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History of the Crusades
By Abul Hassan Ali
Nadwi
Revival
Restoration
As the basic values of religion were concerned, they remained intact and free
from all distortion. They remained absolutely free from all kinds of innovation,
interpolation, misconstruction or suppression. Islam did never wink at the
lapses of its followers. It was always on the alert, correcting, mending, and
admonishing.
The Qur’an and the Sunnah were continually there – intact and unpolluted – to
guide and to judge on occasions of doubt and dispute. They kept alive the spirit
of defiance against the libertinism of the ruling classes and against the other
un-Islamic influences. The whole course of Islamic history is lighted up with
the crusading endeavors of conscious, determined, brave hearted men who, like
the true successors of the prophets, faced the challenge of the time and
restored, revived and kept on moving the Millat by resorting to Jihad and
Ijtihad.
These two principles, which embody the dynamism of Islam, could never suffer a
vacuum in its structure. They remained operative ceaselessly in the body of
Islam as living factors, holding aloft the torch of religious endeavor in the
midst of the severest tempests. Thus it was that darkness was never allowed to
spread itself over the whole World of Islam.
Similarly, at every critical turn of its history, some mighty man of action,
some inspired defender of the Faith did invariably burst upon the scene to beat
off whatever that threatened the existence of the Millat. Two of the many such
outstanding personalities produced by the deathless spirit of Islam to defend
itself were Nuruddin Zang and Salahuddin Ayyub.
The Crusades and the Zangi Dynasty
Europe had been harboring evil designs against the followers of Islam ever since
they had annexed the eastern wing of the Roman Empire including all the
Christian holy places. But, as the Muslims then were strong enough to defy all
incursions, the Christian nations of Europe could not bring themselves to
challenge them.
Towards the close of the 11th century, however, the situation underwent a
change, and great armies of Crusaders were organised all over the European
continent to attack the Muslim countries of Palestine and Syria. The Crusaders
regained possession of Jerusalem in 1099 (492 A.H) and over-ran the greater part
of Palestine. Describing their invasion Stanley Lane-Poole says:
“ The Crusaders penetrated like a wedge between the old wood and the new, and
for a while seemed to cleave the trunk of Mohammedan Empire into splinters.”
Of the unspeakable cruelties perpetrated upon the helpless Muslims by the
Christians on their entry into Jerusalem, a responsible Christian history
writes:
“So terrible, it is said, was the carnage which followed that the horses of the
Crusaders who rode up to the mosque of Omar were knee-deep in the stream of
blood. Infants were seized by their feet and dashed against the walls or whirled
over the battlements, while the Jews were all burnt alive in their synagogue.”
The conquest of Jerusalem by the Christians was a momentous event. It exposed
the rot that had started in the lands of Islam. Besides that it announced the
awakening of Europe after the Dark Ages which had followed the decline of Rome.
It threw the entire Muslim World into jeopardy. The spirits of the Christians
rose so high after it that Reginald, the master of Krak, began to dream of
laying his hands on the holy cities of Macca and Medina.
The most calamitous hour in the history of Islam since the Tragedy of Apostasy
(during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr) was struck. Right at that moment there arose,
from an unexpected quarter, new star on the firmament of Islam. It was Zangi
dynasty of Mosul, two members of which Imadudding Zangi and Nuruddin Zangi
repeatedly defeated the Crusaders and drove them out of almost every town in
Palestine except Jerusalem.
Nuruddin holds a high place in the history of Islam for his administrative
merit, piety, humility, justice and zest for Jihad. A contemporary chronicler
Ibn Athlr al-Jazari, while speaking of Nuruddin, observes, “ I have studied the
lives of and “Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz, none among them was more religious, just
and clement than he.”
When Nuruddin died, Salahuddin took the field as the spearhead of Muslim
resistance. Fighting battle after battle, he inflicted a crushing defeat on the
Crusaders at Hittin on July 4, 1187 (Rabi II 14, 583 A.H.). The hopes of the
Christians were dashed to the ground. Their armies were so totally demoralized
that:
“A single Saracen was seen dragging some thirty Christians he had taken
prisoners and tied together with ropes. The dead lay in heaps, like stones upon
stones, among broken crosses, severed hands and feet, whilst mutilated heads
strewed the ground like a plentiful crop of melons.”
Salahuddin then proceeded to retake Jerusalem. The fire that had been blazing in
the breasts of the Muslims since that city had fallen into the hands of the
Christians was at last quenched. Kazi ibn Shaddad, an intimate friend and
counselor of the Sultan, has set forth the stirring spectacle of the victory of
Jerusalem in these words:
“On all sides prayers were being offered; from all sides the cries of “ Allah u
Akbar” could be heard. After ninety years the Jum’a prayers were offered in
Jerusalem. The cross, which the Christian soldiers had mounted on the Dome of
the Rock, was pulled down. It was a wonderful spectacle. The grace of the
Almighty and the triumph of Islam were visible everywhere.”
The generosity, the magnanimity and the high sense of Islamic morality, which
Salahuddin displayed in that hour of his triumph, have been universally
applauded by the historians. Says Stanley Lane-Poole:
“ If the taking of Jerusalem were the only fact known about Saladin, it were
enough to prove him the most chivalrous and great-hearted conqueror of his own
and perhaps of any age.”
Europe was furious at these reverses. In desperation, the Crusaders from every
European country made a great rally towards Syria and another series of bitter
battles was fought between the Christians and the Muslims. Once again Salahuddin
stood gallantly through the storm of concentrated Christian fury.
After five years of relentless fighting, truce was singed at Ramla in 1192 A.C.
The Muslims retained Jerusalem and all the other towns and fortresses they had
captured, while the Christians reigned only over the small state of Acre. Thus,
at last, the task, which Salahuddin had set himself, or rather, the mission God
had charged him with, was accomplished. Lane-Pool observes:
“The Holy War was over; the five years’ contest ended. Before the great victory
at Hittin in July 1187, not an inch of Palestine west of the Jordan was in the
Muslims’ hands. After the Peace of Ramla in September, 1192, the whole land was
theirs except a narrow strip of coast from Tyre of Jaffa. Saladin had no cause
to be ashamed of the treaty.”
Salahuddin was a man of extraordinary ability and energy. His capacity for
organization and leadership was astounding. After hundreds of years he had
succeeded in uniting the various nations and tribes among Muslims under the
banner of Jihad, by making them forget their feuds and jealousies for the sake
of Islam:
“All the strength of Christendom concentrated in the Third Crusade had not
shaken Saladin’s power. His soldiers may have murmured at their long months of
hard and perilous service year after year, but they never refused to come to his
summons and lay down their lives in his cause.
“Kurds, Turkmans, Arabs and Egyptians, they were all Moslems and his servants
when he called. In spite of their differences of race. Their national jealousies
and tribal pride, he had kept them together as one host –not without difficulty
and, twice or thrice, a critical waver.”
The Death of Salahuddin
This faithful son of Islam passed away on March 4, 1193 A.C. (Safar 27, 598
A.H.). His selfless, crusading spirit had made the Muslim world safe from the
tyranny of the West for a long time to come. But the Christians had derived an
immense benefit form these wars and they busied themselves at once in preparing
for a new assault. Their turn came in the 19th century.
The Muslims, on their part, wavered again and allowed the ground to slip from
under their feet. They began to fight among themselves. To their misfortune,
they were not blessed with another leader possessing the iron purpose, glowing
enthusiasm and unflinching sincerity of Salahuddin.
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