Legal document: Moss. VII,131

Legal document Moss. VII,131

What's in the PGP

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Legal document. In Judaeo-Arabic. It appears that Meshullam takes over the responsibility for the six years of alimony payments (farḍ) to a certain female relative of his, which a Muslim court had previously imposed on her ex-husband Ṭoviya. But it is not entirely clear. See Goitein's note card.

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Moss. VII,131 recto

recto
Oded Zinger, "Jewish Women in Muslim Legal Venues," in Language, Gender and Law in the Judaeo-Islamic Milieu (Leiden ; Boston: Brill, 2020), 38-87.

Recto

  1. [...] Mr. Meshulam [told us]: “This 

  2. [woman] is my relative and I must [...] her. Whatever the court charges her, 

  3. I will pay it for her. I take it upon myself willingly and by my choice." 

  4. We therefore told him: "She must submit the deed of maintenance in her possession written in Muslim courts 

  5. to the court and tear it up for her divorcee Mr. Ṭoviyya." He (i.e. Meshulam) said: "She lost the deed of maintenance 

  6. and there is no way to submit it now. However, make the symbolic purchase from me and be my witness, instead of her, that if ever 

  7. she, or her agent, submits this deed of maintenance to Muslim courts and sues him (i.e. Ṭoviyya) 

  8. for what it contains for the six years written in the Jewish deed which is in the possession of her divorcee 

  9. and she causes him damage, whether it will be little or much, pennyworth or more, I will provide it to him 

  10. for her from the best of my possessions. I hereby undertake the surety for him upon me and my heirs 

  11. after me for what remains of the aforementioned six years." Mr. Ṭoviyya was satisfied with 

  12. [th]is and said to us: “I ask the court to re[cord] this for me from Mr. Meshullam 

  13. [...] to protect me with all precautions and that the court [will write me] about this a legal deed (maʿase) 

  14. [to be] (a testimony of) right and evidence. Therefore, [we, the c]ourt and those [under]signed with us, performed the symbolic purchase 

  15. from Meshullam [son of ...,] m(ay he rest in) E(den), a complete and rigorous purchase 

  16. [... not like pro]mises [and not like formularies…