and he taught (1) in numerous venues throughout Damascus, after which he was appointed its judge. Later, he was called upon (2) to assume the judgeship of the Egyptian dominions, where he remained for a long time with his honour intact: he would accept no gift from anyone and, in passing judgement, feared not the blame of any critic. [He used to say, “If Ibn Taymiyyah is not Shaykh al-Islam, then who is?” On another occasion he asked one of his companions, “Do you love Shaykh Taqi al-Din?” The man replied, “Yes.” He said, “By Allah, you have loved something most excellent.”] (3)

He—may Allah have mercy on him—died on Saturday, the fourth of Jumada al-Akhirah, and was buried in the Qarafah cemetery. For his post he had designated Judge Burhan al-Din ibn ʿAbd al-Haqq (4); his testament was carried out accordingly: a summons was sent to him in Damascus, he was brought, and he assumed jurisdiction together with all its related offices.

The shaykh, imām, scholar and Qurʾan-reciter Shihab al-Din Abu al-ʿAbbas Ahmad (5) ibn the shaykh, imām, Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Jabbārah ibn ʿAbd al-Walī ibn Jabbārah al-Maqdisī al-Mardāwī al-Hanbalī, commentator on the Shāṭibiyyah (6), was born in 649 AH. He heard a great deal of hadith, devoted himself to the science of Qurʾanic readings and excelled therein, and people benefited greatly from him. He resided for a time in Egypt, where he studied under al-Qarāfī (7) in the principles of jurisprudence. He passed away in Jerusalem on the fourth of Rajab—may Allah have mercy on him. He was counted among the pious and virtuous, and he heard hadith from the Khatib of Mardā and others.

Ibn al-ʿĀqūlī al-Baghdādī

The shaykh, imām, erudite scholar Jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad ʿAbd Allah (8) ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAli ibn Ḥammād ibn Thābit (9) al-Wāsitī al-ʿĀqūlī, later al-Baghdādī, the Shafiʿi, taught at the Mustanṣiriyyah for the lengthy span of about forty years, supervised the religious endowments, and was at one time nominated to the office of Chief Judge.

He was born on the night of Sunday, the tenth of Rajab, 638 AH. He heard hadith, mastered the disciplines, engaged in teaching, and issued legal opinions from the year 657 AH until his death—a span of seventy-one years, which is truly remarkable. Resolute of spirit, he enjoyed standing with the state, and through his efforts and intercession he relieved many people of their distress.