Part 100

This is what happens with kings; they always erase the legacy of those who came before them and erase the memories of their enemies.735 But what Salah ad-Deen did was for the sake of Allah and in support of His religion. The Fatimids' false claim of descent from the (Messenger (SAAW) As well as destroying the Fatimid legacy, the Ayubids also revived the issue of the Fatimids' false claim of descent from the (Messenger (SAAW) by highlighting the fact that the Fatimids were descended from a Jewish or Magian lineage, and the Ayubids continued to expose the false basis on which the Fatimid caliphate claimed legitimacy. The prominent scholars, such as Ibn Khallikan, Ibn Abi Shamah (alMaqdisi), Ibn Wasil and others, undertook praiseworthy efforts to expose them, and they gave the Fatimids the name of Banu 'Ubayd, to reflect the fact that they were descended from 'Ubayd-Allah ibn Maymoon al-Qaddah alMajoosi. Indeed, Ibn Abi Shamah wrote in his books about this issue, in which he proved the falseness of the Fatimids' lineage.736 In his book arRawdatayn, Ibn Abi Shamah al-Maqdisi devoted many pages to proving false their claim to be descendents of the (Messenger (SAAW).737 Pursuit of the remnants of Shiism in Syria and Yemen Thus the Sunnis, led by Noor ad-Deen Mahmood, put an end to the Fatimid state and destroyed its legacy. They pursued its followers in Egypt, and Shiism shrank and entered a stage of hiding and concealment. The decline of the Ismaili Shiite madh-hab in Egypt began with the settlement of Noor ad-Deen's troops in Egypt in 564 AH/1168 CE, and the Ayubids, led by Salah ad-Deen, continued to destroy the Ismaili madh-hab in Egypt, Yemen and Syria. They completed what had been begun by the Ghaznavids, Seljuks and Zangids who fought the Ismaili Shiite madh-hab and spread the Sunni madh-hab in Iran and Syria. Shiism continued to weaken in Egypt, little by little, until the people began to follow the madh-hab of Ahl as-Sunnah walJama'ah.738 In fact the arrangements made by the Sunni leaders, such as Noor adDeen and Salah ad-Deen, to fight the spread of Rafidi Shiite ideas, bore fruit. The Rafidi Shiite madh-hab became totally extinct in Egypt, which is a sign of deep understanding — something which the Ummah is in the greatest need of. The great lesson we learn from this is that eradicating innovation from Muslim communities requires a comprehensive outlook and integrated plan which encompasses sound Islamic revival, confronts Batini ideas, and directs the Ummah to demand its rights and resist crusader attacks. We have already discussed some of the methods that Salah ad-Deen used to put an end to this madh-hab and the 'Ubaydi Fatimid legacy. Salah ad-Deen and the Ayubids benefited from the experience of Noor ad-Deen in the Sunni revival, confronting the Rafidi Shiites, and preparing the Ummah to resist and wrest its rights from its enemies. Hence Salah ad-Deen did not start from scratch; rather he benefited from the methods of Noor ad-Deen, among the most important of which was the setting up of Sunni schools and schools of Hadith, making sure that the judiciary system was based on the Sunni madh-habs, putting the schools under his own supervision, using the system of hisbah739 to restore the Sunni madh-hab, encouraging Sunni asceticism, setting up endowments to support civil, non-governmental institutions and propagating the beliefs of Ahl asSunnah. This will be discussed in detail insha' Allah when we discuss the Ayubid state. Muhammad Hamdan Khalid al-Qaysi, in his Master's thesis submitted to the University of Yarmook in Jordan, discussed the effects of Salah ad-Deen's educational efforts in changing the reality of Egyptian society; this is a useful reference on this topic. In 569 AH/1174 CE, the kingdom of Noor ad-Deen included Sudan, the Hijaz and Yemen. The entire Muslim east was one state with one leader, looking to the strategic goal that he sought to achieve from the beginning of his rule, which was the liberation of Greater Syria from the occupying Franks.740 Now this goal was at hand, so he ordered the manufacture of a beautiful minbar for Masjid al-Aqsa so that he could take it with him when he conquered Jerusalem.741 He wrote to Salah ad-Deen, instructing him to march at the head of the Egyptian army and meet him at the Frankish citadel of Kerak.742 Salah ad-Deen marched, as ordered by Noor ad-Deen, and besieged the citadel of Crac de Montreal, south of Kerak. When Noor adDeen heard of that, he set out from Damascus, heading south to meet Salah ad-Deen, but he received a message from him before he reached him, telling him that there were some troubles in Egypt and he was afraid that his opponents might take over, so he had no choice but to go back and get things under control, and he would come back again the next year to engage in Jihad alongside Noor ad-Deen.743 Noor ad-Deen was very eager to uproot the disbelievers from Syria, so when he received some of the treasure from the palaces of the Fatimids, and some of the amazing things made of gold and pearls, he said: By Allah, we have no need of this wealth and we do not need it to meet our needs.