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Salah al-Din Establishes the Shafi'i Judiciary in Egypt

استحداث صلاح الدين القضاء الشافعي بمصر

c. 1171 CE · 566 AH

In 566 Salah al-Din demolished a house of the shihna (the garrison prefect) in Egypt called Dar al-Ma'una, where people were held at will, and built it as a Shafi'i madrasa, removing the injustice practised there. He also built Dar al-Adl as a Shafi'i madrasa, dismissed the Egyptian judges, who were Shi'is, and appointed a Shafi'i chief judge over Egypt, who deputed Shafi'i judges in all the lands on the twentieth of Jumada II. Taqi al-Din Umar, Salah al-Din's nephew, bought the Manazil al-Izz in Egypt and built it as a Shafi'i madrasa. 1

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
Region
Egypt & Nile
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

116011701180 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks

Education

Overview

In 566 AH Salah al-Din in Egypt demolished a house of the police chief called the House of Relief, where those he wished to imprison were held, and built it as a madrasa for the Shafi'is. He also built the House of Justice as a madrasa for the Shafi'is. 2

The judiciary

Ibn al-Athir relates that Salah al-Din removed the judges of the Egyptians, who were Shi'a, and appointed a Shafi'i judge over Egypt. He then appointed Shafi'i judges in all the lands, on the twentieth of Jumada al-Akhira. 2

The madrasas

Taqi al-Din Umar, nephew of Salah al-Din, bought the houses of al-Izz in Egypt and built them as a madrasa for the Shafi'is. 2

The Gregorian date is derived from the Hijri date.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Saladin (Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub)

People and things also explored

Saladin: The Animated Series· Ending the Ubaydid Khutba and Restoring the Abbasid Khutba in Egypt· the great battle at Acre — the sieges fiercest day· the Ayyubid shuffle — al-Adil to Aleppo, al-Aziz to Egypt· The scare over the conjunction of six planets in Libra in 582 AH· The battle of the Ford of Sorrows (Jacob's Ford, 575 AH)· Battle of Arsuf· Battle of Hattin

Sources

  1. al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 32
  2. al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p.32
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Salah al-Din Establishes the Shafi'i Judiciary in Egypt”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/sunni-judiciary-egypt-566/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Saladin: The Animated Series

MNC Animation's Malaysian series dramatising Saladin's youth for children, aired on Al Jazeera Children's Channel — among the first animated works on a major Islamic figure.