—did misread certain words because of his foreign accent, and at times he also lapsed in grammar. A large crowd of commoners and dignitaries, together with a number of ḥadith scholars, gathered around him; many were deeply impressed, while others remarked, “If he can recite the rest of the book in this fashion, it will indeed be something remarkable.”

We met again on the following day—the first of Shaʿbān—at the same spot. The Shāfiʿī Chief Judge was present with a company of notable scholars, and the populace stood in a ring about us. He read in the customary manner, though not at the same length as on the first day; a few ḥadiths escaped him, and he again misread and misdeclined certain words. Presently the Ḥanafī and Mālikī judges arrived, and he recited a portion in their presence as well. All the while the people thronged about him in wonder; some even sought favor by kissing his hands. He was delighted when I recorded for him an audition certificate with my authorization, saying, “I left my homeland for no purpose but to come to you and obtain your ijāza; your reputation is well-known in our lands.” He then returned to Egypt on the night of Friday, the judges and notables having honored him with nearly one thousand dirhams.

The Dismissal of Emir ʿAlī from the Viceregency of well-protected Damascus (1)

On Sunday, 11 Shaʿbān, a courier arrived from Egypt bearing a royal decree removing Emir ʿAlī from the viceregency of Damascus. The emirs were summoned to the Dār al-Saʿāda, where the noble decree was read aloud in his presence. A robe of honor that had come with the courier was bestowed upon him, and he was assigned the village of Dūma and another property in the territory of Ṭarābulus as a stipend, with leave to reside wherever he pleased—Damascus, Jerusalem, or the Ḥijāz. That very day he departed the Dār al-Saʿāda with the remainder of his companions and mamluks and took up residence in the Khalīlī House in the Qassāʿīn quarter, which his dawādār Yalbughā had rebuilt and enlarged. It is a splendid residence, and people went to express their regret and sorrow for him. End of report.

The Departure of Chief Judge Taj al-Din ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (2) ibn al-Subkī, the Shāfiʿī, summoned to Egypt and removed from the judiciary of Damascus

A courier arrived late on Sunday afternoon, 11 Shaʿbān 763 AH, with an order summoning him. The ḥājib al-ḥujjāb Qumārī, acting governor in the ruler’s absence, sent word that he was to depart that very day; he asked for a day’s grace, and it was granted. News had already spread that his brother, Shaykh Bahāʾ al-Din ibn al-Subkī, had been appointed judge of Syria in his stead. He therefore dispatched a message to their nephew, Chief Judge Taj al-Din, instructing him to prepare and set out. People came to bid him farewell and felt desolate at his departure. He rode out from his orchard after ʿaṣr on Monday, 12 Shaʿbān, heading by courier to Egypt, the Chief Judges and dignitaries riding before him—including Chief Judge Bahāʾ al-Din Abū ʾl-Baqāʾ al-Subkī—until he turned them back near