the descent of Jesus son of Mary from heaven to earth [as a sign of their turning away from the world and lest they be sullied by it]—as will be set out in detail in the forthcoming ḥadīths on the great battles. It is well known that these people ruled the lands of Egypt for a lengthy period, which furnishes clear and forceful proof that they are not of the Prophet’s Household, as the senior judges, witnesses, jurists, and dignitaries have all affirmed. Al-Qāḍī al-Bāqillānī even composed a book refuting these claimants to Fāṭimid ancestry, which he entitled
“Unveiling the Secrets and Tearing Away the Veils.”
In it he scattered their scandals and abominations and laid bare their reality to anyone with the slightest insight into the recesses of their deeds and words. He would often say of them: “These are a people who display Rāfiḍī leanings while concealing sheer unbelief.”

During the months of Rajab, Shaʿbān and Ramaḍān the vizier Fakhr al-Mulk dispensed abundant alms to the poor, the destitute, and those residing at the shrines and graveyards [wa-al-masājid (and the mosques)]. He personally visited the mosques and the shrines and similar places, released a large number of prisoners from the jails, displayed conspicuous devotion, and erected an immense mansion by the flour market, an awe-inspiring structure.

In Shawwāl a violent, pitch-black wind blew, snapping a great many date-palms—more than ten thousand [nakhlah (palms)].

A letter arrived from Yamīn al-Dawlah Abū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn Subuktakīn, lord of Ghaznah—may Allah support him—reporting that he had marched with his army into enemy territory. They passed through a desert where they were deprived of water until they were on the verge of perishing—[ʿan ākhirihim] every last one of them—from thirst. Allah then sent them a cloud that rained upon them until they had drunk their fill. They later met the enemy, who had with them some six hundred elephants; the Muslims routed them and seized an enormous amount of wealth.

In that same year the Shīʿah performed [bidʿatahum allatī kānū yaʿmalūnahā] the innovation they are accustomed to on the Day of Ghadīr Khumm—[al-yawm] the eighteenth of Dhū al-Ḥijjah—an innovation they devised not in pursuit of Allah’s Face. The shops were decorated, and, thanks to the vizier, they and many of the Turks gained considerable ascendancy.

Among the notable deaths that year were:

• Al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Sahl Nūbakht (1), Abū Muḥammad al-Nūbakhtī, the scribe. He was born in 320 AH, narrated from al-Muḥāmalī and others, and al-Barqānī narrated from him. Al-Barqānī said: “He was a Shīʿī Muʿtazilī, yet it became clear to me that he was truthful.” [Al-Azharī narrated from him] and said: “He was a Rāfiḍī of unsound doctrine.” Al-ʿUtayqī remarked: “He was reliable in ḥadīth and inclined toward iʿtizāl (Muʿtazilism).”

• ʿUthmān ibn ʿĪsā (2), Abū ʿAmr al-Bāqillānī, one of the well-known, eminent ascetics. He owned a few date-palms and would eat from their produce,