of al-Naranj (1)—may Allah have mercy on him. His place in the miḥrāb was taken by his son, a mere child, so a deputy was appointed to serve until he should be capable. May Allah support him and have mercy on his father.
On the morning preceding Tuesday, the sixth of Ramaḍān, a tremendous snowfall struck—nothing like it had been seen in Damascus for a very long time. The people had been longing for rain, so to Allah belong all praise and favor. The snow accumulated on the rooftops and piled up until it exhausted the people, who began carrying it off the roofs and into the alleyways by the load (2). A proclamation was then issued ordering its removal from the streets, for they had become blocked and many livelihoods were disrupted. Allah compensated the poor with wages earned in clearing the snow, yet the populace still incurred great hardship and expense. Indeed, we belong to Allah, and to Him we return (3).
On Friday, the twenty-third of Ramaḍān, the absentee funeral prayer was performed in the Umayyad Mosque for the emir ʿAlam al-Dīn (5) al-Jawlī (4); a portion of his biography has already been mentioned—may Allah have mercy on him.
On the first of Shawwāl, the day of ʿĪd al-Fiṭr, another severe snowfall occurred, so heavy that the preacher could not reach the outdoor prayer-ground, nor did the Sultan’s deputy go out. Instead, the emirs and judges gathered in Dār al-Saʿāda; the preacher joined them there and led the ʿĪd prayer, while many people performed the prayer in their homes.
On Sunday, the twenty-first of Dhūʾl-Ḥijja, the Chief Judge, Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī al-Shāfiʿī, delivered a lesson in the outer Shāmiyya madrasa on behalf of Shaykh Shams al-Dīn ibn al-Naqīb (6)—may Allah have mercy on him. Judges, dignitaries, emirs, and a host of scholars attended. He opened with the Almighty’s words: “He said, ‘My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as shall not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower’” [Ṣād 38:35], and the verses that follow (7).
In Dhūʾl-Ḥijja a question was raised about killing the town’s dogs; a group of townspeople wrote concerning the matter, and an order was issued to have them removed