He was born in 635 AH, acquired a vast amount of ḥadīth, and al-Barzalī prepared for him a mashyakha—a catalogue of his teachers—which we ourselves read in his presence. He was counted among the foremost dignitaries of Damascus.
He died on Friday, the 14th of Ṣafar; the funeral prayer over him was held mid-morning on Saturday, and he was laid to rest in the Bāb al-Ṣaghīr cemetery. He had performed the pilgrimage, stayed for a time in the Two Sanctuaries, and resided in Jerusalem for a period. [He passed away at the age of ninety-two] (1) years—may Allah have mercy on him.
His father related that when this son was born, he opened the muṣḥaf in hopeful anticipation and his eyes fell upon the verse, “All praise is due to Allah, Who has bestowed upon me, in my old age, Ishmael and Isaac” (Qurʾān 14:39). Accordingly, he named the child Ismāʿīl. When another son was later born, he named him Isḥāq—a felicitous coincidence indeed. May Allah, exalted is He, have mercy on them both (2).
Shaykh ʿAlī al-Majārifī:
ʿAlī (3) ibn Aḥmad ibn Haws al-Hilālī. His grandfather originally came from the village of Ābil al-Sūq (4), and his father settled in Jerusalem. He himself performed the pilgrimage once, stayed in Mecca for a year, and then made Hajj again. A pious man of wide renown, he was called al-Majārifī because he would sweep the alleyways and repair the paving stones purely for the sake of Allah. He frequently recited the formula of tahlīl and engaged in audible remembrance; an aura of dignity surrounded him, and his speech instilled fear, warning people of the Fire and of an evil end. [He was a regular attendee at Ibn Taymiyya’s gatherings] (5).
He passed away on Tuesday, the twenty-third of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, and was buried in the cemetery of Shaykh Muwaffaq al-Dīn at the foot of the hill. His funeral was thronged with people—may Allah have mercy on him.
Al-Malik al-Kāmil Nāṣir al-Dīn:
Abū al-Maʿālī Muḥammad (6) ibn al-Malik al-Saʿīd Fath al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Malik, son of the Sultan al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ Ismāʿīl Abū al-Khayshā (7), grandson of al-Malik al-ʿĀdil Abū Bakr ibn Ayyūb—one of the foremost amirs and scions of kings. He was among the city’s finest for intelligence, quick wit, genial company, and graceful speech; he could weave long passages that sounded like proverbs, thanks to the sharpness of his mind and clarity of understanding. He was a leader and one of the most generous of men.
He died on the afternoon of Wednesday, 20 Jumādā al-Ūlā. The funeral prayer was held over him at noon on Thursday in the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque beneath the Eagle Dome (8). They sought to bury him beside his maternal grandfather al-Malik al-Kāmil, but that proved impossible, so he was interred in the tomb of Umm al-Ṣāliḥ. May Allah pardon him.