The regulations were issued, and one of their officers was appointed to visit the prison daily and ask the prisoners individually about their well-being. He personally took charge of addressing the causes of complaint. If any prisoner reported a complaint against one of the officers, that officer was severely punished.

Meanwhile, a considerable number of Al-Azhar scholars were arrested on suspicion of supporting the Urabi movement and each was imprisoned with another prisoner. I was imprisoned with one of them, Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Ghani. He was a virtuous man, and I thought I would find solace in his conversation to pass the time. However, this was not the case, as he spent most of the night and day in prayer, only pausing to perform his prayers or eat. One day, I asked him to reduce his sleep, and he apologized, saying that as long as he was troubled, sleep would not come to him. I was amazed by this habit, which God had instilled in him, and I wished I could be like him in this regard.

Every day, we were taken for interrogation. My companion, Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Ghani, defended himself in such a way that he was quickly released. I remained alone for a period, longing for his presence and hearing his sighs. After a few weeks, I was released on bail after the interrogation committee had finished questioning me.

The matter of the burning of Alexandria.

After my release from prison, I was taken to Alexandria to be interrogated about the incident of the fire that occurred there. I went there and headed to the committee formed to investigate this matter, headed by Othman Raouf Pasha. Qaimaqam Salman Daoud Bey claimed that Urabi had sent me to him with an order to burn Alexandria, but I denied this.