الكتاب المنفذ على يد سرايا
May God prolong the life of the virtuous and excellent shaykh, continue to support and favor him, and guard his trustworthiness and his intention from alteration. He knows—may his happiness endure—that the one who departed from us took with him the merchandise he carried, that we trust him and are satisfied with what he will do concerning it. We have seen nothing, praise be to God, that warrants reproach or suspicion, and the profit and capital made available to us have reached us from him. We have found nothing blameworthy in what remains in his care, for he is trustworthy in our judgment, and likewise the brethren who accompanied him before us judged him so.
The shaykh knows—may God support him—that trade in Egypt has suffered because prices are constrained, and that in every town little remains beyond old practices and their remembrance. I therefore made arrangements for this merchandise to be sent with Shaykh Abū al-Fatḥ—may God protect him—and in his company Shaykh Abū al-Faḍl al-ʿAjamī. I knew them both to be trustworthy: they would not approve any betrayal in buying or selling, nor would they take anything away from the merchandise; nor would they entrust it to anyone other than a person worthy of trust.
I sent the youth Yaḥyā with them to serve them, since he had previously traveled that road with the late shaykh—may God have mercy on him. If Yaḥyā had been trustworthy in our judgment, we would not have delayed sending this merchandise with him until Shaykh Abū al-Fatḥ arrived, for it had been kept with us and its dispatch delayed for a long time.
News reached us that Yaḥyā had gained possession of some of it, had sold it in an unsuitable place, and disposed of it. He squandered a considerable part of the capital along with the profits it had yielded. Certain shaykhs involved in the trade assisted him and encouraged him in his opposition to Shaykh Abū al-Fatḥ. Such conduct is not proper among merchants, and it was another reason their increase was hindered.
No one came to us from the worthy shaykh's direction to ask us to send Yaḥyā in this capacity, and it would be foolish to suppose we deliberately chose him for that reason. We sent him in hope that he might reform his conduct and prove a helpful assistant to the two shaykhs on the journey, not that he should act on his own or go beyond the opinion and command of Shaykh Abū al-Fatḥ. If God makes his return easy, inform him that his betrayal and transgression have reached us, and that he has shown himself untrustworthy in the matter committed to his care.
Nothing of the merchandise belonging to the community of shaykhs has reached us and been neglected or wasted by us. Nor have we accepted anyone's treachery concerning their property or obeyed him in such a matter. God will judge our actions and what we intended concerning him; should he act in keeping with his character, we leave him to God, who will judge both him and us. What astonishes us is the conduct of the shaykhs who helped him sell what he did not own.
May the excellent shaykh—may God continue to protect him—attend closely to this business and, if God permits the return of the travelers from their visit, handle it in the way best fitting for men of integrity. This youth is immature in judgment, and his ignorance makes him unreliable. By God, I did not send him in their company except in the hope that he would prove honest and faithful. None knows the unseen that belongs to God; we did not know the betrayal in advance or deliberately overlook it.
If the shaykh and the community consider that some action accords with their trustworthiness and their religion, let them take it, refusing to permit anything that would stain their good names or cast doubt upon the trusts they hold. Whatever the excellent shaykh needs, he may tell us; we will hasten to accomplish it and meet his request. We have also sent goods with al-Maghribī and al-Badawī. If any of them reach him, he should undertake their sale and collect what is due.
I send him and the community of shaykhs with him my fullest greetings and peace, and likewise all our friends. Praise belongs to God, Lord of the worlds, and His peace to His Messenger, the Seal of the Prophets, and his pure family, the approved Imams. God suffices us, and He is the best Trustee, Helper, and Supporter.
By God's praise we are in excellent health. Prices in Fusṭāṭ have eased, praise be to God, and the Nile's waters point toward an abundance of increase, blessing, and security. News has reached us that the Byzantines have taken Sicily. May God cause that report to prove false and not allow it to be true.
Peace.