She still had a great desire and longing to rule, and a belief in her mental, administrative and leadership possibilities, which were, without doubt, very brilliant. Then, what should she do?

Shajarat Ad-Durr decided to hold the stick from the middle; i.e. to abdicate power outwardly, but take the lead inwardly. She thought about a dangerous political game; that is, to marry a man and abdicate the power to him, in order to put him in the forefront, and then she could rule through him, or (from behind the curtains) as takes place in policy. Many are the rulers who have nothing of rule other than the name, and many are the sultans who have no share in the sultanate. Of course, a lot of men could accept that condition, in order to remain in office as long as possible.

Shajarat Ad-Durr then did not like to marry out of desire for marriage, nor did she want a real man; all she wanted was a puppet. That is because if this man was strong, he would rule by himself, and hold the reins of power in his hand. This (puppet) man should not belong to a strong deep-rooted family, lest it would influence him to seize power from the hand of the queen. How nice would it be if this man was from among the Mamluks in order to ensure their allegiance. It was a very important matter. Should this man act as the legal support for the rule, the Mamluks would represent the actual, military and real support for it.

http://300035.dotdothktrade.tech/en/artical/20807/middle-stick