In the closing days of Rajab, the emirs swore allegiance to Emir Zayn al-Dīn Kitbughā together with Sultan al-Nāṣir Muḥammad ibn Qalāwūn, and word of this oath spread throughout all the cities and provinces. ⦗1⦘

The Affair of ʿAssāf the Christian

This man, ⦗2⦘ a native of al-Shuwaydāʾ, was testified against by a number of people who stated that he had reviled the Prophet ﷺ. ʿAssāf sought the protection of Ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥajjī, the commander of the clan of Āl Mirā. Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah and Shaykh Zayn al-Dīn al-Fāriqī, the shaykh of Dār al-Ḥadīth, ⦗3⦘ therefore went in to Emir ʿIzz al-Dīn Aybak al-Ḥamawī, the deputy of the sultanate, spoke with him about the case, and he granted their request and sent for ʿAssāf. They left his presence ⦗4⦘ accompanied by a large crowd. When the people saw ʿAssāf arrive, escorted by a Bedouin Arab, they showered him with curses and insults.

The Bedouin protested, “He—meaning the Christian—is better than you!” The crowd thereupon stoned the two of them, ⦗5⦘ and one of the stones struck ʿAssāf a heavy blow. The deputy summoned the two shaykhs, Ibn Taymiyyah and al-Fāriqī, ⦗6⦘ beat them in his presence, and ordered that they be confined in the ʿAdrawiyyah prison. The Christian was then brought forward; he embraced Islam, and a judicial council was convened for his case. Enmity between him and the witnesses was established, so his life was spared. ⦗7⦘ Afterwards the deputy called for the two shaykhs again, appeased them, and released them. The new convert later travelled to the Ḥijāz, ⦗8⦘ where, near the City of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he was killed by his own nephew.

Because of this incident Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah composed his treatise al-Ṣārim al-Maslūl ʿalā Sābb al-Rasūl ⦗9⦘ (The Drawn Sword Against the Reviler of the Messenger).

In Shaʿbān of that same year, al-Nāṣir rode out in the full pomp of kingship and processed through Cairo, ⦗10⦘ a day long remembered, for this was his first public ride. Drums of glad tidings were beaten in Syria, ⦗11⦘ and a decree issued in his name arrived and was read aloud from the pulpit.