It is stated at the close of Volume 12 of the original manuscript as follows:

“Volume 12 of Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, composed by the Shaykh, Imām, erudite scholar and practicing authority, decisive critic and accomplished master, gatherer of the scattered branches of learning, historian of Islam, Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān al-Dhahabī—may Allah prolong his life—has been completed. This is the first copy to be transcribed from the author’s own hand, and, as far as possible, it has been collated with it. All praise and gratitude belong to Allah; through Him come success and protection. It will be followed—Allah Most High willing—in the next volume, Volume 13, by the biography of Abū Ṭāhir al-Salafī. The writing of this copy was finished on the night of Friday, with three days remaining of Jumādā al-Ūlā, in the year 742 AH.

All praise is due to Allah alone. May blessings and peace be upon our master Muḥammad, his family, and his Companions in full measure.”