Muhammad ibn Ahmad, the Maliki Qur’an-reciter and Imam of the Malikis (1), together with his brother Abū ʿAmr (2), used to lead the prayers in the Umayyad Mosque at the Miḥrāb of the Companions. He passed away in a garden near Qubbat al-Saḥf (3). The funeral prayer was held for him at the Musallā, after which he was buried beside his father—may Allah have mercy on them both—in the Bāb al-Ṣaghīr cemetery. Dignitaries, scholars, and judges attended his funeral. He was a righteous man whose piety and eminence were unanimously recognized—may Allah have mercy on him.
On Thursday, the twentieth of Ṣafar, Emir Aydaghmush, the deputy of the sultanate in Damascus, entered the city through the al-Qabūn gate, arriving from Aleppo. The entire army came out to receive him, and he wore the robe of investiture for the deputyship. The people celebrated, lighting candles, and even the Jews and Christians—People of the Covenant—came out with candles, praying for him. It was a memorable day. On Friday he led the congregational prayer from the royal gallery of the Umayyad Mosque, accompanied by the emirs and judges. His writ of appointment was read aloud there at the pulpit while he wore his robe of office. With him was Emir Sayf al-Din Malaktamur al-Sarjuwānī (4), who was likewise invested with a robe.
On Tuesday, the twenty-fifth of Ṣafar, Emir ʿAlam al-Din al-Jawlī (5) entered the protected city of Damascus on his way to assume the deputy-governorship of the protected city of Ḥamāh. The deputy of the sultanate and the emirs went out as far as the Mosque of al-Qadam to welcome him. He then proceeded and encamped at al-Qabūn. The judges and dignitaries also visited him. He recited to them from the Musnad of al-Shāfiʿī, which he transmits; he has worked extensively on the text, arranged it in an excellent order—which I have seen—and produced a commentary on it as well. He has established endowments for the Shāfiʿīs and others.
On Friday, the twenty-eighth of the same month, a council was convened after the prayer at the Kāmilī window of the Mausoleum of ʿUthmān concerning Qāḍī Fakhr al-Din al-Miṣrī and Ṣadr al-Din ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Qāḍī Jalāl al-Din al-Qazwīnī, over the matter of the Minor ʿĀdiliyya. Agreement was reached that Ṣadr al-Din would resign its professorial chair, and that Fakhr al-Din would forgo one hundred and fifty dirhams of his stipend at the Great Mosque.
On Sunday, the last day of the aforementioned month, Qāḍī Fakhr al-Din al-Miṣrī attended and taught in the Minor ʿĀdiliyya, and the people gathered around him as was customary. He began with Allah’s words, “This is our merchandise returned to us” (Qur’an 12:65).
At the end of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, a decree arrived from Egypt ordering that a military detachment depart from Damascus under the leadership of Emir Ḥusām al-Din al-Bashmaqdār (6) to lay siege to al-Karak, where Sultan Aḥmad (7) had entrenched himself after seizing the wealth he had removed from the treasuries of Egypt. A mangonel was brought out from the Citadel to the area in front of the mosque