Part 4

Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and [always] speak the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a great achievement. (Quran 33: 70-71) O Lord, to You be praise until You are pleased, to You be praise if You are pleased, and to You be praise after You are pleased. This book is a continuation of previous books studying the period of the Messenger (SAAW), the era of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, the era of the Umayyad ('Umawiyah) state, the era of the Seljuks, the era of the Zangid state, the Almoravid (Murabitoon) and Almohad (al-Muwahhidoon) states and the era of the Ottoman state, of which have been published so far: The Messenger (SAAW)'s Biography, Abu Bakr, 'Umar ibn al-Khattdb, 'Uthmdn ibn Affdn, Ali ibnAbi Tdlib, al-Hasan ibn Ali, Mu'dwiyah ibn Abi Sufydn, 'Umar ibn Abdal-Azeez, Fiqh al-Nasr wa at-Tamkeen fil-Quran al-Kareem (Understanding the means of victory and divine support in the Noble Quran), ath-Thimdr az-Zakiyah lil-Harakah as-Sanoosiyah (Achievements of the Sanoosi movement), Sultan Muhammad aUFatih, Shaykh Abd al-Qddir alJeeldni, Imam al-Ghazdli, Haqeeqat al-Khildf bayn as-Sahdbah (The true nature of the disagreements among the Companions), Fikr al-Khawdrij wa ash-Shee'ahfee Meezdn Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jamd'ah (Kharijite and Shiite thought measured against the standards of the People of the Sunnah2 and the Community), al-Wasatiyah fil-Quran al-Kareem (The path of moderation as described in the Noble Quran), and Aqeedat al-Muslimeen fee Sifdt Rabb ilAlameen (Muslims' belief in the Attributes of the Lord of the Worlds). I have given this book the title of Salah ad-Deen al-Ayubi: Destroyer of the Fatimiyah state and Liberator of Jerusalem. This book may be regarded as an important link in this series on the Crusades, of which has been published so far al-Saldjiqah wa az-Zinkiyeen (The Seljuks and the Zangids) and which we ask Allah, by His most beautiful names and sublime attributes, to make this work sincerely for His sake and to make it beneficial for His slaves, and to accept it and bless it, and to bless us with a good and sincere intention for His sake, and to help us to complete this encyclopedia of history that we are striving to produce. This book discusses the conflicts between the Crusader venture and the Sunni Islamic course of action. Volume I gives a summary of the Crusades which preceded the establishment of the Ayubid state and discusses the historical roots of the Crusader movement, such as the Byzantine-Islamic conflict at the beginning of the Islamic state, Islamic Spain in Andalusia, the nature of the Crusader movement which was led by Urban II, the movement to encircle the Islamic world which was confronted by the Ottomans, and the new colonialist movement. I refer to the most important reasons and motives for the Crusade, such as religious, political, social and economic motives; the change in the balance of power in the Mediterranean, in Sicily, Andalusia and North Africa; the request for help from the Byzantine Emperor to the Pope; the character of Urban II, his comprehensive plan for the Crusade, his propaganda campaign and organised way of thinking. I discussed the beginning of the First Crusade and their strategies following occupation; the emergence of the resistance movement during the Seljuk era; the actual participation of the scholars of jurisprudence and judges in the field of Jihad3 and their encouraging fighting in the battlefield; and the role of poets in the resistance movement. I give biographies of the Seljuk leaders of Jihad who came before Imad ad-Deen Zangi and their efforts in confronting the invasion such as: Qawwam ad-Dawlah Karbooqa, ruler of Mosul; Jekermish the emir of Mosul; Suqman ibn Anaq, ruler of Mardin and Diyarbakr; Kilij Arslan the emir of the Seljuks of Rum; and Sharaf ad-Dawlah Mawdood ibn at-Tuntigin, ruler of Mosul, whose Jihad campaigns are regarded as the harbinger of the campaigns of Imad ad-Deen Zangi. I point out the obstacles to the Jihad movement during the era of the Seljuk emirs, among the most significant of which were: the Batinis, who proved their complete enmity towards the leaders of the Islamic Jihad during that era, and it was as if their poisonous daggers were paving the way for the Crusaders to establish themselves in Syria and Mesopotamia at the expense of the Muslims. Thus the events of history prove that the leaders of the Islamic Jihad in that era sometimes had something in common, namely martyrdom. Previously, Sharaf ad-Deen Mawdood was assassinated, and now we see Ak Sunqur alBursuqi meeting the same fate. That is all reflected in the fact that the conduct of the Nizari Ismailis at that time was one of the most dangerous obstacles faced by the Jihad movement against the invaders, because the presence of two enemies at the same time meant that the Sunni Muslim leaders were faced with great difficulties in defending the beliefs and religion of the Ummah.4 I highlight the efforts of Imad ad-Deen, by means of which he managed to achieve a great deal of his plans and to carve out for himself a special position in Islamic history as a brilliant politician, a capable military man and a conscientious Muslim who understood the danger posed to the Muslim world by the Crusaders.