RAMADAN 583 AH/1187 AD - THE GREAT BATTLE OF HATTIN, SALAHUDDIN AL-AYYUBI AND ISLAMIC UNITY

The story of Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi (or Saladin as he is known to the west) and the Battle of Hattin is well-documented; their details will not be recounted here. Salahuddin is best known for his conquest of Jerusalem and his clash with Richard the Lionheart. Salahuddin was a hero and a great warrior of Islam; he became the most powerful figure in the Islamic world and the ruler of a sizable empire held together almost entirely by his own abilities.

The Empire of Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi

The Battle

In summary, the Battle of Hattin was a battle that took place in northern Palestine (near Tiberias in present day Israel) that marked the defeat of the Christian Crusader armies of Guy de Lusignan, king of Jerusalem (reigned 1186–92), by the Muslim forces of Salahuddin. It paved the way for the Muslim reconquest of the city of Jerusalem (October 1187 or 583 AH) and of the greater part of the three Latin States - Tripoli, Antioch, and Jerusalem - thus nullifying the achievements made in the Holy Land by the leaders of the first Crusades and alerting Europe to the need for an ultimately unsuccessful third Crusade.

A painting showing the Crusaders' 1099
massacre and destruction during their
invasion of Jerusalem.

88 years before the Battle of Hattin, the Crusaders set out for Palestine to 'Free the Holy land from the Muslims' and find the fabled wealth of the East. After a long and wearying journey, and much plundering and slaughter of Muslims, they reached Jerusalem in 1099. The city fell after a siege of nearly five weeks, and the Crusaders moved in. And they carried out a savagery the like of which the world has seldom seen. All Muslims and Jews in the city were put to the sword. In two days, the Crusader army killed some 40,000 Muslims in the most barbaric ways. The peace and harmony in Palestine, which had lasted since Umar Al-Khatab, the second caliph after the Prophet s.a.w., ended in terrible slaughter. The Crusaders violated all the ethical laws of Christianity, a religion of love and compassion, and spread terror, allegedly in the name of Christianity.

During the 1170s and 1180s, however, the Muslim states surrounding the kingdom of Jerusalem had been united by Salahuddin. Salahuddin had been appointed vizier of Egypt in 1169 and soon came to rule the country as Sultan. In 1174, he imposed his rule over Damascus; his authority extended to Aleppo by 1176 and Mosul by 1183. For the first time, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was encircled by Muslim territory united under one ruler. The Crusaders defeated Salahuddin at the Battle of Montgisard in 1177, and in the early 1180s there was an uneasy truce between the two sides, which was broken by the raids of Christian Prince Reynald, lord of Kerak castle, on Muslim caravans passing through his fief of Oultrejordain. Raynald also threatened to attack Mecca itself.

Although tensions had increasingly escalated between Christians and Muslims leading up to the Battle of Hattin, it was not until 1186 that an event sparked the renewal of major hostilities in the Holy Land. It was then that Reynald refused to honor a truce between Christians and Muslims, and attacked a caravan of Muslim pilgrims. Salahuddin retaliated by gathering his Muslim forces and began a campaign that leading to the famous battle of Hattin.

Paintings depicting the Battle of Hattin

In July 1187 the Crusaders were camped at Sepphoris, about 20 miles (32 km) west of the Sea of Galilee, when word reached them that Salahuddin had attacked the city of Tiberias along the lake. On July 3 about 15,000 Crusaders abandoned their camp to go to the relief of the besieged city. Their route took them through a hot, arid plain where, halfway to Tiberias, they ran out of water while under continual harassment from Salahuddin's cavalry. The Crusaders' condition worsened after a night spent without water, but the next morning they resumed their march, heading toward a range of hills above the village of Hattin.

Battle of Hattin: Left: Battle Area. Right: Battle Map 

Horns of Hattin (2005), viewed from the east

Confronted by Salahuddin's army, the Crusaders, who were no longer able to fight effectively, left the road and were driven back against the two largest hills, the Horns of Hattin, by the Muslims. There they suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of the 18,000-man Muslim army. Most of the Crusaders were killed on the field, but Salahuddin spared the lives of King Guy and most of the Christian lords. On the day after the battle, Salahuddin launched his campaign to retake the city of Jerusalem.

Salahuddin and Guy of Lusignan after the 
Battle of Hattin

The situation leading up to the battle was described in a 14th century Muslim account of Sihab al-Din, which was reportedly based on eyewitness sources, as follows:

In the year 583 AH [1187 AD] Salahuddin's campaign and conquests began. This year the sultan gathered the army and set out with a division of soldiers to lay siege to Kerak, because he feared that the lord of Kerak should attack pilgrims. He sent another division with his son Malik al-Afdal to raid the region of Acre, and they took a lot of things as booty. The sultan then went to Tiberias, took up his quarters there, laid siege to the town and occupied it by force of arms. But the citadel resisted. Tiberias belonged to the count, lord of Tripoli, who had exchanged gifts with the sultan and had accepted obedience to him. The Franks sent priests and the patriarch to the count to keep him from his agreement with the sultan. They rebuked him, and he was brought along with them. The Franks gathered to meet the sultan, and the battle of Hattin took place. Allah helped the Muslims to be victorious, they surrounded the Franks on all sides and destroyed them, killing and capturing them. The group of prisoners included the great king of the Franks, the prince Reynald, lord of Kerak, the lord of Jubail, Humphrey, the son of the Humphrey, the grand master of the Temple and a lot of Hospitallers. From that time the Franks never managed to invade Syria. With this very important battle Allah gave dominion over the coast and the holy city [Jerusalem]. [Deremilitari.org]

The Islamic Union of Salahuddin

The story of Salahuddin is that of one of the most attractive figures in Medieval history, a rare example of a leader who was respected on both sides of the religious divide in the Holy Land, and one whose reputation has deservedly survived intact across the intervening centuries. Of greater significance and often overlooked is the example from history of Islamic unity under the great and just leadership of Salahuddin.

Salahuddin was noted in historical sources for his justice, courage, and honorable character.

History clearly shows that the Islamic world can rise again only if it returns to its own central tenets and values, the most important of which is Muslim unity and solidarity. The Islamic world's stance against the Crusaders is an important example in this regard. When the armies of the First Crusade reached the Middle East, the Muslims were divided into fractions stemming from various disputes and arguments. This disunity prevented them from putting up an effective resistance, and so the barbaric European invaders were able to create an empire centered on Jerusalem after slaughtering the native population. However, decades later, the Muslim commander Salahuddin united the different Muslim groups under his command and defeated the invaders.

Nevertheless, defeating the Crusaders was not going to happen overnight. Salahuddin not only united the Muslims under one flag, but also started a scientific and moral awareness. The Encyclopedia Britannica says:

It was an essential part of his [Salahuddin's] policy to encourage the growth and spread of Muslim religious institutions. He courted its scholars and preachers, founded colleges and mosques for their use, and commissioned them to write edifying works...Through moral regeneration, which was a genuine part of his own way of life, he tried to re-create in his own realm some of the same zeal and enthusiasm that had proved so valuable to the first generations of Muslims when, five centuries before, they had conquered half the known world. ["Saladin," The Encyclopedia Britannica, 2002 Edition]

When this moral, scientific, and religious regeneration combined with political unity, Islamic civilization rose once more. Salahuddin, commanding a united Islamic army, defeated the disbanded and demoralized Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin in 1187 and freed almost all of the occupied Palestinian land, including Jerusalem.

One of the most prominent aspects of Salahuddin's Islamic Union was that it represented the Qur'anic ideals of justice, moderation, and peacefulness. While best known for this military victory, Salahuddin was also very forgiving and just toward the Crusaders as well as all other Christians. Even though the Crusaders had inflicted unspeakable cruelty on the Muslims, Salahuddin exacted no revenge upon them, and no civilian was harmed when he freed Jerusalem. In addition, he maintained his authority over the radicals within his own ranks. Following the slaughter of 3,000 innocent Muslim civilians at Castle Acre, ordered by King Richard the Lion-Hearted, commander of the Third Crusade, some Muslims demanded revenge: They wanted to massacre Jaffa's (today's Tel Aviv) Christians. Salahuddin successfully calmed his soldiers down and extinguished their bloodlust, and so guaranteed the safety of Jaffa's Christians.

In the end, Salahuddin brought peace to the Holy Land by granting the Crusaders some privileges and concessions. On 28 August 1192, the two parties agreed upon and signed a peace treaty. Salahuddin made a great gesture: He invited the Crusader's commanders, who had killed thousands of Muslims in their quest to conquer Jerusalem, to stay there as his guests. Those Crusaders visiting Jerusalem were astonished by the Muslims' great forgiveness, compassion, and justice. On one occasion, upon learning that his former enemy King Richard was sick, Salahuddin sent his own physician to treat him, along with some ice to reduce his temperature. Salahuddin became a legend throughout Europe for his righteous character, which was based on the Qur'an's values.

In short, Salahuddin's Islamic Union gave the Muslims power and victory, as well as the opportunity to realize the justice, compassion, and peacefulness central to Islamic morality. Muslims were moved to serve Islam, prevent some radical movements from spreading among Muslims, and live according to the Qur'an.

The Justice of Salahuddin

Immediately after Hattin, and on the very same day that Prophet Mohammed had been taken from Mecca to Jerusalem in one night, the day of the ascent [Isra' Mi'raj], Salahuddin entered Jerusalem and freed it from 88 years of Crusader occupation. When the Crusaders had taken the city 88 years earlier, they had killed all the Muslims inside it, and for that reason they were afraid that Salahuddin would do the same thing to them. Whereas he did not touch even one Christian in the city. Furthermore, he merely ordered the Latin (Catholic) Christians to leave it. The Orthodox Christians, who were not Crusaders, were allowed to live in the city and live and worship as they chose. The British historian Karen Armstrong describes the second Islamic capture of Jerusalem in these words:

On 2 October 1187 Saladin and his army entered Jerusalem as conquerors and for the next 800 years Jerusalem would remain a Muslim city...Saladin kept his word, and conquered the city according to the highest Islamic ideals. He did not take revenge for the 1099 [Crusader's] massacre [of the Muslim], as the Qur'an advised [Surah Al-Nahl 16:127], and now that hostilities had ceased he ended the killing [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:193-194]. Not a single Christian was killed and there was no plunder. The ransoms were deliberately very low...

Saladin...released many of them freely, as the Koran urged,...His brother al-Adil was so distressed by the plight of the prisoners that he asked Saladin for a thousand of them for his own use and then released them on the spot...

When Imad ad-Din saw the Patriarch Heraclius leaving the city with chariots crammed with treasure, he urged Saladin to confiscate it. But Saladin refused. The Qur'an said that oaths and treaties must be kept to the letter and it was essential that the Muslims should observe the legalities...Heraclius paid his ten-dinar ransom like everybody else and was even provided with a special escort to keep his treasure safe during the journey to Tyre. [Karen Armstrong, Holy War]

In short, Salahuddin and the Muslims in his command treated the Christians with great mercy and justice, and even showed them more compassion than their own leaders had.

 When King Richard I of England captured the Castle of Acre, he massacred the Muslims. The painting above depicts the 
executions of hundreds of Muslim captives. Their corpses and severed heads piled up beneath the platform.

After Jerusalem, the Crusaders continued their barbarity and the Muslims their justice in other cities in Palestine. In 1194, Richard the Lionheart, who is portrayed as a great hero in British history, had 3,000 Muslims, among whom were many women and children, basely executed in Acre Castle. Although the Muslims witnessed this savagery, they never resorted to the same methods. They abided by Allah's command "Do not let hatred for a people...incite you into going beyond the limits" [Surah Al-Ma'ida 5:8] and never used violence against innocent civilians. They never employed unnecessary violence, not even against the Crusader armies they defeated.

The savagery of the Crusaders and the justice of the Muslims once more revealed a historic truth: Only an administration built on the principles of Islam could allow people of different faiths to live together in Palestine. This fact continued to be demonstrated for 700 years after Salahuddin, particularly during the Ottoman period.

Lessons from the Battle of Hattin and Salahuddin's Islamic Union
 
Eight centuries have passed since the time of Salahuddin's Islamic Union. Today's Muslims need an Islamic Union for the same reasons as they did back then. Although the Islamic world is not under attack by a coalition army, as it was at the time of the Crusades, it is facing many threats. Furthermore, the Islamic world has fallen behind other civilizations in terms of science, technology, culture, art, and thought. Ever since the nineteenth century, the Islamic world has been seriously harmed by the many false ideologies and philosophies produced elsewhere, imported into its midst by misguided people, and spread among those who were not familiar with the Qur'an's values. On the other hand, some radicals who claimed to represent Islam while doing their best to subvert its morality, often unknowingly helped those who were consciously sewing the seeds for later conflict.

For all of this to end, Muslims must rebuild their civilization so that it can once again guide the world, light the path, and deliver peace and justice. But if this vision is to become a reality, they must follow Salahuddin's method: working for the rebirth of Islamic morality, knowledge, and faith, based on the Qur'an and Sunnah, and achieving the Islamic world's political union.

Video: The Battle of Hattin

[Source: Palestine, Islamic Union, The Islamic Union of Saladin Al-Ayyubi, and Islam Has Brought Peace and Harmony to the Middle East All Through History (edited). Some images added.]