Sibṭ al-Jawzī (1) said: Najm al-Dīn ibn Sallām told me, quoting his father, that when the Franks encamped before Damietta, Nūr al-Dīn fasted for twenty consecutive days, breaking his fast only with water. He grew so weak he was on the verge of collapse, yet he enjoyed such awe that no one dared remonstrate with him.

His imam, Yaḥyā, said that he saw the Prophet ﷺ in his sleep saying, “O Yaḥyā, give Nūr al-Dīn the glad tidings that the Franks will depart from Damietta.”

I replied, “Messenger of Allah, he may not believe me.”

He said, “Tell him: the proof is the affair of the Day of Ḥārim.”

Yaḥyā awoke. When Nūr al-Dīn had performed the dawn prayer and begun to supplicate, Yaḥyā was overawed, whereupon Nūr al-Dīn said, “Yaḥyā, will you speak first, or shall I?”

Yaḥyā trembled and fell silent, so Nūr al-Dīn continued, “Very well, I shall speak: last night you saw the Prophet ﷺ, and he told you such-and-such.”

Yaḥyā answered, “Yes—by Allah, my lord—but what does he mean by ‘the sign of the Day of Ḥārim’?”

Nūr al-Dīn explained, “When we met the enemy on that day, I feared for Islam. I withdrew, dismounted, rubbed my face in the dust and said, ‘My Master, who is Mahmūd amid these ranks? The religion is Yours, the troops are Yours; on this day, act in a manner befitting Your generosity.’ Allah then granted us victory over them.”

Tāj al-Dīn also told me: Nūr al-Dīn smiled only rarely. A group of hadith scholars once recited to him the report on smiling and said to him, “Smile!” He replied, “I do not smile without good reason.” (2)

I say: the isnād of that report is not sound, yet smiling is recommended, for the Prophet ﷺ said, “Your smile in your brother’s face is charity.” (3)

Jarīr ibn ʿAbd Allāh said: “He never screened me—”