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kadafi
02-18-2005, 06:48 PM
Sultan Salahuddin Ayubi

Salahuddin was born in the year 532 AH/1137 CE in Tekrit on the West Bank of the Tigris between Mosul and Baghdad, loved dearly by his father, Ayyub, and nourished on the lofty principles, Salahuddin the Kurd soon showed signs of the blessings which were to follow him. Within two months of his coming to Egypt, his uncle whom he was forced to accompany there, died. Suddenly, Salahuddin was the ruler of much coveted Egypt. In an instance, he was a changed man. From that time on his career was one long championship of Islam.

“No sooner did he assume the overlordship of Egypt the world and its pleasures lost all significance in his eyes,” says ibn Shaddad the Qadi of his army. He renounced the temptations of pleasure and took to a life of sweat and toil, which increased day by day until Allah summoned him to his Mercy. Such are the words of Allah:

“Perhaps you hate a thing while it is good for you and you may love a thing while it is bad for you.”

“When Allah gave me the land of Egypt with so little trouble, I knew that he meant for me the blessed land also, for He Himself implanted the thought in my heart,” said Salahuddin. He soon had the satisfaction of seeing his administration respected and order established in all aspects. He generously spent on the people from the money the Fatimids had been storing up in the palace walls, won the hearts of his people, and brought the faction-ridden country under obedience and his rule. He took great pains to establish the Sunnah more firmly in Egypt with the aid of the ‘ulama.

People came to visit him from every walk of life and flocked to his court from all parts. He never disappointed the hopes of visitors nor allowed them to depart with empty hands. When the crusaders heard that Salahuddin was ruling successfully they were convinced that he would soon overtake them, lay waste their usurped dwellings and wipe away all traces of their rule. This would most probably have happened but Salahuddin had one substantial obstacle - the disunity of the Muslims. They had immense riches and natural strength in the region and spent most of their time fighting each other rather than the real enemy. It took Salahuddin 18 years to get the attention of the Muslims in order to liberate Muslim lands. During that time Muslims were barely holding out in Egypt and Syria. Yet slowly, Salahuddin’s example through persuasion, teaching, time and understanding worked to unite the Muslims. “Kurds, Turks, Arabs and Egyptians - they were all Muslims and his servants when he called,” Lane writes. “In spite of their differences of race, their national jealousies…he had kept them together…”

When Salahuddin had finally united the hearts in the core lands of Islam, virtually all the blessed lands returned to Muslim hands within five months. By Friday 27th Rajab/2nd October 1187 C.E. the Muslims were knocking on the door of al-Aqsa Masjid. Allah allowed the Muslims to take the city as a celebration on the anniversary of the mi’raj, the Prophet’s (†) ascension into heaven. Truly, this was a sign that this deed was pleasing to Almighty Allah. “It was a victory of victories,” recalls ibn Shaddad. “A testimony of faith to a multitude of people, scholars, noblemen, merchants and masses who were brought there by the news of Salahuddin’s victories and success in the lands of the Mediterranean coast.” All the ‘ulama came to join Salahuddin, both from Egypt and Syria. There was not a single well-known dignitary but he had come. The joyful shouts of “Allahu Akbar” and “La Ilaha Illallah” reached to the skies. After 90 years Friday prayers were again held in Jerusalem. A huge cross that glittered on the Dome of the Rock was thrown down. It was an indescribable event, the joy of the blessings and the victory of Allah were to be witnessed everywhere on that day.

The non-Muslims of Jerusalem asked for mercy and he gave it. Every man, woman and child was allowed to ransom themselves for a paltry price. He kept order in every street and refused to allow the People of the Book to be verbally abused, much less molested. What a far cry from the victorious Christians of 1099 (and the 1980s) who killed, tortured, shot in cold blood and burnt defenceless Muslims in the streets of Al-Aqsa. “Fortunate were the merciless because they obtained mercy at the hands of the Muslim Sultan,” said Lane. Salahuddin said: “Well, when by Allah’s help not one crusader is left on this coast, I intend to divide my territories and to change the successors with my last commands, then, having taken leave from them, I will sail on this sea to its lands across the water until there shall not remain on the face of this earth one unbeliever in Allah or I will die in this attempt”.
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kadafi
02-18-2005, 06:48 PM
From Salahuddin Ayyubi To the Muslim Ummah

This is a letter written by Salah El Din A Ayyubi when he started his Jihad against the crusaders more than 9 centuries ago:

"We hope in Allah most high, to whom be praise, who leads the hearts of Muslims to calm what torments them and ruins their prosperity.

"Where is the sense of honor of Muslims? The pride of Believers? The Zeal of the Faithful?

"We shall never cease to be amazed at how the disbelievers for their part have shown trusts, and it is the Muslims who have been lacking in zeal. Not one of them has responded to the call. Not one intervenes to straighten what is distorted; but observe how far the Franks have gone what unity they have achieved. What aims they pursue. What help they have given. What sums of money they have borrowed and spent. What wealth they have collected and distributed and divided amongst them. There is not a King left in their lands or islands, not a lord or a rich man who has not competed with his neighbors to produce more support and rival his peers in strenuous military efforts. In defense of their religion they consider it a small thing to spend life and soul; and they have kept their infidel brothers supplied with arms and champions of war; and all they have done and all their generosity has been purely out of zeal for him they worship in jealous defense of their faith.

"The Muslims on the other hand are weak and demoralized; they have become negligent and lazy, the victims of unproductive stupefaction and completely lacking in enthusiasm. If , Allah forbid, Islam should draw rein, obscure her splendor, blunt her sword, there would be no one, east or west, far or near who would blaze the zeal for Allah's religion, or choose to come to the aid of truth against error.

"This is the moment to cast off laziness, to summon from far and near all those men who have blood in their veins; but we are confident (he speaks about himself and the small party of believers who began with him and then became a large party); but we are confident, thanks to Allah-Alhamdulillah-in the Help that will come from him and entrust ourselves to him in sincerity of purpose and deepest devotion.

"Insha Allah, the disbelievers shall perish and the faithful have a sure deliverance."

-Salahuddin Ayyubi 12 CE
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kadafi
02-18-2005, 06:49 PM
The Ominous Words of Salâh ad-Dîn About Our Ummah
Compiled by Shibli Zaman

“After I die, you will see these Muslims fall apart in disunity, and you will see the Europeans grow strong. The best thing to do for now is to continue the fight until we drive them from the Coast (of Palestine) or die.”

This is a statement of Salâh ad-Dîn Abul-Afdal Yûsuf ibn al-Ayyûb, popularly known as “Saladin” in the West, as recorded by his personal companion and scribe, Ibn Shaddâd (page 203 of his chronicles). Saladin stated this after King Richard of England proposed that Saladin's brother, Sayf ad-Dîn (popularly known as “Safadin” in the West), should marry his siter Joanna. So admirable was Saladin’s character that his worst enemy who had traveled over 2000 miles to eliminate him, ended up offering his own sister to his family. This is the result of Perfect Islâmic “Ikhlâq” and “’Adab”.

Also, Saladin stated in regards to the troubles he endured uniting the entire Muslim world under one banner:

“I do not know what will happen to me, if Allâh wills that the enemy should grow strong. They have established a base from which they can retrieve other lands. you will see these Muslim leaders sitting at the tops of their grandiose towers saying, ‘I shall not come down,’ until the Muslim world will be destroyed.”

How did Saladin destroy his enemies, drive the Franks from Jerusalem and most of Palestine, and be written of so well by the European historians whose people he defeated? This is how:

“On July 3 Salâh ad-Dîn performed the Friday prayer in the Masjid of al-Aqsa, I saw him prostrating and repeating his prayers over and over again as his tears soaked the prayer mat.”

The Death of Saladin
On February 20, 1193, Saladin rode out to meet the Pilgrims returning from the Hajj in Mecca. He had longed to perform the Hajj his entire life, but the constant Jihâd did not allow such. That night he fell ill and broke out into a tempestuous fever. On the fourth day of his illness they had him bled, which was a tradition of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Saladin would not stop sweating. On the ninth day of his illness he stopped taking liquids. By March 3 on the eleventh day of his illness, Saladin had sweat so much that the bed was soaked and the floor stained. The scholars who witnessed this testified to it being a match to the description of a good death in the Sunnah.

On the morning of March 4, 1193, the Imâm Abû Ja’far was reciting from the Qur’ân as Saladin’s son al-Afdal, and his friend and administrator al-Fâdil, as well as others looked on. As the Imâm reached following verse of Sûrat at-Tawbah, the Qur’ânic chapter most associated with Jihâd:

“ ... Hasbuna-llaahu laa ilaha illa huwa; ’alayhi tawakalt; wa huwa Rabbu-l ’arshi-l ’aTHeem.”
“ ... Allâh sufficeth me; There is no god but He; On Him is my trust; He is the Lord of the Throne Supreme!”


Saladin smiled from ear to ear, and breathed his last.
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Sahabiyaat
02-21-2005, 11:50 AM
SubhanAllah.
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Najiullah
05-25-2006, 03:13 PM
SubhanALLAh bro :)
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FatimaAsSideqah
04-19-2007, 04:34 PM
:salamext:

Salaahuddeen's full name in Arabic was Salaah Ad-Deen Yoosuf bin Ayyoob, also called Al-Malik An-Naasir Salaah Ad-Deen Yoosuf I. He was born in 1137/38 CE in Tikrit, Mesopotamia and died March 4, 1193, in Damascus. He later became the Muslim sultan of Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and one of the most famous of Muslim heroes. In wars against the Christian crusaders, he achieved final success with the disciplined capture of Jerusalem (Oct. 2, 1187), ending its 88-year occupation by the Franks. The great Christian counterattack of the Third Crusade was then stalemated by his military genius.

Salaahuddeen was born into a prominent Kurdish family. On the night of his birth, his father, Najm ad-Deen Ayyoob, gathered his family and moved to Aleppo, entering there the service of 'Imaad ad-Deen Zanqi bin Al- Sunqur, the powerful Turkish governor in northern Syria. Growing up in Balbek and Damascus, Salaahuddeen was apparently an undistinguished youth, with a great taste for religious studies over military training.

His formal career began when he joined the staff of his uncle Asad ad-Deen Shirkuh, an important military commander under the Ameer Nuruddeen, who was the son and successor of Zanqi. During three military expeditions led by Shirkuh into Egypt to prevent its falling to the Latin-Christian (Frankish rulers of the states established by the First Crusade), a complex, three-way struggle developed between Amalric I, the Latin king of Jerusalem; Shawar, the powerful State Minister of the Egyptian Fatimid caliph; and Shirkuh. After Shirkuh's death and order of Shawar's assassination, Salaahuddeen was appointed both commander of the Syrian troops in Egypt and State Minister of the Fatimid Caliphate there in 1169, at the age of 31. His relatively quick rise to power must be attributed to his own emerging talents. As State Minister of Egypt, he received the title king (Malik), although he was generally known as the sultan.

Salaahuddeen's position was further enhanced when, in 1171, he abolished the weak and unpopular Shiite Fatimid Caliphate, proclaimed a return to Sunni Islam in Egypt, and became the country's sole ruler. Although he remained for a time, theoretically, a Governor for Nuruddeen, that relationship ended with the Syrian Ameer's death in 1174. Using the rich agricultural possessions in Egypt as a financial base, Salaahuddeen soon moved into Syria with a small, but strictly disciplined, army to claim the regency on behalf of the young son of his former leader.

Soon, however, he abandoned this claim, and from 1174 until 1186 he zealously pursued a goal of uniting, under his own standard, all the Muslim territories of Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt. This was accomplished by skillful diplomacy backed, when necessary, by the swift and resolute use of military force. Gradually, his reputation grew as a generous and virtuous but firm ruler, devoid of deception, lavishness, and cruelty. In contrast to the bitter dissension and intense rivalry that hampered the Muslims in their resistance to the crusaders, Salaahuddeen's consistency of purpose induced them to rearm both physically and spiritually.

Salaahuddeen's every act was inspired by an intense and unwavering devotion to the idea of Jihaad against the Christian crusaders. It was an essential part of his policy to encourage the growth and spread of Muslim religious institutions. He courted its scholars and preachers, founded colleges and mosques for their use, and commissioned them to write edifying works, especially on Jihaad itself. Through moral regeneration, which was a genuine part of his own way of life, he tried to re-create in his own realm some of the same zeal and enthusiasm that had proved so valuable to the first generations of Muslims when, five centuries before, they had conquered half of the known world.

Salaahuddeen also succeeded in turning the military balance of power in his favor by uniting and disciplining a great number of unruly forces rather than employing new or improved military techniques. At last in 1187, he was able to throw his full strength into the struggle with equivalent armies to that of the Latin Crusader kingdom. On July 4, 1187, by the permission of Allaah, then by using his own good military sense and by a phenomenal lack of it on the part of his enemy, Salaahuddeen trapped and destroyed, in one blow, an exhausted and thirst-crazed army of crusaders at Hattin, near Tiberias in northern Palestine.

So great were the losses in the ranks of the crusaders in this one battle that the Muslims were quickly able to overrun nearly the entire Kingdom of Jerusalem. Acre, Toron, Beirut, Sidon, Nazareth, Caesarea, Nabulus, Jaffa (Yafo), and Ascalon (Ashqelon) fell within three months. But Salaahuddeen's crowning achievement and the most disastrous blow to the whole crusading movement came on Oct. 2, 1187, when Jerusalem, holy to both Muslims and Christians alike, surrendered to Salaahuddeen's army after 88 years of being in the hands of the Franks. In stark contrast to the city's conquest by the Christians, when blood flowed freely during the barbaric slaughter of its inhabitants, the Muslim reconquest was marked by the civilised and courteous behaviour of Salaahuddeen and his troops.

His sudden success, which in 1189 saw the crusaders reduced to the occupation of only three cities, was, however, marred by his failure to capture Tyre, an almost unconquerable coastal fortress to which the scattered Christian survivors of the recent battles flocked. It was to be the rallying point of the Latin counterattack. Most probably, Salaahuddeen did not anticipate the European reaction to his capture of Jerusalem - an event that deeply shocked the West and to which it responded with a new call for a crusade. In addition to many great nobles and famous knights, this crusade, the third, brought the kings of three countries into the struggle. The magnitude of the Christian effort and the lasting impression it made on contemporaries gave the name of Salaahuddeen, as their gallant and chivalrous enemy, an added luster that his military victories alone could never confer on him.

The Crusade itself was long and exhausting and, despite the obvious, though at times impulsive, military genius of Richard I - the Lion-Heart - it achieved almost nothing. Therein lies the greatest - but often unrecognised - achievement of Salaahuddeen. With tired and unwilling feudal levies, committed to fight only a limited season each year, his determined will enabled him to fight the greatest champions of Christendom to a draw. The crusaders retained little more than a precarious foothold on Greater Syriaine coast, and when King Richard left the Middle East in October 1192, the battle was over. Salaahuddeen withdrew to his capital in Damascus.

Soon, the long campaigning seasons and the endless hours in the saddle caught up with him, and he died. While his relatives were already scrambling for pieces of the empire, his friends found that the most powerful and most generous ruler in the Muslim world had not left enough money to pay for his own burial. Salaahuddeen's family continued to rule over Egypt and neighboring lands as the Ayyubid dynasty, which succumbed to the Mamlooks in 1250.
:wasalamex

Sister of Islam
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