מסמך שלטוני: St. Catherine, Atiya no. 962, Stern doc. 6

1. In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
2. The all-pervading wisdom which God has bestowed upon the Commander of the Faithful, and the place of his right-guided ancestors, the Imams, which He has granted him in inheritance,
3. entails the . . . of all
4. Muslims and the entire number of the people of the protection, since he is the one to manage their affairs, and God
5. has entrusted him with the government of all of them, small and great, and chosen him to rule and control them. On account of this,
6. when the bishop of Mount Sinai known as Nufūri, the community of the monks,
7. and the Christians living there, reported that they enjoyed safety in the shadow of the Hāfizī empire,
8. and lived quietly in the shelter of its justice, and that they gloried in being contemporaries of that empire
9. and felt honoured by the orders which it issued; and asked to be granted anew an open decree enjoining that they be
10. protected and guarded and that justice be spread out upon them according to the habit
11. to which they were accustomed, so that the clouds of bounty did not move away from them and the ropes of benefaction were not cut;
12. the order of the Commander of the Faithful was issued to his servant the Most Excellent Lord,
13. Commander of the Armies, Sword of Islam, Helper of the Imam, Succour of Mankind,
14. Abū ʾl-Muẓaffar Bahrām al-Ḥāfiẓī may God increase his eminence and elevation,
15. and benefit the Commander of the Faithful by the increase of his glory and the length of his life, and may He make perpetual his power, and exalt
16. in His obedience his sway, who reached the highest degrees of eminence by being a follower of
17. the Fāṭimid kingdom and by obeying it, and achieved his success by means of being a faithful partisan of it,
18. and by guarding the welfare of its armies and subjects—
19. to write this open decree to the effect that kindness to them the monks be doubled, benefactions

20. continuously extended, their share in protection increased and that

21. in defence multiplied, and that they be enveloped by all-embracing justice and perfect equity,

22. since they are attached to Islam by a covenant which ought not to be broken

23. and the link of which should not be interrupted. Also that the bishop

24. be especially honoured above them, since according to their religion,

25. a higher rank and precedence is due to him, in order that his orders be obeyed and he guide them

26. on the right path.

27. Let the Divinely-Supported and Chosen Amīr, Sword of the Kingdom, Friend and Servant of the Empire

28. (may God perpetuate his welfare), military governor of the afore-mentioned provinces, or whosoever will govern that province in the future,

29. act accordingly and take care to improve the condition of this bishop

30. and those of his co-religionists who stay with him in Mount Sinai,

31. and deal with them in a benevolent way so as to enable them to dwell there safely;

32. after this open letter had been registered in the manner usual in the case of such documents,

33. in order that it may serve as evidence for the bounty which was extended to them to a degree which corresponds to their fondest hopes,

34. if God (may He be exalted) wills. . .

     

35. Written this second day of Jumāda the Second, the year Five-hundred Thirty.

     

36. Praise be to God alone, and may God bless our lord Muhammad His prophet and his family,

37. the right-guided Imams, and give them peace.

     

38. God is sufficient for us; how excellent a Keeper is He!

Registration marks between lines 2 and 3

1. Praise be to God for his gifts