Zayn al-Din Ali ibn Naja

Zayn al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn Naja[1] was a Sunni Muslim preacher and close friend of Saladin.

Born in Damascus,[2] Zayn al-Din was a jurist who belonged to the Hanbali school of Sunni Islam.[3] In 1164, he participated in negotiations between Saladin's uncle Shirkuh, and Sunni Egyptian jurists on the overthrow of the Isma'ili Fatimid Caliphate.[3]

According to some accounts, he was involved in, and betrayed, a conspiracy aimed against Saladin by Fatimid sympathizers in 1174, although it is possible that he acted all along as Saladin's agent and agent provocateur.[4][5] He reportedly received all possessions and treasure of one of the ringleaders, the Isma'ili missionary (da'i) and former chief qadi of the Fatimid Caliphate, Hibatallah ibn Kamil al-Mufaddal, as a reward.[6][7]

After the capture of Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187, Saladin chose Zayn al-Din to be one of the first to hold prayers there.[2]

References

  1. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982, p. 452.
  2. ^ a b Lyons & Jackson 1982, p. 68.
  3. ^ a b Ehrenkreutz 1972, p. 112.
  4. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982, pp. 67–68.
  5. ^ Ehrenkreutz 1972, pp. 112–114.
  6. ^ Halm 2014, p. 295.
  7. ^ Ehrenkreutz 1972, pp. 113–114.

Sources

  • Ehrenkreutz, Andrew S. (1972). Saladin. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-87395-095-X.
  • Halm, Heinz (2014). Kalifen und Assassinen: Ägypten und der vordere Orient zur Zeit der ersten Kreuzzüge, 1074–1171 [Caliphs and Assassins: Egypt and the Near East at the Time of the First Crusades, 1074–1171] (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. doi:10.17104/9783406661648-1. ISBN 978-3-406-66163-1. OCLC 870587158.
  • Lyons, Malcolm Cameron; Jackson, D. E. P. (1982). Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-31739-8.