Foreword
By Sheikh Sald Hawwa
All praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Messenger of Allah and his household.
The author did well in choosing to write about Salah Ad-Din's life for the following reasons:
1. The Muslim ununah (nation) urgently needs a person like the hero Salah Ad-Din in order to regain his epoch. Therefore, Muslims should search for one whose characteristics match those of Salah Ad-Din.
2. Jerusalem is undergoing a severe trial nowadays, so Muslims should read the history of their forefathers to realize how Jerusalem was liberated in order to liberate it again.
3. Our Muslim ummah has strayed from the straight path and deviated from the way of the exemplars. Thus, the ummah should search for those who set a good example and realize that Salah Ad-Din was one of those who had an ideal character over the passage of time.
4. Our ummah has ignored the way of jihad, which is the only way to liberate Palestine. Rather, it has indulged in lusts and sophism. So, it should be reminded with an extensive biography, and there is none better than that of Salah Ad-Din in this respect.
The author has done well in choosing to remember this ideal character. We hope also that the Muslim ummah will do well in seizing the means of obtaining victory. He also did well when he brought Sarah Ad-Din's biography to light because he had a great, singular character. Islam was the source of this ingenuity and the reason people loved him. Moreover, their trust in his character and the ummah's faith were other reasons for Jerusalem's liberation. This issue needs to be emphasized so that Muslim leaders find the true manner of leadership in current times…
Contents
Foreword by Sheikh a'id Huwwa / 7
Preface to the Second and Third Editions / 11
Preface to the First Edition / 16
1- Salah Ad-Din's Family and Upbringing / 19
Lineage / 19
Birth / 20
Upbringing / 22
Education / 25
2- The Beginning of Salah Ad-Din's Rule / 28
Egypt during the Fatimid Rule / 28
Shawir As-Sa'di's Rebellion / 29
Second Stage of the Struggle over Egypt / 31
Last Stage of the Struggle over Egypt / 32
Analysis and Commentary / 33
3- Salah Ad-Din in Egypt / 34
Vizier for the Fatimid Caliph / 34
Ending Internal Conspiracies / 35
Eradicating External Plots / 39
Serrnon in the Name of the Abbasid Caliph / 41
Policy with Nur Ad-Din / 43
4 - Salah Ad-Din in Syria / 46
Syria after Nur Ad-Din / 46
Damascus Sends for Salah Ad-Din / 47
Salah Ad-Din in Damascus / 47
In Horns, Hamah and Aleppo / 51
5 - Countries United under His Mule / 59
6 - Crusaders' Plots and Wars / 65
What Were the Crusades? / 65
Reasons for the Crusade's / 65
First Crusade and Occupation of Jerusalem / 67
Reasons for the Crusaders' Victory / 69
Second Crusade: Prelude to Victory at Hattin / 70
7 - Salah Ad-Din's Victory in the Battle of Hattin / 72
Reasons for the Battle / 72
Battle of Hattin and Conquest of Jerusalem / 73
Salah Ad-Din's Treatment of the Crusaders / 84
Blockade of Acre and Third Crusade / 90
German Campaign / 91
French and English Armies / 92
Muslin] Resistance / 93
End of War / 95
8 - Salah Ad-Din's End / 98
9 - Reasons for Victory over the Crusaders / 108
Fear of Allah and Avoiding the Prohibited / 110
Full Preparation and Extensive Concern / 116
Political Unity of Muslim Countries / 118
Aiming to Make Allah's Word Supreme / 119
Liberation was the Issue of Islam and Muslims / 122
10 - Palestine Yesterday and Today / 126
Decline in the Moral and Spiritual Side / 126
Differences, Quarrels and Disputes / 131
Interest in Word but Not in Deed / 133
Wrong Aim of War / 135
Just an Arab Issue / 141
11 - Salah Ad-Dints Characteristics / 149
Piety and Worship / 149
Justice and Mercy / 152
Courage and Perseverance / 154
Understanding and Forgiveness / 157
Chivalry and Magnanimity / 159
Love of Poetry and Literature / 167
Asceticism and Generosity / 170
Activity and Interest in Jihad / 173
12 - Reforms Achieved by Salah Ad-Din / 178
Construction Improvements / 178
Educational Reform / 182
Economic Reform / 186
Social Reform / 189
Religious Reform / 194
Final Word / 198
Praise by Prof. 'Abdul-Jabbar Ar-Rahbi / 203
References / 206
Sarah Ad-Din's Family and Upbringing
lineage
Salah Ad-Din was of a noble, highborn Kurdish family that ruled Egypt and Greater Syria (what is now Syria, Lebanon and Palestine). It was called the Ayyubid State. The family ancestry is traced back to the noblest Kurdish tribe, Ar-Rawadia from Hazian, which was one of the largest Kurdish tribes. Some historians stated that Salah Ad-Din's genealogy was traced back to Mudar of ‘Adnan. Undoubtedly, they wanted to trace the lineage of every great character to the Arabs. This surely disagrees with the methodology of research and with fact. They thought that virtues and morals are confined only to Arabs, as if non-Arabs could not establish culture or glory.
lf we read history and search for our great figures, we will find that most of those who played a great role in establishing culture and civilization were non-Arab...
Salah Ad-Din Al-Ayyubi (Saladin)
Hero of the Battle of Hattin and
Liberator of Jerusalem from the Crusaders
532 - 589 A.H./ 1137 - 1193 C.E.
by
Abdullah Nasih Ulwan
Translated by
Khalifa Ezzat Abu Zeid
Revised by
Ælfwine Acelas Mischler
DAR AL-SALAM
For Printing, Publishing, Distribution and Translation
©All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
Second edition: 1425 A.11./2004 C.E.
Deposit No: 13900 1, 2002
ISBN: 977 -342-070-1
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