"O Turks, inhabitants of Khartoum! The Mahdi, peace be upon him, said: You have misled people and deceived them with worldly matters. So why, O deceivers, do you remain in Khartoum and not go to Omdurman? For there, you are still denying the Mahdi, or what is the reason?" I replied, saying: "Our master, the Mahdi, we swear by God that we are not insistent on denying the Mahdi. We confess before you that we believe in the Mahdi and his successor. As for those of us who remained in Omdurman, it was due to our inability to build huts there and our ability to reside in the ruins of Khartoum without hardship." He replied to me, his face darkening with anger: "You are hypocrites, and I see nothing but cutting off your neck." I said to him: "My master, the Mahdi, you possess knowledge and what is hidden in chests. And Al-Ghurashi, peace be upon him, is your minister and advisor. The Mahdi, peace be upon him, said about you: 'You are wisdom and the decisive word.' He lowered his face to the ground, annoyed by this flattery. Then he raised his head and said to me: 'O Ibrahim Fawzi, your innocence of what was attributed to you has been proven. I have forgiven you and the inhabitants of Khartoum. But you must leave Khartoum and reside in Omdurman, because Khartoum is the abode of disbelief. The Mahdi, peace be upon him, said: 'Do not dwell in the dwellings of the disbelievers, nor wear their clothes, nor adorn yourselves with their attire.'" I said: "Our master, the Mahdi, we do not have the fare to cross the Nile." So he granted us passage, and we resided in Omdurman, suffering various kinds of humiliation. The Mahdi, peace be upon him, began to implement his plan to establish a mosque in Omdurman, and this project was completed before it was put into action."