Letter: Moss. V,353.1

Description

Recto: Note from a sick man to a physician, it seems beseeching him to assist an older family member who is also sick. "By the Law, if I revealed the state of my master (father?), you would mourn him on account of his distress and the cares that are upon him. For you are the skilled physician and I am the sick man in your care. Act with me for the sake of your Creator. Protect my master in any case, for I am sick, and I don't know if I will die or if he will die while we are separated, going to the grave with terrible grief (? reading חצרה as חסרה). By God, act with me for the sake of Heaven and have mercy on me." It is also possible that the sickness/medicine/physician references here are metaphorical, and this is primarily an appeal for charity due to poverty — in this case, the orders of payment on verso might be the affirmative response to this appeal for help. Verso: Two orders of payment, written at right angles, one to Abū Isḥāq and one to Abū l-Ḥasan. ASE.