Lionhearts: Saladin, King Richard I, and the Third Crusade

Lionhearts: Saladin, King Richard I, and the Third Crusade — page 3
In In the year 1138 a boy was born in the little town of Takrit on the Tigris River Like every Muslim child he was welcomed into the world of faith with these words the first he ever heard La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad rasul Allah There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet The boy was named Yusuf ibn Ayyub which means Joseph son of Job Later he would earn a new name Salah al-Din he who honors the faith Each morning before dawn he was awakened by the voice of the muezzin high up in the minaret at the mosque calling the faithful to prayer Prayer is better than sleep the voice sang The boy would wash himself as he had been taught hands and feet face and hair then cover his head and turn in the direction of Mecca to pray Four more times each day no matter where he was in the mosque at the market or at school he would pause at the appointed times and surrender himself to God Religion told him what he was allowed to eat and what was forbidden forbidden such as pork and wine Religion decreed that for one month every year the month of Ramadan he was not to eat or drink anything at all from the rising of the sun until it was too dark to tell a white thread from a black one From the age of seven the boy was schooled at the mosque He memorized memorized passages from the Koran the holy book of Islam and practiced writing these passages on his tablet in the beautiful Arabic script He learned the Five Pillars of Islam faith prayer the giving of alms fasting and pilgrimage and knew he must follow them to be a righteous man