מסמך משפטי: II Firk. Arab. 1

Recto

1. It has been registered. Praise be to God. He who relies on Him is granted success.
2. In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate. Praise be to God alone [and His blessings be upon] our Lord Muḥammad, his prophet and his family, and safety.
3. This is what the elder Saʿīd al-Dawlah Abū Manṣūr the son of Rashīd al-Dawlah, Abū al-Faraj, the Jewish physician, bought for his wife, (whose name is) according to his report Bint al-Qawm (daughter of the people),Amat al-Qādir (handmaid of the Mighty One), the Cairene,
4. the Tripolitanian Jewess, an adult woman, the daughter of Muʿammar, the Jew, the Cairene goldsmith, with her money and by her command and permission to him with regard to that and (granting him authority) to guarantee against claims from a third party with regard to it, (he bought) from Abū Aḥmad ʿAlī ibn Abī al-Qāsim
5. originating from Ascalon, the Cairene, in the shrine of the noble al-Ḥusayn—on its resident (i.e. al-Ḥusayn) may there be the most excellent peace, greeting, and respect. His witnesses are acquainted with him and verify his identity. He bought from him for her, with one clapping the hand [and one contract]
6. all the portion that amounts to a half, twelve shares from twenty-four shares, held in common, not divided, of all the house that will be mentioned, described and whose boundaries will be identified in this [document.]
7. This seller stated that this portion of all of it (the house) belonged to him and was in his possession and his ownership, with a valid ownership, a binding established right in his possession. It is the house that is in al-Muʿizziyyah, Cairo—may it be protected—in the district
8. of Zuwaylah, on the edge of the neighbouring district of Surūr al-Luʾluʾlī, the house that abuts the street known as al-Turjumān, with a square door way, and a corridor from which one enters the courtyard of a ground floor with a square doorway, in which
9. is a single-leaf door, and with a washroom on the right of somebody who has entered from the door of this courtyard, and with a second square doorway, in which there is a double-leaf door, through which one enters the courtyard, with a t-shaped living room with two vestibules, over which
10. there are two single chests, each (vestibule) with a pair of door leaves, of these the door of the living room is engraved; and (the house) contains the aforementioned living room and on the right of somebody who has entered it is a storage chest without doors, and over the storage chest is a cabinet; and (the house) contains two shelves, which are in
11. its living room, without doors, and two facing seats, over both of which there is a cabinet, and (the house also) contains four facing shelves without doors and a small couch, and a kitchen near to it,
12. which is under the staircase of this house whose rights have been mentioned, and (the house) contains a staircase in its corridor facing the door of its courtyard that is arched in stone on the left of somebody who has entered the door of this house, on which one climbs to its upper floor;
13. facing somebody who has come up from the staircase is one of the cabinets, which is above the bench of the aforementioned courtyard. One ascends from this to a loggia, which overlooks the front of the door of this house, in which there is
14. a wooden lattice and windows to look down from; and (the house) contains a washroom, which is the end of the conduit of this house, next to its loggia; and (the house) includes amenities and rights. One ascends from the aforementioned staircase to two adjacent upstairs apartments. The description of one of them
15. is that it has a square doorway with a pair of unengraved door leaves, on the left of somebody who has come up from the stairs. From this one enters, through a passage on the right of somebody who has entered the apartment, into a living room. On the left of somebody who has entered the passage (there is an apartment) with
16. a square doorway with a pair of engraved door leaves, through which one enters its living room. (The house) has a ventilation shaft on the right of somebody who has entered from the door of the living room, and opposite is a bench and storage shelves. One enters by a passage to the kitchen, which has a single door, above which is a cabinet in [ ]
17. a door suspended over it. In the wall opposite the entrance of the kitchen, there is a lower cabinet. (The house) has a window in the passage, which brings light to its courtyard. The description of the other upper apartment is that it has a square doorway with [a pair]
18. of unengraved door leaves. One enters through it to a lowered reception area paved with tuff gravel. (The house) contains a bench and service rooms close to it. It contains a living room with a pair of engraved doors opposite its bench. It contains a ventilation shaft
19. and windows for looking out of, and a square door, and two facing shelves, on both of which are a pair of engraved doors. It contains a wardrobe, which is on the right of somebody who has entered from the door of this upper apartment, above which is a cabinet,
20. the door of which (i.e., of the cabinet) is above the kitchen that is in the first upper apartment. (The house) contains a wooden lattice, which brings light to its loggia and its lower washroom. One goes up from the aforementioned staircase upstairs. (The house) contains
21. a cabinet, which is on its staircase, which has a single door leaf, and above the cabinet is a staircase with a stone arch, by which one ascends to a hut, which has a single-leaf door, and amenities and rights. One ascends by the aforementioned staircase
22. to its upper roofs, on which is a garden and a lowered reception area. From the roofs, one walks along the passage of the reception area to an upper apartment, which has a pair of engraved door leaves, in which is a storage container with a single door on the left of one entering
23. it (i.e., the apartment), and on the wall facing the entrance there are windows. Four boundaries surround it, contain it and surround it and all the rest of its rights. Its first boundary, which is the southern one, extends to the house
24. known by (the name of) Abū al-Faraj ibn Sibāʿ, the Jewish secretary, and before him, it was known by (the name of) Bint Abū al-Barakāt. The second boundary, which is the northern one, extends to the thoroughfare leading from it to lanes of this
25. district and its thoroughfares, and onto this opens its (the house’s) door and its window balcony and windows overlook it. Its third boundary, which is the eastern one, extends to a house known by (the name of) Nāshiyah ibnat Ibrāhīm ibn Shaʿyā al-Yahūdī.
26. The fourth boundary, which is the western one, extends to the house known by (the name of) Abū al-Faḍl, the cloth merchant, known (also) by (the name of) Ibn Ḵuwār; with the boundaries of all that the contract of this sale entailed, namely its boundaries,
27. its structure, its door, its lower courtyard, its staircase, its upper apartments, its passage, its storeroom, its bench, its engraved doors, its windows, its ventilation shafts, its brick, its baked bricks, its unbaked bricks, its timber, its silver, its treasury,
28. all its rights, by which it is know and which are attributed to it, for sixtyfive dīnārs, gold, in minted coin, full weight, verified, of good alloy, a decisive, effective, permitted, operative, valid sale, without a condition
29. that may corrupt it, without a defect that may invalidate it, it being not by way of pledge, nor trading, nor surety for a debt. This buyer paid from the clear money of his wife, for whom it was bought, to this seller all
30. the aforementioned price, this being sixty-five dīnārs, in minted coin, full weight, good alloy and verified. He (the buyer) received these from him and it came into his hand, his possession, and his ownership. He received them and released him and the woman for whom it was bought from its payment, disbursement and counting out, and from an oath upon it
31. or upon any part of it, with a valid release, a release, a decisive act and a severance. The seller delivered to the buyer all the half, twelve shares, held in common, cleared, without encumbrances, and he (the buyer) in turn received it from him and it came into this hand, his possession,
32. and his ownership, part of the property of the woman for whom it was bought. She is free to dispose of it or of whatever she wants of it in the way that owners are free to dispose of their property, without anybody preventing or obstructing. This was after they had inspected (the house) and separated from one another physically. Whatever claim relating to fault in ownership is made against them in respect of what
33. the contract of the aforementioned sale entailed by any other people, this seller is obliged to stand warranty for it and deliver that to whomsoever be owed, by way of returning a price, or vouching
34. for a value, and the handing over of anything whatsoever, little or much, with the fullest warranties, and the most valid, complete, and secure guarantees, for the sake of this sale and warranty against a claim described herein. The seller brought in his hand a document testifying
35. in his support to the validity of his ownership of what he sold, the aforementioned half of the house, and he has a document with the status of a primary document (i.e. a certificate of his original ownership), and on the verso of each of them was written an acknowledgement of this sale, its date being the date of this document and its witnesses being
36. its witnesses, and the buyer for the person named (herein) received them both and they came into his hand as a proof for him and a security for today and for the future. The acknowledgment of the transacting parties of what is in it was witnessed. It was written on the first day of Rabīʿ ii,
37. in the year five hundred and fifty-three (5 May, 1158 ce). It contains corrections, including the following, which have been written (in the document): ‘al-Faraj’, ‘conduit’, ‘on the right of somebody who has entered from the door of the living room’, ‘under it’, ‘for looking’, ‘on the left of one entering it’ and ‘beginning’.
38. This is correct. It was written by Futūḥ ibn ʿAlī. This buyer is aware of the fact that this house has cracked walls, is of unstable structure, is neglected, and some of its walls are built with brick and wood, and that
39. it cannot be used except after demolishing them and rebuilding them, and he (the buyer) released the seller, with permission of the woman for whom it was bought, from the (liability of) all the faults with a decisive release for today and thereafter. This was witnessed on the date (it was written).

Recto, witness clauses

1. ʿAlī ibn Manṣūr ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī witnessed
2. the acknowledgement of the seller, the sale, the receipt of the price, and (the acknowledgement) of the buyer
3. for the woman named together with them in the contents of the document, each of them in it, on its date. Its amount is 65.
4. He witnessed them in sound health and legally capable of conducting their affairs, and he was
5. acquainted with them.
6. ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī witnessed
7. the acknowledgement of the seller and the buyer
8. for the woman named in it and (that) it was written on its date
9. (they being) in sound health and legally capable of conducting their affairs; and he is acquainted with the seller and the buyer
10. for the woman named therein.
11. He was not aware of any reason to change this testimony of his up to the time he performed it.
12. This was witnessed in my presence, and my trust is in God.
13. Hibat Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan witnessed
14. the acknowledgement of the seller and the buyer for the woman named
15. with him in it in the content of this document and he wrote (this) on its date.
16. He witnessed them to be in sound health, well,
17. and legally capable of conducting their affairs, and he is acquainted with them. He was not aware of any reason to change
18. this testimony of his up to the time he performed it.
19. Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī witnessed the acknowledgement of the seller
20. and the buyer for the woman named with him in it on the date of the month
21. of Rabīʿ II, in the year five hundred and fifty-three, they being in sound  health and legally capable of conducting
22. their affairs, and he is acquainted with them. He was not aware of any reason to change this testimony of his
23. up to the time he performed it. This was witnessed in my presence, and my trust is in God.

Recto, right margin

1. The seller and the buyer for the woman mentioned in it called me to witness that. This was written by Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī at the beginning of Rabīʿ ii, in the year five hundred and fifty-three.
2. He witnessed them while they were in good health and legally capable of conducting their affairs, and he is acquainted with the seller and the buyer. This was witnessed in my presence, and my trust is in God.

Verso, right column

1. In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate
2. The elder, Saʿīd al-Dawlah Abū Manṣūr son of the elder Rašīd al-Dawlah Abū al-Faraj, the Jewish
3. physician, he being the buyer named on the recto, and the agent of his wife for whom the purchase was made, named on the recto, and standing for her in this acknowledgement by authority of the documents of power
4. of attorney that are in his hand issued by her, in which she appointed him in her place to take her place, authorised his action and endorsed the acknowledgement
5. of a supplementary document, in which is acknowledged the sale of whatever he sees fit to sell on her behalf of her residence and her property, by a decisive sale with warranty. This
6. is the document of the transaction and the witnessing of it. This was received from her with a valid receipt. Its date is the twenty second of the month
7. of Muḥarram, in the year five hundred and fifty-five. Her two witnesses are the two judges the jurisprudent Trust of the Dynasty Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh
8. ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿUmar and the Blessed Trusted One, Support of the Kingdom, Trustworthy of the Dynasty and its Powerful One, the Protégé of the Commander of the Faithful, Abū al-Majīd 
9. Khalīl ibn Naṣr ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ḵazrajī, in the presence of the witnesses of this supplementary document, willingly, in healthy mind and body, legally capable of conducting
10. his affairs, not forced, nor coerced, nor constrained, (the elder, Saʿīd al- Dawlah) acknowledged that it (the property) has moved from the possession of the woman who appointed him as her representative and has left her ownership and (has been transferred) to the ownership
11. of Abū al-Ḥasan ibn Ḥusayn, the money changer, known as Ibn al-Tinnīsī, all the portion that amounts to a half,
12. twelve shares from twenty-four shares, held in common, not divided, of all the house that is defined
13. and described on the recto, by right of a decisive, effective and valid purchase in a document that testified to that, its date
14. corresponding to its (i.e. the current document’s) date and its witnesses being its (i.e. the current document’s) witnesses, at a price amounting to fifty dīnārs, which he received from him and they came into
15. his possession. The woman who appointed (her husband) as her representative no longer had any right or claim due to ownership, possession, habitation, rent, lease,
16. right to usufruct, in any way whatsoever. He stood warranty for a claim from a third party on behalf of the woman who had appointed him as her agent, with a warranty against a claim with his wealth against the wealth of his wife.
17. This was on the twenty ninth of the month of Rabīʿ i, in the year five hundred and fifty-five (14 April, 1160 CE).

Verso, right column, witness clauses

1. The agent who is the acknowledger of this called me to witness.
2. Written by the sincere judge
3. on the fifth of Rabīʿ II
4. in the year five hundred and fifty-five.
5. The agent in this document, who is the acknowledger, called me to witness,
6. the sincere and blessed judge,
7. on the fifth of the month of Rabīʿ ii,
8. in the year five hundred and fifty-five.
9. The elder Saʿīd al-Dawlah, the agent who is the acknowledger in this (document) called me to witness,
10. written by Shākir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Naṣr ibn ʿAlī,
11. on the fifth of Rabīʿ II, in the year five hundred and fifty-five.

Verso, left column

1. In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate
2. Abū al-Ḥasan ibn Ḥusayn ibn Abū al-Ḥasan, the Cairene Jew, who is the buyer
3. written in the adjacent document, he being on this day a middle-aged man, of pure (i.e. uniform) brown complexion […]
4. with a smooth forehead, on which are wrinkles, with dark brown eyes, with a hooked nose and a round beard, in the presence of the witnesses
5. of this supplementary document, and he called them to witness for himself with regard to what is contained in it, he being in sound mind and legally capable of conducting [his affairs],
6. willing, not forced, nor coerced, nor constrained, acknowledged that all the house
7. that has been defined and described on the recto, (namely the portion)  of this that has been testified to on the recto, a half,
8. twelve shares from twenty-four shares, held in common, not divided, of all of the aforementioned house and its totality,
9. has left his possession and has been transferred from his ownership to the ownership of his son,
10. Hiba, who is an adult man. This is testified to by a second document that was written
11. on its verso as a supplementary document concerning this sale, its (the other document’s) date is the (same as) its (the document’s) date, and its witnesses are the same as its witnesses, for a price
12. amounting to one hundred Egyptian dīnārs, in minted coin, of full weight, of good alloy, verified.
13. This buyer was released from these (the hundred dīnārs after paying them) to him (the seller), as is testified to by
14. the document of the transaction that was drawn up between them, this being decisive, effective, valid, permitted,
15. operative, which includes (a record of) the receipt of the price, the delivery, the inspection, the warranty against claims from a third party,
16. and the physical separation of the parties. Its date was the same as its (this document’s) date and its witnesses were the same as its (this document’s) witnesses.
17. This acknowledger no longer had with regard to all of the house that was sold this day
18. any right, claim due to ownership, nor possession, nor legacy, nor inheritance,
19. nor right of usufruct, habitation, examination, nor any other claim whatsoever. 
20. The acknowledgement of the acknowledger of what is attributed to him in it (i.e. the primary ʾaṣl document) was witnessed on this blessed day,
21. which is the date of the fifteenth of Jumādā ii, in the year of five hundred and seventy-two (25 December 1176). In four copies (i.e., copies of the primary ʾaṣl document).

Verso, top right

1. Old document relating to a pious foundation.
2. The square of Surūr,
3. the pearl-dealer