The Earliest Dated Kufic Inscription From Qā‘ al-Mu‘tadil, Near Al-Hijr (Saudi Arabia), 24 AH / 644 CE
Islamic Awareness
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First Composed: 21st January 2006
Last Modified: 29th January 2008
Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:
(a)
(b)
Figure: (a) Photo of the inscription dated 24 AH and (b) the one next to it.
24 AH / 644 CE.
Script
Kufic.
Contents
The translation of the inscription (a) is:
- In the name of God
- I, Zuhayr, wrote [this] at the time ‘Umar died in the year four
- and twenty (i.e., 24 AH).
Comments
This inscription is the earliest dated Kufic inscription with a photograph.
It is worthwhile pointing out that Caliph ‘Umar bin al-Khattāb died on the last night of the month of Dhūl-Hijjah of the year 23 AH, and was buried next day on the first day of Muharram of the new year 24 AH, corresponding to 644 CE. Thus the date mentioned in the inscription is authentic and conforms to the established and known date of the death of Caliph ‘Umar bin al-Khattāb. The two well-known papyri PERF No. 558 and P. Berol. 15002 from 22 AH / 642 CE also originate from ‘Umar's time.
This inscription, it appears, is destined to be the most famous of all the Arabic inscriptions as the UNESCO has added it to the Memory of the World Register of Documentary Collections.
Next to this inscription is a graffito (b) which says: anā Zuhayr mawlā ibnat Shayba ("I am Zuhayr mawlā of Ibnat Shayba"). What is interesting is that in this inscription the diacritical dots on the letters ن and ز are clearly visible. They correspond exactly to the dotting seen in the two papyri PERF No. 558 and P. Berol. 15002 from 22 AH / 642 CE as well as to the modern day dotting of ن and ز. All this suggests that the dotting of some Arabic letters, if not all, was already fixed very early perhaps even before the advent of Islam.
Location
Qā‘ al-Mu‘tadil (near al-Hijr), Saudi Arabia.
References
[1] ‘A. I. Ghabban, "Naqsh Zuhayr: Aqdam Naqsh Islāmī", Arabia, 2003, Volume I, pp. 293-342.
[2] R. Hoyland, "Epigraphy And The Linguistic Background Of The Qur'ān" in G. S. Reynolds (Ed.), The Qur'ān In Its Historical Context, 2008, Routledge Studies in the Qur'an, Routledge: London & New York, p. 62 and p. 68 note 42.
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