Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Yaʿlā al-Khalīlī said in al-Irshād: “He died in 402 AH (1)—and Allah Most High knows best.”

[Then the year 388 AH began.]

Ibn al-Jawzī relates: “In Dhū al-Ḥijjah of this year a violent hailstorm struck Baghdad; the water in the bathhouses froze, and even the urine of the beasts of burden congealed in the streets.

“In the same year the envoys of Abū Ṭālib Rustam ibn Fakhr al-Dawlah arrived. The caliph pledged allegiance to him, confirmed him in his administration of the province of Rayy, conferred upon him the honorific Majd al-Dawlah, ‘Refuge of the Community,’ and sent him robes of honor and banners. The same [was done] (2) for Badr ibn Ḥasnaweh, upon whom he bestowed the title Nāṣir al-Dīn wa-l-Dawlah; he was noted for his abundant charity.

“During this year ʿUbayd Allah (3) ibn Jaʿfar, known as Ibn al-Waththāb, formerly in the service of the deposed caliph al-Ṭāʾiʿ (4), escaped from the caliphal prison to the marshlands (al-Baṭīḥah). Its ruler, Muhadhdhib al-Dawlah, granted him asylum. Al-Qādir Billah then sent for him; he was brought back under close guard and imprisoned. He escaped yet again, fled to Gīlān, and there claimed he was al-Ṭāʾiʿ. The people believed him, swore allegiance to him, and paid him the tithe and other dues. Later, when some of them came to Baghdad and looked into the matter, they discovered it had no validity. They repudiated him, his affair collapsed, his condition worsened, and he fled from them (5).

“That same year the commander of the Egyptians led the pilgrimage, while the Friday sermon was delivered in the name of the ʿUbaydid ruler al-Ḥākim.

[Among the notable figures who died in this year:]

[Al-Khattābī] (6) – Abū Sulaymān Ḥamd (some say Aḥmad) ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn al-Khattāb al-Khattābī al-Bustī, one of the celebrated personages and a prolific jurist-ḥadith scholar. Among his works are Maʿālim al-Sunan and his commentary on al-Bukhārī, together with other beneficial writings. He also composed fine poetry, among which are the following lines: