He went to Marrakesh in 1896/1897 to clarify his position to Sultan Abdelaziz after a rumor spread of his ideological deviancy and his plotting of an overthrow of power. The sultan pronounced his innocence of the accusation of plotting an overthrow, and referred the case of his ideological divergence to the ulama. It was agreed that they and he would meet, and these meetings went on for a few months, ultimately resulting in his exoneration of what he was accused of.