the aforementioned session, which had been convened by Shaykh Kamāl al-Dīn Ibn al-Zamlakānī. Thereafter, on the twenty-sixth of Shaʿbān, a letter arrived from the sultan reinstating Ibn Ṣaṣrā to the judgeship; this was done at the prompting of al-Manbijī.

The letter stated:

“We had already decreed (1) that a session be held for Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyya. News has reached us of the sessions that have indeed been convened for him, and that he adheres to the doctrine of the early generations. Our sole purpose in the matter was to clear him of the accusations levelled against him.”

Another letter followed on Monday, the fifth of Ramadan, revealing what had transpired with Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyya during the days of Ghazan (2) and the judge Imām al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī, and ordering that both he and the judge Ibn Ṣaṣrā be conveyed to Egypt. Accordingly, they were dispatched post-haste toward Egypt. A number of the Shaykh’s disciples accompanied him, weeping and fearing for him on account of his enemies.

The deputy of the sultanate, al-Afram (3), advised him not to undertake the journey, saying, “I shall correspond with the sultan and set matters right.” The Shaykh refused, telling him that his going to Egypt contained great, indeed many, benefits.

When he set out for Egypt, crowds gathered to bid him farewell and behold him. The people stretched from the gate of his house to near the bridges between Damascus and al-Kiswah: some were weeping and distraught, others merely observing, strolling, pressing forward, or thronging around him out of devotion.

On Saturday Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn entered Gaza, where he held a great assembly in its congregational mosque. Thereafter the two of them proceeded together to Cairo, hearts attached to him and longing for him, and they reached Egypt on Monday, the twenty-second of Ramadan—though it was also said that they arrived on Thursday.

On the Friday after their arrival, following the congregational prayer, a session was convened for the Shaykh in the Citadel, attended by the judges and the leading figures of state. He wished to speak as was his custom, but he was not allowed to explore the issues or speak at length. Shams Ibn ʿAdnān volunteered himself as the Shaykh’s opponent, claiming before Ibn Makhlūf the Mālikī that the Shaykh affirmed that Allah is truly above the Throne and that Allah speaks with letters and sound.

The judge asked him for his response; the Shaykh began with praise and glorification of Allah. He was told, “Answer; we did not bring you here to deliver a sermon.”

He asked, “And who is my judge?”

They replied, “The Mālikī judge.”

The Shaykh retorted, “How can you judge me when you are my adversary?!”

The judge became furiously angry and agitated; an official decree was issued against the Shaykh and he was confined in a tower for several days. On the eve of the festival he was transferred to the prison known as al-Jubb (4), together with his two brothers (5), Sharaf al-Dīn ʿAbd Allāh and Zayn al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān.