This manuscript from the CAJS collection was found in the Cairo Genizah, a unique collection of manuscripts found in Fustat (old Cairo) in the second half of the 19th century. These manuscripts, mostly written in Judaeo-Arabic (Arabic in Hebrew letters with many Hebrew expressions), come essentially from the 9th to the 13th century. They belong to various literary genres, thus revealing unknown aspects of the daily life and literary creation of the Jewish communities represented in the Genizah.
Fustat was the home of the author of this manuscript, one of the leading figures of Judaism - Moses Maimonides (Cordoba 1138 - Fustat 1204). His Dalalat al-Ha'irin, "The Guide of the Perplexed," is one of the most important books of medieval Jewish philosophy. Written in Judaeo-Arabic, it aims to present a philosophical interpretation of Judaism to the intellectual Jewish reader.
Despite Maimonides' central place in Jewish thought and Halacha, some historical sources have reported that he had been forced to convert to Islam in his youth, when living under the rule of the Almohads, who ruled Spain and North-Africa. After living openly as a Muslim and secretly as a Jew for several years, Maimonides left the Almohad lands, visited Erez Israel and finally settled in Fustat.
The case of Maimonides, if he indeed converted, was not isolated: many Jews converted to Islam in the Islamic lands. Some of them were forced to convert, others converted out of belief in Islam, and others probably found it more comfortable to be Muslims. The philosopher and physician Abu'l Barakat al-Baghdadi, an older contemporary of Maimonides (d. 1164-5), was one of these converts. The historical sources give contradictory reports of his conversion, which was probably motivated by convenience reasons. Like Maimonides, Abu'l Barakat does not refer to his conversion in his writings. However, further research of the relationship between his philosophical book (Al-Kitab Al-Mu'tabar) and his commentary to Kohelet might shed some light on his attitude towards philosophy and religion, and perhaps give a clue for understanding his conversion.
