'Isa Pasha, na'ib of Damascus

Mawla Isa Pasha ibn Ibrahim al-Rumi al-Hanafi, commander of the amirs of Damascus. He first studied learning and taught at several madrasas, until he was attached to one of the eight madrasas. He then became a clerk in the sultan's office, was later appointed to govern some provinces, and then governor of Aleppo, where he governed well. He was then appointed governor of Damascus, was removed, and was reinstated and firmly established there ².

He knew several branches of learning and did not stop reading even while he was governor. He had good manners and a pleasant way of dealing with people, although when his anger grew strong he would scratch his own hands until they bled, without noticing. He put an end to many injustices, and the people of the villages lived well during his rule. He honoured people of learning and Sufi shaykhs. When he came to Damascus on Sunday, the ninth of Safar, he received the Qadiri cloak from Shaykh Hasan al-Kilani. He endowed a substantial stipend for students of knowledge at the Ottoman madrasa known as al-Asrawaniyya, and he set up other endowments for the mosque and the madrasa ¹.

He asked that he be given the dhikr instruction, and Shaykh Abu al-Fath al-Maliki gave it to him. He also asked that his body be dragged a little along the ground on the way to the grave, as an act of humility before God. His bier was carried to al-Salihiyya, and when it came near his grave it was dragged along the ground for a short distance in fulfilment of his will. He was buried in the courtyard of Shaykh Muhyi al-Din ibn al-Arabi, beside its eastern window, as he had asked ¹.