and other such acts—deeds that are well-known and widely celebrated.

Then, one year later, in 700 AH, when the Tatars reached the borders of the land and the people found themselves in dire straits, persuaded that the Egyptian army had withdrawn(1) from Syria, the Shaykh mounted up(2) and sped by the postal relay to the Egyptian forces, covering the journey in seven days. He entered Cairo on the eighth day, Monday the eleventh of Jumada I, just as detachments of the Egyptians were arriving and Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir was already inside the city.

He met with the pillars of the state, cried out for their help, urged them to jihad, recited to them verses of the Qur’an and hadiths, and reminded them of the reward Allah has prepared for those who strive in His path. Their spirits revived, their determination grew strong, and they offered him the excuse for their retreat—what they had endured of rain and cold at al-ʿArish(3). The call to mobilize was proclaimed, resolve became firm, they magnified and honored him, and the notables came and went to visit him.

That same year Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn Daqiq al-ʿId met with him and listened to his discourse. It is related that, when they asked Ibn Daqiq al-ʿId about the Shaykh(4) after the session had ended, he said, “He is a man of prodigious memory.”(5)