And all of this was carried out by the chamberlain Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-Ṣamad (1) in Jumādā al-Ākhirah (2) of the year 413 AH—may Allah bring it to completion and keep it firm until He inherits the earth (3) and all who are upon it, for He is the best of inheritors.

Shaykh al-Islām Abū Ismāʿīl al-Anṣārī, in his book Dhamm al-Kalām wa-Ahlih (4), listed the eighth generation and said: “In it the Ashʿarīyah (5) appeared.”

He then turned to the ninth generation, cited the statements of those he named among them (6), and went on to say (7):

“I read the epistle of the prince Maḥmūd (8) in which he urges that the veils of this faction be torn away, their faults openly exposed, and that they be cursed. He even wrote in it: ‘I curse anyone who does not curse them.’ By Allah, it flew (9) to every horizon, giving every praiser ample occasion to extol him and furnishing every eulogist (10) boundless delight. You would not see a single rational person (11) who did not attribute to him firmness and resoluteness in religion, describing him as bold in judgment and noble in character. What do you think, then, of a religion in which the darkness of defects is concealed, yet hearts (12) are cleansed thereby, a religion whose adherents confer about it in whispered counsel (13)