The Establishment of the Ayubid State pdf download

Salah Ad-Deen al-Ayubi Volume 2

The Establishment of the Ayubid State – Book Sample

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AYUBID STATE

The Family of Salah ad-Deen and His Upbringing

Salah ad-Deen belonged to a prominent Kurdish family of noble origin. This family belonged to a Kurdish tribe that was regarded as one of the noblest in lineage, a clan that was known as ar­Rawadiyah. 1

They were originally from the city of Daween, which was located at the furthest border of Azerbaijan, near the city of Tiflees (Tbilisi) in Armenia. The Ayubids were descended from Ayub ibn Shadi, and Ibn al-Atheer regarded them as the noblest of the Kurds because none of them was ever enslaved.2

 When Salah ad­Deen’ s father Najm ad-Deen Ayub and his paternal uncle Asad ad­Deen Shirkuh, came from Iraq, they were not shepherds, rather they had a great deal of experience in political and administrative affairs.3

But some Ayubids tried to deny their Kurdish origins and claim Arab blood in general, claiming to be descended from Banu U may ah in particular.4

 Whatever the origin of the Ayubids, they emerged in the Islamic east in the sixth century AH/twelfth century CE, when their great-grandfather Shadi was appointed to some administrative position in the citadel of Tikrit, which was allocated to Bahrooz al­Khadim, one of the emirs of the Seljuk sultan Muhammad ibn Malikshah.5

 Tikrit was located on the right bank of the Tigris, north of Samurra’, and controlled the main transportation routes between Iraq and Syria; most of its inhabitants were Kurds.

Shadi was transferred there with his two sons, Najm ad-Deen Ayub and Asad ad-Deen Shirkuh.

 He gradually climbed the administrative ladder until he was given a permanent post in charge of the garrison. When he died, he was succeeded by his son Najm ad-Deen Ayub.

 It is very strange that some historians go out of their way in their research to attribute Salah ad-Deen to a chain of forefathers that ends with Mudar, who was descended from ‘Adnan;

it is as if, by means of this research which is contrary to academic standards, not to mention pure facts, they want to connect every non-Arab genius to an Arabic lineage, as if all virtues and noble characteristics belong exclusively to the Arabs and as if the non-Arab Muslims – according to their short-sighted way of thinking – cannot build glory, establish civilizations or leave great legacies,7 or support Islam with the sword and by means of their words.

If we look into history and research the great men who built Islamic civilization, we will discover that the many nations who entered Islam contributed to Islamic civilization. Muhammad al-Fatih, Noor ad-Deen and ‘Imad ad-Deen were Turks; Nizam al-Mulk was Persian; the Ayubid family were Kurds; Yoosuf ibn Tashfeen was a Berber.

Allah honoured the Arabs with the Islamic message, and He also honours those who are sincere towards His religion. We are opposed to blind tribalism and hateful racism. The Islamic principle is:

?The believers but brothers [in Islamic religion].! (Qur’an 49: JO)

And the Islamic method is fixed and cannot change8:

?Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.!, (Qur’an 49: 13)

Najm ad-Deen served the Seljuk Sultan Muhammad ibn Malikshah, and he “saw his honesty, maturity, wisdom and chivalry, so he appointed him as governor of the citadel of Tikrit, and he did the job well, controlling its affairs in the best manner.

 He expelled evildoers and bandits from the land, until the people were able to do business in safety and security. “9

Similarly, Abu Sha mah stated that Asad ad-Deen Shirkuh was one of the emirs who were favoured by the Seljuks, who allocated to him a large amount of land in and around Tikrit which brought him a yearly income of around nine hundred dinars°, which was a large amount by the standards of that era.i 1

The birth of Salah ad-Deen

-Salfil:i ad-Deen al-Ayubi was born in 532 AH/1137 CE in the citadel of Tikrit, an ancient city that is nearer to Baghdad than Mosul. A strong citadel was built in the highest part of the city, overlooking the Tigris.

It was built in ancient times by the Persian kings, on a rocky outcrop, and used as a weapons depot and a lookout to keep watch for the enemy. It was conquered by the Muslims in 16 AH, at the time of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him).

 In an amazing twist of fate, $alab ad-Deen was born on the day when Mujahid ad-Deen Bahrooz, the governor of Baghdad, ordered Najm ad-Deen Ayub and his brother Shirkuh to leave Tikrit, because Shirkuh, the paternal uncle of -‘$alab ad-Deen, had killed one of the commanders of the citadel.

That happened because of a woman whom the commander had molested; Shirkuh avenged her honour when she called on him to help her, and he killed him.

But Bahrooz was very confused and did not know what to do. Should he keep them with him or order them to leave?

 If he let them stay, he was afraid that they would be subject to the revenge of the commanders and thus harmed. So he had no alternative but to order them to leave.

He summoned them and expressed his fears for them, and he asked them to leave Tikrit that night. The two men set out for Mosul, taking their families with them.

It was in the howdah of Najm ad-Deen that his son Yoosuf, known as Salah ad-Deen, was born. The author of Wafiyat al-A ‘yan desc1ibed what took place thereafter:

Ayub felt pessimistic about his newborn son Salah ad-Deen, and he thought of killing his son when the child was crying as they left the city, but one of his followers warned him against this action, saying, ”O master, I see that you are very pessimistic about this child. What wrong has he done?

What has he done to deserve that from you when he can neither bring benefit nor cause harm, and he cannot do anything?

 What happened to you is by the will and decree of Allah. Moreover, you do not know, perhaps this child will become a king with a great reputation and a high and promjnent position. Allah may decree that he should be a man who will play a great role.

So let him be, for he is an infant and has done no wrong, and he does not know you are going through grief and stress.” t3

Ayub was moved by these words and quickly came back to his  senses and followed the path of true Islam. l