Thinking positively of Allah
Ibn Shaddad related: (Salah ad-Deen) - may Allah sanctify his soul – thought positively of Allah, relied on Him and turned to Him. I myself witnessed the effects of what I am saying. That was when the Franks - may Allah humiliate them - were camping in Bayt Noobah, which is a place close to Jerusalem - may Allah guard it - which was only one day's journey away. The sultan was in Jerusalem, and he had stationed scouts"? Surrounding the enemy, he had sent out spies and was receiving constant news of their firm resolve to come up to Jerusalem, lay siege to it and fight for it. The Muslims were very afraid because of that, so he summoned the emirs, informed them of the hardships that the Muslims were going to face, and consulted them with regard to his staying in Jerusalem. They said kind words, but their real feelings were different from those which they expressed. All insisted that there was no interest to be served by his staying in the city himself, and in fact it would pose a danger to Islam. They told him that they would stay in the city, and he should go out with a group of men from the camp to surround the enemy, as had been done at Acre. He and these troops were to cut off the supply of provisions and put pressure on the enemy.
Meanwhile, they would guard the city and defend it. The council broke up, having agreed to that, but he insisted on staying there himself, knowing that if he did not stay, no one else would stay either. When the emirs had left to go to their homes, a messenger came from them , informing him that they would not stay unless his brother al-Malik al-'Adil or one of his sons stayed there, to be in charge of them and they would follow his commands. He realized that this was an indication that they would not stay, and he was distressed and did not know what to do. I was on duty for him that night, and it was wintertime. There was no one else with us two except Allah. Whilst we were discussing all options and possible outcomes, I began to feel sorry for him and to fear for his well-being, as he had some heart problem" I urged him to go to bed so that he might sleep for a while, and he (may Allah have mercy on him) said, "You must be sleepy too." Then he got up (to go and rest). When I went home, I did some chores, then the muezzin gave the call to prayer and dawn broke. I used to pray Fajr with him most of the time, so I entered upon him and found him pouring water over his limbs.
He said, "I did not sleep at all."
I said, "I know."
He said, "How do you know?"
I said, "Because I did not sleep either; there is no time for sleep." We busied ourselves with the prayer, and then we sat and resumed our discussion.
I said to him, "I have an idea, and I think it will be useful, if Allah wills."
He said, "What is it?"
I said, "Turning to Allah, seeking His help and relying on Him to save us from this calamity."
said, "What should we do?"
I said, "Today is Friday. Your highness should perform a ritual shower before going out, and pray as usual in al-Aqsa, the site of the Meraj' (night journey) of the Prophet Pease Be Upon Him, Your highness should give charity in secret, at the hand of someone you trust to do it on your behalf, and your highness should pray two units of prayer between the adhan and iqamah, calling upon Allah whilst prostrating, as there is a sound hadith concerning that. Say within yourself: 0 my God, all my earthly means of supporting Your religion have been cut off, and there is nothing left except to tum to You, cling to Your rope and rely on Your grace. You are sufficient for me and are the best Disposer of affairs. Allah is too generous to let you down."
So he did all of that and I prayed beside him as I usually did. He prayed the two units of prayer between the adhan and iqamah, and I saw him prostrating and his tears falling on his grey beard and the mat, but I could not hear what he said. The day did not end before a dispatch arrived from 'Izz ad-Deen Jurdeek , who was in charge of the scouts, informing him that the Franks were in a state of confusion; that day they had mounted their horses and all moved to the desert, where they stayed until midday , then they returned to their tents . Early on Saturday another dispatch arrived with the same news. During the day a spy carne in and told him that there was discord among the Franks; the French were 0f the view that it was essential to lay siege to Jerusalem, whereas the king of England and his followers were of the view that they Should not risk the Christian cause by throwing the troops into mountainous country where there was no source of water because the Sultan had destroyed all water sources around Jerusalem. They had gone out to discuss the matter, as it was their custom to hold councils of war on horseback. They had appointed ten men to decide, and whatever they decided upon, they would not go against it. Early on Monday morning, a messenger came with the good news that they had departed, heading in the direction of Ramlah. This is what I saw theeffects of his turning to Allah and putting his trust in Allah·
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