Saif al-Din Qutuz

Saif al-Din Qutuz (رحمه الله), of royal Khwarizmian descent who had been captured as a youth and sold as a slave in Cairo, rose to become the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt during the darkest hour in Islamic history. The Mongol horde under Hulagu Khan had sacked Baghdad, murdered the Abbasid Caliph, and massacred hundreds of thousands across Syria. When Mongol envoys arrived in Cairo demanding unconditional surrender, Qutuz executed them, resolved on battle, and rallied his hesitant emirs with the words: 'I will face the Tatars myself! Whoever chooses jihad, let him follow me; whoever does not, the guilt of the women of the Muslims is upon his neck!' On 3 September 1260 at Ayn Jalut, when the Mongol charge pushed back his left wing, Qutuz tore off his helmet, threw it to the ground, and cried out with all his might: *'Wa Islamah! Wa Islamah!'* (O my Islam!). His counter-charge shattered the Mongol army.