prostrated 'to Allah in gratitude for the' vi ctory,

Then he: ordered soldiers to bring the King, Guy of Lusignan , and Regmald, Lord of Kerak, 'to the tent, He brought water for them, Tbe king drank. most 0 f the cnp and gave the reet 'to Reginald, Then. the sultan said, nW"e did not give him water to safeguard him." H,@ rebuked Reginald for attacking the M uslim caravan and being insolent towards the Prophet 3: _ He killed him in order to fulfill his .. promise and keep his oath, A·t that, the king became afraid, hut "the sultan soothed him and. calmed him do WIt saying, ""It is: not usual for 'kings to ·kill other kings, 'but he exceeded the Iimits." :I-Ie sent him and his followers to Damascus in honor ..

T~- battle ·c·· - - ,-, d ···c •.. '. , . .~., tc ., ,f,:' , .. _. ,el 'I i.., A·'· d ·n·· -

ne nar e was a .'eC181 ve vrctory ror ~,a.lUal.~ ._"'10

.. , ., "t'll..,· Cm ·d- -c·, ·T·iI.:-- ,- .. i·e , .... J ' ·F' ". rk "" .. , ., .. ..1 .. ,j;';.,* i. ·d-

over . ae r.rusar eF.S~ ._. ne usurper ram s were aereatea

beic ause 't he 'M~ us] im army was 'we~~, 10 rga n ized ~ 'weU ,;, repa red ~ wel ~ ski lled, mud. 'we:U ~ ed, Thiel' succeeded militarily by choosing tbe p:roperf5:itle Ior fighting, Therefore, 'the battle \Va.:S, ,81 fatal blow to the Crusaders".

After the victory, Salah Ad-Din marched to Acre harbor, All the people surrendered in ,:U~.3 A.H,,;, and the Crusaders removed to Tyre. Salah Ad-Din conquered other cities and castles a round Acre, such as Tabnai n Sidon, Jubail, and Beirut, Then hie' marched through the coast to Ascalon, which, he blockaded for fourteen days before uhey surrendered to him, Afterwards, 'he blockaded Jerusalem and prevented provisions from reaching the Crusaders from the eoa,'!)t)f~le headed 'to Jerusalem after conquering Ramlah, Ad,-D,ElI,'Ull1 .. Bethlehem, a nd An .. Na trun i,

.A t that time, a M 1J sli '111 capti vie' in J erusalem sen t a.

poem addressing 'him, on behalf or Al-,Aqsa. Mosque:

o king 'who lowered 'the cros'ses, to: half-mast, Dark '[I ess 'CaJrH~ to .QCCttp:y J erusalem ~

AJ] m osque s have: become pure save 1)1,e, Whose honor .iSI still impure.

The sultan wanted Jerusalem to be safeguarded, so he decided to enter ru t by treaty rather than by force les t

'7"'10

,~·Ol

he violate its sancti ty 0'1' destroy any of i [8, b ui ldings In doing: so, he imitated 'JU1D,a:r- ibn Al-Khattab when he co:nCJlue:red it be:~o:r,e:,;fI!I! sent a.-Wi, en vOly 'to ask them to surrender ,0:0 the conditions 'he stated, He said to them,

III '1k.~'II'~Il;';!!I~J;jg! ," -- tb f.!i! sanetltv ilMr'f:' Jerusalem l\:II,iI:! 'U'1'''1i1I"- L.iIlJ!'I'· - 'u - ]

- , I!;J".,;{~-~,w,,!i;;' lll. [II" -: ,I~: oJ'';L, ~ ',I~I~" '::)1" ui" ",I!W'" _1iiJ.6..lI[l~1 -, ~~,~ .tVI~ • .l. ii)r;,..,wle'if'e",_

do not wa III to blockade [qjl:[ ,a, U lick the 'bo'h' place, n H owever ~ the Franks, 'W ithou t. patience or ccnsidering the consequences, refused t() surrender, Therefore, Salah Ad, .. Din insisted on conquering the cit.y by war ,~nd, resistance, After a we€:'k, of blockade, the c\ity sur rendered to' S:a] ah Ad ... tJin and accepted reconciliation, om the conditions that fhey leave 'within :ro.rty days and tIU;~1't a man should pay ten dinars, a W01TI.an Iive, and ,8 boy two dinarsas ,S ransom "Wh.oeve:r could. 11.0t pay would be taken captive.

Jubajr 'oon11)IO sed ,I poem bl, praise of Sl~d ah Ad- Din

after the latter hadcouquered J erusalem:

The best two conquests for Jerusalem were started with the second caliph and ended \vi:th vour cone uest,

IJ' ~,

'The: sultan appeinted persons to collect the ransom from the Crusaders before they evacuated Q lrl, ,2,' Raj,~~.b ,S'83 ,A '. H., '~I the anniversary 0 f the day 0 n which ,t he Prophet ~_ aseended uo the seven heaven 8.. The

719

prophecy of At-Qadi 'M uhi Ad-Din ibn Az-Zaki of Damascus came true when he addressed Salah. Ad-Din

savin --. !B' .. ,i ~'J' ~~, , ~I~

Y'Q'UI conquest of Aleppo with the sword in Safar

is :1 good omen of conquering Jerusalem in

R ., 'I!.;. ajae,

The sultan brought Al-Qadi Muhi Ad-Din. ibn AzZaki to deliver the: first Friday sermon in Al-Aqsa Mosque after a century of occupation. This. day was I, memorable one on which. the prayer 'was blessedwith joy' and. a large number of people, 'We present his sermon as it 'was rec orded in. the second. volume of the: "book, Ar ... Rawdatain, Among his, sayings after the introduction were:

10 people, good 'news, will come to you. with the Grace (If AJ1:BLh.,. 'W hich is the highest goal and the highest degree, So-rely, Allah has enabled you to regain this objeet of persistent pursuit (Jerusalem) after nearly a. hundredvears of it being in. the bands of the polytheists and their abuse, Alsoc Allah has enabled YUill 'to purify the bouse in which AUa11 has

P~. _ rm .; t· .ted Y"~O-;j_iI' to .: ' ra ise "IiI nd m e n ti on and r ~fl em _.c be .. ~ r

w , ". Jill .. 'v. _' . .~l [L"_ d "jJ,~. Utld' l •• 1 !J;; V~·Ji u~u 1_ ~~H~-i.~\!!! ~ __

_ -

His, name, And He lUIS permitted. you to. remove all

·80

IF'" •

signs and drawings of polytheism that extended on its p ortico and, replace them with the pillers of 'Monotheism upon which. itwas based, and with 'p-. ietv up 0 .: ,0',-' which it was hi. uilt I'~: '-W·,·,Q "', the resid ence 'O·.C. t"

.~)~ -"-J ~ ~ .~ , ~ '_ .il.w,~ll J. . U~·_ L:~I ,w. _.1 Ilk .. U.:J ~.lLW,. ,I .' ,llt~ _._ . ~,

, -

your father Abraham, the place from which the

Prophet Muhammad 3 ascended to the seven heavens, your first qiblQ}z after the advent of Islam, the seat of the messengers and PI:I1"OP hets, th e destination of the righteous people, ~,t IDS mthe cradle of Islam ~ the' place where the Revela H 0 111 descended, the place 'where the .on-d,ers and. prohibitions, were revealed the land in which people will garher on the Day of Resurrection, and. the holy land! that was mentioned in the noble Qur'an, It is the mosque in. which U1"e .P,[[OP bet 3 led 'tb,e angels near to Allah in prayer, the latnd run which Alleh sent His servant, messengers, and, His, word that He bestowed on M,2LfY and, a spirit proceeding from Him: Jesus, whom Allab honored. 'with His message and prophecy He did not raise him, above the rank of servitude, Allah says:

A 1.., r:"'~ ~,~ ~ ~.:H' ~"~ .~' ~.

",;: ~,~ ~~ ,~~ -'-_;, ';,;.._1 .. ;~ -":~-~, I~I 7

'~' ,TA'1f! Mc,ss,i'aiJ HI,ill ,iI',~'ve.~' ,1I,e' J1,j1o'ud to reieet

to ,I.,on' ~'ni,'.o' t:"'1I.AI/·-'1£j1. :,'., '.A·~·· n-Nisa' 4-'; 1172····)::.,

v u~ !I;f. l.:f.lu.l"-~ ,'U dl .~u:" ',.' i ~ J " ,!iJ~ -._ Ii JIL", . r.

, ' -

81

~' [~.""_ .. , • 1· ""t .... ' ~'('" ~.,. '::1..; """'.~ .... ~ .~ .

....... o-~ "'r'_"', '\ F "'!'1, ~ /' ~~\ ;' , '~' J i:~: ,/ .. [ '~q "'".: ~ "',; .. d ;,

, ~ iJf- C".;.~~' ,. ,~- UL -='""'" ~~.' J' '----'=- ~[ ,.'.'

4 Surely" in disbelief are' tiey Jil'1I0's'ny t"at

Allah: is the Messien" son t~f Mary, .

(Al .. M;idah. .5.: i 7)

It is the first qtblah, the second mosque that was built after the H- olv M.L,,'[O;~rq·. n~ '(.·1'0· M, akka h), '..- ,_- dthe -_._-- Q. ..'.1. , ,J.,U,,", , ." n ' ' .. _"~ :In_ !l,,~!te

third mosquein rank after 'the Holy Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, It is also the only mosque to which people should travel to visit after the two holy mosques, and the site in which agreements are signed, If you, had not been. chosen and preferred by AU all above other natio ns, He 'would. not ha VB co nferred on you this virtue by w hich no one can keep pace with you, or compete with you, Allah blessed 'you, as 'He provided. you. with an arm y that was shown miracles like those of'the Prophet ~, battles like that of Bradt, firm wills like that of Abu Bakr, conquests like those of 'Umar, troops: like those of "Uthman, and devastations like those of ~A: n

,,··,L

Y o III repeated the feats of the Ba ttles of Qadisiya, Yarmuk, and Khaibar, and 'made: attacks like those of Khalid ibn Al-Walid, May Allah bless your efforts, and may Hie, accept your sacrifice of blood

8- "l .. -~

and reward you with Paradise, for it is Ute bouse of those who are happy, You should appreciate this grace and thank HID1. for choosing this grace for you,

After the great conquest poets: scholars, writersand chroniclers arrived one after the other to deliver poems and essays of praise for Salah Ad-Din ... r or example, the poet and scholar .Abu Al-Hassan ibn ['AU said:

Allah provi ded this kingwi th heavenly sold iers ~ 'W~hoevet does not believe, thws conquest is 'd'

leVI, " etlCC.

This conquest is like those of the Prophet,

It cannot be: appreciated by wealth; it is only apprecia ted by thanks,

Crusader kings who were always strong became captives in his bands ..

Jerusalem and other occupied lands cried ninety years ago, but Muslim Ieaderswere deaf and blind,

Now, Salah Ad-Din responds to their req uest 'b.·-cy 0·.' [,d .. er fro 'l"fii Allal .. , Who ~.UI· pports those who

,_', __ '~" I' [,.II, .111 '~111'1 '_,' _ iiJ .' .... , r.JIi - "'U~~ JLlu

. . .

8",

,J

When Allah enclosed evervone's record book

. '.' , ,_, _ - , __ . '_ ~ " .'. . '. .. ,)' '. " .' " " .. _.', ,'_, . .. ,

Salah Ad-Din's record cannot be enclosed becau Sf! 0 f ~H] many good deeds, he performed,

Muhammad ibn Asad Al-Halabi, known as AlJawani and head or the Prophet's descendants in. Egypt, wrote in a poem:

I cannot believe that Jerusalem \-V.a8 conquered and the Crusaders were 'beaten.

Their king was, chained for the first time in Muslim camps,

The Levant W;!S conq uered and. Jerusalem, the place in which people wH I, be accounted on 'the Day of Judgment, was liberated.

10' Yusuf As-Seddiq who conquered JerUS31:~em ,IS, ~ Umar pu rlfied it from. Cru saders before,

You spread Islamic teachi ngs as 'Uthm au, did before,

You supported Muhammad's prophecy as a UO,]J~

IS"alall Ad'aDin 's Treatment of' tbe C:rusa,d,e:r,s

We men'tiom.edp:reviot1.s~,'y that among the articles that were signed between Salah Ad ss Din and the

84

'Crusaders 'was. that the 'ranks were toleave J erusalem within forty days and :P:a},Y a ransom of ten dinars for each man, five for each woman, and two for each boy .. WluJev,e,r W,I,S unable to pay would be taken captive,

However ~ Salah Ad- Din treated. them. kindly and mercifully in order 'to sho w the go odness a.nd forgi veness of Islam to the aggressive, unjust and despotic kings, and to m ake them realize that ] ed am is the religion of mercy and humanity, 'It did n-ot appear to raise a sword over persons or to kill a ,dl1 inlm:i (nonMuslim under its rule)" Of' to unjustly assault people,

How did Salah Ad-Din 'treat the' captive Crusaders?

When the sultan fj,awthmt ,a large number of the Franks werec8f'.rying their aged parents and relatives ontheir backs, he was sorrowful and couldnot bear to see: it He broughtmoney to be' distributed amcngthem and riding animals tc carry their heavy I03!d:s to lands that they could 'not reach 'without distress,

He W~tS, kind and pitying '[0 women, There was a we~.:~tby woman, wife of a. Byzantine king, who had beeome a nun and established ,Et place to worship Allah alone, Many people gathered, around bel' and followed her way. The sultan safeguarded her a.l1d, her followers.

85

'When Queen Sy'bi~ asked Sallb ,Ad~,Din "s permission to' leave with her followers, he addressed her kindly and mercifully and pitied her unfortunate condition, He took her to her husband, \v'ho was imprisoned in. Nablus, and permitted her 'to be beside him, Large numbersof women 'wJUJ were carrying 'their children ~,n, their arms followed her, When 'they arrived to the sultan, they addressed him saying '1'1'0 Sultan, as you see, we are going out now, W"f; are wives, mothers, and daughters to those prisoners, 'We leave this city forever and leave our prisoners who are OUI' guardian s and protectors. If you kill them, we win Iose life, If you release them, you will grant i1Ll8 all favors, and ease our pains and poverty because we cannot live without a. guardian. ~,

The sultan was moved by their words ~ so he released youths. to' their mothers, husbands 'to their wives, and fathers to thei r daughters ~ and guaranteed 'to treat the rem -1'~I,jln';n-- g- orison e rs k- indlv and m ercifullv

,'1;"/",, )t.!I:,,~IUIII, '- r'lJ. ,,;,, .• , ':"~ .. ~" I.. ~,J "I- ':U , 1.:-:0 .. ~~" y, ~,J '.

Stevenso n stated that the sultan left :mh large number without 'p- ;Jil VI' n 'g ransom Pool renorted ti.. ';Ji, # A"-'" rn old

\".,~ ~l_.lJ.V _ i~ ~:-.l~J"'" -.:0 1,1~ 0 ,i;:J'V". 'iii ",: ·v, ,I ~Jyv .. , t·.~,.·_ ' \(l!(~JL ,"... . '_ .. 't.}lll._

stated that the sulta-n penni tted a day for Ole disabled and poor to go out without paying ransom He also permitted clerics and other people with much wealth 'to

take whatever they wanted ~ mind the Muslims bought what they could not carry,

Al .. Malik Al .. 'Adil :a1.S() asked his brother Salah ,Ad.Din's permission 'to exempt seven thousand disabled and 'poor from playing ["I '11 S OlD.,. He exempted ten thousand ...

Saleh Ad. .. Din's treatment of dl}e. Franks after the victory at Hatti n 'W;91S, better than the misdeeds they dlea~t 'to each other, and better than the revengeful and spiteful treatment they dealt the M uslims ~'fID. the First Crusade.

Prince 'Ali related from the British historian .MiU that a iU1M ber 0 f Christians w ho left Jerusalem went to Christian Antioch and their allotment from the prince was nothing but refusal to host them and expu lsion. They headed 'to M US:HIU countries, which welcomed them, Prince 'Ali also, said:

Mishud described 'the condition of those who were expelled from Jerusalem and what they met .f:ro:rn. their Christian brethren, They s u ffered starvation ~ poverty, and lack of human respect in S,:yria,. Also, Tripoh closed its gates before them .... ". A woman was compelled to throw her child into the sea and cursed the Chris tian people who refused to welcome them,

'The patriarch left with much wealth :100 luggage and paid nothing 'to release the poor captive Crusaders, Pool described the patriarch as a man with no conscience. 'The sultan 'was asked, ,IIWh.y did you not confiscate his wealth and take it to strengthen Muslims' affairs?" }JIe replied, I~I prefer 'to take ten dinars thanto betray him," P'OO'~ commented on this: 'I'The' Muslim sultan taught the Christian cleric the meaning of noble In orals and ngh teo usness, lit

As for the rancoroua jreatment the 'Muslims and Islam received in the First Crusade, we mentioned in 'the, .p revious chap ter the cruel massacres, 'the tho usands de s troyed , and the blood baths they committed History recorded these cruel actions they committed ~ - J --- r- -1- -- - ~ -- A['flii2' A·' H·' (~~lUi1101 ·C'·-·· ·E·)· p' --'~ .~ - - "A· 1:" in .rerusaiem H] ~':7': '~"""". _;, ',llU,7)' II -"___::',;_'" rUl~ce,';d

repeated what the British historian Mill reported from Mishud's description .of 'that happened when jbey en tered Jerusalem:

Muslims were killed in the streets and inside their

h ot I CI',i'li,j[I' IS:- om ~ ne '0- ple {I h rew t- h em selv 'es from th I'e'

""I,., .. 1!i,.A,Of\.ii'.;Ji1r. '_:.'!ljJI.. J\J ~ ",-'._ ". 'W'~ '~'.>, ~" " ",,1IiJ.1I' . ~,a ,', U'.. ", ~ -::-:-,

hiehesr wall to eseane fro un m III ssacres Oth ers m..!:,.:gl ';;'1)'

~~~-""l~:'~~L vr-~_..,."I, ._,~, ~~l\Jlt1ljJ,~.·_.1 .. _!._,)~ ~~,.I~l~~'lJ~~l·'~~!!1 .... _ .. ,~_~,~~ iUl.U, .I),~_~

towers '~'1,!j111,g..-.a,(! ev en in m - n.l'i·q-'uJ:iI<Q How vever the

[ 'V_ iIJ· ,.:;I, ,t",~J!l~!!i;;.o,",bI, """' ". ,,",ilL J!,~,!J. , , '!i.J"';".__,'!;.o!i':I" '''~v_ '"' l' -, - '-'

,C· 'h ri sti '';1, 'I] s f ("!i,U A:W' .. ;I!!J,. d t hern W" "'1""' e "'[ii"i<.'. ver th .p .. - Y.·' were

".". ~ iW llL~II-~~!!l' ,i;JI l'y'lLWv ._._.I~ .. _' Il- _ _!~~I,I:., _'_' __,-~~~~ ¥-I!§# .. J~~ '. ~"'I~',' '~'II~ !l1~

Infantry andcaval ry wa lked 'Over Muslim corpses:

IOU 00

Prince ",AU also related from M ishud:

Muslims who were kept alive run order 'to take their wetdth were slaughtered, Others were 'bnrn,ed, alive 'to tile extent that some Muslims were obliged, to throw' themselves from the roofs of houses, others were taken from hid:in,g places "0 pu.'bruic courtyards ,I,'nd killed above the other corpses, Muslim women wept, children cried", and the scene of the place in

which the Christ forgave his enemie s was full of'

~

M.in added, "There waa neitber help nor pi'ty for those who WB/1"A killed without Qlli~t Seventy t"'h'II~'UI'~"~1IjIId'

.~_ _" _.. _., '._ .. '. 1l.!I!J. '~I V _ _ 1~v. __ ~J-- ,_ll!l _' ._. '_',_'- ,.Y. (.:lI~ILI ..

1'~ 'iIi"il 't'iil' I i"ii;;f'<rt:i;IO' ,iii- p"," ~.'IIi'(!I ;f"ij'n' if' 'W:" :IOI'r',rn, killed I U

.l.1,IJJ~.'V~~', . ,I~, :-'.!!i.i~ §J.V . !il' ,_ .. ~=.,~, ~~~ ~''':' ,.,

Have vou seen such noble maenanlmitv and

, ,. __ '" J./ '. . . . I .•.. ' ~. - '_" ,. _A '·---',b··· " "",J- ", .'

forgiveness towards enemies 'like that of SablbAd .. Din'?

HI ave you seen tbe like that horrible cruelty of 'tile Crusaders?

M:ay Au'ah have :m .. ercy on the poet whosaid:

W:henw,e ruled Jerusalem, we spread justice When you. ( Crusaders ) ruled it, bloodshed spread .'

89

You permitted the 'ldUing of captives While we forgave and favored them,

Thi s di fferenee between you and us is sufficient for us.

E'!U';:JI'r-'v- ""0-' 1-'- tainer Ii3!'P-; rlnkl ,jf5;,~ nr>m '.';::!i'iI'" inside '~I~t

L~~ ::,,' I~.,·",., l _o.lJ!,~"l\i.,_. !J!I_I;'} ,\llll.~ ~' .. ~~ '¥.¥."",-J~~ ,W.i~iilJ~lY' -. I I~~

H,QI,~,j,,~ declared th '';Il'· the d 1'r-'f.'~r--a'~L""lIl!illb.t:Iri't'~uag·n th e

. Q,~!.-!l:.:,,,,",: "I,jI".l"",,',. 'II;.. II~~ 11:" ",,_.,~_ ,!,!~L""l!i.!~""" 11U1""" _-'~'~~. :;, U!""',

treatment of MlJ,sHrnst,() civilian Crusaders and Crusaders to civilian M uslims eighty ... eight years previous was vier)' obvious,

B.ock,ad.e 0'" Aere Ind ThirdCrusade

W'e mentioned before that the Crusaders left Jerusalem, Acre, and other cities to go to Tyre, in Lebanon, under the protection of ·M'u.:sHnl 'troops" In spite of accepting peace and, a treaty, the Crusaders violated 'their treaties and. broke their promises,

They gathered in Tyre and. agreed to violate the treaty 'W ith Salah Ad-Din, They headed to Aerie and besieged it, depending on their united 'troops and provisions from Europe, The s,m!e;ge resounded run. history because it lasted for two years, and the two parties showed unpreced .. ented bravery and strength"

The Crusaders marched to Acre ell], 7 Rajab ,585 ,A.H,. (-~ :~.89 C.,E.) and blockaded it by land and sea

90

Muslim 'troops, arrived later IUd. blockaded the Crusaders 'by land", Salah Ad,~D]l1, set up his tent 011 a" 'hill known as LT[~l Kjsan, Skirmishes and ccufrontations continued and. escalated between the two sides, Salah Ad-Din sent some soldiers '[otbe edges of his own kingdom to UJJ~e; the people to participate in jihad, while Europe, which had become bored when they were told of ill be occupation of Jerusalem, sent provisions 'to the Crusaders,

While the Crusaders bI ockaded Acre, E uropean kings prepared the Thir-d Crusade, especially after they bad suffered numerous defeats, The Third Crusade W~l8 distinguished by the great kin.,gs who breaded it: the:

German Emperor Frederick Barba ros sa, the French

K' 'P'hi" "'ill· A AlE u 1:-., V," R'·}- d" mg ,-,l,I~,Pi Augustus, ana 'tl,re: ~n,g.i:Sn A~n.g Richaed

the Lion-Hearted co

German Cam,pai,go

The German Emperor and his army, which, numbered oue hundred thousand soldiers ,ma:l.lc.hed thro ugh Hungary to Ccnstantinople. This army terrified the Byzantine Emperor Is aae II, 'W ho refused 'to 'help or guide them, The Byzantine Emperor informed Salah Ad ... Din of the Germans' coming and tha t he had no t

91

helped them, The German 'troops passed ;aCf-OS'S, Asia Mino r, W:bHe: in the mountains of Armenia, the: emperor drowned in the Salif Rlver, Thereupon, the German army fell into disarray aJ·od. dispersed, SOIIn,e. went back to Germany while e thers embarked on. ship's to AC1"ie and. Tyre led 'by the late emperor's son Frederick, The son, also died, and ()nly 81 small number of the German army reached Acre, If the:)" had reached it in. .f~,:n,:- the encounter would have 'been severe between the, two sides,

French Irod EnIUs'h. Armies

The French and English armies met in Sic.ily.,Yibe:,re 'they remained for a long time due 'tto disagreements between the two armies, while .the Crusaders ill Acre Q,"W,· -. m 'I' ted t'llr',e.·'m--,i - .A· ...•. t 1- oQ, st the French tr -~IR:h(ll I.eft Sicilv and -

U_" jQ, !J,!I!.o' ._. _. ,u~,~'" ',' '~ .' ~' . ~_'OJ " !l.. '. . -' .' ,","LI,',",, , . 'V'V r r.J '-~' - - -,~Ipi _' "" ~ , , ~ ~

ten days later, the English followed them, The Crusaders ~J1, Acre rej oiced at thearri val of the French troops, to' aid them,

The E~g~bdl Kin.g Richard. 'was, hit by a storm that blew him to Cyprus, which W,EU~· controlled by the Bvzantine E= mpire R(" ichar d the L, ":I~O·.: n ... Hearted fought

J Lr'~JL:l d.ll.ll""" "" -' ,,'\;;0. '!ioiJ:,1 u, ~ . - - = , - ~- _ - - ~ -, '.' -

"," .. ~·~·'t·h--'. the '81 ,"U.· zantines and 'W\O;l18 able to o ceunv Cyprus,

WI._. . ,1[11 ... " ',.1 ,£j~,JiI,Uit . -' Q_. - - g,_ ~ -- - - .~J oJ.' ~.

where he settled for a while, He then sailed. to ACl"Ie:

0-"1 ;7'1~

, ,''L,,,,", 'ida... - 'U',~_- 'f;;-' J' ',' , ,',"1- .. " whe h ,AI b ,',- ,- ,- ,-- -.'1,-,'- s·" 'd'

wnen tne ~l"g 01- ,e:ru:sa, em .. w, 0 aao eeen reieasec

(- ,', ~ ,- S' '1 'h' A',.:a, 'D''; k d .... ,'; h- '~

__ rom ,cap,u'v'lty by-a ,8 I~ ,<xw;-',.Ul,~s",e" ms netp,

Muslim R,esirs,tance

Undoubtedly, the strength of the Crusaders ~:D:" creased when vthe English tr10IIJ'p8 joined them, ,AlUuJJu,gh be: made numerous attempts to save 'the' Muslims in Acre, Salah Ad- Din failed, to release them.

T'- he - it - '1;0"- ,-'I!..'~c''l''m' '!F!I' impossible fc th ~ b - -:-~ -- a.d ,e, .s:~, ~U a, ",10:0. Ow ca " " ,"'"'" irr !',IV ~'i3~, ' '.III!!;,;! ,or I!J,' e " ,es'!! e,,I'1I;;i! , _,

Mus,nm8~1 and they were forced, to surrender ~

0:0 Friday, 11 Jumada Ath .. Thaniyab 5,8'1 A.,H. (:1 19 l C~,E.)i:~ 'whi~e Salah Ad-Din COlt1$1JI'~ed 'm'th 'his leaders abou t the blockaded people, the Crusaders occupied Acre 8IUd raised their banners above its, walls, The Muslims were afraid", 'whUe the Crus aders ,rejoi,eed"" Cruel deeds were repeated in Acre, The Crusaders tortured and. slaughtered Acre's people, They' ignored the good treatment Salah Ad-Din had shown them earlier and. did not keep their' covenants or obligations, 'Pool, stated that the English Ki'D\1 Riehard the LlonHearted killed twe:n,~;,. ... seven hundred Mu sdhus before, the =M·" 'U' ~l:llIl~'-: €Ii'TlII-fIi C' '" . ru I!'! ader cam 'lFIiifi' ,~,iil"ii '3',' Ra 'II" ~I 'ii...I 570"7,:: A',' -'H'" '

II.· _ ,', ....., . A~I.I. ;_ U,U1Y' ,":_ 1.' :QU ' .. ,V.· ~~ .. 1jjr.'~1 V,W.I ,~ .'.' , '-'-""i!lJ R: U '_.:IQ. '_' l "I!!' I '_~'!I

(16,A,ugusi't I ]9'~)~ M')" reader, return to poor's, writings to know 'the exact cruelty- the Crusaders committed in

Acre, He stated that the Crusaders killed sixty thousand Muslims in Acre and left none but those 'who owned 'lDUC:h wealth in order to confiscate it"As usual" when the Crusaders occupied Acre, they indulged in :pi] easures, :M'] S11Ud stated that the victo ri ous Crusaders enjoyed unprecedented relaxation in. Acre since their arrival in the Levant i The joys of peace" plentiful food,

and 'li11"O" ~,~:1l'1I' who cam e from 'C. the neishborina isla nd iD

~~l ",' rr;y. '.~ JILlIJL.w,JLIJ, ". ' ,.'1.#' "-i!U1 .. '-'" ,l..l, V"~ ~ ~~~~ 1=_v~,~J-l .. Vl ,~~.~. ·a .• Ll·· '~

made them forget the task they bad. come fOI~

.A Iter the Crusaders' triumph. in Acre, their tremendous armies and, power, and the support of Europe, Latin states in. Asia, and others who were fighting against Salah. .Ad -'Di.lJ.~ it 'was, expected that they would fight the M 1J slims and regain ~ihl,t ·the·y had. lost, However, in a. war tha t lasted. for two years, they could not regain any but -0 ne city, Salah Ad- Din' s army

rem ained resistant although h ~ lost a few of his troo .--r; !Ii..> ... W.Il",1 .v I ,1l'!!w.<O;:;l' U-I" ,--, ,t-d, I 'viU;l!l '.II;;;!<.' v." . ,_ .. 1 ..... - II;,,;!! .. _1,;;:11 fIl.,_-, ',---,P~"

Among the reason s that impeded the Crusaders lin their attempt to conquer other cities was the severity o.f 'the discord between the English and. 'French kings in

SicHv,.An.o:' ther and e·ve.n ~eve't'le'f' d··, lisco rdwa i:!! b - ~ -~- ~ 1- 'C

____ ....- _ _ _ = __ _ '. A-'_= nu,!\IIetween.

the fugiti ve King of Jerusalem and M.ar,qui;s 'Conrad, Monte ruler of Tvre The En (r]~;tjI'1k K"'- In iJi :l"Iif'iiI''i,;llln·;a_.:[j' m 0-- r e

V,i _,:~I~" ,I 'y~,~ I U ~ . j ,'~J!!l ,I I~ I ", ~.~~=Il i;.1Il.l = ~., ". I ~ . ·.W:I.,~J)jt ., ~U ' I.".... .... 1 ..

'to the King 0 f Jerusalem ~ 'W hile the French. king

94

,i nclined III ore to 'Ty re' s ruler" 'w'ho ',\,',8:8 ~sipi.ri'nl to be king over Jerusalem, After they hadcon quered Acre~ disagreemenrs broke out agaln, Finally, they a,gree.d that the K.i11 . .11· of Jerusalem would remain king until death and \vo1LIJd. be succeeded 'by Conrad Monte, The French Ki ng then stld.denj~,y returned to France, w·11.He the En,g].isn King Rlchard W9.9, :I~\d.~·y arrogance to more crimes, He wanted '[0 :re',g~l'n the cities. conquered by Sa~.811 .Ad-Oin .. , M,~Ui.ye:n!}()1iJ.11tet,s took place between the two sides, the greatest of' ·vtb~.lth W:IS in, Arsuf, :~ n which the Crusaders 0 ve.:rG~tm,~ the Muslims, They regarded it as reteliati 011. for ,tb; Battle of Hattin,

End ofW'at

CO'llfriOnUi.UO·11,8 ,~a:H.Htl.tledl 'bc'tw,ee:n the two sides, The Crusaders came close to J,e:r.U~.R~,e:ln several times, once within 'E'W(j, leagues ,of U~ H,tJ\Vever the English King could not blockade Jerusalem because he thought there W',IS a .~:d.[J t .a.gmlnst hi.'w, ,81:nd. the defenders o r

Jerus alem '1'~ n t-_'t.·~ It], lI~_:liO"'l·¥'U"lI?'.r- jI:!Ii . .d :j;C~ .. j,\!!~h,t:-·· fr :0·· m-:,- --I '+'~, j3; P· ... ~ .r~,~,~·i;,n,t- '~ f'J

_ ~~!;l'g\ _ "'" ~ _ £llII.!il ~ itu. ¥if, '!O.I 'w UE.lU!G.JI. ~.ul_ ,,_'. ~ i.1LII.,.,.. -..!Ii!' l' JI.!!l,;;!I_'"

ones, t'ilJ!' 1'leSU Its or encounters bf!u'w,een rhe two s.:~.d:e5· came to' a draw The Crusaders could not olecu.py Jerusalem or 8lD,:Y additi anal tities '! Salah Ad .. Din, could mot overthrow them [lID. the t1oas:t or defeat 'them. by driving them Into the sea, 'Therefor-e] the two sides

9,5

wanted. UUI negotiate, but they differed in the articles of 'the :agreemen t, At last, they agreed '[0 reconcile in Ramlah in Sba'ban .5-8'8 A.H. (11,92 IC .. E.) .. The mOISt important terms of the agreement w'e:re::

.1 The Crusaders would remain on the coastline from Tyre 'to Haifa.

• Christians were permitted to visit Jerusalem ·withuut

. '

paying a tax.

'. Theperiod of 'truce would be three years and eight 'm· -. 0·· nths

., .. J I!l,n·'~

The coastal area in which the Franks dwelled was regarded as, all extensi on of d1.'B previous Kingdom of Jerusalem .. Acre became the capital of the Kingdom of New Jerusalem,

Richard the Lion .. Hearted, who became the most famous figure in the Third Crusade, left Acre to England after sigaing the 'truce i,

Thus, the: Third Crusade-in which many people were killed, cities were destroyed, the German Emperor was drowned " and France and. England lost eli te soldiersended Itf~e:.[' five years i D uring those: years, the Franks achieved 'nothing, but the occupation of Acre, Europe was the loser because their losses were much greater

96

than th eir gains. 'The :M uslim s did not bEI'Ve even a ~.pa.n in Palestine before the advent of Salah Ad-,Din. Now, after tile Battle of Hattin and the Treaty of Ramlah, Palestine came under MU81~m control save the narrow' part between Tyre and Acre.

Thereby, Salah Ad .. Din became one of the most powerful figures because be made princes su bmi t to him" expelled C rusaders, regained J eru salem, restored Islam' s glory and powe f', and esta blished a kingdom that included North Iraq (K urdis tan) , most of the Levant, Greater Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Yemen, and Barqah, He; achieved all this in a short time.

... 8,-

Salah A,d,~DiD'S End

m ~ There is hi storical evi dence that Salah Ad .. D in did not resort to. reconciliation and treaty voluntarily, He was compelled by the boredom and disobedience of his soldiers, Salah Ad- Din wanted to continue the Jihad in order 'to make the word. of Allah supreme and to purify Palestine and the Syrian citiea.He was, afraid that the Crusaders were causing disorder and co rrup Hom in the cities they ruled, ,AI so, he was afraid that they' would unite again an,d, attack the Muslim world and dominate :it.

Al-Qadi 1:'011 Shaddad stated in his book A .. n-Nawadir As-Sul: a;'~ij!aJ1. ,:

B,y A llahl Reconcili ation was not wha 1 he desi red. He 'told me in, a conversation concerning reconciliati on,~ '" I d 10 :0,0 t want to reco ncile with them becau !:H;! t:he'')i migh t un rn te again and e:IilCClUU ter us in order to regain their cities, and every nne of'themwould take a 'C:,I ty and rule i, t, n

Nevertheless, the two sides accepted the Treaty of Ramlah after long and ruinous wars tha t destroyed everything. The result of war was dissatisfactory For

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