Seerah Abu Shamah — Shihab al-Din Abd al-Rahman ibn Isma'il ibn Ibrahim al-Maqdisi al-Dimashqi (1203-1267 CE): The Palestinian-Damascene Historian Who Wrote Kitab al-Rawdatayn fi Akhbar al-Dawlatayn (The Book of Two Gardens on the Histories of Two Dynasties — the Zengid and Ayyubid Periods Under Nur al-Din and Saladin), a Primary Source for the Crusader-Era Islamic World, and Who Wrote on Quranic Sciences and Hadith

Seerah Abu Shamah (سِيرَةُ أَبِي شَامَة; full name: Shihab al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Isma'il ibn Ibrahim al-Maqdisi al-Dimashqi; born 600 AH / 1203 CE in Damascus; died 665 AH / 1267 CE in Damascus; Shafi'i in fiqh; his name 'Abu Shamah' comes from a mole [shamah] on his face; Palestinian origins: his family was from Jerusalem [al-Maqdis] — part of the Palestinian scholarly diaspora in Damascus following the Crusader occupation; his career: he taught at several Damascus madrasas; he served as head of the Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya in Damascus [the same institution where Ibn al-Salah had taught]; the major work: Kitab al-Rawdatayn fi Akhbar al-Dawlatayn [كِتَابُ الرَّوضَتَينِ فِي أَخبَارِ الدَّولَتَين — The Book of Two Gardens on the Histories of Two Dynasties]: a chronicle of the Zengid dynasty under Nur al-Din Mahmud [r. 1146-1174] and the early Ayyubid dynasty under Saladin [Salah al-Din, r. 1174-1193]; content and sources: Abu Shamah drew extensively on the work of the court secretary and poet 'Imad al-Din al-Isfahani [who was Saladin's personal secretary and eyewitness]; he also used al-Qadi al-Fadil's letters and correspondence; official documents from the Ayyubid chancery; the work is as valuable as it is because Abu Shamah had access to first-hand accounts and official records from Saladin's court; significance for Crusade history: the Rawdatayn is one of the most important Arabic sources for the Crusade period; it covers Saladin's campaign to retake Jerusalem [1187 CE], the Third Crusade, the negotiations with Richard I of England [known in Arabic sources as Malek Rik], and the political maneuvering of the Ayyubid succession; the 'Dhayl' [supplement]: Abu Shamah wrote a continuation [Dhayl] covering events after Saladin through his own time; this is a valuable source for 13th-century Damascus, including the Mongol threat and the early Mamluk period; other works: [1] Kitab al-Murshid al-Wajiz ila 'Ulum Tata'allaq bil-Kitab al-'Aziz [on Quranic sciences]: a text on the sciences of the Quran; important for understanding 13th-century Quranic scholarship; [2] al-Bai'th 'ala Inkar al-Bid'ah wal-Hawadith [on innovation in religion]: a treatise opposing religious innovations; [3] works on hadith methodology; his death: accounts say Abu Shamah was murdered — a student struck him with a knife in his madrasa; the reasons are unclear but may have related to his outspoken criticism of what he considered innovations in religious practice; legacy: the Rawdatayn and its Dhayl are primary sources for Crusade-era Islamic history; they are cited in every serious study of Saladin and the Crusades) is the primary narrator of the Saladin era.