Part 9

I ask Him, may He be glorified and exalted, to accept this work, open people's hearts to benefit from it and to bless it by His grace, bounty and generosity. Whatever of mercy Allah may grant to people, none can withhold it; and whatever He may withhold, none can grant it thereafter. And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise (Quran 35: 2 ) Upon completion of this book I cannot but stand with a humble heart before my Almighty Creator and my most generous God, acknowledging His grace, favour and generosity, and denying any power or strength on my part, turning to Him in all my actions, in life and in death, for Allah my Creator is the most generous; my generous Lord is the only helper; my Almighty God is my only source of aid. If He forsook me and left me to my mind and soul, and left me to the pen that is between my fingers, my mind would have become dull, my memory would have gone, my fingers would have frozen, my emotions would have dried up, my feelings would have stagnated and my pen would have failed to express anything. O my God, You know that everyone of whom I have spoken in my book had a story and a reason for me to speak of them. You know that I am eager to revive their stories as a means of supporting Your religion and to obtain thereby Your good pleasure, O Most Generous of the generous. O Allah, guide me to that which pleases You, open my heart to it, and keep me away from that which does not please You and divert it from my heart and my thinking. I ask You by Your most beautiful names and sublime attributes to make this work of mine for Your sake only and make it of benefit to Your slaves; to reward me for every letter that I have written and place it in the scale of my good deeds, and to reward my brothers who helped me to complete this humble effort, which were it not for You, would not have been produced and propagated among people. We hope that every Muslim who reads this book will not forget in his or her supplications its author, who is in need of the pardon, forgiveness, mercy and great pleasure of his Lord. OMy Lord! Grant me the power and ability that I may be grateful for Your favours which You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may do righteous good deeds that will please You, and admit me by Your Mercy to the company of Your righteous slaves. (Quran 27: 19) I close this book with the words of Allah: O Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in faith, and do not put in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful.' (Quran 59: 10) Glory and praise be to You, O Allah, I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship other than You, I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You, and the end of our supplication is: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.The one who is in need of the pardon, forgiveness, mercy and pleasure of his Lord.. Ali. M. Salabi May Allah forgive him, his parents and all the Muslims. I would be happy to receive readers' comments on this book and others, and I request my fellow Muslims for pray for me in absentia and with all sincerity to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, so that we may uncover the facts and continue our efforts in the service of our Ummah's history. PART ONE CRUSADES PRIOR TO THE RISE OF THE AYUBID STATE CHAPTER I Historical Roots of the Crusades It is worth mentioning that the Crusader wars between the Muslims and western Christians and others did not start at the end of the fifth century AH, and they did not end in the seventh century AH. These campaigns were actually part of a series in a lengthy conflict that began with the emergence of Islam12 and continued, off and on, in almost all eras from the emergence of Islam until modern times. It is possible to divide this period into five phases of this ongoing conflict. Whenever the conflict cooled down during any of these phases, it soon reignited in the next phase, where it was no less vicious and violent, sapping Islamic energy and resources across vast swaths of land.13 These phases are as follows: The Byzantines The origins of the Byzantine anti-Islamic movement go back to the time of the Messenger (SAAW) (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself. From the year 5 AH, in the battles of Doomat al-Jandal, Dhat asSalasil, Mu'tah and Tabook, and ending with the campaign of Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him and all the Companions), the Byzantines realized the new danger coming from the south, especially after the emerging Islamic state managed to free a number of Arab tribes in the north of Arabia from their former Byzantine masters.