. 66 "renumerate you with Paradise, for that is the abode of happiness! Appre"ciate then (and God be merciful unto you!) this favour at its just value, and "thank for it the Almighty with fit acknowledgment, inasmuch as he placed you under deep obligations by conferring this honour upon you, and appoint'ing you for this service! It is a victory which hath opened for you the gates "of heaven, and hath illumined by its light the face of the darkness, which hath "made the most highly favoured of the angels to rejoice, and hath solaced the eyes "of the prophets who were sent unto mankind! How great a favour was that "which rendered you the army by whose hands the Sacred City was recaptured "in these latter times, the body of troops whose swords set up again the mo"numents of the faith, after that the mission of prophets had ceased! Soon, perhaps, may God achieve, by your hands, other victories such as this; vic"tories whereat the people of the green (the inhabitants of Paradise) will rejoice "yet more than the people of the earth is this not the House whereof God hath spoken in his book and explicitly named in this formal address directed to "himself: Praise be unto him who transported his servant by night from the Holy Temple to the Farther Temple 16). Is it not the house which all religions honoured? "towards which the prophets turned themselves, and in which were read the "four books sent down from Almighty God (17)? Is it not the house for the "sake of which God staid the sun over Joshua so that it set not, and delayed its 658" : pace so that the victory might be rendered prompt and easy? Is it not the "house which God commanded Moses to order his people to deliver, yet none 66 obeyed him but two men? Wherefore he waxed wroth against them, and cast "them into the wilderness in punishment for their disobedience. Give there"fore praises unto God for having helped you to the fulfilment of your resolu❝tions in an undertaking from which the children of Israil, his chosen people, recoiled, and for having prospered you in an attempt wherein the nations of "former ages failed, and for having made you of one opinion after that you "were divided, and for having enabled you to speak of this as a past event, "when before you spoke of it only as an event to come (18). Receive our congratulations, inasmuch as God hath mentioned your conduct to those near "him, and hath made you his own troops after you had been troops in the "service of your passions; rejoice at the coming of the angels, sent down "to thank you for the sweet odour of the profession of God's unity where 66 66 "with you have gifted this House, and for the perfume of sanctification and glo"rification you have spread throughout it, and for having removed from their "paths therein the nuisance of polytheism and trinitarian doctrines, and a cri❝minal and evil belief. Now, the angels of the heavens implore God's mercy on you, and pray for you and give you blessings. Therefore, with the help of "God, preserve this gift which you have obtained, and protect this favour which you have received, by living in the fear of God, that fear which saveth him who "holdeth unto it and delivereth from danger him who clingeth thereto. Beware "the seductions of your passions; avoid falling into perdition, or turning back "from the path of righteousness, or recoiling before an enemy: seize this opportunity for removing the annoyances which still subsist in the land; fight "the good fight in the cause of God, and devote yourselves, O servants of God! "to his will, for he hath made of you his chosen servants. Beware lest Satan cause you to slip and lead you into rebellion; making you imagine that this victory was owing to your sharp swords, your fleet steeds, and your intrepidity "in battle.-No, by Allah! victory cometh not but from the Mighty, the Wise! "Take care, O servants of God! lest that, after his having ennobled you by "this great conquest, this signal favour, and after his having reserved for you "so evident a triumph, and placed within your grasp his strong cord (of gui"dance), take care not to commit such deeds as he hath forbidden or show the "grievous sin of disobedience; lest you be like unto her who undid what she spun, after she had twisted it strongly (19), and like to him unto whom we brought our signs, and he departed from them; wherefore Satan followed him, and he became one of those who were seduced (20). Maintain the holy war; it is the best means "which you have of serving God, the most noble occupation of your lives; sup 66 66 66 port God's cause, and He will support you; protect His religion, and He will protect you; remember Him, and He will remember you; thank Him, and He "will give you an increase of favours and reward you. Labour to expel the evil (which afflicts us), and tear up the enemy by the root; purify the rest of the "land from this filth which hath angered God and his Apostle; lop off the "branches of infidelity and cut through its roots; for now the times cry aloud: 66 Vengeance for Islamism and the Muhammedan religion! God is mighty! God giveth "victory and aid! God conquers and subdues! he humbleth the infidel! Know there"fore, and God be merciful unto you! that this is the opportunity, therefore 66 "seize it; this is the spoil, hasten to obtain it; this is the serious matter, put forth your serious efforts to accomplish it, and send forward the troops of your resolutions in battle-array; for each deed is judged by its result, and "each merit by its recompense. God hath now made you victorious over this misguided enemy who was equal to you in number, or even surpassed you; "and how was it when you were one to twenty? Almighty God hath said: If "twenty of you persevere with constancy, they shall overcome two hundred; and if there be one hundred of you, they shall overcome one thousand of those who believe 66 66 66 not, because they are a people who do not understand (21). May God enable us "and you to follow his commandments and be restrained by his prohibitions! 659 may he aid us, Moslims, with succour from himself! If God assist you, who "can overcome you? and if he deprive you of his protection, who then can help you? The best saying is that which is uttered in fitting place; the arrow which striketh deepest is that which is shot from the bow of speech; the "best word by which one can touch the intelligence is that of the only God, the "sole God, the Mighty, the Wise, who hath said: And when the Koran is read, "hearken thereto, and keep silence; that ye may obtain mercy (22). I fly to God "from Satan the accursed! in the name of God, the Merciful, the Clement!"— The orator then read the commencement of the Emigration (23), after which, he said: "The Apostle ordered you and me to conform to that which God hath commanded on the subject of devoted obedience to his will; let us therefore obey "him he forbad you and me to commit the foul sin of disobedience; let us not "therefore revolt against him (24), I ask pardon of God for myself, for you, "and for all Moslims; ask also pardon."-He then prayed for the imâm an-Nasir, the khalif of that age, after which he said: "And prolong, O Almighty God! "the reign of thy servant, so humble in his fear of thee, so thankful for thy favours, so grateful for thy gifts,-thy trenchant sword, thy shining flambeau, "the defender of thy faith, the champion and protector of thy holy land, the "firmly resisting, the great, the helping prince, him who gave might to the de"claration of the true faith, who vanquished the adorers of the Cross, the weal 66 66 : (salah) of the world and of religion (ad-din), the sultan of Islamism and of the "Moslims, the purifier of the Holy Temple, Abû 'l-Muzaffar Yûsuf, the son of Aiyub, the giver of life to the empire (muhî ad-dawlat), the commander of the "true believers. Grant, O Almighty God! that his empire extend over the 66 "earth, and that the angels ever encircle his standards; reward him for the ser"vices he hath rendered to the orthodox belief, and for his firm resolution and 66 66 prompt execution in the defence of the Muhammedan religion. Preserve his life, we beseech thee, for the prosperity of Islamism; protect his empire for "the advantage of the faith, and extend his authority over the regions of the "East and of the West. As thou hast enabled his hand to retake Jerusalem “when men had begun to doubt of thy intentions (25), and when the Moslims were suffering under their trials, so let his hand take possession of the land "far and near; help him to seize infidelity by the forelock; let him scatter "their squadrons, disperse their multitudes, and send them, band after band, "to join their predecessors (in hell). Reward him, O God! in the name of Mu“hammad, for his efforts, and let his orders and prohibitions issue uncontrolled "to the East and to the West; let the centre and the frontiers of the land, and "all the regions of the kingdom prosper under his rule; let him humble the pride of the infidels, and tame the insolence of the perverse; spread his do"minion unto every city, and post the detachments of his troops on the roads to every country. Maintain, O God! him and his children in the possession of the "empire till the day of judgment; preserve his days and those of his sons and "brethren, princes highly favoured; strengthen his power by granting them long "life, and decide, by thy will, the exaltation of his friends and theirs. O God! ❝inasmuch as thou hast produced, through his means, this lasting advantage for "Islamism, to endure as long as months and years pursue their course, grant "him the eternal kingdom in the abode of the pious, and answer his prayer "when he says: O Lord! excite me that I may be thankful for thy favour wherewith "thou hast favoured me and my parents; and that I may do that which is right, and well-pleasing unto thee; and introduce me, through thy mercy, among thy servants "the righteous 26)." He then pronounced the usual prayers —This doctor was born at Damascus, A. H. 550 (A. D. 1155); he died in that city on the 7th of Shaaban, A. H. 598 (May, A. D. 1202) and was buried at the foot of Mount Kàsiyûn.---His father Abù 'l-Hasan Ali, surnamed Zaki ad-dîn, filled the place of kadi at Damascus; he was a man of great virtue and piety. Having requested, and obtained, permission to resign his post, he made the pilgrimage to Mekka, and returned to Baghdad in the month of Safar, A. H. 563 (Nov.-Dec. A. D. 1167), and there fixed his residence. He held a high rank as a traditionist, VOL. II. 81 having received Traditions from a great number of persons; and, during his residence at Baghdad, he taught them publicly. He remained in that city till 660 his death, which happened on Thursday, the 28th of Shawwâl, A. H. 564 (July, A. D. 1169). The funeral service was said over him in the mosque of the Castle, and he was interred in the cemetery of the imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal.Abû 'l-Hakam Abd as-Salàm Ibn Abd ar-Rahman Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abd arRahmân al-Lakhmi, the Ibn Barrajân mentioned in this article, was a man of great sanctity, and the author of a commentary on the Koran, wherein he explains the greater part of it according to the mystic system of the Sûfis. He died in the city of Morocco, A. H. 536 (A. D. 1141-2). (1) See M. Reinaud's Extraits, p. 184. (2) The Grey Castle (al-Kalda 'tas-Shahba) was one of the names by which Aleppo was known. (3) Ibn Khallikân gives a short notice of this doctor at the end of the article. (4) Koran, sûrat 30, verse 1 (5) Koran, sûrat 112, verse 2. (6) Koran, sûrat 7, verse I. (7) Koran, sûrat 53, verse 14, 15, 17. (8) He was so called because he had married successively two of Muhammad's daughters. (9) Koran, sûrat 24, verse 36. (10) Koran, sûrat 5, verse 24. (11) Koran, sûrat 4, verse 170. (12) Koran, sûrat 23, verse 93. (13) Koran, sûrat 5, verse 76. (14) Muhammad at first directed the Moslims to pray with their faces turned towards Jerusalem, but soon after, he chose Mekka for the point towards which they were to look on those occasions. (15) Koran, sûrat 17, verse 1. (16) Ibid. (17) The four books; the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Koran. (18) Literally: Who hath enriched you with that which the words kan (was) and kad (already) put in the past tense, in exchange for that which sauf (shall be) and hatta (till such time as) put in the future tense.— This quibble must have been highly pleasing to a congregation of Moslims for whom grammar is one of the first among the sciences. (19) Koran, surat 16, verse 94. (20) Koran, sûrat 7, verse 174. (21) Koran, sûrat 8, verse 66. (22) Koran, sûrat 7, verse 203. |
