ABSTRACT
Al-Harith writes to Aisha to describe an evening he had enjoyed in the company of a judge (Abu Zayd) in Herat. The judge challenges him to read an inscription written onto a small cast alloy container with inlaid decoration. The judge then asks al-Harith to expand on what can be said about the relationships between the different people named in an inscription on the vessel on the basis of craft practice and contract law.
