The son of Salahuddin al-Ayyubi, Al-Aziz Uthman ibn Salahuddin Yusuf, succeeded his father at the age of 22. Out of all the four sons of Salahuddin, Al-Aziz was the most deviant of them. He was educated by teachers from the Jahmiyyah and Karamiyyah belief systems, hence he grew up to be a deviant. He had many friends who were Jahmi or Karami. He did not even bother to actually check with the local scholars, who were mostly Hanbali, whether he was on the correct creed and beliefs. Al-Aziz was very weak in his knowledge of Hadith as well. The people did not like his rule either, they thought he was an unjust and cruel ruler who did not know how to rule properly.
But he eventually developed a hatred for the Hanbali madhab, as his Jahmi and Karami friends and palace scholars convinced him that the Hanbalis were “evil”. Al-Aziz had plans to expel the Hanabilah from Egypt. But he had not implemented these plans yet, as he was still considering it. These plans reached the ears of local Hanbali scholars, who protested against it. Some of the righteous men even prayed against Al-Aziz, and prayed for his downfall. Allah would eventually answer their prayers.
It was the hunting season, and on the twenty first night of Muharram, Al-Aziz went out on a hunting trip. He saw a large wolf and set his sights on it, hoping to kill it for its fur, which he could use in the creation of rugs, carpets or luxurious clothing. He began chasing this wolf on his horse. The horse went at full speed, while the wolf did not bother attacking and just continued running away as fast as it could. But it was very dark at night, so neither Al-Aziz or his horse could see very well (night vision was not invented yet, should have asked his pir baba to give him great eyesight). His horse then hit something.
Al-Aziz fell from the horse and hit his head and body hard on a rock. He survived, but he was badly injured. There was a lack of professional doctors at the time, so he just rested in bed in his palace bedroom. Al-Aziz's injuries became infected, and eventually after a few days, he died at the young age of 27, due to the infections, in the year 595 of the Hijrah. He was buried next to his older brother in a madrasah-mausoleum complex located in Dimashq.
It was on that same day that Al-Aziz intended to pass the law forbidding the Hanabilah to enter Cairo and Alexandria. But, Allah answered the prayers of the righteous scholars, and on the day Al-Aziz intended to officially start the ban, Allah took away his soul quickly. There was much rejoicing, and the Hanabilah became even more loved in Egypt and Dimashq.
Source:
Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah by Ibn Kathir, volume 13
From Saladin to the Mongols: the Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193-1260 by R. Stephen Humphreys
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