He found upon the idol—and inside it—gold, pearls, and priceless jewels worth many times more than the sum the Indians had offered, together with what Allah, exalted is He, had stored for him of immense reward in the Hereafter and fair renown in this world. May Allah show him mercy and ennoble his resting place.

On Saturday, the third of Ramadan, Jalal al-Dawla entered Baghdad. The caliph went out to receive him at al-Ṭayyār (1), accompanied by the leading notables. When Jalal al-Dawla came into his presence he kissed the ground repeatedly, after which he proceeded to the royal residence while the caliph returned to his own palace. Jalal al-Dawla ordered that the drum be beaten for him at the three congregational prayer times, as had been the practice in the days of ʿAdud al-Dawla, Ṣamṣām al-Dawla, Sharaf al-Dawla, and Bahāʾ al-Dawla. The caliph’s drum, however, was struck at all five prayer times. Jalal al-Dawla wanted the same, but was told, “It is not fitting to equal the caliph.” He nevertheless persisted until the drum was sounded for him at all five times.

Ibn al-Jawzi (2) said: In this year the cold was so intense that vinegar, wine-must, the urine of pack-animals, large bodies of water, and even the banks of the Tigris froze solid, and no one from the eastern lands performed the pilgrimage that year.

Among the year’s notable deaths were:

• Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn al-Muhtadī bi-Allah (3), Abū ʿAbd Allah the preacher. He preached in the Manṣūr Mosque beginning in 386 AH, delivering only one sermon each Friday; when the people heard it they would burst into tears, humbled by the tone of his voice.

• Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (4), Abū al-Qāsim al-Maghribī, the vizier. Born in Egypt in Dhū al-Ḥijja 370 AH, he fled when its ruler, al-Ḥākim, killed his father and his uncle Muḥammad. He went to Mecca and then to Syria, serving as vizier in several places, among them to Sharaf al-Dawla after al-Rakhjī. He composed fine poetry. On one occasion he and a pious man were discussing worldly life, and that righteous man recited to him:

If you would live a happy life, then never be
In any state but that you are content with even less than it. (5)

Al-Maghribī then withdrew from public office and worldly authority. One of his companions said, “You abandoned high positions in the very prime of your youth!” whereupon he began to say: