Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (14/344)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

Next, the Sultan appointed over Nablus his nephew (1) Ḥusām al-Dīn ʿUmar b. Muḥammad b. Lājīn (2), the very man who had taken the city. In this short span the total of the Sultan’s conquests reached almost fifty large towns, each defended by fighting men, a fortress, and strong ramparts—praise be to Allah. From these places the army and the Muslims took spoils, [and they seized innumerable captives, beyond all counting or description. Islam and its people, East and West alike, rejoiced at this great victory and these tremendous conquests] (3).

[The Sultan then left his troops to delight in these victories and the plentiful booty] (4) for several months, that they might rest and recuperate (5) themselves and their mounts, and ready themselves for the liberation of the noble Jerusalem. Word spread among the people that the Sultan (6) was resolved to take Jerusalem, so scholars came to him, [together with pious men and volunteers from every distant valley. His brother al-ʿĀdil] (7) arrived after the Battle of Ḥittīn and the capture of Acre, and he too took many fortresses [as well. Thus an enormous host of volunteer armies from among Allah’s servants assembled] (8). At that juncture the Sultan (9) set out for Jerusalem with those in his company, as will be detailed shortly.

[Poets (10) lauded King Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn for the Battle of Ḥittīn; they composed copiously, at length, and with lavish eloquence] (11). Al-Qāḍī al-Fāḍil wrote to him from Damascus—he (12) was staying there because of an illness that had afflicted him (13):

“Congratulations to the master, for Allah has through him upheld the upright religion. As it has been said: ‘You have become my master and the master of every Muslim.’ He has bestowed upon him the two blessings, inner and outer, and made him heir to the two dominions: the dominion of this world and the dominion of the hereafter. The servant writes: in this service our heads have not yet been lifted from their prostration, nor have the tears been wiped from our cheeks, and whenever one reflects (14) …”

(1) In manuscript T: “ibn akhīhi” (“his nephew”), which is a scribal error. (2) So read in both primary versions; in the annals for the year 587 AH it is recorded that his sister’s son was named Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Lājīn. (3) In manuscript T: “shayʾan kathīran wa sabaw khalqan” (“many things, and they reviled certain people”). (4) In manuscript T: “thumma inna al-sulṭān amara juyūshahu an tartaʿa fī hādhihi al-amākin” (“then the sultan ordered his troops to roam freely in these places”). (5) In manuscript T: “wa taḥammaw” (“and they defended themselves”). (6) In manuscripts A and B: “ʿalā ʿazm” (“with resolve”). (7) In manuscript T: “wa al-ṣāliḥīn tatawaʿan wa jāʾū ilayhi wa wasala akhūhu” (“and the righteous came voluntarily to him, and his brother arrived”). (8) In manuscript T: “fa-ijtemaʿa min ʿubbād Allāh wa min al-juyūsh shayʾun kathīr jiddan” (“a very large contingent of God’s worshipers and troops assembled”). (9) In manuscript T: “al-Quds” (“Jerusalem”). (10) In manuscript T: “wa qad imtadaha al-shuʿarāʾ” (“and the poets have praised him”). (11) In manuscript A: “aṭābū.” (12) In manuscript T: “wa huwa muqīm bihā li-maraḍ iʿtārāhu” (“and he was residing there on account of an illness that befell him”). (13) Absent in manuscript B; the work appears in al-Rawḍatayn, vol. 2, pp. 82–83. (14) In manuscript B: “dhakara” (“he mentioned”).

واستناب السلطان على نابلس ابن أخته (١) حسام الدين عمر بن محمد بن لاجين (٢) ، وهو الذي افتتحها، وكان جملة ما افتتحه السلطان في هذه المدة القريبة قريبًا من خمسين بلدًا كبارًا، كل بلد له مقاتلة وقلعة ومنعه فللّه الحمد. وغنم الجيش والمسلمون من هذه الأماكن [وسبَوا شيئًا كثيرًا لا يُحدّ ولا يوصف. واستبشر الإسلام وأهله شرقًا وغربًا بهذا النصر العظيم، والفتوحات الهائلة] (٣) . [وترك السلطان جيوشه ترتع في هذه الفتوحات والغنائم الكثيرة] (٤) ، مدة شهور، ليستريحوا ويُجمُّو] (٥) أنفسهم وخيولهم، وليتأهّبوا لفتح بيت المقدس الشريف. وطار في الناس أَنَّ السلطان عزم (٦) على فتح بيت المقدس، فقصده العلماء [والصالحون والمتطوعة من كل فج عميق. وجاء أخوه العادل] (٧) بعد وقعة حِطِّين وفتح عكا، ففتح بنفسه حصونًا كثيرة [أيضًا. فاجتمع من عباد اللّه من الجيوش المتطوعة خلق كثير وجمٌّ غفير] (٨) . فعند ذلك قصد السلطان بيت المقدس (٩) بمن معه، كما سيأتي بيانه. [وقد امتدح الشعراء الملك صلاح الدين] (١٠) بسبب وقعة حِطِّين، فقالوا وأكثروا، وأطالوا (١١) وأطنبوا. وكتب إِليه القاضي الفاضل من دمشق، وكان (١٢) مقيمًا بها لمرض ناله (١٣) : لِيَهْنَ المولى أَنَّ الله قد أقام به الدين القيّم، وأنه كما قيل: أصبحتَ مولاي ومولى كل مسلم، وأنه قد أسبغ عليه النعمتين الباطنة والظاهرة، وأورثه المُلْكين: مُلْك الدنيا وملك الآخرة، كتب المملوك: هذه الخدمة والرؤوس إِلى الآن لم تُرفع من سجودها، والدموع لم تُمسح من خدودها، وكلما فكّر (١٤)

(١) ط: ابن أخيه. وهو تصحيف. (٢) كذا في الأصلين وسيرد في حوادث سنة ٥٨٧ هـ أَنَّ ابن أخته اسمه محمد بن عمر بن لاجين. (٣) ط: شيئًا كثيرًا وسبوا خلقًا. (٤) ط: ثم إِن السلطان أمر جيوشه أن ترتع في هذه الأماكن. (٥) ط: وتحموا. (٦) أ، ب: على عزم. (٧) ط: والصالحين تطوعًا وجاؤوا إِليه ووصل أخوه. (٨) ط: فاجتمع من عبّاد الله ومن الجيوش شيء كثير جدًا. (٩) ط: القدس. (١٠) ط: وقد امتدحه الشعراء. (١١) في أ: أطابوا. (١٢) ط: وهو مقيم بها لمرض اعتراه. (١٣) ليس في ب. والكتاب في الروضتين (٢/ ٨٢ - ٨٣). (١٤) ب: ذكر.