In my view, among the most unjust of people are those who place him on the same level as anyone else in Syria or Egypt. Badr al-Dīn has continually been wronged by such comparisons, and I regard supporting him, remaining loyal to him, and assisting him as among the greatest means by which I draw near to Allah. … (1)

You know about this, especially in these lands. He ought to receive greater assistance and support here than he did in Syria, for many of these people display an aversion to him, falsehood, and wickedness not found in others. I therefore favour and choose everything that elevates his standing in worldly and religious affairs. I do not wish to make him a target for his enemies’ arrows.

Rather, for whatever I have done for him and others, and whatever I continue to do for them, my reward rests with Allah, who says:

“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it.”

“And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”

Thus, when al-Taybarsī mentioned the judges collectively, I told him that only “Ibn Makhlūf” had become involved in this case, and that he was a lying, wicked man with little knowledge or religious commitment. He began smiling as I said this, as though he knew him and as though the man were notorious for his bad conduct.

I said: “What business does Ibn Makhlūf have involving himself in this? Has anyone brought a claim against me of a kind that falls within his jurisdiction? Or does what I have discussed belong to general scholarly matters, such as Quranic interpretation, the meanings of hadiths, and discussions of jurisprudence and the fundamentals of religion? In these matters, recourse is