ʿĪsā b. ʿĀdil Abū Bakr b. Ayyūb. He was the malik (king) of Dimashq. He passed away on a Friday at the end of the month of Dhu al-Qaʿda in this year. Upon the death of his father in the year 615 AH, he became the independent ruler of Dimashq. He was a courageous, heroic, knowledgeable, and virtuous person. He learned Ḥanafī fiqh (jurisprudence) from Ḥāṣirī, the teacher of the Nūriyya madrasa. He also took lessons in lughāt (lexicography) and nahw (grammar) from Ṭāǧ al-Kindī. He had memorized al-Zamakhsharī's work al-Mufaṣṣal, and he used to give a reward of thirty dinars to those who memorized al-Mufaṣṣal. He ordered the compilation of a lughāt book for himself that included al-Ṣiḥāḥ al-Jawharī, Ibn Duraid's al-Jamhara, al-Azharī's al-Tahdhīb, and other books. Additionally, he commanded the arrangement of Imam Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal's Musnad. He loved scholars and was generous to them. He exerted great effort to follow the good and used to say, "I am upon the creed of al-Ṭaḥāwī." When he was about to die, he bequeathed that he be shrouded only in white cloth, that a coffin be made for him, that he be buried in the Ṣaḥrāʾ, and that no building, dome, or similar structure be erected over him. He used to say: "I keep the Battle of Dimyat as a support for myself before Allah. I hope that my Lord will forgive me and have mercy on me because of this battle." He showed great heroism in this battle. May Allah have mercy on him.
He was a courageous man. He had reached high ranks in knowledge. He loved the people of knowledge. Every Friday, he would come to his father's tomb and sit there for a little while. Then, when the muʾadhdhin (caller to prayer) would call the adhan, he would go to the tomb of his uncle Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn and perform the Friday prayer there. He was not overly fond of grandeur. Sometimes he would ride out alone on his mount. Then some of his slaves would hastily follow him. His friend Muḥibb al-Dīn b. Abī al-Suʿūd al-Baghdādī composed the following poem about him:
"If these beauties are to be betrayed on earth by a governor,
Know that my love for you will not be a sin.
Since I lost you, whenever I have found a trustworthy friend and companion,
Surely you have passed through my mind."
After him, his son Nāṣir Dāwūd b. Muʿazzam became the ruler of Dimashq. The emirs gave their bayʿa (allegiance) to him.