5.1.6 - His First Stay in Mosul (601/1204)

the history of Mosul dates back to 1080 BC. The Assyrians first took Nineveh as their capital, until it was destroyed in 612 BC. Then, in the fourth century BC, a nearby village called Mesbala became more significant as it was the subject of many conflicts and wars between the Romans and Persians, and was later known as Mosul.

In the Islamic Era, Mosul was conquered in 16/637, and the tribe of Tay, Ibn al-Arabi’s ancestors, was among the Arabs who settled in the open country. The Umayyad paid much attention to Mosul because of its military and commercial importance. However, during the first Abbasid era, Mosul was affected by the revolt of its people against Muhammad Ibn Soul in 133/750, and the Abbasid decisively killed its people on the hands of Yahya bin Muhammad, the brother of Abu al-Abbas Abdullah Ibn Muhammad, known as al-Saffah, meaning “the Blood-Shedder” for his ruthless tactics and perhaps also to instill fear in his enemies.

Nevertheless, the city regained its economic position in the succession of Harun al-Rashid, but again, with the weakness of the Abbasid rule, the country was divided between the kings of the Hamdanids and the Seljuks until Nur al-Din Zanki took over Mosul in 521/1127, and the Atabeg era began.

When Nur al-Din Zanki died, Salah al-Din came from Egypt, which he had became its ruler as we mentioned in section

efabbasidegypt in Chapter IV. He came to fix the turmoil in the Levant and the North, until he was able to unite the country from Egypt and Libya in the west to the border of Mosul in the east. Saladin besieged Mosul but he failed to enter it, and it remained the hands of the Zankists. This situation continued even after regaining al-Quds in 583/1187, until Saladin died a few years later, and then the country was divided between his children and his cousins as we mentioned in Chapter IV.

In the period when Shaykh Muhyiddin came to Mosul, the ruler was the Zanki prince Nur al-Din Arsalan Shah Ibn Masood, who had been in rule since 589/1193, and then his son Izz al-Din Masood Ibn Arslan Shah took over after 607/1211.

Although it was not more than one month, Shaykh Muhyiddin’s brief visit to Mosul was fruitful and productive. He met many Shaykhs and wore the rag (al-Khirqah) of al-Khder from Shaykh Abdullah Ibn Jamii, in addition to writing many important books, such as the book of al-Tanazzulat al-Musoliyya, al-Jalal wal-Jamal, and al-Kunhu, as well as reading some of his previous books on a number of new seekers who began to circle around him and accompany him and attend his lessons, especially the famous book of the Holy Spirit, as we shall describe further below.

5.1.6.1- Wearing the Rag by Abdullah Ibn Jamii

5.1.6.2- Qadib al-Ban

5.1.6.3- The Station of Prophecy

5.1.6.4- Shaykh Abu al-Hasan Ibn al-Kanary

5.1.6.5- Ahmed Ibn Masoud Ibn Shaddad al-Moqri (Mosul, 601/1204)

5.1.6.6- The Person Opposing the Holy Quran (Mosul, 601/1204)

5.1.6.7- The Mosulean Descendings (Mosul, 601/1205)

5.1.6.8- The Majesty and Beauty (Mosul, 601/1205)

5.1.6.9- The Essence of What the Seeker Needs (Mosul, 601/1205)

5.1.6.10- Reading the Holy Spirit (Mosul, 29 Ramadan 601/1205 [May])