A Chronicle of Baghdad: Sahl ibn Netira
Then Sahl ibn Netira assumed the position [lit., “rank”] of his father. His residence is on a beautiful street in the Rabi‘a neighborhood. He rides every day to the castle of the sultan, but he does not receive a pension [for himself]. Instead, [the sultan] pays [Sahl] five hundred mithqāl every year to distribute to the sultan’s viziers. Sahl does not retain anything for himself.
The Jews benefit greatly from [Sahl’s largesse]—he concerns himself with the great and humble among them. If he but hears that an accident befalls someone, [Sahl] helps, protects, and saves [the person] with his own money and prestige, and honors him with abundant charity—bundles of dirhams and clothes—[giving to the needy] both in private and in public.
Moreover, every Sabbath, people pray at [Sahl’s residence], and he blesses all those who come to him. A servant stands before [Sahl during the prayers]. And if [Sahl] desires to detain someone and invite him to his table, he raises his eyes and regards him, and then his servant understands his desire and so detains [the invitee]. When the prayers finish, the people leave through the second door, not the door from which they entered.
[Sahl] detains the ones he desires to stay [for dinner] in one of the halls. He begins with the entrance of the poor—two hundred to four hundred people at least—and he seats ten at each [of his] tables. One of his protocols is to arrange for three shops to make [the Sabbath evening meal’s] bread from Thursday to Friday evening. They [i.e., the bakers] bring forth the bread to every modest1 woman, with meat and whatever else. The leftover bread is given to the poor on the Sabbath day—a loaf and two pieces for each [poor person]—and this after they have eaten their fill! [Sahl] himself stands before them with a fan, [fanning them?] until they finish their meals. He gives them drink and divides among them what he has of fruit and the like. Then, he eats a little and performs the grace after meals for them by himself and then bids them leave.
Afterward, he sits with his companions for a meal. Then the table is raised, and he orders drinks, and he drinks with his companions until the end of the gathering. [His companions] then stay the night at his home. The following day they pray and then leave—each one to his own business.
Sahl also does favors for non-Jews, providing charity and gifts. He buys five hundred robes—more or less—and distributes them among the non-Jews. Likewise, he sends money to the [Iraqi city of] Kufa and distributes [the funds] among a group of the ‘Alids and the Banū Hāshim.2 In doing this, he follows his father’s custom [of dealing with non-Jews]. He has a market space in Persia that earns him two thousand dirhams every week.3
Sahl has an excellent memory for knowledge of the Bible, Mishnah, and Talmud. He reads and masters everything he needs concerning knowledge of the faith and the law. And he is a student of R. Se‘adya and has collections of his compositions with him.
He is forty years old and skilled in Arabic writing and the art of correspondence. He has a son named Neṭīra, who is eight at this time. His brother, Isaac—he is the brother of this Sahl. He is twenty-seven years old and is a partner with his brother, Sahl. [ . . . ]
Source: CUL T-S Misc. 10.252.
Notes
[Mastūr(ah), lit., covered or concealed, is one of those words that can mean several things and, in the context of the poor, is often linked to the idea of maintaining the dignity of the chronic—that is, the working—poor.—Trans.]
[‘Alids are the descendants of the prophet’s family who were especially revered by the Shi‘ites who then controlled Baghdad as the Buyid dynasty. The Banū Hāshim are descendants of the subtribe of the Quraysh, to which Muḥammad belonged.—Trans.]
[The word used here for the revenue, kharāj, suggests a land tax in accordance with Islamic law. It could also be referring to revenue attained in other ways.—Trans.]
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.
