On the 15th of Ramadan, several significant historical events took place:
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- In 138 AH, Abd al-Rahman al-Dakhil, known as the Falcon of Quraysh, crossed into Al-Andalus.
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- In 584 AH, Salahuddin al-Ayyubi reclaimed the city of Safed from the Crusaders.
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- In 1994 CE, the brutal Hebron Massacre occurred at the Ibrahimi Mosque.
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- In 3 AH, Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib was born, the first grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Abd al-Rahman al-Dakhil Crosses into Al-Andalus
Determined to escape Abbasid persecution, Abd al-Rahman al-Dakhil fled from the Levant. After enduring immense hardship, he arrived in Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia) with his younger brother. However, the governor there was actively hunting Umayyads to either kill or hand them over to the Abbasids, forcing Abd al-Rahman to flee once more.
He sought refuge with his maternal Berber relatives in North Africa. During his stay, he closely observed the political situation in Al-Andalus, waiting for the right moment to cross the sea. Eventually, he managed to establish contacts with Umayyad loyalists, anti-Abbasid factions, and Berbers who had migrated to the Iberian Peninsula.
On the 15th of Ramadan, 138 AH, Abd al-Rahman al-Dakhil, accompanied by his servant Badr, crossed the sea into Al-Andalus. Upon his arrival, his supporters rallied, and within a short period, over three thousand horsemen had gathered under his command. He led them towards the capital, Córdoba, where he confronted the local governor, Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri.
At just 26 years of age, Abd al-Rahman proved to be a formidable leader. He defeated the Cordoban governor, entered the city, led the Muslims in prayer, and declared the establishment of the Umayyad Emirate in Al-Andalus—reviving the Umayyad rule after its downfall in the East.
He laid the foundation for a powerful state, expanding his influence across Al-Andalus and quelling numerous uprisings. Abd al-Rahman formed a formidable personal guard, constructed the grand palace of Al-Rusafa in Córdoba—named after his grandfather’s residence in the Levant—and built the Great Mosque of Córdoba, inspired by the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
Salahuddin al-Ayyubi Reclaims Safed
On the 15th of Ramadan, 584 AH (1188 CE), the Crusaders surrendered the fortress of Safed to Salahuddin al-Ayyubi, who spared its inhabitants.
However, following Salahuddin’s death, his successor, Al-Malik al-Salih Isma’il, son of Al-Adil (Salahuddin’s brother), ceded the fortress back to the Crusaders as a goodwill gesture in an attempt to secure an alliance against the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and the ruler of Jordan.
Safed remained in Crusader hands until 1266 CE, when the Mamluk Sultan Al-Zahir Baybars liberated it once again, recognizing its strategic importance as a key point between Egypt and the Levant.
The Hebron Massacre
Amid ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations following the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1994, a tragic massacre unfolded on the 15th of Ramadan.
An extremist Jewish settler of American origin, Baruch Goldstein, opened fire on Muslim worshippers during Fajr prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. At least 29 worshippers were killed on the spot, and around 150 others were wounded before other worshippers managed to subdue and kill the attacker.
Goldstein’s aim was to terrorize and eliminate the Palestinian presence in Hebron’s Old City, a site of significance for the three Abrahamic faiths. He was previously associated with extremist Zionist terrorist movements.
The Birth of Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib
On the 15th of Ramadan, 3 AH, Al-Hasan ibn Ali was born—the first grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the fifth of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and the second Imam in Shi’a Islam.
Al-Hasan witnessed some of the most turbulent events in early Islamic history, including the conflict between his father, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Mu’awiya ibn Abi Sufyan. After Ali’s assassination in 40 AH, Al-Hasan was pledged allegiance as Caliph in Kufa.
However, he detested conflict and bloodshed. Seeking unity over war, he initiated negotiations with Mu’awiya, eventually abdicating the caliphate in Rabi’ al-Awwal of 41 AH—a year later known as “Aam al-Jama’ah” (the Year of Unity).
Ibn al-Athir, in his book Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, recounts that when Al-Hasan agreed to hand over authority to Mu’awiya, he addressed the people, saying:
“By Allah, we were not driven away from fighting the people of Syria due to doubt or regret. We fought them with sincerity and patience, but peace was tainted by hostility, and patience was clouded by distress. When you set out for Siffin, your religion was above your worldly concerns. But today, your worldly concerns are above your religion. You stand between two slain men: one at Siffin, for whom you weep, and one at Nahrawan, for whose revenge you seek. Those who remain are either hesitant or vengeful. Indeed, Mu’awiya has invited us to an agreement that offers no honor or fairness. If you wish for war, we will return to battle and let the swords decide. But if you seek peace, we will accept it and seek reconciliation on your behalf.”
This speech reflected Al-Hasan’s wisdom, prioritizing unity over conflict for the greater good of the Muslim Ummah.
