On the twenty-fourth of the month of Rabiʿ al-Ākhir, Muallim Sencer al-Hilālī was released after paying a fine amounting to 600,000 dirhams. Rejoicing in his deliverance, he spent the night at his house in Babü'n-nettafiyyīn. At dawn, he went to the bathhouse, when the sultan's messenger arrived from Egypt to Damascus, delivering a firman (royal decree) to the authorities ordering the confiscation of his property and possessions. Thereupon, the chamberlains, the naqīb al-nuqabāʾ (chief of the nobles), and their assistants came from all directions and besieged Muallim Sencer's mansion. They seized the mansion and its contents. He and his children were placed under surveillance. The women were forcibly removed from the mansion in a very difficult state. They were searched, and their ornaments, jewels, and valuable belongings were taken. A large crowd from the common folk and the lower classes gathered there.
Some qāḍīs (judges) also came with their witnesses to take possession of the goods and prepare the necessary records. They summoned Muallim Sencer to their presence to learn the full details of the situation from him. In the early hours of the day, 370,000 dirhams in silver were seized in the mansion. Then other unopened chests were found. Due to the limited time, their counting and inventory could not be completed. On Sunday morning, the work resumed similarly, but on Sunday night the guards kept watch at the gates and on the roofs to prevent any assault on the mansion during the night. Muallim Sencer and his children were detained and spent the night in the fortress of Mansure. Having recently escaped a previous calamity, people pitied Muallim Sencer for being subjected again to such a great misfortune.
At the end of this month, Emir Nasir al-Din Muhammad b. Dawaddar al-Sukkari passed away. He held a high rank and position beside his master and had attained great happiness in his office. Then, by the decree of Allah, his master's heart was stirred against him. His master beat him, confiscated his property, dismissed him from office, and imprisoned him. Consequently, his esteem among people diminished. Eventually, he was seen riding his horse among those who had formerly been his subjects, trading with them, conversing, and then purchasing the necessary goods to load onto his mount and take home. He had become a kind of lesson among people. Previously, he had been so honored and respected in his office as treasurer, having risen and become wealthy in the world, but he had fallen into this state. It is Allah's right to abase what has been exalted in worldly affairs.
On the seventeenth of Jumādā al-Ākhirah, Sunday morning, Muallim Sencer al-Hilālī and his sons were released from detention at the fortress of Mansure. Their house and belongings were returned to them. However, 320,000 dirhams worth of silver found in his mansion had been confiscated. Furthermore, a court was convened for this matter, and only his capital was allowed to be recovered, with the documents sealed. In this matter, the ruling of the following āyah was applied: "If you repent, you shall have your principal; you shall not wrong nor be wronged." (al-Baqarah 2:279).
Additionally, a public announcement was made in the city explaining that Muallim Sencer was punished because he had not paid zakat and had engaged in riba (usury) transactions. The sultan's chamberlain and the city's trustee had jointly worked with him in this matter. It was also announced throughout the city that others were punished for the same reason.
On the twenty-eighth of Jumādā al-Ākhirah, a firman from the sultan arrived in Damascus ordering the release and dispatch of the clerks working in the divans who had been under surveillance back to their hometowns and families. People rejoiced that these clerks were freed from their suffering and exempted from heavy fines. However, although they were released and exempted from fines, they were not allowed to continue their duties.
At the end of Jumādā al-Ākhirah, Shaykh Shihāb al-Dīn al-Maqdisī, who had come from the land of Egypt, delivered a sermon opposite the mihrab of the Companions in the Umayyad Mosque. People gathered to listen to his sermon. Shāfiʿī and Mālikī qāḍīs also came to the Umayyad Mosque to hear his sermon. The preacher Shihāb al-Dīn interpreted several āyāt of the Qurʾān, and while doing so, he alluded to some Sufi matters with fluent, eloquent, and sweet expressions. His words were of a kind that pierced hearts. He imparted very beneficial and beautiful knowledge. Saying he would return to his homeland, he bid farewell to the people. When he prayed, people stood up and prayed. I also saw him in a gathering. He had an extremely beautiful appearance. He was courteous and spoke well. May Allah reform us and him, amīn.
At the beginning of Rajab, Emir Sayf al-Dīn Baydemir, the deputy of Aleppo, went with his soldiers on a ghazā (military expedition) to the land of Sis. May Allah grant him victory and strengthen him. Also at the beginning of this month, the fortress inhabitants saw one morning that the Arab emirs descended into the moat by holding onto turbans and ropes from the upper parts of their council chambers in the fortress and exited near the Zūlāmiyah bridge. Two escaped, and the third was captured and remained in prison. They used their turbans and ropes for climbing down, holding onto these ropes and turbans. The deputy of the sultanate and the deputy of the fortress protested angrily against this escape incident. He beat the naqīb (supervisor) and imprisoned his two sons and brother. When this event was reported to the sultan by letter, the sultan ordered the dismissal and removal of the fortress deputy and sent him to Egypt to account for the money he had earned during his six years of service. He also dismissed his two sons, one a naqīb and the other a palace master. Though they had been honored, they were dismissed and disgraced.
On the seventeenth of Jumādā al-Ākhirah, Monday, Emir Ṭāj al-Dīn Jibrīl came to Damascus from the side of Emir Sayf al-Dīn Baydemir of Aleppo. Emir Sayf al-Dīn Baydemir had conquered Tarsus and Adana, dependent on Sis, and sent the keys of these places to the sultan together with Jibrīl. May Allah strengthen the sultan. Shortly afterward, with little effort, Sayf al-Dīn Baydemir conquered another small fortress. The chief secretary Qāḍī Nasir al-Dīn delivered an eloquent and beautiful speech on this occasion. According to a letter I received, the doors of the church in Adana were loaded onto ships and sent to the land of Egypt.
I say: These doors were formerly the Nāṣirīyah gates next to the cemetery of Sufah. The ruler of Sis took them away in the year 699 AH, which we call the year of Kazan. The Muslims recovered and brought back these gates in that year. Praise and thanks be to Allah.
At the end of this month, we heard that Shaykh Quṭb al-Dīn Hermas had passed through Damascus. This man had his property confiscated, his house demolished to the foundation, and was exiled from the sultan's presence to Misyaf. When he came to Damascus at the end of this month, he stayed at the Jalīlah Madrasa outside Babü'l-Faraj. I also visited him to greet him. He was an elderly and handsome person. He spoke genuinely beautiful Arabic. He was a virtuous man, humble and a Sufi. May Allah grant him a good end. Later, he left the Jalīlah Madrasa and moved to the Azrāwiyah Madrasa.
On the seventeenth of Rajab, Saturday morning, Shaykh Sharaf al-Dīn Aḥmad b. Ḥasan b. Qāḍī al-Jabal al-Ḥanbalī went to the land of Egypt. This man had been summoned by the sultan to teach Hanbalī jurists at the madrasa the sultan had built in Cairo al-Muʿizziyah. When he set out, qāḍīs and people from the ʿayān class went out of the city to see him off. May Allah grant him safety.
This concludes what we have to relate on this matter. Allah knows best.