State document: T-S NS 228.41

State document T-S NS 228.41

Tags

Input date

In PGP since 2018

Description

Petition from Ṭāhir b. Isḥāq, a poor man from Alexandria, to the amir Qarāqūsh. In Arabic script. Ṭāhir had rented a shop in Alexandria from a Christian, and confirms that he has paid all the installments of the rent and would like to be released in order to return to his family. Ca. the very end of the 12th century, as this was the time that Qarāqūsh served as regent for the young son of the Fatimid vizier after his father’s death, before he himself field in 1201 CE. On the margins of recto there is a Judaeo-Arabic passage on the uniqueness of God on the fact that he created the earth and the sky, but was not created Himself. On verso there are isolated blocks of text probably copied as a writing exercise, they include liturgical paragraphs and biblical quotations in Hebrew and the continuation of the Judaeo-Arabic text on recto. (Information from Khan and CUDL.)

T-S NS 228.41 1r

1r

Transcription

Geoffrey Khan, Arabic Legal and Administrative Documents in the Cambridge Genizah Collections (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993).

Recto

  1.              المملوك
  2.              طاهر بن اسحق
  3.       بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 
  4.  عبد الحضرة السامية الاجلية العلية الاكرم الاسفهسلار الاشرف
  5. المقدم المكرم الامير بها الدين ذخرية السلاطين مختار الدولة 
  6. وفارسها خالصة امير المومنين ادام الله الامتاع ببقاية واحسن 
  7. الدفاع عن حوابيه وزاد في حراسة مجده وعلايه وامتع 
  8. امير المومنين بدوام عزه واطالة بقايه    وينهي انه رجل
  9. صعلوك غريب الدار من اهل ثغر الاسكندرية حرسها الله تعالى
  10. وكان قد استجار حانوت بها في دار لنصرانى واوفى اجرتها
  11. الي اخر المدة التي في الاجرة واوفي ما عليه من جميع الاجرة
  12. ولم يبقى عليه شيا والمملوك قد قصد باب الله سبحانه ويس{ل}
  13. المولا بحمله على تقضى الشرع والعدل والانصاغ وان 
  14. يخلي عن المملوك ليجد السبيل الى قيامته علي عايلته واطفاله وجمع
  15. شمله بهم انعاما عليه واحسانا اليه {                }.... ان شا الله تعالى
  16. والحمد لله وحده وصلواته على سيدنا محمد نبينا وسلم تسليما

Translation

Geoffrey Khan, Arabic Legal and Administrative Documents in the Cambridge Genizah Collections (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993).
  1. The slave

  2. Tāhir ibn 'Isḥāq

  3. In the name of God, the merciful and compassionate.

  4. The slave of the lofty, mighty and sublime presence, the most gracious, the most noble isfahsalār,

  5. the honourable leader, the ’amīr Bahā’ aI-Dīn, treasure of the sultans, chosen one of the dynasty

  6. and its champion, the intimate friend of the commander of the faithful, may God cause to endure the comfort (afforded) by his life, establish a strong

  7. defence of his soul, increase the protection of his glory and sublimity and give comfort

  8. to the commander of the faithful by the lasting of his power and the prolongation of his life, reports that he is a poor man

  9. from the community of Alexandria, may God, the exalted, protect it, who is away from home.

  10. He rented a shop there in an enclosure belonging to a Christian and paid his rent in full

  11. until the end of the term of the lease. He paid in full all the rent that he owed

  12. and no longer owes anything. The slave has sought the grace of God, praise be to him, and asks

  13. the master to treat him according to the requirements of the holy law, of justice and of impartiality and to

  14. release the slave, so that he may be able attend to his family and his children and be united

  15. with them, as a kindness and benefaction to him. [ ] if God, the exalted, wills.

  16. Praise be to God alone and his blessings be upon our lord Muḥammad, his prophet, and save him.

T-S NS 228.41 1v

1v
Image Permissions Statement
  • T-S NS 228.41: Provided by Cambridge University Library. Zooming image © Cambridge University Library, All rights reserved. This image may be used in accord with fair use and fair dealing provisions, including teaching and research. If you wish to reproduce it within publications or on the public web, please contact genizah@lib.cam.ac.uk.