these keys, for I am an old man. I was only safeguarding the fortress for the sake of that lad whom you have slain; I have nephews, and I would loathe for them to rule it after me.” Qaraqush therefore confirmed him in possession of the stronghold and took from him great sums of money. Allah—glorified and exalted be He—knows best what is right.

Among the eminent figures who died in this year were:

The ḥadith scholar Abu Tahir (1) as-Silafi (2) Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad [ibn Muhammad] (3) ibn Ibrahim Salafah, the great, long-lived traditionist Abu Tahir as-Silafi al-Isfahani.

His grandfather Ibrahim (4) was nicknamed Salafah because one of his lips was split, so that [he effectively had three lips; the non-Arabs therefore gave him that appellation] (5).

Qadi Ibn Khallikan (6) said: As-Silafi was surnamed Sadr al-Din and followed the Shafi‘i school. He came to Baghdad and studied there under al-Kiya al-Harrasi (7), and he learned philology from al-Khatib Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn ‘Ali al-Tabrizi (8). He heard a vast amount of ḥadith and traveled across the lands in its pursuit; he then settled in the port of Alexandria in 511 AH. Al-‘Adil Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn al-Sallar (9), vizier of the Caliph al-Zafir, built a madrasa for him and placed it in his charge (10); it is still known by his name (11) to this day.

Ibn Khallikan (12) further remarked: His amali sessions (13) and marginalia were exceedingly numerous, and he authored a great many works. According to what the Egyptians have recorded, he was born in 472 AH. Al-Hafiz ‘Abd al-Ghani (14) al-Maqdisi transmitted from him that he said: “I remember the killing of…"