The Following excerpts come from The Life of Saladin by 12th c. Muslim historian Baha ad-Din (written as Beha ed-Din in earlier translations). Baha ad-Din served as one of Saladin’s retainers, and he paints a picture of Saladin’s character and his military exploits against the Crusaders.
ON HIS CHARACTER AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS FAITH
In our collection of authentic traditions stands the following saying of the Holy Prophet: ‘Islam is built upon five columns: confession of the unity of God, the regular performance of prayer, payment of the tenth (tithe) in charity, the fast of the month of Ramadan, and pilgrimage to the Holy House of God (Mecca).‘
Saladin – may God be merciful to him – truly believed in the doctrines of the faith, and often recited prayers in praise of God. He had accepted the dogmas of religion upon demonstrable proofs, the result of his conversations with the most learned doctors and the most eminent juris consults. In these arguments he acquired knowledge that enabled him to speak to the purpose when a discussion took place in his presence, although he did not employ the technical language ofthe lawyers. These conversations confirmed him in a true faith, which remained undisturbed by any doubt, and, in his case, prevented the arrow of speculation from overshooting the mark, and striking at last on doubt and infidelity.
The learned doctor Kotb ad-Uin en–Nisaburi had composed an exposition of Islam for the benefit of this prince, containing all that was necessary for him to know. As he was much pleased with this treatise, he made his younger sons learn it by heart, so that good doctrine might be established in their souls from their tenderest years. I have myself seen him take this book and read it aloud to his children, after they had committed its contents tomemory .
As to prayer, he was always regular in his attendance at the public service ( on Fridays ), and he said one day that for several years he had never failed in this duty. When he was ill, he used to send for the Imam alone, and forcing himself to keep on his feet, would recite the Friday prayers. He recited the usual prayers regularly, and, if he woke during the night, said a prayer. If he did not wake, he used to pray before the morning prayer. As long as consciousness lasted, he never failed to say his prayers. I saw him perform this duty regularly during his last illness, and he discontinued it only during the three days in which his mind was wandering. When he was traveling, he used to get down from his horse at the appointed hours to pray.
Let us speak of his tenth in charity. The sum of money he left at his death was not large enough to be submitted to this tax; his private charities had absorbed everything. He who had possessed such abundant wealth left in his treasury, when he died, but forty-seven Nasri dirhems, and a single Tyrian gold piece. He left neither goods, nor house, nor real estate, neither garden, nor village, nor cultivated land, nor any other species of property.
Let us pass to the fast of the month Ramadan. Several of these fasts remained to be fulfilled, as he had not observed them in consequence of his frequent illnesses. It was the duty of el–Kadi el–Fadell to keep an account of the number of these days. The prince — may God have mercy on him — was in the last year of his life, and was dwelling at Jerusalem, when he began to make reparation for the fasts he had omitted. He then fasted for a period exceeding the ordinary month, for he had still a fast of two Ramadans to keep, which he had been prevented from observing by constant disorders of the body, and the continual cares of the Holy War. Fasting did not suit his health; but thus, by the inspiration of God, he undertook to repair his omissions during that year. It fell to me to keep account of the days, for the Kadi was absent. It was useless for his physician to disapprove of what he was doing. The prince would not listen to him, and said, ‘I do not know what may happen.‘ It seems as though God had inspired Saladin to save his responsibility by paying his debt, and so he continued to fast until the days were wholly accomplished.
Let us now speak of the pilgrimage. He always intended to perform it, and, above all, in the last year of his life. He had made up his mind, and given orders for the necessary preparations to be made. We had collected provisions for the journey, and all was ready for the start, when he decided to postpone the pilgrimage till the following year on account of want of time and lack of money sufficient for one of his high rank. But God decreed as He did decree. What I have related on that subject is a thing known to all the world.
Saladin was very fond of hearing the Qur’an read, and he used to argue with the Imam. This man had to be master of all knowledge connected with the text of the Qur’an, and to know the book by heart. When the prince passed the night in the alcove (of his tent), he used to charge the man on guard to read him two, three, or four sections. When he gave public audiences, he would have from one to twenty verses, and sometimes more, read by men accustomed to do so. One day he passed a little boy who was reading the Qur’an very well at his father‘s side, and was so pleased that he had the boy called, and gave him some of the food set aside for his own special use. Also he granted to him and his father part of the produce of a certain field. His heart was humble, and full of compassion; tears came readily into his eyes. When he was listening to the reading of the Qur’an, his heart melted, and tears generally flowed down his checks. He was very fond of listening to the recital of traditions [sayings of Muhammad] when the narrator could trace each tradition that he related to its source, and when he was learned in such lore. . . .
OF HIS ZEAL IN FIGHTING IN GOD’S CAUSE
God Almighty said (Qur’an xxix . 69): ‘Those who fight strenuously for Us we will surely guide in Our way, for, verily, God is with those who do well. There are numerous texts in the Book exhorting us to fight for the faith. And, of a truth, the Sultan entertained an ardent passion for the Holy War; his mind was always filled with it. Therefore one might swear, in absolute security and without risk of perjury, that from the time when he first issued forth to fight the infidel, he spent not asingle piece of gold or silver except for the carrying on of the Holy War, or for distribution among his troops. With him to wage war in God’s name was a veritable passion; his whole heart was filled with it, and he gave body and soul to the cause. He spoke of nothing else; all his thoughts were of instruments of war; his soldiers monopolized every idea. He showed all deference to those who talked of the Holy War and who encouraged the people to take part in it. His desire to fight in God’s cause forced him to leave his family, his children, his native land, the place of his abode, and all else in his land. Leaving all these earthly enjoyments, he contented himself with dwelling beneath the shadow of a tent, shaken to the right hand and to the left by the breath of every wind. One night, when he was in the plain of Acre, it happened, in a very high wind, that his tent fell upon him, and had he not been in the alcove, he would have lost his life. But this tended only to increase his passion, to strengthen his purpose, and confirm his resolution. Anyone anxious to ingratiate himself with the Sultan had only to encourage him in his passion for the Holy War and to narrate to him stories connected with it. Therefore, a number of treatises upon this subject were composed for his use, and I myself wrote a work, on his account, on the Holy War, and the rules and precepts to be observed there in. I incorporated in this work all the verses of the Qur’an bearing upon the subject, all the traditions which refer to it, and an explanation of all the rare words.
HIS CARE TO BE POLITE
The Holy Prophet said: ‘I have been sent to make manifest in all their beauty the noble qualities of the soul.‘ When any man gave his hand to the Prophet he clasped it until the other withdrew it. And so, too, our Sultan was very noble of heart; his face expressed kindliness, his modesty was great, and his politeness perfect. No visitor ever came to him without being given to eat, and receiving what he desired. He greeted everyone, even infidels, politely. For instance, after the conclusion of peace in the month of Shawal, in the year 588 (October to November, A. D. 1192), he left Jerusalem to journey to Damascus, and whilst he was on his way he saw the Prince of Antioch, who had come up unexpectedly, and was standing at the entrance of his tent. This prince had come to ask something from him, and the Sultan gave him back el–‘Amk, which territory he had acquired in the year 584 ( A. D. 1188 – 1189) , at the time of the conquest of the coast–lands. So, too, I was present at Nazareth when the Sultan received the visit of the Lord of Sidon; he showed him every mark of respect, treated him with honor, and admitted him to his own table. He even proposed to him that he should embrace Islam, set before him some of the beauties of our religion, and urged him to adopt it. . . .
I was present one day when a Frankish prisoner was brought before him. This man was in such a state of excitement that his terror was visible in every feature. The interpreter asked him the cause of his fear, and God put the following answer in the mouth of the unfortunate fellow: ‘Before I saw his face I was greatly afraid, but now that I am in the presence (of the prince) and can see him, I am certain that he will do me no harm. The Sultan , moved by these words, gave him his life, and sent him away free. . . .
In the year 583 (A.D. 1187) at the battle of Hattin – a famous day’s fight of which, please God, we shall speak in its proper place – Prince Arnat (Raynaud de Chatillion), Lord of el-Kerala, and the king of the Franks of the seacoast, were both taken prisoners and the Sultan commanded them to be brought before him. This accursed Arnat was a great infidel, and a very strong man. On one occasion, when there was a truce between the Moslems and the Franks, he treacherously attacked and carried off a caravan that passed through his territory, coming from Egypt. He seized these people, put them to torture, and put some of them in grain pits, and imprisoned some in narrow cells. When they objected that there was a truce between the two peoples, he replied: ‘Ask your Muhammad to deliver you.’ The Sultan, to whom these words were reported, took an oath to slay the infidel with his own hand, if God should ever place him in his power. The day of the battle of Hattin God delivered this man into the hands of the Sultan, and he resolved at once to slay him, that he might fulfill his oath. He commanded him to be brought before him, together with the king. The latter complained of thirst, and the Sultan ordered a cup of sherbet to be given him. The king, having drunk some of it, handed the cup to Arnat , whereupon the Sultan said to the interpreter: ‘Say to the king, “It is you who give him drink, but I give him neither to drink nor to eat.” By these words he wished it to be understood that honor forbade him to harm any man who had tasted his hospitality. He then struck him on the neck with his own hand, to fulfill the vow he had made. After this, when he had taken Acre, he delivered all the prisoners, to the number of about four thousand, from their wretched durance, and sent them back to their own country and their homes, giving each of them a sum of money for the expenses of his journey. This is what I have been told by many persons, for I was not present myself when it took place.
