Part 5

He managed to shape historical circumstances to serve the Muslims' interests, by uniting the Muslim forces after putting an end to the causes of division and disunity, and uniting the separate cities and emirates within the framework of a single state. He managed, by means of his ability, to make the best of the potentials available to him in order to achieve his twofold program of forming an Islamic front and striking the Crusaders. The conquest of Edessa in 539 AH is regarded as one of the greatest achievements of 'Imad ad-Deen. The fall of this city into Muslim hands brought about a violent reaction in Western Europe and provided a motive for sending a new crusade quickly, after its fall instilled fear in people's hearts. Its fall came as a warning of destabilisation in the structure of the Crusader entities in the Near East. Noor ad-Deen and Sayf ad-Deen Ghazi, the sons of Imad ad-Deen, stood up to the Second Crusade against Damascus and achieved a great victory, along with the people of Damascus, against the Second Crusade. Noor ad-Deen succeeded in making the most of the circumstances which followed the failure of the Second Crusade, in order to unite Syria under his leadership, this time at the expense of the ruler of Damascus. Then he successfully resumed his Jihad against the Crusaders, which encouraged other Muslim forces, such as the Seljuks of Rum, the Artuqids and the Turkmen to go ahead and confront the Crusaders, especially in Edessa and Antioch; they even joined forces so that Noor ad-Deen Zangi was able to unite all of Syria under his leadership, from Edessa in the north to Hawran in the south. First a united Islamic state was established, centred on Damascus. This was the first step towards forming a front that stretched from the Euphrates to the Nile, and which did indeed stand up to this Crusader danger. I discussed Noor ad-Deen's way of dealing with the Fatimid (Fatimiyah) state; the roots of the Ismaili (Isma'eeli) Shiite sect and the Fatimid state; their abhorrent deeds in North Africa, such as their advocates exaggerating about 'Ubayd-Allah al-Mahdi, oppression and injustice, their refusal of religious verdicts according to the madh-hab5 of Imam Malik, the abolition of some Sunnah practices that are based on well-established and well-known texts, banning gatherings, destroying the books of Ahl as-Sunnah, banning Sunni scholars from teaching, the abolition of sharia6 laws and waiving obligations, forcing the people to break the fast before sighting the new moon, removing the relics of the Sunni caliphs and bringing their horses into the mosques. I speak about the methods of the Maghrebis in opposing the Fatimid state, such as passive resistance, resistance on the basis of argument, resistance in writing and the role of the Sunni poets. I explain how the Fatimid state in North Africa declined and how it moved to Egypt. I mention the efforts of the Nizami schools in the Sunni revival movement and confronting Shiite thought; the efforts of Imam al-Ghazali in defeating the Shiite in argument; and Noor ad-Deen's three military campaigns against Egypt. I discussed the abolition of the Fatimid caliphate, the gradual abolition of sermons given in the name of the Fatimid caliph, and the lessons to be learned from the demise of the Fatimids in Egypt and the methods used by Salah ad-Deen to put an end to the Fatimid madh-hab and legacy, such as: humiliating the Fatimid caliph al-'Adid; how he undermined the position of the Palace of the Fatimid caliphate; how the citywide sermons were stopped in the Mosque of al-Azhar; abolishing the teaching of Fatimid thought; destroying and burning the books of the Shiite; abolishing all sectarian festivals of the Fatimids; erasing the symbols and currency of the Fatimids; preserving the members of the Fatimid house; weakening the Fatimid capital; the Ayubid revival of the issue of the Fatimids' false claim of descent from the (Messenger's (SAAW)'s family; and continuing to pursue the remnants of the Shiite in Syria and Yemen. I mention the conquests made by Salah adDeen at the time of Noor ad-Deen Zangi; Jihad against the Crusaders and expelling them from Muslim lands; and the actual account of the alienation between Salah ad-Deen and Noor ad-Deen. In Volume II, I talk about the establishment of the Ayubid state, mentioning the origins of his family, his birth and childwould; when the Ayubid state began; the character and ethics of Salah ad-Deen, such as his piety and worship, his justice, his courage, his generosity, his concern and forbearance, his habit of keeping away from anything that could undermine his dignity, his patience and seeking reward with Allah, and his sincerity; the official doctrine of the state; the Ayubids' efforts to build Sunni schools on a large scale, such as al-Madrasah as-Salahiyah, Madrasat al-Mash-had alHusayni, al-Madrasah al-Fadiliyah, Dar al-hadith al-Kamaliyah and alMadrasah as-Salihiyah; their academic efforts in Syria and Mesopotamia; the main elements of the Sunni ethos at the time of the Ayubids, such as the glorious Quran, Hadith of the (Messenger (SAAW), the basic principles of Sunni belief and the schools of fiqh; the Ayubids' concern to protect the Hajj routes and the two Holy Sanctuaries; and the Ayubids' efforts to combat the Shiite sect in Egypt, Syria and Yemen.