816 AH, 16/12:
The sultan summoned Dāwud b. al-Mutawakkil ʿAlā Allāh from his house and he arrived in front of him, in the citadel, and the four quḍāt al-quḍāt were also present. As soon as the sultan saw him, he stood up for him and dressed him in a black robe of honour and made him sit next to him, between him and the qāḍī al-quḍāt Shaykh al-ʾIslām Jalāl al-Dīn b. al-Bulqīnī, and he asked the judges and they distantiated themselves from the appointment of Dāwud b. al-Mutawakkil ʿAlī Allāh as caliph. He did not wear the caliphal robes of honour of caliph al-Mustaʿīn bi-llāh, nor was the function of caliph declared vacant in front of him, nor was that Dāwud recognised as such. He just received a robe of honour and received the laqab ʾAbī al-Fatḥ al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh, ʾamīr al-muʾminīn. It was the custom in Egypt that on Fridays his name was invoked on the minbars and at the feast for the caliph, and his kunya and laqab were mentioned. From the time of al-Mustaʿīn bi-llah until the days of al-Muʿtaḍid some preachers said: “The strongest one becomes caliph without being appointed”, others said: “The strongest one supports the Abbasid caliph to stay with the sultan” and others limited themselves to the invocation of the sultan.”