Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi — known in the West as Saladin — is the most celebrated Muslim military leader in history. He recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187 CE, restored the Aqsa Mosque to Muslim worship, and led one of the greatest campaigns of Islamic civilisation. He was a Kurd by birth, a Sunni Muslim by conviction, and a scholar of Islamic theology by training. He was also a devoted lover of the Prophet ﷺ — and this love expressed itself in the cultural and spiritual fabric of the civilisation he built.
The Mawlid and the Court of Salah al-Din
The formal, state-sponsored communal celebration of the Prophet’s birth was institutionalised in connection with the court of Salah al-Din — organised by his brother-in-law Muzaffar al-Din Gokboru and endorsed by leading scholars of the age as a praiseworthy expression of prophetic love. The historian Ibn Khallikan رحمه الله records these celebrations in Irbil (modern Iraq) in detail — gatherings where scholars recited, poetry was composed in honour of the Prophet ﷺ, food was distributed to the poor, and the entire community gathered around shared love. Salah al-Din followed the Shafii school — the school of Imam al-Shafii رحمه الله who had declared love for the Prophet’s family a Quranic obligation.
His Reverence for the Ahl al-Bayt
Salah al-Din’s court was characterised by deep reverence for the Prophet’s ﷺ lineage. He maintained the honour of Sadat — descendants of the Prophet ﷺ — across the territories he governed. The restoration of Jerusalem was understood in his court not as a political achievement but as an act of service to the Prophet ﷺ himself.
Prophetic Love as a Civilisational Force
The example of Salah al-Din illustrates a principle that runs through Islamic history: the greatest achievements of Muslim civilisation have been fuelled by prophetic love. The campaigns of Salah al-Din, the scholarship of the classical Imams, the architecture of the great mosques, the poetry of the Qasidah al-Burdah — all of it drew from the same source: love for the Prophet ﷺ and for those he loved most. This love was never a sectarian narrowing — it was a civilisational expansion.
The Pattern Across Sunni History
Salah al-Din is one example of a consistent pattern: the greatest Sunni leaders and scholars were characterised not by coldness toward the Prophet’s family but by ardent love for them. Imam al-Ghazali رحمه الله wrote about prophetic love as the summit of the spiritual life. The Ottoman sultans patronised praise poetry for the Prophet ﷺ in their courts. The great Sufi orders built their entire spiritual systems on love for the Prophet ﷺ and his household. This was Sunni Islam at its most culturally creative and spiritually alive.
Explore this theme in depth in The Deeper Link.
Did Salah al-Din express love for the Prophet’s family?
Yes. His court was characterised by reverence for the Prophet’s ﷺ lineage, honour for the Sadat, and the sponsorship of gatherings dedicated to prophetic love. He followed the Shafii school — the school of Imam al-Shafii رحمه الله who declared love for the Ahl al-Bayt a Quranic obligation.
What is the connection between prophetic love and Salah al-Din’s campaign to recapture Jerusalem?
In his court’s own understanding, the recapture of Jerusalem was an act of service to the Prophet ﷺ and a fulfilment of Islamic civilisational obligation — motivated by the same prophetic love that animated all of Salah al-Din’s governance. Love for the Prophet ﷺ was not separate from his political and military leadership — it was its spiritual foundation.
What school of law did Salah al-Din follow?
The Shafii school — founded by Imam al-Shafii رحمه الله, who declared love for the Prophet’s family a Quranic obligation and held salawat on the family to be a legal pillar of prayer. Salah al-Din’s devotional expressions were entirely consistent with the position of his own school’s founder.