The Abbasid regime began to decline after Mutawakkil, and after other states came into being in the Islamic world. Among them the Buwayhid, the Hamdanids and Fatimids were at the forefront. Due to this the Shi’as were allowed to breathe in peace for short while.

However, with the extinction of the Seljuk kingdom, the condition of the Shi’as underwent a change, and they had to suffer hardships once again as they had suffered during the periods of Bani Umayyah and Bani Abbas. Especially during the reigns of the Ayyubi rulers, the Shi’as became victims of worst atrocities. Yusuf Ibn Ayyub (1169-1193) who is famous in connection with the conquest of Jerusalem in the third war of Crusades and who is famous as Salahuddin al-Ayyubi was extremely blood-thirsty and ruthless.

Abu Abdillah Shi'i

The real name of the well-known scholar, Abu Abdillah Shi’i, was Hasan Ibn Ahmad Ibn Zakariya Shi'i. He came from Sana’a (Yemen). He left for Mecca with the intention of proceeding to Africa. There, he came into contact with the people of Africa, and heard them recounting the virtues of Ahl Al-Bayt. Abu Abdillah also spoke to them on the subject, and they were attracted to him.

As the Shi’a faith had already penetrated Africa, those people began to like him and requested him to accompany them. Abu Abdillah Shi'i accepted their invitation. According to Maqrizi, African Shi’as welcomed Abu Abdillah and accorded him great respect. This happened in the year 288 A.H. When trust-based relations were established between them, he asked the people to fight against Ibrahim Ibn al-Aghlab, and to depose him from the caliphate. The Africans accepted this suggestion and removed him from his office. Thus, by the efforts of Abu Abdillah Ubaidullah, Mahdi became the first Fatimid caliph.1

The Fatimid kingdom extended up to Egypt and Syria. The number of their caliphs was fourteen and they ruled from 296 to 567 A.H. During the period of the Fatimids, the Shi’a faith expanded so much in the West that a Palestinian said:

“If I have ten arrows, I shall shoot nine of them towards west, because there are many Shi’as there and I will shoot the remaining one towards Europe.”

Shi’as were present in Egypt during the time of Imam Ali (‘a) and gradually their number increased, and they also established themselves in Palestine and Jordan. As a result of that, the people of Tabriyya, half of Nablus, Quds, and a large part of Oman were Shi’as as Adam Mitz has mentioned in Al-Hazarat ul-Islamiyyah.2

It is mentioned in Khutat3 of Maqrizi and Ayan ash-Shi’a that Shi’a faith survived in Africa till the rule of Mu'iz Ibn Badis Sanhaji. However, Mu'iz killed or burned the Shi’as so that they became helpless and were scattered.4

Allamah Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Muzaffar writes in Tarikh Shi’a:5

A large population of Shi’as in African6 cities in the 20^th century shows that despite all the tragic events, the spirit of Shi’aism has survived there: It is possible that after the policy of elimination of Shi’as by Muiz Ibn Baidis, they once again found their way to Africa. Whatever the case might have been millions of Persian Shi’as now live in Africa. The reason for their being in such large number is that the scholars of Najaf go at times to Zanzibar, and they (the Africans) come in large numbers every year for ziarat at Karbala. They are also seen at the time of Hajj.

Al-Azhar University

The establishment of Al-Azhar University brought into action an extensive program for the Shi’as. Jawharus Saiqali, the Commander of Fatimid army, founded it in 359 A.H. At the time of its establishment, only the Fatimid jurisprudence, Shi’a faith and philosophy were taught, and verdicts and teachings in Egypt conformed with the religion of Ahl Al-Bayt.

The first book taught in al-Azhar7 was al-Iqtisad Fee Fiqh Aale Rasool and thereafter Daim ul-Islam was taught. It contained the rules and regulations of Ahl Al-Bayt regarding the lawful and unlawful things.8

Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi

Salahuddin was a Kurd by origin. His father Ayyub and his uncle Asaduddin (Shir Koh) grew up in Azerbaijan and then migrated to Baghdad. From Baghdad they went to Aleppo. In Aleppo, Shir Koh joined Nooruddin Mahmood Ibn Zangi. When Nooruddin Zangi ascended the throne, he gave a position to Shir Koh and his brother Yusuf.

When Europe was fighting against Cairo, the Fatimid Caliph Azid9 sought help from Nooruddin as his government had been firmly established in Aleppo and Damascus. Nooruddin sent a large army (in which Salahuddin was also present) under the command of Shir Koh to assist Azid, the last Fatimid caliph. After gaining victory, Shir Koh became the minister of Azid. He, however, died after two months and was succeeded as minister by his nephew, Salahuddin.

Instead of being thankful to Azid for his kindness, Salahuddin began plotting against him and seized the kingdom. He confiscated Azid’s entire property and even his horse. As Maqrizi says in al-Khutat, Salahuddin imprisoned Azid after some time. He called his brothers, sisters, and kinsfolk from Syria and gave them the houses and property confiscated from the courtiers of the Fatimid caliph.

Salahuddin dismissed the Shi’a judges and replaced them by Shafei judges. He eliminated the words “Hayya ‘alaa Khairil Amal” 10 from the call to prayers, and invited the people to Maliki and Shafei sects. Thus, the Shi’a faith became dormant and was gradually forgotten by the people of Egypt.

Salahuddin forced the people to adopt the Sunni and Ash’ira faith and killed those who refused to do so. His order was: The evidence of only that person, who believes in the four sects will be accepted, and a person is not entitled to deliver a speech or to teach unless he follows one of the four sects.

Khafaji writes in his book, Al-Azhar Fi Alf Aam:

“The Ayyubis completely destroyed Shi’a writings.”

“The Ayyubis uprooted the family of Fatimid rulers and destroyed them in the worst possible manner. They put the latter to great miseries and afflictions. He dismissed the Fatimid Government officers and governors and replaced them overnight with his own kins. This resulted in heart-rending cries in every house.”

Salahuddin imprisoned the remaining descendants of Imam Ali in Egypt and separated the men from the women so that the progeny of Ali might become extinct.

Bani Umayyah and Hajjaj used to celebrate the Ashura day11 as Eid (festival day), but later this practice was discontinued. Salahuddin again declared it to be an Eid. The mischief by Salahuddin was not limited to killing, plundering, and exiling women and children. He went a step further and oppose knowledge and wisdom, and the traces and objects of glory of Islam.

The Fatimid Caliphs had paid special attention to the setting up of big libraries. In a Fatimid palace there was a comprehensive library. The historians have written a good deal about the grandeur of this library and the valuable books that it housed. There were about 200,000 books in it on various subjects like jurisprudence, hadith (tradition), lexicography, history, literature, medicine, chemistry, astronomy etc. It is said that no other library was as big as this in all the Islamic territories.

In Dar ul-Hikmah there was another library which had replaced the famous library of Alexandria. And in the al-Azhar University there was a special library allocated to the university. Salahuddin al-Ayyubi destroyed all these libraries.12

Salahuddin Ai-Ayyubi In The View Of Shi’as

We do not deny the fight put up by Salahuddin in the crusades and do not want to ignore the courage and bravery displayed by him while confronting colonialists. Those who criticized him say: Salahuddin had concluded a pact with Europe that they would not attack each other for three and a half years and that the Christians would continue to occupy part of Palestine consisting of Yafa, Akka, Sur, Tripoli and Antioch13 but, despite this pact, he fought against them.

We, however, object to the crimes committed by him against children and women. When we discuss his crimes and cruelty against the Fatimids - who were his benefactors - it is possible that we may see some reasons for that. But how can we explain his crimes in relation to the libraries and the scientific and technical monuments, which are so important from the political and social points of view?

Salahuddin's treatment of Shi’as was not based on anything except pure fanaticism, for there is no difference between the Shafeis, Malikis, Hanafis, Hanbalis and Shi’as, as all of them believe in Qur’an and Sunnah. Sunni scholars also have this view and those like Shaykh Abu Zahra, Shaykh Mahmood Shaltut,14 Shaykh Madani and Shaykh Baquri have also confirmed this reality.

Indeed, if Salahuddin was really a follower of Shafei sect, then we ask his this: Has Shafei considered the people of Qibla to be non-believers, and has he declared shedding their blood permissible?

Salahuddin was indeed brave and a heroic person, nevertheless he was a fanatical bigot. This proves that it is not necessary that a person who fights does so only against falsehood and evils. It cannot be said that if a person fights the enemy, his other actions should not be objected to, or that his family and educational background should not be criticized. During the Age of Ignorance, did not brave people like Antarah15 defend their honour and property? They also fought to defend their people against the enemy, but at the same time they bore grudge against truth.

We also see that some people believe in superstitions, as the author of Al-Iqd ul-Farid 16 has written:

Jahiz said that an ill-mannered person with a big belly was with him in a boat. As and when he heard the word Shi’a, he got annoyed and infuriated. When Jahiz asked him the cause of his annoyance he replied: I dislike the 'Shin’ (Arabic letter of ‘Sh’) of 'Shi’a ' because the first letter of 'Shi’a' is the first letter of many other nouns that are bad, for example: Shaitan (Satan), Sharr (evil), Shum (inauspicious), Shiqa (reproach), Shatm (vilification), Shinar (the worst defect), Shayn (reproach), Showk (thorn), Shikwa (Pain), Sha (stinginess). Upon hearing this nonsense, Jahiz said: “After this, it is necessary that Shi’a faith should be uprooted.”

What is surprising is that after narrating this incident Jahiz himself also adopted the path of fanaticism, and if most of our sch1ars are like this they will fill the world with madness, because from the point of view of speech and food they are ahead of everyone else. In that event the Shi’as can also uproot the Sunni religion with their tongue and say that ‘Seen’, the first letter of the word ‘sunni' is also the first letter of many words carrying bad meanings for example Sartaan (cancer), Sil (tuberculosis), Surm (pain in the rear) and Salh (excreta of the animals), Salas (insane), Su'al (pain in the chest), Sabb (to abuse), Syphilis, Safak (bloodshed), Salb (pillage), Soo’ (bad), Sam (poison), Suqut (fall) Sakhaf (weakness) etc.17

• 1. Mahdi was indebted to Abu Abdullah Shi’i for his help. Due to his favours, he had gone from rags to riches. But he got Abu Abdullah killed. The craze for power does not allow one to remain ethical as Allamah Mughniya has stated in the Foreword that: When people reach the corridors of power, they undergo such a transformation that they lose all the good qualities. The Lord of men has truly said that when the man is weak, he is kind and obedient but when he becomes powerful, he forgets the Almighty.
• 2. Vol. l, Chapter 5.
• 3. Vol. 2, Chapter of Abu Abdullah Shi'i.
• 4. During the reigns of Bani Umayyah and Bani Abbas, those who were connected to the family of the prophet or who were devoted to Ahl Al-Bayt were eliminated in any possible way, but this system never came to an end.
• 5. Pg. 269.
• 6. Muammar Ghaddafi, the President of Libya, addressed the tribal chiefs of Niger. and the speech can be referred to at www en.wikiquote.org/wiki. The gist of his address is as follows:
  “The Islamic government of Iran is not the first Shi’a government of the world. Before Iran, the Fatimid rule was established in Egypt with its capital in Cairo. To say that Iranians are Shi’as and Arabs are Muslims is a false propaganda of the colonialists and a conspiracy to create discord between the Sunnis and Shi’as. North Africa is Arab and Shi’a. Shi’a culture is found in all of North Africa. The people here commemorate Ashura and Muharram. From Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean, there is not a single person named Muawiyah. They are all named Ali, Fatimah, Khadija, Hasan, Husayn, etc.
  When the descendants of Ali and Fatimah gained the caliphate, they named their kingdom after the name of their mother 'Fatimah '. The Al-Azhar University was also established by them. The name of Al-Azhar is also derived from Zahra, the title of Fatimah. The Fatimid kingdom was established in the 10th century, and for 260 years under its patronage, there were no tribal and political differences or groupism in North Africa.
  We direct a renewed call to all the forces in the first Fatimid state to revive [it in] a modern, second Fatimid state - on the condition that it be free of all of the sectarian conflicts and (the debate about) the imamate and (religious) rule (hakimiyya) and the sophistry of old...
  We are not interested anymore (whether) Ja'far as-Sadiq delegated the imamate to Musa al-Kazim or to Ismail... This matters (only) to Ja'far al-Sadiq and Ismail and Musa al-Kazim, and they are gone, may Allah have mercy on them. (And we are not interested anymore) in who holds more right to the caliphate, Ali or Muawiyah. The caliphate has nothing to do with religion, and this is a worldly struggle for rule. If they decided after the prophet who would be the ruler, it was because the prophet was not a ruler. He was a prophet.
  (Ghaddafi meant to say that politics is separate from religion. That is, religion is separate from social affairs and worldly problems of people, and that it has nothing to say about these matters.)
• 7. It is mentioned on page 374 of Tarikh Daulat ul-Fatimia by Sayyid Raees Ahmad Ja'fari Nadwi's:
  “Imam Uzair designated this mosque as Masjid Jame and constructed Dar ul-Jamaat adjacent to it for the religious jurisprudents, in which they used to congregate after the Noon Prayers and held intellectual discussions till the Asr Prayer. By the order of Imam Uzair, the Vizier, Syedna Yaqoob Ibn Kalas fixed stipends, and founded trusts for the scholars, and good salaries were fixed for them. Assemblies were held on jurisprudence, ethics and morality, which were attended by a large number of students from distant places. Students gathered around the scholars to learn various sciences. The missionaries also taught women separately the interpretation of religion. ln this Masjid, Qadi Abd ul-Aziz Ibn Muhammad Ibn Noman taught his grandfather, Syedna Qadi Noman's book, lkhtilaaf Usool al-Madhahib.”
• 8. Al-Azhar fi Alf Aam by Muhammad Abd ul-Munim Khafaji. In this book, His Eminence Allamah Jawad Mughniya has used the word ‘Shi’a’ in broad sense, and he did not differentiate between the different branches of Shi’ism. We present below some extracts from the book of Shi’a in Islam, by Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba’i so that there is no misunderstanding in this regard:
  There is a great difference between the different branches of Shi’ism, like Ithna Asharia, Ismaili, and Zaidiyyah. The Ithna Ashariya constitutes the majority of the Shi’as, and all the sub-sects are derived from this main sect. According to Shi’as, the Islamic caliphate – of which spiritual leadership is a part - is the right of the purified imams from the descendants of Imam Ali (‘a). According to their beliefs, the Holy Prophet (S) had clearly declared that the imams shall be twelve. The Ithna Asharis also believe that with regard to Islamic law, the apparent meanings of the holy Qur’an - which encompasses the whole spiritual life of man - are worth acting upon in every age and cannot be changed till Judgment Day. Also, it is necessary to learn about the Islamic law from the Holy Imams of Ahl Al-Bayt (‘a).
  However, the Zaidiyyah do not agree that imamate is the restricted only to Ahl Al-Bayt (‘a). They also do not limit the number of imams to twelve, and do not act on the Jurisprudence of Ahl Al-Bayt (‘a).
  The Ismaili Shi’as also do not believe the number of imams to be twelve. In the lsmaili sub-sect, the imamate circles the mystic figure of seven. Also, the Batini lsmailis believe in the hidden interpretation of the Qur’an and they allow changes to the Islamic law.” (Urdu Translation, Pasdaran-e-Islam, Matbua Jame Talimaat-e-Islami.
  Dr. Farhad Daftary writes in The Ismailis:
  “Till the recent age, the general non-Ismaili circles did not know that Ismailis also have had an independent school of Islamic law. The lsmaili jurisprudence is based on Qadi Noman's Daim ul-Islam. The first volume of Daim ul-Islam deals with the acts of worship, like faith and religious duties, which according to the Ismaili view is based on seven Islamic pillars, like Wilayat, purity, Salaat, Zakat, Fasting, Hajj and Jihad: The second volume deals with laws regarding non-worship practical laws, like those of eating, drinking, dressing, wills, inheritance, marriage, and divorce etc.”
• 9. After the Fatimid caliph, Mustansir, there was a fight regarding imamate between his two sons, Mustali and Nizar. Mustali came out victorious and Nizar, after his defeat, was taken captive and lodged in a prison where he eventually died. In short, the Ismaili Shi’as became divided into Mustali and Nizari sects. Today they are more famous as the Bohra and Agakhanis respectively.
• 10. Meaning ‘Come to the good act’.
• 11. 10th of Muharram.
• 12. Details about Salahuddin are based on Khutat Maqrizi. Vol. 2 & 3; Al-Azhar fi Alf Am, Part 1; Tarikh Kamil, Vol. 9; Ayan ash-Shi’a Vol. 1, and Tarikhush Shi’a. The authors of Ayan ash-Shi’a have relied on Sunni authors.
• 13. Maqrizi, al-Khutat, Vol. 3, Pg. 170.
• 14. He, in the capacity of the Rector of Al-Azhar, issued a fatwa that like the four Sunni schools, the Ja'fari School is also an IsIamic school of thought, and it is correct to follow it.
• 15. The author most probably was referring to Antarah ibn Shaddad (525-608 AD), a pre-Islamic warrior and poet. [Note of al-Islam.org].
• 16. Vol. 2, Pg. 224.
• 17. Please see the following extract from the article by Dr. Aamir Liaqat Husayn, which was published in the 21 March 2008 issue of the newspaper, Jung Karachi:
  O the 'Meem' (Arabic letter M) of Muhammad, you are present in 'Mu’min' also and in ‘Muslim’ too. You are found in 'Eimaan ' (faith), and also in 'Islam '. You are seen in 'Masjid', in 'Minar', as well as in 'Mimbar' (pulpit), in 'Mihrab' (prayer niche in a mosque). It can be seen in 'Mashriq' and 'Maghrib' (East and West) and is also there in 'Namaz' (prayer). From the 'Mahfil' (celebration) of 'Milad' (birth) to 'Salaam’ (peace). 'Meem' is there in 'Kaleem' (one who is spoken to), and also in 'Kalam' (discourse). It is found from the beginning of Prophet Adam and to the 'Khatam' (the last Prophet). This 'Meem' has given us 'Qismat' (destiny), 'Hikmat' (wisdom) and the 'Amanat' (trust) of the 'Ghulami' (slavery) of the government. This 'Meem' has increased the status of 'Me’raj' (Ascension) and showed my master, Muhammad (s) the 'Arsh-e-Moalla' (the high heavens) and this same 'Meem' joined the inheritors with 'Maal' (wealth). This 'Meem' has explained the meaning of 'mamta ' (motherly feelings).
  We searched for it in the world and found it in the 'Moheet' (surroundings) it is sad, with 'Ma’soomiyat' (infallibility) it is imbued and very less in 'Ma’siyat' (disobedience). The 'Meem' of 'Malik' (God/King) makes 'Makhlooq' (cretures) from 'Mitti ' (clay/dust) and if it goes into 'Maut (death), it carries out the 'Mayyit' (corpse). If the 'Meem ' of 'Aman' (peace) is found in 'Muskaan' (smile), the 'Meem' of 'Makeen' (resident) is found but ('magar ') in 'makaan' (house). It came out from the tongue of the 'Muezzin' and is found in 'Iqamat'. The ‘meem ' came out of ‘Salamat' (safe) and was found in ‘Qiyamat'. The ‘Ma’bood' (God) is ‘Maujood' (present) and in both there is 'Meem'. It rotates around the 'Shams' (Sun) and the 'Qamar' (Moon). The 'Meem' of 'Himayat' (support) made many 'Hamis' (supporters) and it went into 'naam' (name) and earned fame (naam). 'Mudabbir' destiny-maker), 'Mufakkir' (thinker), 'Muballigh' (preacher) are all in need of this 'Meem'. In the ‘mahal’ (palace) the 'Hakim' (rulers) rule with this ‘Meem’. But it is a pity that all those who benefit from the 'Meem' of Muhammad, are not having anything to do with him!
  We say with all respect to the doctor that in religious matters nothing is proved by the presence of any alphabet. One can claim that if 'Meem' is present in 'Muslim' it is there in 'Mujrim' (criminal). It is also there in words like 'mauhad' (guilty), 'Mulhid' (apostate), 'Mushrik' (polytheist) etc. If it is present in 'Masjid ' it is also there in 'Mandir' (temple). If it is there in 'Mubarak' (blessed) and 'Mas’ood' (successful), it is also present in 'Mal’oon' (cursed) and 'Manahoos' (unfortunate). 'Meem' is found in 'Zalim' (oppressor) as well as in 'mazloom' (victim). It is there in both 'Mu’min' (believer) and 'Munafiq' (hypocrite). It is there in all the names of Umar, Uthman, Muawiyah. Amr Ibn Aas, Amr Ibn Abd Wudd, Marwan, Haman, Mutawakkil, Ma’moon, Shimr and Ibn Muljim. It also occurs in the names of Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasrin who have spoken ill of the Prophet. But 'Meem' is not present in words like Allah, Rasool, Qur’an, Ka’aba, Ali, Zahra, Hasan, Husayn, Jannat (Paradise) and Jahannam (Hell). We should know that play of words cannot be used to influence the minds of people and truth cannot be distorted.