The Book of Testimonies and Decrees

In The Book of Testimonies and Decrees (Kitāb al-shāhādat wa-’l-wathā’iq), rather than presenting a collection of legal documents, Se‘adya Ga’on writes instructions for drafting a proper legal document, following the genre of Islamic legal manuals that emerged in the geonic period. Written in Judeo-Arabic, this was meant to be a helpful guide for his Arabic-speaking Jewish community. Se‘adya opens The Book of Testimonies and Decrees with an introduction; he was one of the earliest Jewish writers to employ introductions.