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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| [BOOK REVIEW] The life of Salah ad-Deen al-Ayyubi |
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| Kashif |
| 03/17/02 at 06:39:58 |
| [size=4]The life of Salah-ud-Din Ayyobi[/size] [size=3]by Beha ad-Deen, 412 pages[/size] [i]"Having seen the goodly days of the reign of our Sultan, it was possible for me to believe certain traditions of the men of olden time that are commonly considered improbably and fictitious, and to accept as true, anecdotes of noble and benevolent men... With my own eyes i had seen men who fought in God's cause display a hardihood in the midst of danger which would surpass belief... Nevertheless, these deeds are of such nature that he who knows them cannot keep them concealed, and he who has witnessed them feels compelled to pass on to others a narrative of the wonders he has seen."[/i] I chanced upon this book in my favourite Islamic shop, Dar al-Taqwa in London, and was quick to pick up this gem sitting by itself in the middle of the new stock of books. Its authored by Beha ad-Deen Abul-Muhsin Yusuf, better known as Ibn Shiddad, who Salah ad-Deen appointed to various governmental positions during their time together. He is described as a person of some religious knowledge himself, who used to teach hadith in his old age, and he notes that for the years that he covers in which he wasn't in the Sultan's service he uses only the reports of those who were upright and known for their truth, otherwise everything else is restricted to what he saw with his own two eyes. The book itself is as much a book of history of the Crusades as it is biography of Salah ad-Deen. It spends very little time on the early years of the emir, and instead begins with an inspiring chapter describing the merits, both worldly and religious of Salah ad-Deen. It then moves onto the multitude of wars that Salah ad-Deen fought against the Crusades, describing his thoughts and fears during the days of fighting, his rallying of his troops, his politics in dealing with the Crusaders, and his good and benevolent character. What is clear through all the book is Salah ad-Deen's completeness as a Muslim man. Not only did he excel in his worldly dealings, but also impressive is the kindness and generosity, based on his own religiousness, which he showed to his own troops, and the kings and the ambassadors of the crusaders. One aspect of the book i found *slightly* annoying was the almost overpraise of Salah ad-Deen at times, as you might expect of people describing their king, but this is restricted to the beginning of the book and falls away completely for the majority of it. I would recommend this book to those interested in history and those who seek to read an account of a vastly inspiring man who lived outside the era of the earliest Muslims. The translation by C. W. Wilson is good, and the discussions of war which i feared would slow down the book do not occur at all; each chapter flows swiftly into the next. I rate this book: [size=4]7 out of 10[/size] Kashif Wa Salaam |
| NS |
| 03/17/02 at 06:51:38 |
| Kashif |
| Re: [BOOK REVIEW] The life of Salah ad-Deen al-Ayy |
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| nouha |
| 03/17/02 at 15:36:50 |
| [slm] YO!!!!! LABOOGIEEEEEE!!!! you shouldve read this book before saturday if you know what i mean LOL LOL !!! :-/ (sorry inside joke) [wlm] nouha:) |
| Re: [BOOK REVIEW] The life of Salah ad-Deen al-Ayy |
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| Laboogie |
| 03/17/02 at 17:02:01 |
| [slm] SHUT UP nouha :P You just mad cause we had a better name then u guys and we had an awesome group leader---which was ME !!!! 8) |
| Re: [BOOK REVIEW] The life of Salah ad-Deen al-Ayy |
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| Asim |
| 04/14/02 at 23:49:22 |
| Assalaamu alaikum, I got the following book from the library. It seems to have the same content, but the biblio details are different. The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin (al-Nawaadir al-Sultaaaniyya wa'l-Mahaasin al-Yoosufiyya - Bahaa' al-Deen Ibn Shaddaad) Translated by DS Richards Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2001, 264 pages. There seems to be several translations of Bahaa' al-Deen bio of Salahuddin. Wasalaam. |
| 04/15/02 at 00:30:15 |
| Asim |
| Re: [BOOK REVIEW] The life of Salah ad-Deen al-Ayy |
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| Kashif |
| 04/15/02 at 05:58:33 |
| wa 'alaikum us-salaam My copy is translated by C. Wilson from May, 1897 - 105 years ago. Kashif Wa Salaam |
| NS |
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