After the twentieth of this month, some Crusaders who were in Damascus were taken into custody and imprisoned in the fortress of Mansura. The reason for this was that the Crusaders intended to besiege the city of Alexandria with a few ships. It was reported that the ruler of Cyprus was also with them, and that the Egyptian army launched an attack against them to protect and defend the city of Alexandria. The people waited a few more days after Alexandria. The Tatar emir named Mamiye besieged the city. He requested help from the Crusaders and, with the support of a group of them, used force to conquer the city. He killed part of the population and seized a large amount of property as spoils. Thus, Mamiye became the ruler of that place.
At the end of this month, Shaykh Burhān al-Dīn Ibrāhīm b. Shaykh Shams al-Dīn b. Qayyim al-Jawziyya passed away at the age of forty-eight in his garden in Mizze. After the ʿAṣr prayer, the funeral prayer was performed at the Jarrah Mosque. He was buried next to his father's grave in the Bab al-Saghir Cemetery. Judges, members of the notable class, many commoners, and merchants attended the funeral ceremony. A large crowd participated in this event. Following his father's path in grammar, jurisprudence, and some other sciences, he had become a distinguished and virtuous scholar. May Allah have mercy on both of them. He had taught at the Ṣadrīya and Tadmūriyya madrasas, and served as a preacher at the Umayyad Mosque and the Ibn Salḥān Mosque. At the time of his death, he left behind nearly 100,000 dirhams.
The month of Ṣafar began on a Friday. According to some biographers of the Prophet, on the first day of this month, Friday, all the planets except Mars had gathered in the Scorpio constellation. Such a situation had not occurred for many years. As for Mars, it had previously entered the Sagittarius constellation.
Furthermore, news about the tragic situation that occurred in the city of Alexandria reached Damascus. The city had been invaded by the Crusaders. May Allah curse them. The Crusaders arrived there on Wednesday, the twenty-second of Muharram, and found neither a deputy nor soldiers. There was no one to guard the sea or to assist the people of Alexandria. Early on Friday morning, after setting fire to the city gates, they entered. They caused disorder and sedition around. They killed men and plundered property. They took women and children captive. The judgment belongs to the Almighty and Exalted Allah. They stayed there for five days: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, the Egyptian soldiers arrived and repelled the Crusaders. May Allah damn the Crusaders. They had taken about 4,000 Alexandrians captive and carried away gold, silk, spices, and other countless goods beyond description. The Sultan and Emir al-Kabīr Yalbugha also arrived in Alexandria at noon that same day. But the disaster had grown, and all the spoils had been loaded onto ships at sea. The cries, lamentations, complaints, and pleas of the emirs were heard, and they sought refuge in the Exalted Allah and aid from Him and the Muslims, wailing in a way that tore at hearts. So much so that everyone who heard these sounds had tears in their eyes. Even the deafest ears heard their cries. "Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn" (Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return).
When this news reached the people of Damascus, they were deeply saddened. On Friday, the preacher recounted these events from the pulpit, and those present could not restrain themselves and began to weep.
Meanwhile, a decree from the Sultan arrived from Egypt to the deputy of the sultanate in Damascus. This decree ordered the arrest of all Christians in Damascus and the seizure of one-quarter of their property to repair the ruined places in Alexandria. Additionally, this money was to be used to repair ships and organize a campaign against the Crusaders. Consequently, the authorities humiliated the Christians. They forcibly took them from their homes and detained them. The Christians feared being killed. They did not know what would be done to them or what was demanded of them. Each began to flee in different directions. This action by the Muslims was not in accordance with the sharīʿa. It is not permissible to claim that it was based on the sharīʿa.
On Saturday, the sixteenth of Ṣafar, I was summoned to the Square of the Covenant to meet with the deputy of the sultanate. On the same day, after the deputy finished his game of kugel following ʿAṣr prayer, I met with him. He showed me kindness. I found him to be a mature person in understanding and demeanor. His speech was pleasant, and his conversation agreeable. When I explained to him that the actions taken against the Christians were not permissible, he said that the jurists of Egypt had issued a fatwā to Emir al-Kabīr in this regard. I replied, "This is among the actions that are not permissible according to sharʿī law. It is not permissible for anyone to issue a fatwā in this matter. They pay us jizya, are humiliated and despised, and remain in the status of dhimmīs, and as long as the rulings of Islam stand firm, it is not permissible to take even a single dirham from them beyond the jizya we collect. The Emir is someone who can easily understand this." He said, "What can I do? I have received an order on this matter, and it is impossible for me to disobey it."
I gave him many examples. For instance, I explained that punishing and threatening the Cypriots on the grounds that they engaged in guerrilla activities would be permissible, and that even if he did not threaten them, he could make threats like Prophet Sulaymān (peace be upon him) who said, "Bring me the sword so I may cut it in two!" He liked these suggestions. He said that he had also considered such things in his heart and that it was as if I had read his heart. He stated that he had written to the land of Egypt to obtain the sultanate's approval and expected a reply within ten days, so he would wait for the answer. He treated me with great kindness, behaved well, and showed much generosity. May Allah have mercy on him. Then, in the first days of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, I met with him again at the Dār al-Saʿāda Palace.
He informed me that the Sultan had ordered him to build ships to fight the Crusaders. Praise and thanks be to Allah. However, on Sunday morning, he gathered the Christians who had assembled in their churches. There were about 400 of them. He asked them how much property they had and made them swear to tell the truth. After learning the amount of their property, he ordered them to give one-quarter to the state. "Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn" (Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return). Then he ordered the governors to gather the Christians in their regions and collect one-quarter of their property as well. He sent orders everywhere to collect the Christians' property and bring it to Jerusalem.
At the beginning of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, the chief judge Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī al-Shāfiʿī went to Cairo. On Wednesday, the fifth of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, I met again with the deputy of the sultanate at the Dār al-Saʿāda Palace. I asked him what kind of reply he had received from the sultanate. He said that a noble decree had arrived ordering the making of ships to campaign against Cyprus and fight the Crusaders. Praise and thanks be to Allah.
The deputy of the sultanate ordered the timber merchants and carpenters to go to the forest near Beirut and begin building ships on the last Friday of this month.
On the same day, the opening of the Dār al-Qurʾān, which Sharīf al-Tādanī had endowed north of the Baderaiya Madrasa and adjacent to the Qās bathhouse, was held. Hadith lessons would also be given there. On that day, the chief judge Taj al-Dīn al-Subkī was also present at the opening.