Legal testimony about the customs of the merchants of Fustat regarding partnerships. The testimony describes how partnerships are established. Dated: middle decade of Iyyar 1452 …
[But if]
they say to a broker, “He (A) isbuyingthis for them” and either (A) comes along [to]
his associate (ṣāḥib = B) and says to him in the street – neither at the dār al-wakāla [nor at the merchants’ warehouse] –
“I saw some goods in such-and-such a place,” and he had evaluated them with such-and-such a broker,
(if A says,) “If I buy them, pay me half or some (of the capital),” and (B) replies to him,
“OK, if you buy them, I will pay you,” and then (A) goes and buys them after
this, but no one is with him either when he pays or when he concludes the transaction, rather,
with his money he alone bought it for himself—then (B) has the choice.