a fierce thirst overtook me (1). Beside him stood a jug filled with cold water, but I felt too shy to take it. He stretched out his hand, his face reddening, passed me the jug and said, “Take it—how long will you keep holding back?” So I drank.

It is also related that when he left Jerusalem its wall was still standing, newly rebuilt under King Salah al-Din before al-Muʿazzam demolished it. He paused to bid his companions farewell, looked at the wall and said, “It is as though I already see pick-axes hacking at this wall before long.” He was asked, “Will the pick-axes be those of the Muslims or of the Franks?” He replied, “Rather, those of the Muslims,” and events unfolded (2) just as he had foretold.

Many other admirable circumstances have been reported about him. It is said that he was originally Armenian and embraced Islam at the hands of Shaykh ʿAbd Allah al-Yunini (3). Others say he was of Byzantine stock from Konya (4). He came to Shaykh ʿAbd Allah al-Yunini wearing a cowl like that of the monks. The shaykh said to him, “Submit (5).” He answered, “I have submitted to the Lord of all worlds.”

His mother had served as the wet-nurse of the caliph’s wife. On one occasion a strange incident (6) befell him; Allah delivered him through it, the caliph recognized him, and released him.

Then came the year 632 AH. In that year King al-Ashraf [Musa] ibn al-ʿAdil tore down the khan of Ibn al-Zanjari at al-ʿUqaybah—a place that housed prostitutes, wine, and many other abominations. He demolished it and ordered a mosque to be built on the site, which was named (7) the Mosque of Repentance (8); may Allah accept this deed from him.

[Al-Qadi Ibn Shaddad] (9)
That same year saw the passing of the judge Bahāʾ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Rāfiʿ ibn Tamīm ibn Shaddād al-Halabi, one of the city’s leading notables, descended from a family of learning and eminence. He was versed in history, the chronicles of nations, and other sciences; he had heard many hadiths and transmitted them.