Geniza Lab

Fragmentary letter (draft?) with many lacunae, 8 lines. Many glorifying phrases: "...[al-shaykh] al-ajall Sadīd al-Mulk ballaghū Allāh taʿālā aʿlā al-manāzil... dīn wa-dunyā... awdaʿahū Allāh taʿālā...." In the bottom line, mentions "the children of Mūsā b. ʿImrān" (=the Jewish people?).

First five lines of a letter in Arabic script from a parent to his son, including basmala and words of prayers. Separate text on verso, also in Arabic script. Verso: Commercial letter starting with a basmala addressed to Muḥammad b. (?) Allah informing him about the goods that have been sent for him. Another person, Abū ʿĀmir is also mentioned. Needs examination.

Receipt (fiscal?) for Abū l-Mūnā b. Ibrāhīm al-Malījī (?) Bū l-Ḥusayn b. Sulaymān [tawliya al-shadd??]. Ends with ḥamdala and ṣalwala, with no registration requests or marks. Perforation marks for binding. Needs further examination.

Part of a letter in Arabic script, probably regarding a commercial account. Mentions "al-dīwān". Needs examination.

Two pages from an Arabic literary text on logic (manṭiq), pivoting around the theme of qiyās.

Tax receipt, Fatimid, one registration mark: al-ḥamdū lil-lāh ʿalā niʿamih. Damaged and not easy to decipher bottom lines with date and jahbadh signature. Verso: text and genre unclear, but contains an ʿalāma: al-ḥamdu lil-lāh kamā huwa ahluhu. Dated Ṣafar 436 H.

Fiscal register (possibly equivalent to what al-Makhzūmī and Ibn Mammātī call a rūznāmaj). Contains multiple entries, each with a date and a sum. Each entry has a pair of ʿalāʾim on top, suggesting a process of registration and certification akin to that on the fiscal receipts themselves. The procedure implied here is remarkably congruous with al-Makhzūmī’s claim that the mushārif and ʿāmil signed off not only on the receipts, but on the makhzūma of the jahbadh. (Information from Marina Rustow)

Letter in Arabic script. Addressed to an 'ِAmīr al-Ajal reporting on a ship bearing wood (markab al-ḥaṭb) that arrived at the port of Fusṭāṭ on the Nile (al-ṣināʿ maḥrusa). “The ship bearing wood has arrived after a delay. I’m sorry for the delay, it’s not my habit. Please hold off Ibn al-Tabbān and tell him to wait until a laborer(ʿāmil?) is available to […].” It seems that the addressee was in the service of al-Afḍal b. Badr al-Jamālī (or the son of Saladin?), hence the letter could be dated to that period. On verso, there are various jottings and pen trials in Hebrew and Arabic script. Needs examination. ASE, YU.

Fragment, not very legible script. Accounts with niṣfs and mentioning of graves (qubūr) and a woman. Scribbly note on verso with names, probably signatures. Needs examination.

Fragment of a legal Islamic (fiqh) manual. The preserved text is a commentary passage on the Islamic ritual of ṭahāra and ablution. Discussions circle around whether ablution can be done with honey and arguments are established for the same from the Quran, hadīth, and a narrative from the wife of the Prophet, ʿĀʾisha. The infamous hadīth transmitter Qāḍ.ī Abū al-Faraj is also mentioned.

Tax receipt from the archive of Abū l-Ḥasan b. Wahb.

Tax receipt in the hand of the jahbadh Mīkhāʾīl b. ʿAbd al-Masīḥ for the tax farm of Abū l-Ḥasan b. Wahb. Reused on verso for an account.

Recto: Letter in Arabic script. Lower part only. Needs examination.

Verso: tax receipt from the archive of Abū l-Ḥasan b. Wahb

Letter or copies of letters, each starting with a basmala. Letter starting at the bottom of verso is addressed to the Abbasid al-Manṣūrīya (al-Mawqifa al-Manṣūrīyya al-Saifīyya).

Fragment, 11 lines in a chancery hand with not very legible script. Mamlukī names in pretty naskhī script on verso. Perforations of binding.

Tax receipt, Fatimid. One registration mark; 'al-ḥamdu lil-lāh ḥamd al-shākirīn'. Written in the month of Jumād al-Ukhrā of an undeciphered year. Blank verso. Perforated for binding.

Tax receipt, Fatimid. Two registration marks; 'al-ḥamdu lil-lāhi l-muwaffiq li-ḥamdihi' and 'al-ḥamdu lil-lāh ḥamd al-shākirīn'. Blank verso. Perforated for binding.

Tax receipt, Fatimid. One registration mark; 'al-ḥamdu lil-lāh al-wāḥid al-ḥaqq'. Blank verso. Perforated for binding.

Letter in Arabic script. Begins with a basmala and taqbīl. Addressed to a certain Muḥammad called Samiyy al-Dawla Jamāl al-[...] (an amīr titled Samiyy al-Dawla also appears in a legal document: T-S Misc. 22.280 dated 4th Shaʿban 438 H/3rd February 1047, ed. Khan, ALAD, no. 55). The sender refers to his emotional state (wa-baqiya qalb al-mamlūk....; another possible reading is wa-yashfī qalb al-mamlūk). In the margin, the sender expresses his hope that a certain woman is in good health, and everyone under the addressee's care. On verso, refers to "a tremendous headache" and awaiting something. YU. ASE.