to the princes, judges, and jurists who had assembled to consider releasing the Shaykh from prison, together with the two envoys, and their request that the Shaykh endorse what the document contained (1). This occurred more than a year after the Shaykh’s arrival in Egypt; and since his arrival—may Allah have mercy on him—took place in 705 AH, it follows that the composition of this book—namely his response to the princes and judges—was in 706 AH. I have not the slightest doubt about this, especially since he explicitly names that year in (S), one of the manuscript copies I used for this edition. What is reported in the base manuscript and in (Ṭ)—that the princes and judges repeatedly sent emissaries to the Shaykh in 726 AH, the year in which he—may Allah have mercy on him—was in Damascus—has therefore prompted me to set out several additional reasons proving that the book was composed in 706 AH:

1. The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—says in the present work, p. 111:
   “…So I said: I will not appear before anyone who judges me according to the law of ignorance, contrary to what Allah has sent down, and treats me in a manner that even the Jews and the Christians would not deem lawful—just as you did at the first session. And I said to the messenger: ‘All of that took place in your presence. Do you want them to scheme against me as they did last year? I will not agree to this. Rather, whoever claims that I have uttered falsehood, let him write, in his own hand, what he rejects from my words and present his evidence. I will write my reply alongside his, and then my words and his may be presented to the scholars of East and West. I said this in al-Shām, and I say it here. This is the creed I examined in al-Shām in the presence of its judges, shaykhs, and scholars. Your deputy has already sent you the copy that was read aloud and has informed you by another report.’”

   The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—addressed them with these words while still in prison and after he had remained there for more than a year since arriving in Egypt. His explicit mention of what befell him in al-Shām, of the sessions convened because of his Salafi creed, and of the fact that what he declared in Damascus he was declaring again in Egypt, all indicate that the book was authored in Egypt a year after his arrival there.