who turned its meaning into verse, composing a poem in which he declared (1):
[in the baṣīṭ meter]
“Your capture of Aleppo the Bright in Safar
has decreed for you the opening of Jerusalem in Rajab.”
He presented the poem to the sultan, and the sultan’s ambition was immediately enkindled toward that goal (2). When Jerusalem was indeed conquered, as will be related, he ordered the qadi (3) Ibn al-Zaki (4) to preach the Friday sermon there that very day. Once he was informed that Ibn Jahbal had been the first to discover the prophecy, he summoned him (5) to deliver a grand lesson upon the very Rock itself, rewarded him lavishly, and praised him profusely.
Section
On the Expedition to Baysan
The sultan then departed from Aleppo in the closing days of Rabiʿ al-Akhir with his troops and armies. He left there (6) his son al-Ẓāhir Ghazi (7) and appointed Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-Zaki (8) as its qadi. Ibn al-Zaki installed a deputy in his stead (9) and then returned (10) in the sultan’s service. The force passed through Hama, then Homs, then Baalbek, and finally entered (11) Damascus on the third of Jumada.
(1) The verse is found in Ibn al-Athir’s al-Kamil (vol. 9, p. 162) in the following wording: 'wa fatahakum Halban bi-l-sayf fi Safar … mubashshir bi-futuh al-Quds fi Rajab' (He opened Halab [Aleppo] for you by the sword in Safar … heralding the conquest of Jerusalem in Rajab). It also appears in ar-Rawdatayn (vol. 2, p. 46) in two versions: one following Ibn al-Athir, and the other reading 'wa fatahakum Halban bi-l-sayf fi Safar … qada lakum bi-iftiha al-Quds fi Rajab' (and he decreed for you the opening of Jerusalem in Rajab). In Wafayat al-Ayan (vol. 2, p. 331; vol. 4, p. 229) it is transmitted as 'wa fatahaka al-Qala al-Shahba fi Safar … mubashshir bi-futuh al-Quds fi Rajab' (He opened the White Citadel in Safar … heralding the conquest of Jerusalem in Rajab).
(2) In the edition: 'ila al-sultan fataqat nafsuhu ila dhalika' (his soul longed for that for the sultan).
(3) Absent from the edition.
(4) Not present in manuscript A.
(5) In the edition: 'thumma balaghahu ba‘da dhalika anna ibn Juhbal huwa alladhi qala dhalika awwalan fa-amrahu' (then he was informed afterwards that Ibn Juhbal was the one who first said that, so he commanded him).
(6) In manuscript B: 'biha' (with it).
(7) al-Malik al-Zahir Ghazi, son of Sultan Salah al-Din, born in Egypt in 568 AH. His father granted him the emirate of Halab in 582 AH, after it had belonged to his uncle al-Malik al-Adil. He was known as Badi‘ al-Hasan, shrewd, generous, and open-handed. He died in 613 AH. References: Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil (vol. 9, p. 322); Mirʾat al-Zaman (vol. 8, p. 579); Dhayl ar-Rawdatayn (no. 94); Wafayat al-Ayan (vol. 4, pp. 6–9); al-ʿIbar (vol. 5, p. 36); Beirut ed. (p. 160); Mirʾat al-Jinan (vol. 4, p. 27).
(8) His death is recorded under the year 598 AH in this part.
(9) In manuscript B and the edition: 'fa istannaba lahu fiha' (he deputed him for it).
(10) In the edition: 'wa sara maʿa' (and he marched with).
(11) In the edition: 'fa dakhalu' (then they entered).