He also sent word to the lord of Baalbek, ordering him to present himself so that he might accompany him on the expedition to Egypt. That prince had already come to Damascus to pledge his allegiance to him, (1) yet he kept putting him off, intriguing against him, and entering into pacts (2) with the Damascene emirs in the hope that he might become their ruler. Because of al-Ṣāliḥ Ayyūb’s formidable power, none of the latter’s men dared inform him of what was taking place. The year came to an end while al-Ṣāliḥ Ayyūb was still encamped in Nablus, summoning him (3) to join him, but he continued to stall.
Among the notable figures who died this year were:
Jamāl al-Dīn al-Ḥaṣīrī al-Ḥanafī, (4) the erudite scholar Maḥmūd ibn Aḥmad, (5) head of the Ḥanafī school in Damascus and professor at the Nūriyyah madrasa. He was originally from a village called Ḥaṣīr in the district of Bukhara; (6) there he studied jurisprudence and heard a large number of hadiths. He later moved to Damascus, where leadership of the Ḥanafīs ultimately devolved upon him—especially in the days of al-Muʿaẓẓam. He used to teach al-Jāmiʿ al-Kabīr and composed a commentary on it, and al-Muʿaẓẓam held him in high regard, honoring and venerating him. May Allah have mercy on him: he was frequently moved to tears, abundant in charity, (7) intelligent, circumspect, and chaste. He died on Sunday, the eighth of Ṣafar, and was buried in the Ṣūfiyyah cemetery; may Allah envelop him in His mercy. He passed away at the age of ninety. His first lesson in the Nūriyyah was given in 611 AH, after al-Sharaf Dāwūd, (8) who had held the chair following al-Burhān Masʿūd, (9) one of its earliest instructors. (10) May Allah, Exalted is He, have mercy on them all.
[ʿImād al-Dīn ibn Shaykh al-Shuyūkh]
The amir ʿImād al-Dīn ʿUmar, son of Shaykh al-Shuyūkh Ṣadr al-Dīn Muḥammad, son of Shaykh al-Shuyūkh ʿImād al-Dīn ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥamawiyyah. (11) He was the one who paved the way for al-Jawād to take possession of Damascus; afterwards he proceeded (12) to Egypt, where its ruler al-ʿĀdil ibn al-Kāmil ibn al-ʿĀdil reproached him.