He was the son of Sultan Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb. He was born in Egypt in 568 AH. He heard ḥadīth from Abū al-Ṭāhir ibn ʿAwf, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Barrī the grammarian, and al-Faḍl ibn al-Bānyāsī, and he in turn narrated.

He ruled Aleppo for thirty years.

In childhood he was strikingly handsome, and in manhood comely of form. He possessed intellect, insight, shrewdness, and sound judgment.

He cultivated the friendship of the frontier kings and treated with them in private, persuading them that, were it not for him, his uncle al-ʿĀdil would march against them, while at the same time leading his uncle to believe that, were it not for him, those kings would unite against him and shatter their allegiance.

He was liberal and open-handed: he sent splendid gifts to kings and honored envoys, poets, and petitioners.

His uncle favored him on account of his daughter; when she died, the uncle married him to her sister, who bore him his son al-Malik al-ʿAzīz. When the child was born, Aleppo was festively adorned for two full months, and he lavished precious wealth on the occasion. His brothers and their children had gathered around him, so he paired their sons with their daughters, solemnizing in a single day a little over twenty marriage contracts (1).