—lofty and admirable visions which, had they been gathered in writing, would have filled a complete volume. That is the end of his report.
A long while after that affair—on Monday, 8 Rajab 705 AH—the judges and jurists were summoned, and Shaykh Taqi al-Din was likewise called to the palace to appear before the deputy of the Sultanate, al-Afram. When they had all assembled before him (1) he questioned Shaykh Taqi al-Din alone about his creed, saying, “This session has been convened for you, and a royal decree has reached me instructing me to ask you about your beliefs.”
The Shaykh produced his treatise al-‘Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah and said, “I composed this some seven years ago, before the Mongols came to Syria.” (2) The work was read aloud in the council and examined, though certain passages were deferred to another sitting.
They reconvened on Friday after the congregational prayer, 12 Rajab of that same year. The opponents were present along with Shaykh Safi al-Din al-Hindi (3), and they agreed that he would undertake—