Two Arabic Inscriptions From Eilat, First Century Hijra
Islamic Awareness
© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.
First Composed: 3rd February 2007
Last Modified: 3rd February 2007
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Assalamu ʿalaykum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:
(a)
(b)
Figure: (a) Original inscription and (b) its contents.
Date
Late 1st century hijra.
Script
(a) Two lines of graffiti incised in good hand. Second line mutiliated probably by later interference.
(b) Two incised graffiti are on top of one another. No points, no vowels. The top inscription is shallow but the bottom one is well-produced by a good hand and shows points under the yā', but no vowels.
Contents
The translation of the inscriptions are:
(a) ‘ʿUmar bin Zayd bin ʿAṭīyyah(?) believes in Allāh.
(b) ... depends on Allāh. O Allāh....
Allāh is the hope of Rashīd bin Kathīr bin Tamīm and his patron in this world and the world to come.
Comments
The declaration that Allāh is the walī of the Muslim is a common Qur'anic notion and is mentioned frequently in many places in the Qur'an (2:257, 3:68, 13:37). An inscription with a similar theme was also found in Nahal ʿAmram.
Location
Eilat, Israel/Palestine.
References
[1] M. Sharon, Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarium Palaestinae, 2004, Volume III, Brill: Leiden, pp. 150-152 and Figs. 25 and 28.
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