—a patent forgery, for it was full of awkward expressions, confused dates, and blatant solecisms. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah confronted them about it, exposed their errors and lies, and proved that the document was nothing but a fabricated counterfeit. They thereupon agreed to pay the jizyah and feared that the arrears of previous years (1) might be demanded of them.

I say: I myself examined this document and found in it a testimony by Saʿd ibn Muʿādh dated to the year of Khaybar, though Saʿd had died before that; and a testimony by Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān, who at that time had not yet embraced Islam, doing so only about two years later (2). It also contains the line: “Written by ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib,” yet it includes (3) a grammatical error that could never have come from the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī, for the science of grammar is traced back to him through Abū al-Aswad al-Duʾalī. I have compiled a separate treatise on the matter, recording what took place in the days of the judge al-Māwardī (4) and the leading scholars of our school in that era. The issue is mentioned in al-Hāwī, the author of al-Shāmil cites it in his book (5), and others have noted it as well, all of them pointing out its flaws—praise and thanks be to Allah.

During this month a party of the envious rose against Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah, complaining that he was enforcing the ḥudūd, administering discretionary punishments, and shaving the heads of boys. He, for his part, spoke out against those from whom the complaints originated, demonstrated their error, and the matter soon quieted down.

In Dhuʾl-Qaʿdah, drums of glad tidings were beaten for several days at the Citadel of Damascus because certain districts in the land of Sīs (6) had been taken by storm; the Muslims had captured them—praise be to Allah.

That same month ʿIzz al-Dīn ibn Mubashshir (7) assumed oversight of the state bureaus in place of Ibn Muzhir.

On Tuesday, the fourth of Dhuʾl-Ḥijjah, ʿAbd al-Sayyid ibn al-Muhadhdhab, the Jewish dayan, appeared at the Dār al-ʿAdl with his children, and they all embraced Islam. The deputy of the Sultanate honored them, ordering that he ride in a robe of distinction while the kettledrums (8) and trumpets sounded behind him all the way to his home. That night a grand khatm of the Quran was held, attended by the judges and scholars, and a large group of Jews accepted Islam at his hands. On the day of ʿId they all went out proclaiming the takbīr with the Muslims, and the people honored them with exceptional generosity.