—and when death drew near, he assigned the kingship after him to his son al-ʿAzīz Ghiyāth al-Din Muḥammad (1), who was at that time three years old (2). Although he had older sons, he singled out this child (3) because his mother was the daughter of his paternal uncle al-ʿĀdil (4), and his maternal uncles were al-Ashraf, al-Muʿaẓẓam, and al-Kāmil (5). His grandfather and uncles would not contest him; had he appointed any of the other sons, they would have taken the realm from him. And that is exactly what happened: his grandfather al-ʿĀdil and his uncles gave him their allegiance (6). Al-Muʿaẓẓam did consider annulling the arrangement and seizing the kingdom for himself, but it did not come to pass. The administration of his dominion was undertaken (7) by the eunuch Shihāb al-Din Ṭughril (8) the White Rūmī, a devout, intelligent [and just] man.
Among the other notable deaths that year (9) was that of Shaykh Taj al-Din Abū al-Yaman al-Kindī, Zayd ibn al-Ḥasan (10) ibn Zayd ibn al-Ḥasan (11) ibn Saʿīd ibn ʿIṣmah—the learned imām, peerless in his age and unmatched in excellence, Taj al-Din Abū al-Yaman al-Kindī (12).
He was born and raised in Baghdad, where he pursued study and attained mastery. He later came to Damascus, settled there, and outstripped the scholars of his time—east and west—in philology, grammar, and the other sciences, in the loftiness of his chains of transmission, the soundness of his method and conduct, and the correctness of his creed (13). The scholars of his age benefited from him, praised him, and deferred to him (14). He was originally a Ḥanbalī, then adopted the Ḥanafī school. His birth took place in
(1) The biography of al-Malik al-Aziz appears in al-Wafayat for the year 634 AH.
(2) In manuscripts A and B: “And when he was three years old, he had already ….”
(3) In manuscript T: “But this young son whom he entrusted to him.”
(4) This term is cut off at the beginning in manuscript A and resumes after one folio.
(5) The biography of al-ʿAdil appears in al-Wafayat 617 AH; al-Ashraf in al-Wafayat 635 AH; al-Muʿazzam in al-Wafayat 626 AH; and al-Kamil also in al-Wafayat 635 AH.
(6) In manuscript B: “His grandfather was al-ʿAdil and his maternal uncle al-Ashraf, ruler of Harran, ar-Ruha, and Khilat.”
(7) In manuscript T: “his rule.”
(8) In manuscripts B and T: “Tughril Beg.” The account here is based on Ibn al-Athir and Abu Shama.
(9) In manuscript T: “And among the notables who died there was Zayd ibn al-Hasan.”
(10) The biography of al-Kindi can be found in: Muʿjam al-Adib (vol. 11, p. 171); Inbah al-Ruwat (vol. 2, pp. 10–14); Marat al-Zaman (vol. 8, pp. 572–577); al-Takmila li-Wafayat al-Naqqala (vol. 2, p. 383); Dhayl al-Rawdatayn (pp. 95–99); Wafayat al-Aʿyan (vol. 2, pp. 319–342); Mukhtasar Abi’l-Fida (vol. 3, p. 104); Tarikh al-Islam (vol. 13, p. 364); Siyar Aʿlam al-Nubala’ (vol. 22, pp. 34–41); al-Mukhtasar al-Muhtaj ilayh (vol. 2, pp. 71–72); al-Jawahir al-Mudhiya (vol. 1, p. 246); Marat al-Jinan (vol. 4, pp. 25–27); Ghayat al-Nihaya (vol. 1, p. 293); al-Nujum al-Zahira (vol. 6, pp. 216–217); Bughya al-Wuʿattha (vol. 1, pp. 570–577); Shudhurat al-Dhahab (vol. 7, pp. 100–101).
(11) Of the sources cited above, the genealogy is sound only in al-Bashar.
(12) The term is illegible in manuscript B.
(13) In manuscript T: “and of sound creed.”
(14) In manuscript T: “scholars of his time.”