This article provides editions of two unrelated documents, one paper, the other papyrus, which were never studied previously. The first text is in fact a small codex consisting of two folded sheets of paper resulting in eight pages of text. It records the land holdings in the estate (ḍayʿa) of Drinja in the pagarchy Ihnās as measured in the survey of the year 383/993–994. A nice example of medieval record keeping, it can be used to examine administrative practice, preservation and archiving. Although publicly taxed kharāj land is mentioned in the text, there are also suggestions that it refers to a more privately managed or tax-farming context. Close examination could result in a better understanding of the relation between privately and publically held property, disentangling the often difficult to distinguish categories of farmed out, rented, managed or owned land.
The second text contains ḥadīths concerning funerary practice. Funerary practices have been vehemently discussed in Islam from its earliest history up to the modern period.1 Typically these rituals with their strong (local) traditions and customs are measured against Muslim tradition and practice.2 Bearing strong associations and intense emotions for believers they are a powerful tool in Islamic identity formation. Whether this papyrus fragment should be interpreted as taking part in this debate or simply as the part of the chapter on funerary practices in a regular ḥadīth collection cannot be determined at this point. It is written on an early papyrus and records some known and unknown traditions with the chains of transmitters going back to the prophet Muḥammad or his companions. Most of the traditions are well-known although the papyrus contains some variants in the text and in the isnāds.
1 Report of a Surveyor
|
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 21; 22 |
Provenance Ihnās (left outlined) figs. 14.1–14.4 |
|
No. 21 (30.9 × 17.2 cm.) |
383 AH (26 Feb. 993–17 Jan. 994 C.E.) |
|
No. 22 (30.9 × 21.1 cm.) |
The two sheets of paper are brown and strong. They are each folded in half and written on both sides, forming eight pages of text. Sheet no. 22 is complete and measures 30.9 cm. (width) by 21.1 cm (length). No. 21 measures 30.9 cm. by 17.2 cm., so a stroke of 3.9 cm is missing at the bottom. There are large and small holes in the middle part of the sheets.
The handwriting in black ink is a clerical and skilled hand. Dacritical points are lacking. Since the ink had not completely dried before the scribe turned the page, a slight copy of the letters appears on the facing pages. Accordingly, it seems that although these sheets were part of a notebook they were not quired.3 We do, however, undoubtedly have successive leaves, with each sheet folded vertically down the middle producing conjoint leaves. The scribe started his writing on the outer page of the left-hand leaf of the first sheet, then continued on the inner page of the same leaf, first filling the right side then the left side of the page, moving to the right side of the outer page of the first leaf (all inv. Arab 21). He then moved to the outer page of the second leaf, where he started on the left side of the page repeating the same pattern as before ending on the right side of the outer page (all inv. Arab 22).
Page 1 is clearly the beginning of the book, as the title of the account appears on it, with pages 4, 5, 6 and 7 containing the bulk of the text. Page 8 seems to be the end of the document.
The document is a report of a surveyor concerning an estate called Drinja (درنجه) in the pagarchy of Ihnās (Heracleopolite) and deals with the annual assessment of taxes. It is dated 383 AH (26 February 993–17 January 994), during the rule of the Fāṭimid caliph Abū Manṣūr Nizār al-ʿAzīz bi-llāh (r. 975–996). Different agricultural products are mentioned such as ordīnāry flax (kattān) (p. 4, ll. 1, 5, and p. 5, ll. 1, 2) and flax of high quality (p. 3, l. 6), grapes, lotus fruit (both p. 7, l. 5), figs (p. 2, l. 6), pulse (qaṭānī), barley (shaʿīr), trefolium, cartamus (safflower) (all four p. 4, l. 3) folium and calamus aromaticus (both p. 5, l. 1).
Two major features may be noted in the structure of our document providing insights into agricultural record keeping. The real aggregate survey of the land of the whole ḍayʿa of Drinja is registered first, followed by the actual measure of farmed land. At the end of the document different payments are recorded in the names of different individuals (p. 8). In Egypt, the survey made at the time of the seasonal decrease of the Nile flood recorded not only the actual area of land involved but also the amount of work needed considering the degree of natural irrigation by the flood. On the basis of these two factors the amount of taxation that could be expected to be raised was calculated. At later stages the taxes due were adjusted based on the actual land worked and the measure in which crops grew.4 Notary practice can also be observed in the text. In the margin, next to some of the lines the balance of the estimated assessment is written (e.g. p. 3, l. 3 الموقـف). The scribe used some abbreviations such as the letter nūn for niṣf (half) and فدا for فدانا.
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 215
Page 1 (Fig. 14.1, left side)
1 ارتفـــــــاع الضيعة المعروفة بدرنجة
2 لسنة ثلث وثمنين وثلثماية للـه الحمد والمنة
Page 2 (Fig. 14.2, right side)
1 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
2 مـ]ـبلـ[ـغ ]مـ[ـا ارتفعت عقود الضيعة المعروفة بدرنجة من كورة أهناس
3 لسنة ثلث وثمنين وثلثماية على ما ارتفعت به ]مساحـ[ـة اسحق الـبـ]ـاد[سى [.....]
4 عليه الأسعار فى المواد وأن ]يتـ[ـحمل ]..[ الى ذلك من مال الإستدوال
5 على ألف الان ويتحمل فى ذلك من مال الأوان والصرف على ما يتوفر بفضله
6 فيبقى ما يرجا من نمو بعض التين وما يتحصل من كتان زرع الأوسية
7 ]الى أن يعـ]ـرف[ مبلغ عند حبيقة وهو المائة فيضاف الى
8 ]المائة وستين دينا(ر) ؟
9 ]ونصف وثلث وسـ[ـد]س
Page 3 (Fig. 14.2, left side)
1 ]مـ[ـن ]ذ[لـك
2 خراج أرض […] ألف وأربع مائة وتسعة وستين فدا(نا)
وربع وسدس
3 المو]قـ[ــــــــــــــف ألف تسعة وسبعين فدا(نا)
عن ثمن مائة وثلاث وثلا[ثين ] وثلثين وثمن؟
4 القــــــــــــــــــــــمح اربع مائة وستة دينار
عن مائتى واحد وسبعين فدانا ونصف ونصف ونصـ[ـف]ونصفثمن
ثمن
5 منـــــــــــــــــــــــه اربع مائة وخمس دينار
عن مائتى وسبعين فدانا كتان ونصفا وربع
الفدان
6 ومنــــــــــــــــــه دينـار واحد
عن فدان ونصف ونصفثمن كتان عالى ونصف ونصفثمن
Page 4 (Fig. 14.1, right side)
1 منــــــــــــــــــه ثلثماية وتسـ]ـعـ[ـة فـ[ـدا(نا)]
عن مائة وسبعة عشر فدانا ونصف وثمن ونصف وربع ]وسد[س
كتان ثلث الفدان
2 ومنـــــــــــــــــــه خمس عشر فدا(نا)
عن سبعة وعشرين و[ثمـ]ـن و[نصف ثمـ]ن [ ] وسدس
الفدان
3 القطائى والشعير والقرط والقرطم ] ما[ئتى وتسعة ونصف فدا(نا)
عن أربع مائة وأربعة وأربعين ونصف وربع وثلث وربع وسدس
4 منـــــــــــــه
عن ثلثماية وتسعة وثمنين فدانا وثمن مائتى واحد ]وعشريـ[ـن فدا(نا)
5 كتان ⟨و⟩احد فدا(ن) ونصف وربع وسدس؟
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 22
Page 5 (Fig. 14.3, left side)
1 سذاج والكتان والقصب الفارســى ] [ ..
عن ثلاثة فدادين [ ..
2 ] بـ[ـكـــــــ]ـر [ تسعة دينار
عن فدانين وربع وسدس وسدس ثمن كتان نصف وسدس ونصف خمس
الفدان
3 القيمة للفـــــــدان دينار واحد
عن نصف ونصفثمن وخمس
4 ذلك الانــــــــــــــــــــ ثلثمائة وتسعة وألف فدا(نا)
ونصف وخمس
Page 6 (Fig. 14.4, right side)
1 الضــــــــــ]ـياع [ مـائة وتسعة وثمنين فدا(نا)
وثلث وخمس
2 الـ[ ]أربعين فدا(نا) السـاحل أربعة عشر فدا(نا)
3 الصــــــــــــرف مائة ودينارن الخـ[ـضـ]ـر مائة وعشر فدا(نا)
عن ألف وخمس مائة وثلثة وثلثين فدا(نا) وثلث ونصف سدس نصـ(ـف)
وربع وسدس
4 الأكريــــــــــــــة دينـــــار عن ما تجمد من سنة منه دينار
ونصف وربع ونـ (ـصف )
Page 7 (Fig. 14.4, left side)
1 صح من ذلك
2 منه ما حمل الى الحضرة فى دفعات شتى وما حمل الى ثقيف ا]لـ
واودع قبل [ عـ]ـلى؟ الان فقر؟ في ثمنيه؟ الحمد لله [
3 من ذلك ما يضمنه حيمد مدكور بن سلمى الى سلخ يسـ ]
4 بابه وأمشير تسعة ونـ(ـصف) فدا(نا) برمهات مائة وستة وخمسين فدا(نا)
.. ونصف وثلث وسد]س[
5 برمودة مائتى واحد وأربعين فدا(نا) لعنب ونبق ثلثماية وتسعة عـ]شـر[ فدا(نا)
ونـ(ـصف) ونـ(ـصف) وثلث وربع
6 ومن ذلك ما جمعـ]ـته[ وبعثته وكتبت على مد سماح واحد وا] [ مائة وسبعة وسبعين فدا(نا)
وثلث وربع وسدسثمن
7 الفين ومائة واحد وثلاثين فدا(نا) الصالح ستمـ]ـاية و[سبـ] [..
] ونصف وربع
8 ومن ذ]لك [ ..
Page 8 (Fig. 14.3, right side)
1 [ .
2 [ . نقدا لناصر؟ مائة دينار
4 ومنه ما صح بجهة القاضى أسد الله ]بـ[ـن زيد وكتب تسعة وتسعين فدا(نا)
وثلثين
5 من ذلك ما حمل اليه عينـــــــــــــــــا سبعين فدا(نا)
وربع وسدس
6 دفعـــــــة تسعة عشر فدا(نا) دفعـــــة .[ ]. اربعة وثلثين فدا(نا)
عن عشرين فدا(نا) وثلث وربع قيد الوكيل؟ ونصف وثلث
عن خمسة وثلثين [فدا(نا)
7 دفعـــــــة أحد عشر فدا(نا) دفـعـ[ـ]ـة عشـ[ـ]ـرين دينار(ا)
عن اثنى عشر عن تسع ]
8 ومن ذلك ما صرف بجهات [ وا]حد وعشرين فدا(نا)
] ور[بــع
9 البواقى [ ] عشرون
وربـ[ـع
Translation
Page 1
1 The result of the survey of the domain known as Drinja.
2 For the year three hundred and eighty three. (vac.) To Him comes praise and He is generous.
Page 2
1 In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
2 Amount of what resulted from the contracts of the domain known as Drinja of the district of Ihnās.
3 For the year three hundred and eighty three on what was aggregated of the gross from the survey of (the domain of) Isḥāq, originating from Bā[d]is? and? ….
4 to which [are added] the prices of the materials, and Abū Rā[ḍī?] should be charged for that from the circulated money
5 on one thousand now and he will pay in that (case) from the current money and expenses on what is saved from its growth (or increase).
6 So, the rest is what will be expected from growing some figs (trees) and what is collected from the flax (kattān) of the cultivation of the estate.
7 ] to collect a sum from Ḥabīqa. It is one hundred, which should be added to
8 ] one hundred and sixty dīnārs
9 ] and a half and one third and one sixth
10 ] ..
Page 3
1 (vac.) There from (vac.)
2 kharāj land [ ] one thousand four hundred sixty nine faddāns and a quarter and one sixth.
3 The situation (is) eight hundred and [thirty] three … (from) one thousand and seventy nine faddāns and two thirds and one eighth.
4 The wheat: from two hundred seventy one faddāns and a half and one half of an eighth (comes) four hundred and six dīnārs, and a half and one half of an eighth.
5 Thereof: two hundred seventy faddāns of flax and a half and a quarter faddān (comes) four hundred and five dīnārs.
6 And from one faddān and a half and one half of an eighth of high quality flax (comes) one dīnār and a half and one half of an eighth.
Page 4
1 Thereof: from one hundred and seventeen faddāns and a half and one eighth, one third of the faddān of flax (comes) three hundred and nine? … and a half and one quarter and one sixth [faddāns].
2 And thereof: from twenty seven and [one eighth] and [one half of an eighth] faddāns is fifteen faddāns [ ] and one sixth.
3 The pulse, barley, trefolium and cartamus (safflower) from four hundred forty four and a half and a quarter (is) two hundred and nine and a half faddāns and one third and a quarter and one sixth.
4 Thereof: from three hundred and eighty nine faddāns and one eighth, flax: one faddān and half and one sixth? (is cultivated) two hundred and one faddāns.
Page 5
1 Folium, flax and calamus aromaticus (from) three faddāns (is) [ ] .. and one sixth and one half of an eighth.
2 Bakr, from two faddāns and one quarter and one sixth and one sixth of one eighth, flax: a half of a faddān (is) nine dīnārs and one sixth and one half of one fifth.
3 The pure income of the faddān: A half and one half of an eighth (is) one dīnār and one fifth.
4 Thereof is now one thousand and three hundred and nine faddāns and a half and one fifth.
Page 6
1 The domains (are) one hundred eighty nine faddāns and a third and a fifth.
2 The [ ] forty? faddāns, the coast (is) forty faddāns
3 The conversion charge: from one thousand and five hundred and thirty three faddāns and a quarter and one sixth (is) one hundred and two dīnārs and one third and one half of one sixth. The leguminous plants (are) one hundred and ten faddāns.
4 The rents (are) one dīnār and a half and a quarter. Of what were arrears from one year and a half, thereof (is) one dīnār.
Page 7
1 It has been approved thereof
2 Thereof: what has been carried to the town in various payments, and what has been carried to Thaqīf …… and what has been deposited at ʿAlī. Now, he has acknowledged its price. All Praise belongs to God [
3 Thereof: what is guaranteed by Ḥumayd Madhkūr ibn Salmī towards Salkh? …
4 Bābah and Amshīr: nine and a half faddān .. and a half and one third. Baramhāt one hundred fifty six faddāns and one sixth.
5 Baramūdah: two hundred forty one faddāns and a half. For grapes and nabq (fruit of the lotus): three hundred and nineteen faddāns and a half and one third and a quarter.
6 And thereof what I have collected and dispatched, and I wrote for a period of sufferance one and …. [ ] one hundred and seventy seven faddāns and one third and a quarter and one sixth of one eighth.
7 Two thousand and one hundred and thirty one faddāns [ ] and a half and a quarter. The good (lands) six hundred and ….
8 Thereof [ ] ….
Page 8
1 ].
2 ]. Cash for Nāṣr? one hundred dīnārs
3 ] Vac.
4 And thereof what has been approved for the judge Asad al-Allāh ibn Zayd and it has been recorded: ninety nine faddāns and two thirds.
5 Thereof what has been carried in kind: seventy faddāns and one quarter and one sixth.
6 A payment concerning twenty faddāns. Nineteen faddāns and one third and a quarter. A payment is paid on the account of the agent concerning thirty five [faddāns] (the payment is for) thirty four faddāns and a half and one third.
7 A payment concerning twelve ⟨faddāns⟩ (the payment is for) eleven faddāns. A payment concerning ….[(the payment is for) twenty? dīnārs.
8 Thereof what has been spent in (some) directions [ ] twenty one faddāns [ ] and a quarter? [
9 The rest is twenty [faddāns? ] and one quarter [
Commentary
Page 1
1. The term ارتفاع relates to the result of the survey usually referring to gross receipts (Frantz-Murphy, The agrarian 34 n. 4, 101, P.Khalili I, pp. 63 ff. and cf. P.Cair.Arab. IV 265 and 266). A ḍayʿa is a rural property rarely extending beyond the area of a village, usually owned by a civilian and managed by a bailiff (wakīl). If the holder of the ḍayʿa is a Muslim, he has to pay two kinds of taxes: first, the zakāt that should be paid by all Muslims, taking the form of a tithe (ʿushr) (usually a fifth of the kharāj) (Lambton, State 215); secondly, the kharāj, which is a tax levied on agricultural lands and should be paid by Muslims and non-Muslims (Abū Yūsuf, Kharāj, 41). In the Abbasid East, the ḍayʿa was administered by a different government office than that pertaining to kharāj lands (CPR XXI, p. 186 n. 3). درنجه can be read as Drinja, Dranja or Drunja. This town, in the kūra of Ihnās, could not be identified.
2. Medial long alif is written with scriptio defectiva in the date (Hopkins, Studies§ 10, a).
3. لله الحمد والمنة: The addition of a religious formula between the basmala and the main text is often found in literary and documentary texts (see Ibn Khaldūn, Muqaddima, 1: xxxi. Cf. الحمد لله والشكر لله, P.Cair.Arab. I 54.2; والحمد لله كالمستحق).
Page 2
3. من seems to be corrected from فى which makes better sense grammatically. Min refers to the distance from a place (Wright, A grammar III: 132d), while the preposition fī is used to refer to the place itself. So, one may consider that Ihnās itself was at some distance to the ḍayʿa. In Egypt, the term kūra was used in the early Arab period to refer to an administrative district that had a town at its centre (cf. al-Yaʿqūbī, Buldān 331: وكور مصر منسوبة إلى مدنها لأن بكل كورة مدينة مخصوصة بأمر من الأمور). The administrative district of kūrat Ihnās is not mentioned in lists other than the one cited by al-Maqrīzī (Khiṭaṭ 1: 72), where the kūra of the town of Ihnās is said to have consisted of ninety-five villages plus some kufūr. Ibn Khurradādhbih also mentioned the kūra of Ihnās as one of the kuwar Miṣr (Masālik 81). For the frequent changes in the geographical extent of this administrative district which was combined with the administrative district of the kūrat al-Bahnasā at certain periods, see Grohmann, Probleme 381–394 and P.Khalili I 66. Two towns are known by the name Ihnās (Yāqūt, Buldān 1:409–410), the first is located in Middle Egypt on the westbank of the Nile (now called Ahnās al-madīna), the second was called Ihnās al-ṣughrā (small Ihnās), and it was a large village in the kūra of al-Bahnasā. The town of Ihnās has been known by many names. Today it is sometimes called Ihnasiyya Umm al-Kimām, meaning “Ihnās, mother of the sherds.” In Coptic it was called Hnēs/Ehnēs. Important since the early dynasties, its main god was Hershef assimilated by the Greeks to Heracles after which they called the city Heracleopolis Magna (see Maspéro et Wiet 1919, 28). The Arabic papyrus PERF 612 (dated 102/720) actually refers to it as هرقلوس, Haraqlūs (Maspéro et Wiet, Matériaux 28).
3. Isḥāq is written with scriptio defectiva of the medial long a (Hopkins, Studies § 10, a). The nisba can be restored as سى[ـاد]البـ or سى [ـار]الفـ . In P.Cair.Arab. III 270, 4 (3rd/9th century) we encounter also an Isḥāq from Bādis. There are traces of the bottom of about 5 letters at the end of the line. One may read وزادت which agrees with the rest of the sentence written on the following line.
4. :وأن [يتـ]ـحمل فى ذلك أبو را[ضى] The reading is uncertain.
الاستدوال: There is a half curve visible above the letter lām.
5. الصرف, the expenses, refers to a sum to be expended for the land. Grohmann translated this word as “conversion charge” (P.Cair.Arab. III 239.2) and “allowance for security” (P.Cair.Arab. III 283.3, 7) without explaining how he came to this meaning. The term فضل appears in P. Khalili I 2.14. Khan (P.Khalili I, p. 64) has noted that some other terms are used to express the survey increase such as زائد (al-Makhzumī, Minhāj 60, 61, and al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat 8:251), إضافة (al-Nābulusī cited in Cahen, Le régime 16–17), and تأريخ (al-Makhzumī, Minhāj 61; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat 8: 250 and al-Qalqashandī, Ṣubḥ 3:458).
6. الأوسية is the Arabic rendering of the Greek ousia (Grohmann, Griechische 281 f.). Such estates had a special place in the social and economic life in Byzantine Egypt before the Arab conquest (Hardy, The large 113 ff.).
7. المئة وستين دينـا(ر) (L. المائة) (et passim): There is an oblique slight ripple of a stroke written above the letter sīn of the wordستين which has no teeth, and the word دينـا(ر) is abbreviated.
Page 3
2. Around the end of the third/ninth century a legal discussion arose about the nature of kharāj. The final outcome of this discussion was that kharāj was considered as a rent on the land (Tabatabāʾī, Kharāj 201; Lambton, State 258) which had to be paid by whomever cultivated the land. After خراج أرض one should expect the kind of plant cultivated on the land, such as خراج القصب (see P.Cair.Arab. III 234.10).
3. وثلثين وثمن: the reading is uncertain.
4. Kharāj was assessed in cash from the end of the third/ninth century onwards, when an attempt was made to establish a unified system of accounting on the basis of the gold standard with a legal tariff for the exchange of the dirham. Hence the qualification dīnār in this line and in other places in the text.
6. Kattān ʿālā is fine flax (Latin Linum usitatissimum) contrasting the unqualified flax attested in other places in this text. The tax on flax in this text comes to one dīnār per faddān. For flax, see further P.Cair.Arab. II, p. 46 f.
Page 4
1. The number may be 319 or 329, or 339, etc., because there is a letter wāw after the number nine, we expect a multiple of ten. In the lacuna a qualification such as faddāns may be restored (cf. p. 4, ll. 2, 3, 4). It is to be noted that the flax here as well as in line 4 is not a fine flax (see note to p. 3, l. 6).
2. عن سبعة وعشرين و[ثمـ]ـن و[نصفثمـ]ن الفدان may be read.
3. القطانى (pulse) (s. qaṭnīya). Pulse is the common name for members of the fabaceae (leguminosae), a large plant family, also called the pea, or legume. Legumes were equally important as fodder and forage plants. The pulse family also provides dyes, medicines and other commercial items such as flavorings, fibres, etc.
Shaʿīr, barley (Latin hordeum vulgare, hordeum distichon and hordeum irregulare, see Hitchcock, Manual sv. “Barley”), is one of the most ancient of cultivated grains. Barley plants are annual grasses either harvested in winter or spring.
Qirṭ (Latin trefolium alexandrinum and trefolium resupinatum, see Schnebel, Die Landwirtschaft 213 ff.), trefoil, was the most common fodder for animals in Egypt according to al-Suyūṭī (see al-muḥāḍara 2: 231). Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam writes that trefoil was exempted from kharāj tax (Futūḥ 153), but in Arabic papyri we find assessments for this plant (P.Cair.Arab. III 231 n. 4). For kharāj on trefoil, see for example P.Ryl.Arab. VII 19.4, and P.Cair.Arab. IV 231.4 and commentary.
Qurṭum, safflower (Latin Carthamus tinctorius), is identified by Ibn Manẓūr qurṭum as saffron (Lisān sv. قرطم). Safflower is one of humanity’s oldest crops. The Arabic name lays at the origins of the general pharmaceutical name flores carthami. The Arabic name is derived from the verb qarṭama (to dye) in reference to the use of safflower flowers for textile dyeing. Its modern Arabic name uṣfur (saffron), from aṣfar, yellow, has entered many languages through the mediaeval Andalusian pronunciation.
5. و⟩احد فدا(ن) ونصف وربع وسد(س)⟩: The reading of this line is uncertain.
و⟩احد فدا(ن)⟩: the Kūfan grammarians allow the placement of the adjective of the cardinal number if the genitive is an object (see Ibn Hishām, Shudhūr 1: 216 “وللكوفيين كلهم في إجازة نحو الثلاثة الأثواب ونحوه مما المضاف فيه عدد والمضاف إليه معدود”). For the cardinal number واحد، احد, etc. see Hopkins, Studies § 91a.
Page 5
1. سذاج L. ساذج (Latin folium). This word is known to have been written with the alif as third or second letter. Ibn Sīnā (d. 1037) describes the plant and its medicinal use (Ibn Sīnā, al-Qānūn fī al-ṭīb s.v. ساذج).
Al-qaṣab al-fārisī (Latin calamus aromaticus) is a sort of reed, or sweet-scented cane, without branches, with a crown at the top, and beset with spines, about two feet in height, bearing from the root a knotted reddish stalk, quite round, containing in its cavity a soft white pith. It grows in Egypt, Syria, and India and is said to make the air scent while growing. When cut down, dried and powdered, it forms an ingredient in the richest perfumes and is used in medicine (see Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language sv. “Calamus”). Frantz-Murphy translates the name of the plant literarily as “Persian reeds” (The agrarian 34, 18).
Page 6
1. A careless curved joint line links the alif and lām so one can read the word as الأضياع.
3. The reading of الخـ[ـضـ]ـر, vegetables, is uncertain. After the article the letter may be jīm or khāʾ. Vegetables are frequently mentioned in Arabic papyri (see for example P.Cair.Arab. III 266.7; 268.14). For kharāj on leguminous plants, see PER. Inv. Ar. Pap. 10151, 13.
Page 7
2. الحضرة: means the “town.” See Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān, sv. “حضر.”
ثقيف: the reading is uncertain. Thaqīf is an Arab tribe living to the south-east of Mecca (Kister, Mecca 134).
قَبل [عـ]ـلى الان فقر بثمنيه: the reading is uncertain. It seems that ʿAlī belongs to the tribe of Thaqīf. He acknowledges that he has received some of what has been collected from the kharāj.
3. سلخ: its diminutive name is سليخ, as recorded in al-Dhahabī, Mushtabah 271.
5. ʿInab are more frequently attested in the papyri as kurūm, vineyards. For viticulture, see P.Cair.Arab. I, p. 10. Here there is clearly mention of the production of the vineyards as well as the lotus tree (i.e. Nabq).
Nabaq are the fruits (cones) of the lotus, sidr or cedar tree. The lotus is a large hardwood tree, which can grow more than 5 meters high (Nour and Ahmed, A chemical 271–273) and bears a round and yellowish cherry-like fruit (al-Anṭākī, Ṭadhkirat 186 f.; Ibn al-Bayṭār, Jāmiʿ 3: 4, 32). The fruit is used for food and as a medicine (Kamal, The ancient 305 ff.). The tree is mentioned in the Quran as a tree in the afterlife in whose shade the righteous will recline (Q 56:28).
6. For baʿtha in the sense of ‘dispatch,’ see P.Cair.Arab. IV 401.1–12.
Page 8
6. The payment should be for 20 faddāns but what has been paid was for only 19 faddāns and one third and one quarter, which means that 5/12 faddān has not been farmed.
7. اثنى عشر: the reading is uncertain. ⟨فدا(نا)⟩ should be added (cf. l. 6 on the same page).
9. البواقى عشرون: may be read.
2 Instructions Concerning Funerals
|
P. ACPSI 126 (P. Rag.) |
Provenance unknown (outlined left) figs. 14.5–14.6 |
|
15 × 8.5 cm. |
ca. 2nd /8th century |
The papyrus is broken off at the bottom, the left and right sides. It is damaged at the right and bottom sides, though the original margin has remained at the top. The papyrus, which was folded four times from left to right, is of light brown colour, fairly fine. A small piece measuring 5 × 0.8 cm and bearing about six upper halves of letters is torn off on side A.
The text was written on both sides of the papyrus, in black ink, in a neat, elegant hand pointing to the beginning of the second/eighth century. Diacritical points are rarely used. The side where the writing goes perpendicular to the fibres was written first, after which the scribe continued on the other side. There is a correction above line one which can be read while the superscript of line three can only be partly read. The end of each ḥadīth is indicated with a circular sign.
The text was probably longer than the thirteen lines written on both sides of the papyrus. The writer presents the aḥādīth sometimes in his own words (A1), other times by citing them literally (B4). The text contains both prophetic and companions’ aḥādīth, and all the transmitters are known in these traditions.
The place of discovery is unknown.
Side A (Fig. 14.6)
1 حدثنا[ رافع أن أبا هريرة أوصا أهله حذرو فى ألا يظهروا عليه }طيبا{ الطيب ولا يجعلوه فى قطيفة حمر]اء
2 ]قال وقد بلغنى عن أبى سعيد الخدرى ميله فى القطيفة [أ] ضربهم الذى يقول خلف الجنازة استغـ[ـفروا له غفر الله لكم
3 ]واخبرنى عن’يحيى بن زيد ----- عن أبى؟ سعيد حفص بن ميسرة عن أبى ⟦عمر الصحابى⟧ وأسامة بن زيد عن عبد الرحمن[
4 بن حرمله الأسلمى عن سعيد بن المسيب أنه قال انظروا لراجزكم هذا الذى [
5 يقول استغفروا له غفر الله لكم ولا ينبغى O هذا وقال خارجة بن زيد[
6 بن ثابت أنه قال إذا سمع من يقول فى الجنازة أن استغفروا له غفر الله لكم [
7 ] محدث ويقـ[ ]وذلك عند الله [ ] مالا را [ ] ا O قال قال الـ[
8 ]دعا [ ] O [ ويقـ]ـو[ ل? ]
Side B (Fig. 14.5)
1 وعمرو بن الحارث عن بكير بن الأشج عن بسر بن سعيد أن النبى قال العين تدمع
2 والقلب يحزن إياك الصراخ قال بكانى وبكا النبى على {الا}بنيه وقال البكا
3 من الرحمة والصراخ من الشيطان O واخبرنى عن ابن جريج أن رسول
4 الله قال تدمع العين ويحزن القلب ولا نقول ما يسخط الرب
5 (vac.) والسلم على أهل القبور
Translation
Side A
1 ] Rāfiʿ [has reported that] Abū Hurayra commanded his family to be careful not to apply any perfume on him and not to shroud him in red velvet (after death) [
2 ] He said, and it has been reported to me, about Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī that he inclined towards the red velvet. The one who was behind the funeral harms them (the death) by saying: “Ask forgiveness [for him. May God forgive you.”
3 ] And he reported to me on the authority of Ḥafṣ ibn Maysara on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Zayd—on the authority of Abū Saʿīd ⟦ʿUmar al-Ṣaḥābī⟧ and Usāma ibn Zayd on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān [
4 ibn Ḥarmala al-Aslamī on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab that he said: “Look at your poet who [
5 says: “Ask forgiveness for him, God forgives you.” This is not allowed.” In addition to this, Khārija ibn Zayd [
6 ibn Thābit said that he said: “If it is heard that the man behind the funeral says: “Ask forgiveness for him, God forgives you [
7 ] being said [ ] he says [ ] and that is with God alone [ ] …. [ ] O. He said: “The one who [ ] said [
8 ] pray [ ] O. And [he] says [
Side B
1 And ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith on the authority of Bukayr ibn al-Ashajj on the authority of Bisr ibn Saʿīd, that the Prophet said: “The eyes are shedding tears
2 and the heart is grieved. Do not scream.” He (also) said I wept and the Prophet wept for his sons, and he (the Prophet) said: “Weeping is
3 from mercy and screaming is from the devil.” O And he reported to me on the authority of Ibn Jurayj that the messenger
4 of God said: “The eyes are shedding tears and the heart is grieved and we will not say what enraged God.”
5 (vac.) And Peace is upon those who are in the graves.
Commentary
Side A
1. Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj (al-Dhahabī, Muqtanā 1:214 no. 1944) died when he was 86 years old in 73/692 or 74/693 (al-Bustī, Thiqāt 3:121 no. 407). He lived and died in Madīna (al-Dhahabī, Muqtanā 1:467 no. 1778). At the battle of Badr this companion from the Khazraj was deemed too young to fight (Juynboll, Encyclopedia 10). Abū Hurayra (d. 59/687) is the well-known companion and ḥadīth transmitter (Ibn Saʿd, Ṭabaqāt 4:325; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Istīʿāb 4:202; Juynboll, Encyclopedia 45–47). He appears very frequently in isnāds of ḥadīths. This ḥadīth is not known to have been transmitted on the authority of Abū Hurayra nor on that of Rāfiʿ, although both stipulated conditions in their will about how their body should be dealt with after their death. Abū Hurayra forbade the use of a majmara (censer) (Ibn Abī Shayba, Muṣannaf 2:472 no. 11170).
Awṣā (أوصا L. أوصى) is written with alif mamdūda (Hopkins, Studies § 12c). The verb awṣā was used in some aḥādīth in relation to red velvet and rajaz (see commentary to B4) (Ibn Saʿd, Ṭabaqāt 5:142; 8:74).
Ḥadhirū fī allā yuẓhirū ʿalayhi al-ṭīb. Verbs signifying ‘to forbid,’ ‘fear,’ and the like, are followed by an with the subjunctive. The negative lā is sometimes inserted after an without affecting the meaning. Cf. annī akhāfu allā yatrakanī, “I am afraid he will not leave me,” or “I am afraid he will leave me” (Wright, A grammar 2 § 15 a). Al-ṭīb refers to well-scenting fragrances. The use of essences in the treatment of the deceased body is described in several ḥadīths. In a ḥadīth narrated by Umm ʿAṭiyya, one of the anṣār, she said that Muḥammad instructed her when she was giving a bath to his deceased daughter saying: “Wash her three, five or more times with water and sidr, lotus, and sprinkle camphor on her at the end. When you finish, notify me.” (al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ no. 1183). Ibn Masʿūd in another ḥadīth reported that the body of the deceased should be dried after washing with a clean cloth and some camphor should be applied to the sujūd parts (those parts of the body that touch the ground during prayer) (al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ no. 6495).
Wa-lā yajʿalūhu fi qaṭīfa ḥamrāʾ. When Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj died, his bed was covered in red velvet to the astonishment of the people (Ibn Ḥanbal, Musnad no. 16637). See also the commentary to line 2. After the Prophet’s death, his mawlā6 Shuqrān threw a red velvet burda (cloak) on the dead body because Muḥammad had disliked wearing another one (Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ no. 967, and al-Rāzī, Jarḥ 6:164). It is also said that Shuqrān placed the red villous cloth (qaṭīfa) in the Prophet’s grave to prevent others from using it (Juynboll, Encyclopedia 523).
Based on the prophet’s burial and expressed preferences, the shroud normally used by Muslims consists of white cloths. Samura ibn Jundab (d. ca. 52–53/672–673) reported that Muḥammad said: “Wear white. It is purer and more wholesome, and shroud your dead in it” (al-Bayhaqī, Madkha, 3:402). ʿĀʾisha (d. 58/678) reportedly said: “God’s messenger was shrouded in three garments of white Yemeni fabric, amongst which was neither a shirt nor a turban” (Abū Dāwūd, Sunan, Kitāb al-Janāʾiz 20:3145). Children are shrouded in one to three pieces of cloth. Young females are shrouded in a shirt and two wraps. Males are covered by three pieces of cloth, and adult females in five.
2. Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (d. 74/693) held the full name, Saʿd ibn Mālik ibn Sinān. He was one of the prophet’s companions and transmitted many prophetic ḥadīths. (Ibn Saʿd, Ṭabaqāt 5:142). In spite of the statement in this text, it is said that Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī demanded that at his funeral no rājaz (see commentary on B4), or censer should be present, and that his body should not be carried on red velvet (Ibn Saʿd, Ṭabaqāt 5:142).
A]ḍarra bihim alladhī yaqūlu khalfa al-janāza ʾistaghfarū lahu ghafara allāh lakum. For the restoration of this sentence, see the commentary to lines B4–5.
The negative sense of أضربهم is contradicted by ḥadīths showing that the Prophet approved of the custom to ask for forgiveness of the deceased while following his funeral procession (janāza) (Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ no. 2094).
3. The scribe began to write Abī as part of the name of Abū Saʿīd but then continued to write the name ʿUmar al-Ṣaḥābī. He then crossed out the name ʿUmar al-Ṣaḥābī and returned to write the full name of Abū Saʿīd without deleting Abī that he had already written and adding Saʿīd above the line. Between the name of Yaḥyā ibn Zayd and Abū Saʿīd there are traces of some illegible letters.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar al-Ṣaḥābī is ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ibn Nufal, also known as Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (d. 73/692), belonging to the tribe of al-ʿAdawī al-Qurayshī (cf. Juynboll, Encyclopedia 10–11). He lived in Madīna and died in Marw. ʿAbd Allāh was renowned for his close observation of the Prophet’s actions as observed by ʿĀʾisha: “There was no one who followed the prophet’s footsteps as did Ibn ʿUmar.” He would only relate a ḥadīth if he was completely sure that he remembered every word of it. One of his contemporaries said: “Among the companions of the Prophet, no one was more cautious about adding to or subtracting from the ḥadīth of the prophet than ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar (see Ibn Ḥajar, Iṣāba no. 4825).” Yaḥyā ibn Zayd (d. 63/682) is Yaḥyā ibn Zayd ibn Thābit ibn al-Ḍahāk (Ibn Saʿd, Ṭabaqāt 5:264). He was killed at the battle of Ḥarra in 63/683 (Ibn Saʿd, Ṭabaqāt 5:236). His brother is Khārija ibn Zayd ibn Thābit, for whom see the commentary to B5. Abū Saʿīd is Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī for whom see above in the commentary to A2. Ḥafṣ ibn Maysara al-Kanʿanī al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 181/797) (al-Dhahabī, Muqtanā 1:422, no 4522; Juynboll, Encyclopedia 403). According to some scholars he came from the town of Ṣanʿā’ in Syria while others identified it with the town with the same name located in Yemen (al-Bukhārī, Tārīkh al-Ṣaghīr 2:369; al-Mizzī, Tahdhīb al-kamāl 7:73, no. 1417). He was considered a reliable source for ḥadīths. Usāma ibn Zayd (d. ca. 54/674) was the son of Zayd ibn Hārith, a manumitted slave and the Prophet’s adopted son who became one of his companions (Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Istīʿāb 1:77; 3:1137–1140, and Fuʿad 2003, 8, 161). Some weeks before his death, Muḥammad appointed Usāma, still quite young and unexperienced at the time, at the head of a large expedition against Syria, which caused some of the leading muslims to complain. Usāma died in al-Jurf and was buried in Madīna (Vacca, EI s.v.).
4. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥarmala (d. 145/762) was a well-educated member of the Banū Mālik ibn ʿAqṣa, belonging to Madīna’s élite (al-Bustī, Mashahīr 1:137 no. 1081). He reported on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab (d. 94/712) as we have here and others (al-Maqdisī, Aḥādīth 4:233; al-Khurāsānī, Sunan 1:309 no. 1107). Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab is Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab ibn Ḥazan ibn Abī Wahhāb ibn ʿAmr also known as Abū Muḥammad, belonging to the tribe of al-Quraysh. He lived and died in Madīna (Ibn Abī Shayba, Muṣannaf 7:19, 24; al-Qurṭubī, Jāmiʿ 8:239; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Istīʿāb 1:77; 3:1137–1140; al-Ṭabarī, Bayān 10:68).
The rājiz recites poems in the rajaz meter. According to different authorities, performing rajaz at funerals is forbidden in Islam. Abū Muṭīʿ narrated that ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥarmala was at a funeral when he heard a man saying: “Ask God’s forgiveness for her, and Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib said: What is their poet saying? I commanded my wife not to call their poet (at my funeral)” (Ibn Abī Shayba, Muṣannaf 11:198; Ibn Saʿd, Ṭabaqāt 5:141).
5. Istaghfarū lahu ghafara allāh lakum wa-lā yanbaghī. Correct would have been istaghfarū lahu ghafara allāh lahu as is mentioned in certain aḥādīth, such as: The Prophet came to them (his companions) and said: “Ask forgiveness for Māʿiz ibn Mālik.” They said: “May God forgive Māʿiz ibn Mālik” (al-Nasāʾī, Sunan 4:276). Cf. Ibn Abī Shayba, Muṣannaf 2:474 nos. 11193; 11194 and 11199; al-Bustī, Thiqāt 1:405 no. 6975. In general the ṣaḥāba are said to have disliked the raising of loud voices at funerals (al-Bayḥaqī, Madkhal 4:74 nos. 6974–6975).
ولا يبتغى or ولا ينبغى Although the word is dotted the reading is doubtful.
5–6. Khārija ibn Zayd ibn Thābit (d. 99/717 or 100/718) was a great traditionist who transmitted few aḥādīth (Ibn al-Qayṣarānī, Tadhkirat 1:91 no. 82; al-ʿIjlī, Maʿrifat 1:330 no. 385). He was also a great faqīh who was being consulted on matters of Islamic law (al-Dhahabī, Siyar 4:439–440). Khārija claimed that at the order of the Prophet he learned Hebrew so that he could “write and read the letters of the Jews,” in half a month (al-Dhahabī, Siyar 17:467). He was one of the anṣār.
6. Idhā sumiʿa man yaqūlu fī al-janāza istaghfarū lahu ghafara allāh lakum. We expect a sentence to follow such as فانهوه, then prevent him, or فامنعوه, then stop him.
Side B
1. ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith, written with defective long a (see Hopkins, Studies § 10 a), (d. 148/765 or 149/766) belonged to the tribe of al-Anṣarī (al-Bustī, Mashāhīr 1:187 no. 1498; al-Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat 2:540 no. 846). He lived in Egypt and he was known as faqīh al-dayār al-Miṣriyya. The well-known Egyptian scholar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb (d. 197/812) was his most famous transmitter (Juynboll, Encyclopedia 11 n. 3). He was considered to be a reliable muḥaddith, famous for his knowledge of religious philology, as an eloquent narrator of poems and an orator (al-Ḥākim al-Nīsābūrī, Mustadrak 1:2093). Bukayr ibn al-Ashajj (d. 115/733?) was also known as Abū ʿAbd Allāh, as well as Abū Yūsuf al-Qurayshī al-Madanī al-Miṣrī, because he spent some time in Egypt. He lived in Madīna. Bisr ibn Saʿīd (d. 100/718) was born in Madīna. He was considered a reliable ḥadīth transmitter and was also considered to be a ṣūfī (al-Iṣfahānī, Rijāl 1:96; al-Dhahabī, Siyar 5:113).
2–3. Wa bakā al-nabī ʿalā banīhi wa-qāla al-bukā’ min al-raḥma wa-l-ṣurākh min al-shayṭān. Bakā is written with an alif mamdūda instead of an alif maqsūra. It seems that the writer began to write الأبناء (the sons) but he changed his mind and wrote بنيه (his sons) without effacing the article. The Prophet begot four daughters and three sons, the latter of whom all died as young children. Muḥammad is said to have cried at the death of his children and grandchildren allowing tears and sadness to show but forbidding such pre-Islamic customs as tearing ones’ clothes, slapping face and wailing loudly at someone’s death.7 (al-Bayhaqī, Madkhal 4:6941, 6943; Ibn Ḥanbal, Musnad no. 25267; al-Nawawī, Saḥīḥ Muslim 2:110, and 6:224–225). This ḥadīth is not known to have been transmitted on the authority of Bisr ibn Saʿīd but on that of Anas ibn Mālik (d. 93/712) (al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ no. 1220).
3. Ibn Jurayj (d. 150/767), in full, ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Jurayj (al-Dhahabī, Siyar 6:325, no. 138; Juynboll, Encyclopedia 212–225) is said to have been a mawlā of Umayya ibn Khālid and to have been of Byzantine descent (al-Dhahabī, Siyar 6:325–336).
4. Tadmaʿu al-ʿayn wa yaḥzanu al-qalb wa-lā naqūlu mā yaskhiṭu al-rabb. This is a part of the same ḥadīth discussed above (see note B2–3). It is set at the dying of Ibrāhīm, the Prophet’s son. Muḥammad entered upon his son Ibrāhīm as he was surrendering his soul (i.e., dying). Tears began to well up in the Prophet’s eyes. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf said to him: “Even you, o messenger of God?” He said: “O, Ibn ʿAwf, this is compassion.” Then he wept some more and said: “The eyes shed tears, and the heart feels grief, but we will not say what enraged the Lord. And truly we are deeply grieved by your departure, o Ibrāhīm” (Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ no. 1578).
5. Salām is written with defective long a (see Hopkins, Studies § 9 c). When visiting the tombs Muslims should say “peace be upon you, o people who inhabit the graves (three times), you are the predecessors and we are the successors” (al-Ṭabatānī, Muʿjam 8:129 no. 8178).
Fig. 14.1
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 21 recto. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection. The P.Haun. collection is now housed together with the P. Carlsberg collection in Copenhagen, but the manuscripts retain their original inventory numbers.
Fig. 14.1
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 21 recto. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection. The P.Haun. collection is now housed together with the P. Carlsberg collection in Copenhagen, but the manuscripts retain their original inventory numbers.
Fig. 14.1
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 21 recto. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection. The P.Haun. collection is now housed together with the P. Carlsberg collection in Copenhagen, but the manuscripts retain their original inventory numbers.
Fig. 14.2
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 21 verso. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection.
Fig. 14.2
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 21 verso. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection.
Fig. 14.2
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 21 verso. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection.
Fig. 14.3
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 22 recto. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection.
Fig. 14.3
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 22 recto. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection.
Fig. 14.3
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 22 recto. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection.
Fig. 14.4
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 22 verso. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection.
Fig. 14.4
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 22 verso. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection.
Fig. 14.4
P. Haun. Inv. Arab. 22 verso. Courtesy of the Papyrus Carlsberg Collection.
For the medieval period, see for example Halevi, Muhammad’s. For current debates, see for example Becker, Islamic (Africa), Federspiel, Persatuan (Indonesia) and Abashin, The logic (Central Asia). See also Anne Regourd’s article in this volume.
Halevi, Muhammad’s; Smith and Haddad, The Islamic.
For the structure of a codex, see Casson and Hettich, Excavation 3.
For this system, see the description by al-Makhzūmī (d. 585/1189), Kitāb Minhāj 58–63 (cited in P.Khalili I, pp. 61 ff.); Frantz-Murphy, The agrarian 20–26.
In the edition hamza is added according to the rules of standard Arabic orthography.
It is said that ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (d. 32/652) either donated or sold Shuqrān, the Ethiopian, to the Prophet who set him free after the battle of Badr (al-ʿAsqalānī, Qawl 5:80).
For an example of pre-Islamic funerary customs, note the lines of the poet Tarafa ibn al-ʿAbd (d. C.E. 569): “When I die, mention my qualities as befits me, and rend your garments for me, o daughter of Maʿbad. Do not make me like a man whose aspirations are not my aspirations, who could not do what I could do, or play the role I play (al-Nawawī, Riyād 86).
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