[0:23]Many of them sided with the Crusaders and they released a man who was the greatest arch enemy of Islam, a man called Reginald de Châtillon. Soon as he mustered up an army, he marched on Makkah. And when Salahuddin heard this, he dispatched an army under Husam Ad-Din Lu'lu. And Husam Ad-Din took a navy, he annihilated the army of Reginald, and four years after this, again when the Muslims, And the Christian had a truce; Reginald attacked a Muslim caravan travelling from Egypt to Syria, and when Salahuddin heard this; he again took an oath; That he would kill this man with his own hands, and it was upon this occasion; that Salahuddin bought forth an army, and this is the famous battle; the Battle of Hittin, He changed the landscape of history, and Imam Zahabi RA says something profound here; he says: this was the greatest victory for the Muslims; Since in 'Sham' [Levant], since Khalid Bin Waleed, defeated the Romans at the Battle of Yarmouk, and Salahuddin RA didn't ease up here, Two days later; he was in Acre North, then they took Turan, Haifa, Arsuf, Beirut, Nablus; and a number of other places, He would cry at the apathy of the Muslim leaders, We cry at the apathy of the Muslim leaders today, All those problem which existed in the time of Salahuddin, All exist today; the only thing different is that there is no Salahuddin to bring the 'Ummah' together, And then Salahuddin RA marched on his greatest aim in life; and that was: liberation of the holy places, the people loved Salahuddin, He won their heart; he was a true leader, he showed love and compassion to people, he was a Muhammadi; he was a 'Mu'min', The only language that he understood was the language of the Qur'an, the only language that he understood was the language of Islam and 'Imaan', This was the kind of man Salahuddin was, he wasn't just a warrior; he was a man of Allah SWT, the good loved him; the bad loved him, The Muslims loved him; the non-Muslims loved him, everybody loved Salahuddin, and what did this King leave behind him? King of Egypt, King of Syria, Lebanon, Yemen; what did he leave behind him? He left one Dinar and 47 Dirhams, Some armour and a horse, this is all he left behind him, but I tell you what he left behind him, he left a legacy behind him, And on his tomb; they wrote: O Allah as his final victory; open for him the gates of Jannah.
[3:19]And today I want to speak about a person, you know by Allah; numbers never scared him, Europe threw everything that they had at him, Salahuddin fulfilled the rights of 'Jihad', Salahuddin fulfilled the rights of this 'Ummah', Salahuddin was ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of Allah, It was almost as though Allah kept Salahuddin back from the people of Badr, so he could deal with his enemies at a different place and a different time. And the testimony to the greatness of this man is that every single person claimed him, even his arch enemies claimed him, When the news of his bravery and compassion reached Europe; they couldn't believe that a non-white, non-Christian man could be so brave and so compassionate, And Salahuddin RA; he was a Kurd, because they felt; that it was their duty, that they had to liberate the lands, Because they felt that they were an 'Ummah', and Salahuddin was born in the fort of Tikrit, and his mother mentioned that when I was pregnant with Salahuddin RA; I saw a dream, That in my stomach; I have a sword form the swords of Allah SWT, great men create other great men, And this was the environment in which Salahuddin RA was bought up in, it was a military environment, there was never a day when the expulsion of the Crusaders was not mentioned, But it was not only a military environment, it was a very religious spiritual environment, and Salahuddin from a very early age, He became a 'Hafiz' of the Qur'an; he was a Shafee in 'Fiqh', and his greatest aspiration in life was to become a scholar; He loved the scholars, then he had the honour of being tutored by a man; regarded who Ibn Aatheer RA says: the Muslims never had a man who was as upright; And a caring and compassionate as Nuruddin Zinky RA, and Salahuddin would say that Nuruddin is my master, He modelled himself on Nuruddin, and also Nuruddin realised the potential in Salahuddin, and this is why; when in Damascus, Crime became rife; he made Salahuddin at a very tender age, in charge of the entire police of Damascus, And after a while; the Crusaders attacked Egypt, and what Adid the Caliph in Egypt did is that he cut off the hair of his wife, And he sent it to Nuruddin, and this meant that we can no longer look after our women; assist us! And Nuruddin RA didn't want to assist them, Because [see]; Al Adid and the Egyptians were Fatimites, but Shirku Ad-Din; the uncle of Salahuddin convinced him, and Salahuddin RA says: when my uncle came to me; To take me to Egypt; I didn't want to go, one because his aspirations was to become a scholar, but second he mentions; you know I thought I was gonna die, You know it is a possibility that you will dislike something, but there is good in it for you and by Allah, Salahuddin going there was good for the 'Ummah', It was good for history, he changed the landscape of history, and Shirku rid Egypt of the Crusaders, and shortly after this; Adid remained the Caliph, But Shirku became second in charge, after a while Shirku passed away, and the 'Ulama' [scholars] and the 'Fuqaha' [jurisprudence]; They chose Salahuddin RA as in the place of Shirku, and therefore Salahuddin RA became the second most powerful man in Egypt; He was only 32 at the time, and Salahuddin showed what a real leader should be, the people loved Salahuddin, He won their heart; he was a true leader, he showed love and compassion to people, Salahuddin was in Egypt and Nuruddin RA was in Syria, Now after Nuruddin passed away; Syria just fragmented, and they began to side with the Crusaders, and many of them were given annual tributes, They were actually giving annual tributes to the Crusaders, and the people of Syria were disgusted, because they were used to a man like Nuruddin, A powerful charismatic man, and the people of Syria; they turned to Salahuddin RA, and this was the time that Salahuddin started on his expeditions, Salahuddin RA spent longer; he spent longer fighting Muslims then he did non-Muslims, he fought with Muslims for over 10 years, Because he understood that if you are divided; you are weak, many of them sided with the Crusaders, and they released a man, Who was the greatest arch enemy of Islam; a man called Reginald de Châtillon, for fifteen years; this man had been in prison, Nuruddin had left him in the dungeons, and what did this man do? Soon as he mastered up an army; he marched on Makkah, And 'Nauzubillah'; he was saying: when I reach Makkah, I will bring the Kaabah to the ground, and then 'Nauzubillah'; he said: I will go to Madinah, And 'Nauzubillah'; I will take the camel herder from his grave, speaking about the Prophet SAW, and I will bring him back to my palace in Karak, And I will charge the Muslims to view his body, and the narrations mention and when Salahuddin heard this; he took out his sword; He lifted it to the skies and he said: by Allah; I will kill Reginald with my own hands, because he had a deep love for the Prophet SAW, And he dispatched an army under Husam Ad-Din Lu'lu, and Husam Ad-Din took a navy; he annihilated the army of Reginald, And four years after this; again when the Muslims and the Christian had a truce; Reginald attacked a Muslim caravan travelling from Egypt to Syria, And when Salahuddin heard this; he again took an oath; that he would kill this man with his own hands, and it was upon this occasion; That Salahuddin bought forth an army, and this is the famous battle; the Battle of Hittin, and the Crusaders bought forth an army, And when Salahuddin consulted his men, he said: what shall we do? Shall we carry on attacking their forts and their castles? Or shall we have a head on confrontation? And they said: carry on attacking their forts, and Salahuddin said: 'No'; he said: we will take them head on, Because none of us knows how long he is gonna live, and then he said: O my men; fight to please your Lord; do not fight to please me, And they marched on to the army of the Crusaders, the Crusader army was considerably larger than the Muslim army, the Crusader army were deeply in trenched, And they had barricaded themselves, so Salahuddin RA didn't rush, he showed what a military genius he was, what he did; he went to a near by fort, And this fort had the women and the children of the soldiers there, and he laid siege to it and then he put his back against the sea, The Christian charges were very strong, the Muslims had problem dealing with Christian charges, but tactically the Muslims were far superior, So what the Christians thought was one charge and Salahuddin will end up in the sea, and this is exactly what Salahuddin wanted them to think, So next morning; they marched, it was mid-summer; with them they had the True Cross, the True Cross was the most sacred relic in Christendom,
[11:16]It was believed that a part of this cross; upon it Eesa AS [Jesus PBUH] was crucified, and they believed that as long as they have this, They could never lose a battle, they'd actually believed that they had won the previous 20 battles, because of the 'Barakah' [protection] of this cross, And what Salahuddin RA he had put strategically; he had put archers on the way, and what he did; he poisoned all the wells, So when they begun to march these archers begun to shower arrows, so many arrows that the movements became snail pace, Thousands of them had perished, and they thought night would bring them relief, but historians mention that Salahuddin RA's men had encircled them in a manner; That not even an ant could go through, so from the Muslim camp there were the cries of 'Takbir': 'Allahu Akbar'! And from the Christian camp, There were the cries of the dying and the wounded, and next morning; Salahuddin RA noticed that the brushwood, was dry and the wind was blowing in the direction of the Crusaders, So it's mid-summer, no water and they lit the brushwood, and then now they began to choke on the smoke as well, and it was here that the Muslims attacked, And they were reciting the verse; and indeed it is a right upon us that we assist the believers, and then Salahuddin wanted to afflict the final psychological blow; And that was to capture the True Cross, and Salahuddin RA sent an entire regiment to capture it, and when the regiment captured it; this totally demoralised the Christians, And they fell by the wayside, and only 150 of them remained standing, around the King; 150 Knights, and the Muslims attacked, And Salahuddin RA was watching this, and his brother was standing next to him, and he said: 'Alhamdulillah'; we have defeated them, and Salahuddin said: wait not yet,
[13:26]When that tent falls; the tent of the King, then we have defeated them, and when Salahuddin RA was saying this, the tent fell and what did Salahuddin do? What did he do? Did he jump up and down? He descended from his mount and he went into 'Sajdah', because he understood that victory and defeat is from Allah SWT, And Salahuddin wasn't just a warrior, Ibn Shaddad mentions; Salahuddin for years never missed 'Salah' [prayer] with 'Jamat' [congregation], He didn't live in a palace, he lived on the tent in the battlefield, he wasn't just a warrior; he was a man of Allah SWT, This was such a complete victory; that when you looked at those who were dead, it was impossible to believe that anybody could have lived, And when you looked at those Christian Crusaders who were alive; there were so many of them, one could not believe that any one of them was dead, And Imam Zahabi RA says something profound here; he says: this was the greatest victory for the Muslims; since in 'Sham' [Levant], since Khalid Bin Waleed; Defeated the Romans at the Battle of Yarmouk, that is a profound statement, and Salahuddin RA didn't ease up here, Two days later; he was in Acre North, then they took Turan, Haifa, Arsuf, Beirut, Nablus; and a number of other places, And then Salahuddin RA; the reason he took all the ports; so the Crusaders could not get any more reinforcements in, and then Salahuddin RA marched on his greatest aim in life; And that was: liberation of the holy places, and somebody asked him; you know you're the King of Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, You very rarely smile; he had everything, and Salahuddin said: how can I smile? How can food and water taste good to me? When Baitul Maqdis is in the hands of the Crusaders, I wonder what Salahuddin would say if he was here today, And the astrologers had told Salahuddin; they said: O Salahuddin we have seen in the stars, that if you try to take Jerusalem; you will lose a eye, And Salahuddin said: you're talking about me losing a eye, I swear by Allah; I will take the Holy Lands, even if it means I walk into Jerusalem blind, And for 5 days Salahuddin went around Jerusalem, until on the 20th of Rajab; they found an ideal place to lay siege, And for 6 days; they pounded the city, and on the 26th; Ballion came out to ask for terms, Salahuddin said: I offered you terms initially; you didn't take them, Now the city is mine and then Ballion said: if you do not offer us terms; then we will kill the 5,000 Muslims in the city, And we will destroy the 'Masjid', and really this is a testimony to the greatness of Salahuddin RA, he could've easily said: do it! And when we take it; you will see what we do to your men, women and children; he knew that these Muslims have been in at the front line for 88 years, And he didn't want them to go through any more suffering, he realised this and Salahuddin gave Ballion terms, and Salahuddin RA entered when? He entered Jerusalem on the very night that the Prophet SAW entered Jerusalem, Salahuddin RA entered Jerusalem on the 27th of Rajab, And can you imagine how the Muslims must of felt when they entered? Can you imagine 88 years of persecution, Can you imagine when they saw the fortified walls of Jerusalem, they must have remembered the stories of how living Muslims, were catapulted over the walls of Jerusalem 88 years, When they saw the Christian women, they must have remembered the stories of how babies were snatched from their mother's breast and their heads was smashed against the walls,
[17:58]When they entered the 'Masjid'; they must of remembered the stories of how 70,000 Muslims were killed in the 'Masjid' in one day, Until the blood was running up to their knees of those who were doing the butchering, all these memories must have come back to the Muslims, But Salahuddin RA had a greater memory in the back of his mind, which over rid all these memories, and that was when the Prophet SAW re-entered Makkah, They must have seen the place where Bilal was dragged; until his skin would peel from his body, they must have seen that place where two young girls Lubayna and Unaisa were killed for what? Because they believed in 'La Ilaha Illallah', they must have seen the place where Ammar, Yasir, Sumayyah; the entire family would be persecuted, And in the heat of the moment; a 'Sahabi' [Companion] shouted out; Al Yawmu Yawmul Malhamah, today is the day of bloodshed, today is the day of retribution, Today is payback time, and the Prophet SAW heard this; and he said: O Saad come here! Change that cry into Al Yawmu Yawmul Marhamah. Today is the day of mercy, today is the day of forgiveness, and similarly Stanley Lane Pool mentions in his classic: That the Muslim King showed the Christians the meaning of compassion, Salahuddin in this early battles only killed one man and 200 Templars, And that man was the after the Battle of Hittin, who was it? Reginald de Châtillon, after the battle; they erected a tent for Salahuddin, The King was bought to Salahuddin, and Salahuddin gave him some water to drink; because he was lapping, and then he drank the water and he gave it to Reginald, And Salahuddin became angry he said: you gave it to him; I didn't give it to him, because if you gave somebody water; this was an indication; you've given him protection, And then Salahuddin RA walked up to Reginald; and he reminded him of his transgression, and he reminded him of what he said about the Prophet SAW, And Reginald said: this is what kings have always been doing, and Salahuddin offered him Islam; and he refused, and then Salahuddin said: do you know who I am? He said: I am the representative of the Prophet SAW, and then he fulfilled his promise, and then he put 200 other Knights to the sword, And then Salahuddin RA; he entered the 'Masjid', after 88 years; they are coming back in to the third holiest place, And when Europe had heard that the Holy Lands had been taken from them, Europe went ablaze; Pope Urban the 2nd died out of grief, And then the subsequent Pope wrote a letter to all the Kings; that they should send every able person to fight, Just from Germany; Frederick the King bought a million fighters, 'Alhamdullillah'; he drowned on the way and the army dispersed, Richard [England], Philip [France]; they bought 600,000 men, and Salahuddin was amazed at the zeal of Christendom, He wrote letters to all the Muslim leaders; nobody obliged, he would mention in the letters that they are more Christians at Acre then there are waves in the sea, He says: every time we kill one; they send another thousand, and 600,000 Crusaders camped at Acre, and what they did is that they made trenches around them, And they barricaded themselves in, so Salahuddin RA couldn't attack them from behind, and for two years; Salahuddin remained in the field; He would cry at the apathy of the Muslim leaders, we cry at the apathy of the Muslim leaders today, All those problem which existed in the time of Salahuddin, All exist today; the only thing different is that there is no Salahuddin to bring the 'Ummah' together, and Ibn Shaddad mentions that at Acre, Salahuddin was like a mother who had lost its child, You see this is why we remember Salahuddin, and this is why all the other leaders are forgotten, in the time of Salahuddin; how many Kings were there? There were three Caliphs in the time of Salahuddin, does anybody know the name of any one of those Caliphs? Because they didn't care; so history forgot them, But history remembers Salahuddin because he cared, when they lived in their palaces; where did Salahuddin live? He lived in a tent, When they slept on comfortable beds, when others had big meals in the palaces, for three days Salahuddin ate nothing, When others lived with their families in their palaces; Salahuddin was on the battlefield; he was dodging arrows, Ibn Shaddad mentions that one day the news came that Salahuddin brother had passed away, Then his nephew had passed away and he begun to cry, and no we didn't know why he was crying; but we begun to cry with him, He says: then Salahuddin RA went on the battlefield, and it was as though nothing had happened, he was the same Salahuddin, and this is why history remembers Salahuddin, Finally the Crusaders after two years; the Muslims in Acre asked for terms, Richard gave them two terms, and then after that he butchered every man, woman and child in Acre, And he mentions that; the day I was sitting next to Salahuddin RA, and he prayed the two 'Rakats' and then he begun to cry, And he was making 'Dua' [supplication], he said: O Allah; all my own resources I had exhausted in assisting your 'Deen', and the only thing I have left is that I turn to you, And I hold on to your rope; and I ask you for your 'Fadl' and your grace, and Ibn Shaddad mentions: I saw Salahuddin cry; until his beard became drenched, And then the mat in front of him became wet, that the next morning the news came; that the Crusaders had lifted their siege, and Richard had said his famous statement: As long as a man like Salahuddin, is protecting Jerusalem; you will never take it, and then it was Richard who asked for a truce, Salahuddin never asked for a truce, Salahuddin didn't want a truce, he would say: that I fear that when I die; the Muslim armies would disperse, And the Europeans will become strong, so the best that we can do is fight them, he had this greater goal, Ibn Shaddad mentions that I was at Asqalan and this was the first time I had seen the sea, and the sea was pounding; the waves, And I remembered the opinion of some scholars, that anybody who goes to sea; his testimony shouldn't be taken, because he can't be mentally sane, And he says: when I saw the nature of the sea, I understood the validity of this opinion, and whilst I was thinking this; Salahuddin came to me, And he said: O Ibn Shaddad, when we have cleansed the Holy Lands, of the Crusaders; what I wish is that I go over this land, And I spread the word of Islam, until not one 'Kaafir' is left on the face of this earth, and Ibn Shaddad said: O Salahuddin, You are the pillar of this 'Deen' [religion], you are the protector of this 'Deen', what will happen if you die? And Salahuddin turned to him and he said: O Ibn Shaddad, What is the greatest of deaths? And he said: martyrdom, and Salahuddin said: that is what I desire, the truce took place and Ballion said in awe of Salahuddin, He said: O Salahuddin; you have achieved something in Islam that nobody before you has achieved, he said: 600,000 Crusaders came; and only one in ten returned, It was almost as though Allah had kept Salahuddin alive just for that period, after the truce Salahuddin went back to Damascus, And the narration mention that one wet day; he went to visit the Hajjis, when he came back it was cold; it's wet, he became ill and everyday his state got worse, And Al Imad mentions: I was with Salahuddin when he was ill, he said: the weaker his body got; the stronger his trust in Allah became, On the 9th day; Salahuddin became unconscious, and Sheikh Jafar mentions: that I was reciting the Qur'an by his bed, and when I reached the verses: He it is Allah and no Lord besides him, the Knower of the Unseen, he said: Salahuddin had been unconscious for a while, and I heard a faint voice saying: 'Saheeh', [you have spoken the truth], And then he mentions; for three days I recited the Qur'an by the bed of Salahuddin, and he said: on the final day when he passed away; I reached the verse: there is no god but Allah; And upon him I trust, and I saw Salahuddin's face become radiant, and he recited the 'Shahadah', and he left this 'Dunya', And Ibn Shaddad mentions that this was the greatest calamity to befall the Muslims, since the demise of the 'Khulafah Rashidun', And Abdul Latif the famous physician says: that he was mourned like a Prophet, because everybody loved him, he passed away at the time of Fajr, And after Zuhur; they bought his body out, and the narrations mention; that people screamed and cried, as though the whole 'Dunya' had just become one place, And many people when they saw his dead body, they couldn't believe it; they became unconscious, the liberator of the Holy Lands, and what did this King leave behind him? King of Egypt, King of Syria, Lebanon, Yemen; what did he leave behind him? He left one Dinar and 47 Dirhams, Some armour and a horse, this is all he left behind him, but I tell you what he left behind him, he left a legacy behind him, He left a legacy behind him, and on his tomb; they wrote: O Allah as his final victory; open for him the gates of Jannah,
