The Battle of ‘Ayn Jaaloot
 

The army of the Tatars passed alongside the west of Bisan and then moved southwards to ‘Ayn Jaaloot, where the Islamic forces had previously taken their sites, arranged their rows and stood firmly awaiting the Tatarian army. All of this took place on Ramadhaan 24th 658 A.H. / 1260 A.D., a day before the horrific Battle of ‘Ayn Jaaloot. That was the end of Ramadhaan 24th.
The Muslims spent that night standing (in prayer), imploring, supplicating and hoping.

Then the new day dawned, and the Muslims performed the Fajr Prayer submissively, and arranged their rows after the prayer. It was but a few moments later that the sun rose. It was Friday, Ramadhaan 25th 658 A.H. / 1260 A.D.

By sunrise, the world was full of light, and the Muslims saw afar the army of the Tatars.
The gigantic Tatarian army came from the north and started to draw near the valley of ‘Ayn Jaaloot, and stood at the gate of the valley in its horrific multitudes and strong equipment. No one among the Muslims was in the valley, for all of them stood behind the hillocks.

But, as we have already mentioned, the Muslim army front under the leadership of Rukn Ad-Deen Beebars did not hide its movement, in order to give the spies of the Tatars the impression that it constituted the entire army. Nevertheless, when the Tatarian army arrived, this front was also hidden. Then, Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, beckoned to it to dismount from the hillocks and stand at the gate of the valley to fight the Tatarian army. The Islamic forces started to flow from over the hillocks inside the valley of ‘Ayn Jaaloot, and move northwards to come close to the Tatarian army. The army front did not descend all at once, but in groups; and in a very amazing way, the Islamic brigades descended in succession in their different colors, as each put on its distinct color. Kitbuqa was overwhelmed by astonishment, and so were the Tatars who were with him. {So the disbeliever was overwhelmed [by astonishment], and Allaah Does not Guide the wrongdoing people.} [Quran 2:258]

That was the first time Kitbuqa saw the Muslim army in this status. He had previously seen the Muslim soldiers hiding themselves behind the fortresses and castles, trembling out of fear; or hurrying to run away, being scared of the Tatarian army; or submitting themselves to be slain with humiliation by the swords of the Tatars. Kitbuqa used to see the Muslims in one of those disgraceful states. But he never expected to see them in such an awesome and honored state.

All those brigades constituted only the Islamic army front, which was much less than the horrible Tatarian army with its great numbers. That is because Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, kept the main forces of his army behind the hillocks, and decided not to let them take part in the battle before the Tatarian forces was exhausted.
After the descent of the army front led by Rukn Ad-Deen Beebars, the Mamluk Islamic military troops started to appear on the arena, strongly beating their drums, sounding their trumpets, and stroking their castanets. The Mamluk armies used to receive the military commands by means of those beats that were agreed upon, which were unknown to the enemies.

Knowing nothing about the Islamic main forces hidden behind the hillocks, Kitbuqa cast a glance at the army front which was visible to him, and found it too small in comparison with his forces. But it was in a good constitution and had an awesome look. Kitbuqa then wanted to settle the battle in his favor from the first moment. For this reason, he preferred to enter the valley with his complete army and all his forces to fight the Muslim army front. That was indeed what King Al-Muthaffar Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, had planned. Kitbuqa, the Tatarian leader, gave the starting signal to his forces. The horrendous groups of the Tatars swarmed, while making their fearful cries, upon the Muslim army front.

On the other side, Beebars, the experienced leader, was standing in wonderful poise; and the Muslim heroes of his forces were standing in firmness, and Allaah The Almighty Had Bestowed on them tranquility and reassurance, as if they were not seeing the troops of the Tatars. When the groups of the Tatars became very close, Beebars gave the starting signal to his soldiers, who rushed, very bravely, towards the army of the Tatars.

Both armies collided horrifically. This was one of the best Muslim Mamluk brigades. Many of those emirs of the army front, including Rukn Ad-Deen Beebars, took part in Al-Mansoura and Farskor Battles against the previous Crusade led by Louis IX of France ten years earlier, i.e. in 648 A.H. / 1250 A.D. This means that those emirs had outstanding military experience and the best knowledge of the different ways of maneuvers, methods of fighting and war strategies.

The Islamic forces, though few in number, maintained extraordinary firmness, which led Kitbuqa to use his full power, leaving no reserve forces behind the Tatarian army. At the same time, Qutuz was watching the battle from afar, and refrained from descending to the battlefield along with his forces, waiting for the suitable opportunity to arrive.
That was the first part of the Islamic war plan; to exhaust the Tatarian forces in a troublesome war, and leave a negative effect on them when seeing the firmness and strength of the Muslims.

Then, it was time for the second part of the brilliant Islamic war plan. The drums beat in a specific way, through which Beebars received commands from Qutuz to start to carry out the second part of the war plan. It was to make an attempt to draw the Tatarian army into the Valley of ‘Ayn Jaaloot, and how nice it would be if the Tatarian army was drawn entirely, so that the Tatarian forces would enter into the Islamic ambushes as a preliminary step to besiege them.

Rukn Ad-Deen Beebars started to carry out that part of the war plan, although it was very difficult. He had to seem to be defeated before the Tatars, and retreat while fighting, provided that this retreat should be done neither so quickly in order not to draw the attention of the Tatars to the war plan, nor so slowly lest the small Islamic force would be destroyed during the withdrawal. Rukn Ad-Deen Beebars started to carry out a well-studied gradual withdrawal, and every time he moved a step back, the Tatars would proceed on and take his place.

This Islamic war plan is the same used in the famous War of Nahaawand between the Muslims and the Persians in 19 A.H. Here in ‘Ayn Jaaloot, Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, benefitted from the previous Muslim experience, and applied the war plan of Nahaawand literally. Thus, the Muslims acted the play of defeat perfectly, which enthused Kitbuqa and his troops to force pressure upon the Muslims, and start to enter the valley. Time passed very slowly upon both parties. But in the end, the entire army of the Tatars entered the valley of ‘Ayn Jaaloot. Rukn Ad-Deen Beebars and the army front withdrew to the south of the valley. In the thick of enthusiasm of Kitbuqa to exterminate the Muslim army, he left none of his reserve forces outside the valley; on the contrary, he took all his soldiers with him.

That is indeed the Arrangement of the Lord of the Worlds, The Almighty, which exceeds normal human measures, and forces some people to do certain things under particular circumstances: {But they plan, and Allaah Plans. And Allaah Is The best of planners.} [Quran 8:30]

In this way, the second part of the Islamic war plan was extraordinarily successful. Then, the third part of the war plan began, and the starting signal came from Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, through the beating of drums and the sounds of trumpets, and the great Islamic battalions descended from behind the hillocks to the battlefield, from all sides of the valley; and a strong brigade hastened to close the northern entrance of the valley of ‘Ayn Jaaloot. Thus, the Islamic forces encircled the Tatars like a bracelet around a wrist.

Kitbuqa discovered the war plan, but after the time had passed; and the Tatars were besieged inside the valley of ‘Ayn Jaaloot. The bitter fighting started in one of the fiercest battles in history. There was no way to escape or even maneuver since the valley was a plain and the areas uncovered. The right wing of the Tatars proved stronger and started to apply pressure upon the left wing of the Islamic troops, which began to move back under the severe pressure of the Tatars, who, in turn, started to penetrate the Islamic left wing. Martyrs started to fall. If the Tatars succeeded to completely penetrate the Muslim left wing, they would encircle the Islamic army, thereby both scales would become equal, and that of the Tatars might probably overweigh, and the closure of the valley would become adverse to the Muslims.

Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, watched the great suffering of the Islamic left wing, and dispatched to it reserve forces. But the Tatarian pressure continued, and some Muslims started to feel the difficulty of the situation. It may be that some of them doubted the fulfillment of victory, putting in mind the horrifying reputation the Tatarian army had gained that it could hardly be defeated.
At that time, Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, had but one solution; he should descend by himself to the battlefield. He threw his combat helmet to the ground, expressing his longing for martyrdom and his fearlessness of death, and launched his famous cry which turned the balance in the battlefield. Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, cried, at the top of his voice: "Wa Islaamaah! Wa Islaamaah!" (O my Islam! O my Islam!) He threw himself amidst the surging waves of people.

The soldiers were surprised when they saw their leader, King Al-Muthaffar Qutuz, suffering the same as they were suffering, feeling as they were feeling, and fighting as they were fighting. It was not an attack against their own selves; it was an attack against Islam. The fighting flared up in the valley of ‘Ayn Jaaloot, and the voice of the Mujaahids with Takbeer rose over everything else. The Muslims truthfully took refuge in their Lord The Almighty on that glorious day of Ramadhaan.

Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, fought amazingly. A Tatarian soldier shot his arrow at Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, but it fatally struck the horse rather than him, which was killed immediately. Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, then dismounted and fought on foot; he neither hesitated, nor turned on his heels, nor was keen on his life. The scale, by the Virtue of Allaah, started to incline in favor of the Muslims, and the pressure turned against the Tatars, and gradually, the Muslims closed in the circle upon the Tatars: {And it will be upon the disbelievers a difficult Day.} [Quran 25:26]