They also secured abundant spoils, while the Tatars were humiliated and fled in disarray (1).

In 705 AH a Tatar contingent mounted an assault against the Aleppan army. Shaykh Abu al-‘Abbas set out with a detachment of troops to confront them, and the sultan’s deputy followed with the remainder of the Syrian forces. In this campaign the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—displayed such learning and valor that the hearts of his foes were filled with envy and grief (2).

From this concise review we see that the political life of the Muslims during the Shaykh’s era was unsettled; the rapid succession of events and wars undermined stability and drove the finest sons of the land to warfare and jihad. That describes the political situation outside the Mamluk realm.

As for the internal scene, their rule was rife with strife, assassinations, and intrigues. Hardly would matters settle and favor a particular sultan before an emir would overreach, attempting to usurp authority. Thus, brute force was one of the hallmarks of that age (3), leaving the sultans perpetually vulnerable to murder, deposition, and humiliation.

There is no doubt that this turbulence had an adverse effect on the scholars of the time, who had pledged themselves to directing the people toward what is right and making the truth plain to them. They were indignant toward the faction that sought to stir up disorder through its plotting against the sultans—especially since those rulers had openly defended the Muslim lands, protected their inhabitants, repelled the recurring Tatar attacks, as we have seen, looked after the subjects’ interests, and disseminated justice among them (4).