—himself, after the Shaykh had set out to fight them; and Allah granted the Muslims victory over their foes, so that they annihilated great numbers of them and of their misguided faction, conquering many of the supposedly impregnable (1) tracts of their territory. The deputy of the sultanate then returned to Damascus, accompanied by Shaykh Ibn Taymiyya and the army. Because the Shaykh personally took part in this campaign, much good was achieved, and during it he displayed both learning and courage—while the hearts of his adversaries were filled with envy and vexation (2).
At the beginning of Jumada al-Awwal, the judge Amin al-Din Abu Bakr, son of the qadi Wajih al-Din ʿAbd al-ʿAzim ibn al-Riqaqi (3) of Egypt, arrived from Cairo to take charge of the financial bureaus in Damascus, replacing ʿIzz al-Din ibn Mubashshir.
[What befell Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya with the Ahmadiyya and how the three sessions were convened for him] (4)
On Saturday, the ninth of Jumada al-Awwal, a large gathering of Ahmadiyya dervishes (5) came before the deputy of the sultanate at the Ablaq Palace, with Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya also present. In the presence of the amirs they asked the deputy to restrain the Shaykh from censuring them (6) and to allow them to pursue their own practice. The Shaykh replied, “That is impossible (7); everyone must submit to the Qur’an and the Sunnah, in word and deed. Whoever departs from them must be reproved.”
They then tried to perform some of the demonic displays they practice in their samāʿ gatherings, whereupon the Shaykh (8) said, “Those are false, satanic states; most of what they do is nothing but trickery and deceit. Whoever among you wishes to enter the fire should first go to the bathhouse, wash his body thoroughly, scrubbing it with vinegar and soapwort; only then may he step into the fire, if he is truthful. Even if an innovator were to enter the fire after washing, that would prove neither his righteousness nor any divine favor. Such a feat would merely resemble the exploits of impostors who defy the Sacred Law even while claiming to uphold the Sunnah—so what can be said of those who do not claim it at all?”
At this point Shaykh Ṣāliḥ, the head of al-Munyabʿ, interjected: “Our performances impress only the Tatars; they do not impress the Sacred Law.” The bystanders (9) seized upon that remark, and condemnation of the Ahmadiyya came from every side. In the end it was agreed that they would renounce