المساعد الشخصي الرقمي

مشاهدة النسخة كاملة : Tatars approach Sinai


aammar
17-02-2013, 08:11 AM
The Tatars reached Gaza, and became as close as less than 35 kilometers to Sinai; and it became widely known that the next step of the Tatars would be to occupy Egypt!

Egypt at that time was under the rule of the Mamluks, and overwhelmed by political troubles. King Al-Mu‘izz had been killed, and his wife Shajarat Ad-Durr had also been killed, and the office was taken by Al-Mansoor Noor Ad-Deen, son of ‘Izz Ad-Deen Aybak, under the guardianship of Sayf Ad-Deen Qutuz.

The accession of Noor Ad-Deen caused many troubles, aroused mostly by the Bahri Mamluks who remained in Egypt, and did not flee with the other Bahri Mamluks who ran away to Shaam during the era of Al-Mu‘izz. Qutuz arrested the heads of the revolutions, which caused the remaining Bahri Mamluks to flee to Shaam to join their leaders who had previously run away during the days of King Al-Mu‘izz.

Although Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, was actually administering the affairs in Egypt, the one sitting on the throne was a child sultan. This, of course, weakened the awe for rule in Egypt, endangered the people's confidence in their king, and strengthened the determination of the enemies, seeing that the sultan was no more than a child.

In the light of the horrific Tatarian danger, the severe internal problems, the troubles and revolutions of the Bahri Mamluks, and the covets of the Ayyubid emirs of Shaam, Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, took the daring resolution to oust the child Noor Ad-Deen ‘Ali, and take over by himself. This incident took place in the 24th of Thul-Qa‘dah 657 A.H. / 1259 A.D., a few days before the arrival of Hulagu to Aleppo. Since the accession of Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, he started to get ready to meet the Tatars.
Qutuz and the steps towards change

The first step Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, was eager to take was to retain the stability of the internal status in Egypt, and cut off the covets of those who were desirous of the throne. He gathered the emirs, great commanders, scholars and men in power who were the real engines of the different sects of the people and said to them clearly: “I have intended, by taking control of the realm (of Egypt), only to gather to fight the Tatars, which could not be achieved without a king. However, once we set out and destroy the enemy, it would be up to you to appoint as ruler whomever you like.” Most attendants became quiet, and accepted this opinion.

The second step Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, took in preparing to face the Tatars reached the culminating peak of wonder and wisdom, and highlighted his noble morals.
He issued a "real" amnesty for all the Bahri Mamluks!

His third step was quite wonderful. Having achieved internal stability in Egypt, Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, was eager to achieve the external stability in the Muslim neighboring countries. He communicated with such emirs as An-Naasir Yoosuf Al-Ayyoobi, in spite of his treachery, who, however, did not respond to Qutuz’s noble calls, and preferred division to unity.

Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, also communicated with the other emirs of Shaam, and received a response from Al-Mansoor of Hama, who came, along with part of his army, to join the Egyptian army.
Al-Ashraf Al-Ayyoobi of Homs refused to respond to the invitation of Qutuz, and instead preferred direct cooperation with the Tatars. In return, he was given by Hulagu the entire emirate of Shaam to rule in the name of the Tatars.

Similarly, As-Sa‘eed, Al-Hasan ibn ‘Abdul-‘Azeez of Banias refused to cooperate with Qutuz, and rather joined with his army the forces of the Tatars to help them conquer the Muslim territories.
That was the status of the ruling authority and the army: what then was the status of the people at that time?
In reality, the Egyptian people at that time, were suffering from a severe economic crisis; and economic crises usually have a negative impact on the people's life, and deprive them of ambition for anything other than to earn their living, except when a leader appears and honors death in the Cause of Allaah, and raises the value of religion in their sight. At that time, all material problems and economic crises become insignificant compared with the supreme goal, " Jihaad in the Cause of Allaah", and death in the Cause of Allaah turns into a wish.

Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, was required to give special care to bring up his people on the concepts of Jihaad, sacrifice, devotion, giving for the sake of religion and passion for Islam. As difficult as this mission might be, Allaah The Almighty Saved for Egypt, at that time, two great values, which made the mission of Qutuz, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, relatively easy:

The first was the value of Sharee‘ah knowledge and religious scholars.
The other value, which ranked second to that of religious knowledge and scholars, and was highly cherished in Egypt, was the value of Jihaad in the Cause of Allaah.
At that time, the Muslims in Egypt deeply believed in the inevitability of Jihaad in the Cause of Allaah for any nation aspiring to live.

To Continue............