Geniza Lab

Arabic script (VMR)

Accounts. In Arabic script. There is a neat row of holes from where this fragment used to be bound into a notebook.

Order in Arabic script. Abū l-Ḥasan is to pay or hand over two dinars, 1 qirat, and 2 ḥabbas of "ḥawāʾij."

Document in Arabic script. Dating: Late, probably 18th or 19th century. Some sort of record, perhaps legal: daftar mubārak yataḍammanu fīhi al-ʿimāra(?) alladhī bi-ṭaraf al-muʿallim. . . There follow lists of names (e.g. Abū Aḥmad) and numbers.

Accounts. In Arabic script and Coptic numerals(?).

Prescription or recipe. In Arabic script. The first words read, "gum arabic and tragacanth and dragons' blood" (ṣamgh ʿarabī wa-kathīrā' wa-dam akhawayn).

Document in Arabic script. Possibly a business letter; mentions goods (al-baḍā'iʿ) and something being sent to Alexandria (irsāluhu ilā thaghr al-Skandariyya).

Arabic script (VMR)

Medical prescription. In Arabic script.

Document in Arabic script, possibly legal.

Arabic script (VMR).

Accounts. In Arabic script. Dating: Late, probably 18th or 19th century.

Literary. In Arabic script. Wisdom literature.

Poetry. In Arabic script.

Literary fragment in Arabic script.

Fragment in large, calligraphic Arabic script. Praise for God and prayers for Muḥammad (ḥamdala and ṣalwala). There are two lines above that need to be deciphered (mentions the name Sulaymān).

Legal document in Arabic script. Needs examination.

Medical text in Arabic script. Contains instructions for applying flower oil and water lily (nīlawfar) oil over the head, forehead, and a few drops in the nose. It is also advised to eat it after a meal. On the lower portion of verso there are pen exercises.

Literary text. In Arabic script. Leaf from an Arabic work on horoscopes/prognostications in a beautiful naskhī script. The horoscopes/prognostications are predicted for each day of an unknown month starting from the 3rd day of the month till the 14th. Some predictions include sound health, hearing good news, dispelling sorrows, and reuniting with family and loved ones. One distinctive feature of these horoscopes/prognostications is the phrase "wallāhu aʿlam" (God knows better) after each prediction.

Legal testimony in Arabic script. Dated: 4 Ramaḍān 545 AH, which is 25 December 1150 CE. "Lammā ḥaḍara ilā majlis ḥ[ukm X]..." Needs examination for content.