Letter: BL OR 5542.29

Description

Letter in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu, in Fustat, to his relative and in-law Abū l-Faraj, in Alexandria. In Judaeo-Arabic. Opens with the usual expressions of longing. The sender reports that his wife (ahl al-bayt) is well. The sender is agitated that the addressee is staying in Alexandria "in the middle of the prison/captivity" (fī wuṣṭ al-ḥabs) and urges him to try to get out of Alexandria and save himself, because the news from there is dire. "May God the exalted reassure our hearts and your hearts for the sake of His name, and not cast you into the hands of your enemies." Greetings to "our father" Abū l-Ḥasan; to al-shaykh al-najīb al-ḥakīm (the physician) Abū l-Barakāt; to "the boy" and his wife or family (ahl baytih); to "my maternal aunt" Umm Abū l-ʿIzz and her son Abū l-ʿIzz. The sender's wife (ahl al-bayt) yearns for Umm Abū l-ʿIzz and sends her regards. The next part of the letter is in her voice; she rebukes the addressee for not sending her a letter ever since she left. She continues, "Give my regards to the neighbors.. greetings to my paternal uncle and to his son ("renewed to him" (?)) and to his wife, and to my grandfather (jiddī) Abū l-Ḥasan and to my (grand?)mother (sittī) and to my maternal uncle Abū l-ʿIzz, and I miss you all greatly. The next part might still be her voice, or might be back in the voice of Shelomo. "O Abū l-Faraj, please let us know the news of the house... the documents of rent in the name of my sister Milāḥ the wife of Abū l-F[...]... in her share, the quarter of the aforementioned house, and do not neglect. (Identification of the scribe from Goitein’s index card.)