The inscription of Zuhayr, the oldest Islamic inscription (24 AH/AD 644-645), the rise of the Arabic script and the nature of the early Islamic state

Authors: Ghabban, `Ali ibn Ibrahim¹; Hoyland, Robert²

Source: Arabian archaeology and epigraphy, Volume 19, Number 2, November 2008 , pp. 210-237(28)

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Abstract:

This article provides an edition, translation and analysis of an inscription dated 24 AH (644 AD) discovered recently in north-west Saudi Arabia. It is an immensely important find, since it is our earliest dated Arabic inscription; it apparently contains a reference to the caliph `Umar I and shows evidence of a fully-fledged system of diacritical marks. The latter aspect is of great significance for our understanding of the development of the Arabic script and of the writing down of Arabic texts, especially the Qur'an. The text is compared with others composed in the decades shortly before and after the rise of Islam.

Keywords: Arabic inscriptions; Arabic script; Qur'an; rise of Islam; `Umar I

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0471.2008.00297.x

Affiliations: 1: Supreme Commission for Tourism, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Email: ghabban@sct.gov.sa 2: Dept of Middle Eastern Studies, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9AJ, Scotland UK, Email: rgh9@st-andrews.ac.uk

Publication date: 2008-11-01