Scholarship on Letter: T-S 24.78

Recto

1. In your name, O merciful.
2. I am writing to you my lord, the most illustrious elder —
3. may God prolong the life of your excellency and make permanent your honored position, affluence, highness, eminence and power,
4. and humiliate your enemies and all who envy you — to inform you that if I tried to
5. describe only a fraction of the troubles, tribulations and humiliations that I have endured in
6. this world, the account would be too long; no letter could contain them
7. and no epistle do them justice. In addition to the troubles
8. that I previously had to bear, I was overtaken by the disaster caused by the Monk. I fled
9. to Lukk, and this was most unfortunate: had I gone to the countryside or to
10. Upper Egypt, I would have fared better. A man stronger
11. than me would have weakened on this journey. But this is what God willed. When leaving [Alexandria], I had
12. ten dīnārs with me. For twenty-five days I was traveling. Then I was overtaken by
13. the Feast of Passover. During the eight months that I spent in Lukk, bad news continued to come from home.
14. At the end of the [Jewish] month of Elul [August–September], I went to Barqa for the High Holidays and
15. the Fast. Then, when I learned of the death of the one whose bones will be ground in hell [the Monk],
16. I returned to Lukk to join other travelers going to Alexandria, but I found none. So then I went
17. to Santariyya, a place never visited by a Jew, since it is a rough
18. country with no water, a desert with no vegetation,
19. no wood for fuel and no pasture for the camels, whose fodder must be carried from afar.
20. I experienced hardships on the Sabbaths that I am unable to describe. 
21. From there I traveled to the Oasis, on a stretch of land still more difficult and more terrible than the one
22. I’ve described, and then to Upper Egypt and down to Fustat — altogether six months. 
23. For the Sabbaths and holidays and for protection, I spent 7½ dīnārs, so that
24. I had only a little over 2 dīnārs left. Thus, I passed a year and a half in other people's houses without rest or comfort,
25. most of the time begging for a liter of barley,
26. which I ground with my own hands in strange people’s places. 
27. From Lukk, I sent two flatcakes of unleavened barley bread, each weighing only 15
28. dirhams, with Ben Ṭibān to show them the food l lived on. My son took
29. advantage of my absence and left his job in the country and went to Alexandria. Some said that he also traveled to
30. Tripoli. He thought I would never be seen again. ln my house, there was a rabble of mankind with drums and
31. flutes and music, and all [the property] I had left was gone. He sold everything he found in the house,
32. all that had been spared from his former exploits.
33. Thus he ruined me, in addition to causing trouble the likes of which no one has ever experienced. I lived
34. in Fustat for two months on the Street of the Lentil Cooks, since I feared that the qāḍī
35. would put me in charge of a ship going to al-Andalus. Al-Qayṣarānī owed me a bahār [three hundred pounds] of pepper
36. and one of lacquer. When I went to collect them, I found he had died and his house was sealed. When I looked for al-
37. Māṭishī, he had gone. Then I traveled to Alexandria during the week before
38. Passover, and I arrived there on the eve of the holiday. I found my house ruined, and nothing fit for sale left in it. So I took a [sheep] hide that
39. I had bought before my departure and two Chinese [or porcelain in the Chinese style] dishes and sold them
40. on the market. As expected, the magistrate sent word that he wanted me to embark on a ship headed for al-Andalus. l explained
41. my situation to him, whereupon he put me in charge of two ships heading
42. for al-Mahdiyya and reassured me, saying: “An overseer [of ships] cannot be prosecuted.
43. I take responsibility for this.” I could not disobey him. But I complained to him about the good-for-nothing [son] and said, “ln the end, he will
44. sell the doors of my house and ruin it entirely.” On hearing this, the magistrate had the boy appear before him, and made him take the most solemn oath
45. that he would travel with me. Thus we were about to depart, but God
46. had not yet willed that we sail, for my son couldn’t leave because of
47. his many debts and the promissory notes he had signed. I paid everything the night before our departure.
48. By God's covenant, I ended up with no more than thirty-five dirhams, which I left
49. to his brothers. On our voyage we experienced misfortunes and tribulations. Moreover,
50. I lacked provisions, because I was overtaken by our sudden departure. As God is my witness and judge, not one loaf of bread
51. went with me on board. A favorable wind started to blow at early dawn Friday,
52. so that we found no time to bake or to prepare anything before sailing. We came back,
53. and I hoped that he would have learned from our hard experience. However, his gratitude to God
54. manifested itself only in that he relapsed into his old ways. I myself was stripped of everything, and all I had with me was
55. a basket of indigo and a bahār of lacquer, and this was taken from me and sequestered. To explain all this would take too much time. 
56. After this, I and the elderly lady [the boy’s grandmother] asked Abū l-Munā, the director of finances of the Buḥayra district,
57. to take him into his employ. We entreated him, and he, Abū l-Munā, did not disappoint us. He [the young man]
58. had it better with him than with his own grandfather, when the latter was still alive. We were happy, and we believed
59. that he would renounce the company of the musicians. However, after having been away for the month of Elul, he missed
60. being in the company of the musicians and appeared again in Alexandria. When questioned, he explained that he had come on business, but would return after the High Holiday.

Recto - right margin

However, the holidays passed and he relapsed into his old habit, racked up debts, signed promissory notes and, when he had to flee from the European wine-seller and others [due to debts], went up the Nile to Fustat. Shortly before Purim, I, too, went up [to Fustat] to get goods on commission, to assist me on my impending voyage. I met him in al-Buḥayra. He had received a letter from our lord the gaʾon and returned with him to Fustat. l arrived on the day of Purim, and was busy with my lawsuit against Tamīm until Passover. Several merchants intended to entrust me with some buhārs of lacquer. When they learned, however, that l was an overseer of the government’s ships, they held back and refrained from doing so. Thus I left Fustat during the middle days of Passover, and, by God’s covenant, without taking dirhams with me in the amount of half a dīnār for the expenses of my journey. Abū Zikrī as-Sijilmāsī was the only one who granted me a loan. 

On my arrival in Alexandria, I found that the ships already had been pushed off into the sea. l explained my plight to the magistrate and informed him that no one had entrusted me with goods, and I had no merchandise of my own to support my son and me. I had left my son in Fuwwa, for he could not enter Alexandria for fear of the European merchants. I swore to him [the magistrate]: “I do not even have money for provisions, nor will I get remuneration from you. In short, I cannot undertake the journey.” Hearing this, he shouted at me angrily and left me in the clutches of the Europeans, who brought me before the qāḍī and caused me great trouble. 

ln the midst of these calamities, my son came to Alexandria and I informed him that I was out of work and in dire straits. I let someone talk to the Europeans, paid them what my son owed them and took the promissory notes from them.

Recto - top margin

While in Old Cairo, my son was fooled by Ibn Baqā in revenge for his having cursed him in Alexandria. Ibn Baqā said to him: “I shall give you a loan of twenty dīnārs, properly witnessed, on which you can make a living, even though you are at present broke and without proper clothing.” My son accepted [this] and wrote the promissory note, but Ibn Baqā didn’t give him anything,

Verso

1. and swore that he had returned the document to him. I went to his house and asked his wife and, later, him personally,
2. to give me the note, but he refused. Finally I heard of something even graver than this of his former dealings with
3. the Europeans. Ḥayyūn the Lame had given him two maqṭaʿ cloths against a promissory note in the amount of ten dīnārs, signed
4. by four proper witnesses. He took the cloths and pawned them to a wine merchant
5. for four qiṣts of wine worth sixty dirhams. When I heard this, my bones shook,
6. my heart moaned and my hands waxed feeble. I was at the end of my wits. I took copies of the Bible and swore
7. a solemn oath on them never to pay even one dirham for Ḥayyūn, whether he stayed with me
8. or not. For a month, he lived in hiding. Then Ibn ar-Raṣṣāṣīya,
9. the son of his maternal uncle, wanted to travel to the Shām to his father. His mother, who was afraid to let him travel alone, sent my son
10. with him to Damietta and wrote to Ibn al-Murashshaḥ, asking him to make arrangements for their passage.
11. My thought was that the Lord might smite him, or his appointed day to die would come, or perhaps he would improve his ways while being abroad. However,
12. the ship had sailed from Damietta before he reached them and no travel was possible anymore. Now, the possibility that Ḥayyūn might
13. throw him into prison would give more trouble than his going into hiding; thus he disappeared from Alexandria. I asked Nahrāy to talk
14. for me to Ḥayyūn and to entreat him to take back the two maqṭaʿ cloths and to release my son from his promissory note. However, he did not
15. agree, but pocketed ten dinars that he owed me. Last year,
16. I heard my son say to his mother: “I would like to go up to Fustat, to the elder Abū l-Ḥasan, to find employment with him,
17. or with Ibn Baqā, in the Sugar House. I said to him, “Ibn Baqā has no use for you, for
18. he has someone whom he is unable and unwilling to dismiss. Work for two months in the
19. countryside; after the Holidays, Hiba al-Ḥamawī will travel to Yemen, and I’ll ask him
20. to take you with him.” But my son didn’t agree to this, and left Alexandria. At present, l have no knowledge of him. Now, it could be
21. that a brood of sinful men in the Rīf
22. said to him, “Let us be tax-farmers in partnership. You will eat and drink, and your father will be held responsible for your debts.” You know my
23. character. Were it not for the curses upon me after my death, l would give the house [the loss of which] they threaten me with
24. to the poor or to the government, so that no threat would remain. What would I do with it
25. years hence, when I pass away? Would I take it with me? By God’s covenant, if it were possible to sell
26. properties now, it would not remain in my possession. I would take its price and travel abroad,
27. and no one would ever see me again. Without more ado, I would like to come back to something practical, my lord.
28. Your activities are manifold and your employees numerous. Perhaps you have a post for him where
29. you could use his services. Or else, could you find a position for him with someone else as an assistant or associate or overseer? Whatever
30. you regard as appropriate, please do. He will certainly make good with you. Kindly inquire about him.
31. While I was in Fustat, during the month of Nisan, I intended to talk to you about this, but
32. I believe I saw you only once. In any case, if you do something for him, and it proves to be
33. beneficial for you and for him, good, then retain him. If he proves to be a good-for-nothing,
34. send him away. The decision rests with vou. To have said less about this to a man like you would have been enough. Had it not been for
35. the bread and salt we’ve taken in common [our old friendship], I would not have
36. troubled you in this matter. Best personal regards! Should you have any business or service for which you believe
37. I could be of use, kindly charge me with it, although l am not good for anything anymore
38. except for the worms. My son’s deeds and his bad state have ruined my life and destroyed my body. To see him is for me like
39. seeing the Angel of Death. I brought him up, and now he curses me boldly. When I say to him, “Heed a warning,
40. look at the sons of the Alexandrian beggars! Do you want to become like one of them?” he replies, “As long as
41. you are alive, l will be a good-for-nothing. Only after you are dead will I be successful.” By God’s covenant
42. and the Holy Law given to our master Moses on Mount Sinai,
43. on Sabbaths and holidays, at parties and meetings,
44. I have no other subject of conversation except my story and my misfortune. For I am finished, and the Saint has said, “When sorrow is in one man’s heart,
45. he wants to communicate it to others. I am alive but dead, a soul without a body and a body without a soul. I have begotten
46. Abū Zikrī and brought him up, and now he is twenty-two. I implore you, do for him what
47. will profit you before God. I speak so that I may find relief. My special and most devoted regards to you and your brother.
48. A boy who sells his garment, his turban, his kerchief and his nightgown and consents
49. to walk around unclothed! Not to speak of other misfortunes the like of which have never occurred! Excuse me for slips and errors.

Verso - Arabic script

1. In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate.
2. I am writing — may God grant long life to his excellency my lord, the most lofty elder,
3. and make his glory, benefactions, loftiness, health and wellbeing eternal, and crush those who envy him and his enemies — to inform him ...