In the last ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah an order was issued to destroy the dogs, and an exceedingly large number were put down. Their carcasses were then gathered outside Bab al-Saghir, on the side of Bab Kaysan (1) in the moat, where the males were separated from the females so that they would die quickly and not reproduce. Carrion and other dead animals were taken out to them, and the people were thus relieved of the twin impurities of foul water and stray dogs; the roads, moreover, became appreciably wider for them (2).
On Friday, the twelfth of Dhu al-Hijjah, the office of Shaykh al-Shuyukh at the Sumaysatiyyah was attended by the Chief Judge Sharaf al-Din al-Maliki, following the death of the Chief Judge al-Qunawi the Shafiʿi. His letter of investiture for that shaykhly post was read aloud in the presence of the dignitaries, and he was restored to the position he had previously held.
Among the notable persons who died this year were:
• The shaykh, imam, scholar, and ascetic, the Mufti of the Muslims (3): Najm al-Din Abu ʿAbd Allah Muhammad (4) ibn ʿAqil ibn Abi al-Hasan ibn ʿAqil al-Balsi al-Shafiʿi, commentator on “al-Tanbih.” Born in 660 AH, he studied hadith, jurisprudence, and the other branches of knowledge, excelling in them all. He kept close company with Ibn Daqiq al-ʿId, deputizing for him in judicial matters, and taught at the Maghribiyyah, the Taybarsiyyah, and the congregational mosque of Egypt. Renowned for his learning, piety, and continual study, he died on the night of Thursday, 14 Muharram, and was buried in al-Qarafah; his funeral was thronged with mourners—may Allah have mercy on him.
• The amir Sayf al-Din Qaṭlūbak al-Shashnakir (5) al-Rumi (6), one of the leading amirs, who at one time held the office of ḥujūbiyyah (Chief Chamberlain) and was responsible for constructing the canal in Jerusalem. He died on Monday, 7 Rabiʿ al-Awwal, and was buried in his own tomb north of Bab al-Fardis (7), a well-known and handsome resting place. The deputy and the amirs attended his funeral at the Horse Market.
• The muhaddith of Yemen: Sharaf al-Din Ahmad (8) ibn Faqih Zabid Abu al-Khayr (9) ibn Mansur al-Shamakhi al-Madhhiji.