Geniza Lab

Letter from a parent, probably in Fustat, to their son Isḥāq b. Saʿīd, probably in the Rīf. (It is also possible that the locations are reversed.) In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 14th century. The handwriting is exceedingly similar to, if not identical with, that of the clerk of Yehoshua Maimonides. The writer has heard that Isḥāq has had a relapse: "You have fallen ill with the same illness that you had in Fustat." The writer is in distress from this news and wants Isḥāq to return to his family immediately. If it were not for their own frailty (wa-lawlā anā qalīl al-[nahḍa or equivalent]), they would come in person to fetch him. It ends, "[Come] immediately. Do not be reckless with your life." ASE.