Will (Fustāt, Egypt)

This testimony was given in our presence, we, the witnesses signing at the end of this will. This happened on Wednesday, the 26th of Iyyar of the year 1454 of the Era of the Documents [=April 13, 1143], in Fustat, which is under the jurisdiction of our lord Samuel, the great Nagid, may his name endure forever.

We entered the house of the elder Abu…

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In her will, the wealthy Jewish businesswoman Sitt al-Ahl sought both to protect her family from claims by her husband and to provide for an elaborate funeral. Here she requests to be buried temporarily in her current home, until she can be interred alongside a family member. She stipulates that the wailing at her funeral be done by professional Muslim women. She also aims to arrange the marriage of her son from a previous marriage to her niece. The italics in the text indicate that the words were originally written in Hebrew.

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