The Sword of Ambition. 'Uthman ibn Ibrahim al-Nabulusi
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works like The Sword of Ambition in this way (there are many) include Cohen, Under Crescent and Cross, 229 n. 101; Sivan, “Notes sur la situation des chrétiens à l’époque ayyubide,” 119–20.
46 On the theoretical dhimmah system developed by Muslim jurists, parts of which were sporadically enforced by Muslim rulers, usually at the behest of religious elites, see (inter alia) Fattal, Le statut légal; Cahen, art. “Dhimma,” EI2; Bosworth, “The Concept of Dhimma”; Cohen, Under Crescent and Cross; Friedmann, Tolerance and Coercion; Papaconstantinou, “Between Umma and Dhimma”; Wasserstein, “Conversion and the ahl al-dhimma”; Levy-Rubin, Non-Muslims in the Early Islamic Empire; Emon, Religious Pluralism and Islamic Law. The well-known “Pact of ʿUmar” (shurūṭ ʿUmar) was sometimes accorded a certain authority in premodern thought concerning the dhimmah system; the most important recent studies of it are Cohen, “What was the Pact of ʿUmar?”; Noth, “Problems of Differentiation”; Levy-Rubin, Non-Muslims in the Early Islamic Empire, chap. 2 and 4.
47 Van Ess, Chiliastische Erwartungen, 13 n. 38; Sadan, “Some Literary Problems,” 365–70; Catlos, “To Catch a Spy”; Rabie, “The Size and Value of the Iqṭāʿ in Egypt,” 131 n. 8.
48 For accessible introductions to the current predicament of certain non-Muslim populations, see Sennott, The Body and the Blood; Dalrymple, From the Holy Mountain.
49 Available in Arabic: Aḥkām; Madhammah; Radd; Ibn al-Durayhim, Manhaj al-ṣawāb; Ibn Taymiyyah, Masʾalah; idem, Iqtiḍāʾ. Modern-day compilations available online: al-Shuʿaybī, al-Qawl al-mukhtār; al-Yāfiʿī, Ḥukm tawliyat ahl al-dhimmah. Translated into English: Gottheil, “An Answer to the Dhimmis.”
50 On Tertullian, see Stroumsa, “Tertullian on Idolatry and the Limits of Tolerance”; on Celsus, Chadwick, Origen: Contra Celsum; on Chrysostom, Wilken, John Chrysostom and the Jews.
51 Sadan, “Some Literary Problems”; Catlos, “To Catch a Spy.”
THE SWORD OF AMBITION
In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate:
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Praise God, who has elevated the religion of Islam above all other religions while demoting the cross-worshippers and those who associate partners with Him.1 I give Him praise for his Eternal Decree concerning what will be and what has come to pass. I testify, both openly and in my heart, that there is no god but Him alone, Who has no partner. I testify, too, that Muḥammad is his devoted servant and messenger, sent to the Arabs and the non-Arabs, to humans and jinn alike.2 May God bless him along with his family, his Companions, and their upright Followers with an enduring blessing that outlasts Time itself.
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I learned recently that a command had been issued by our lord the supreme sultan, who is master of the nations and chief among the kings of the Arabs and all peoples, king of both continents and both seas, protector of the domain of the true religion, shatterer of tyrants and rebels, bane of heretics, subduer of infidels and unbelievers, reviver of justice among mankind, the sultan of Islam and the Muslims, Star of this world and of the faith, Najm al-Dīn Ayyūb. He is the son of our lord the blessed, martyred sultan, al-Malik al-Kāmil, Nāṣir al-Dīn Muḥammad, Champion of this world and of the faith, who was the son of our lord the blessed, martyred sultan, al-Malik al-ʿĀdil, Sayf al-Dīn Abū Bakr, Sword of this world and of the faith, who was the son of our lord the eminent and blessed martyr, the great Najm al-Dīn Ayyūb, may God glorify his estate, strengthen his authority, and humiliate and abase his enemy. This universally obeyed command—God hasten it forth to East and West—decreed that the dhimmis must remove the fringes from their clothing, wear their distinguishing belts, and be forbidden to resemble Muslims in their outward aspect.3 Instead they were to wear their distinguishing garb and to wrap themselves in the garments of shame, degradation, and ignominy. They were to occupy the debased position in which God has placed them: the lowest pits and the depths of abjection.
When I heard news of this edict, I knew that such an auspicious policy and the noble, well-aimed intentions that lay behind it had to portend something even greater. I knew that in time they would produce good news of victory over the enemies of the faith, brightening the face of Islam and of Muslims with gladness. I therefore desired to serve the noble government by writing a book on the dhimmis. It would be an expression of gratitude for the benefaction of this edict applying to them. The result is this book, which I have entitled Unsheathing Ambition’s Sword to Take Back What the Dhimmis Hoard. I have grounded the message of my work upon firm bases and foundations, dividing it into four chapters, each of which is comprised of sections.
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The first chapter, on the reprehensibility of employing dhimmis for the Muslims’ jobs, in fifteen sections:
The first section: the testimony of the Illustrious Book on this matter;4
The second section: the sayings passed down from the Messenger of God, God bless and keep him;
The third section: the testimony of the ancient authorities;
The fourth section: the sayings passed down from Imam Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq;
The fifth section: the sayings passed down from Imam ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb;
The sixth section: the sayings passed down from ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān;
The seventh section: the deeds of al-Ḥajjāj;
The eighth section: the sayings passed down from ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz;
The ninth section: the events that took place in the days of Caliph al-Manṣūr;
The tenth section: the events that took place in the days of Caliph al-Mahdī;
The eleventh section: the events that took place in the days of Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd;
The twelfth section: the events that took place in the days of Caliph al-Maʾmūn;
The thirteenth section: the events that took place in the days of Caliph al-Mutawakkil;
The fourteenth section: the events that took place in the days of Caliph al-Muqtadir bi-llāh;
The fifteenth section: examples of the Jews’ ignominy, cunning, and wickedness.
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The second chapter, a description of the Copts and their perfidies, in fifteen sections:
The first section: a comprehensive and general description of them;
The second section: why they specialize as state secretaries and neglect other professions;
The third section: their pervasive yet imperceptible influence in the land of Egypt;
The fourth section: how Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn discovered their notorious malfeasance, and how he resolved to act toward them;
The fifth section: what befell them at the hands of Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān;
The sixth section: the events that took place in the days of al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh;
The seventh section: the events that took place in the days of al-Amir, and the confiscations carried out by the accursed Monk;
The eighth section: their perfidy in the story of ʿArīb the singer;
The ninth section: their scheming in the days of al-Ḥāfiẓ;
The tenth section: their shameless testimony in court cases involving Muslims;
The eleventh section: their scheming in carrying out the land survey;
The twelfth section: their scheming against