840 AH, 22/12
On Thursday the 22nd a khilʿa was bestowed upon al-ʾamīr Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Muḥammad b. al-ṣāḥib Badr al-Dīn Ḥasan b. Naṣr Allāh. He was appointed kātib al-sirr, replacing shaykh al-shuyūkh Muḥibb al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Sharaf al-Dīn al-ʾAshqar, added to what he controlled as muḥtasib of Cairo, nāẓir dār al-ḍarb, nāẓir al-ʾawqāf, and nadīm of the sultan. He went down in a magnificent procession. He had put on the round turban (al-ʿimāmat al-mudawwara) and the farjīya, in the manner of the men of the pen. The people were delighted with him. His story was that he was raised since he was small in the dress of the ʾajnād. He excelled in accounting and writing al-khaṭṭ al-mansūb. He became one of the ḥujjāb in the days of al-Nāṣir al-Faraj b. Barqūq. He bounced around with his father in the administration of the office of nāẓir al-jaysh, nāẓir al-khāṣṣ and wazīr. His administration was praised for that, by the mark he left on sociability (layyin al-jānib), the goodness of speech, and the smile on his face, and the goodness of his politics. In the days of al-Muʾayyad Shaykh he became one of the amirs. He took over as ʾustādār of the sultan in the days of al-Ẓāhir Ṭaṭar, and malik al-ʾumarāʾ. Then he was discharged from that. He was restored to it in the days of al-ʾAshraf Barsbāy. He and his father al-ṣāḥib Badr al-Dīn had had a great deal of wealth confiscated from them. It was taken from them until their wealth was gone, yet they were never branded as bad, praise God, nor were they weakened. However, they were confined to their house for a number of years. Then attention was paid to them, and he took over as muḥtasib. He continued to advance until the sultan appointed him nadīm, after Ibn Qāsim b. al-Maḥallāwī. He was spending the night with him, and his qualities were praised. He did not act out of greed. Taking money from the people was contrary to his procedure; rather, he acted with virtue and restraint. He was rewarded and the merits increased until one of the people tried to get the office of kātib al-sirr for a very large amount of money. Rumors were spread about his performance, so the sultan chose al-ʾamīr Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn. That was offered to him at night while he was sitting with him as usual. He asked for an exemption from that, but it was not granted. He resolved to do it. The order was given for the tashrīf to be prepared for him. Then in the morning he received a khilʿa and what he would control was decided for him. He continued as nadīm, and stayed the night with him, and he strictly held to his command. He started writing royal documents in his hand for the sultan, because of his familiarity with the intimacy of kings, and the order of the state, and the intrigues of affairs. He was distinguished in that from those who had come before him in the office of kātib al-sirr, after Ibn Faḍl Allāh. Since the time of Fatḥ Allāh the writing of the royal decrees was carried out by the muwaqqiʿūn, being dictated by the kātib al-sirr, until he took over, for he proceeded independently in the office of kātib. In the affairs of the state, everyone was eclipsed from view by the goodness of his administration, and the completeness of his know-how.