Partnership Agreement (Fustāt, Egypt)

This partnership agreement, enacted through a qinyan (a formal binding agreement), between Suleyman ibn Ḥassūn, his son Isḥaq, and a new partner, Dāwūd ibn Ḥasan, allows for them to work in tandem in the business of washing corpses. The new partner, Dāwūd, would receive a quarter of the proceeds. It has been suggested that this partnership was an apprenticeship and that both Isḥaq and Dāwūd were learning the trade from Suleymān. Presumably, Dāwūd would begin his own venture after he developed sufficient expertise.