that this nourishment consists of noble learning and subtle meanings. Within the Sultan’s dominions—may Allah Most High protect them—it had been dispensed to us in abundance, without charge: a magnificent gift from Allah to the Sultan and an immense blessing, for He had distinguished his kingdom and the territory under his rule with something found in no other region or land. Visitors had come from every province to those lands,
only to find that the keeper of the king’s measuring cup had been taken up to the citadels. Such a bounty could not be found elsewhere to be bought or sold. This coincided with a drought throughout the land and its surrounding regions, a drought that devastated its inhabitants until their desperate need for sustenance left them as though dead. Whoever suggested to the king that he impose restrictions on the keeper of his measuring cup, despite the pressing need for nourishment of the soul, may not have realized that this imam is among the greatest friends of Allah and the foremost righteous men. This is one of Satan’s incitements. Allah, Glorified is He, says:
“And tell My servants to say that which is best. Indeed, Satan sows discord among them. Indeed, Satan is ever a clear enemy to mankind.”
As for certain scholars’ disparagement of his fatwa and his answer concerning undertaking journeys to graves, the response of the scholars of these lands was conveyed to their fellow scholars and learned peers. All of them ruled that the answer he had given was correct.