Page 143 - History of The Quranic Text | Kalamullah.Com

THE HISTORY OF ARABIC PALAEOGRAPHY 123

4. Islamic inscription onJabal Sala', Madinah. According to Hamid-
ullah it was probably engraved during the Battle of the Ditch, c. 5
A.H./626 C.E. 27

Figure 9.8: EarlyIslamic inscription on Jabal Sala', c. 5 A.H. Source:
Hamidullah, Six Originaux, p. 64.

5. The Prophet's letter to al-Mundhir bin Sawa,28 Governor of al-
Ahsa', c. 8-9 A.H. See Figure 9.9.
6. The Prophet's letter to Hiraql (Heracliusj." the Byzantine Emperor.
See Figure 9.10.
These sufficiently refute Rev. Mingana's premise regarding the early
Arabic alphabet.

27 M. Hamidullah, Six Originaux des Lettres Diplomatiques duProphde deL'Islam, pp. 62-5.
28 Topkapi Sarayi, item no. 21/397. See also Hamidullah, Six Originaux des Lettres
Diplomatiques du Prophete de L'lslam, p. 111. I accept the authenticity of this letter and
the one to Hiraql, along with others authenticated by Hamidullah, as a historian. On
the other hand Gruendler states, "Their authenticity is more than doubtful, as they
do not even display the same script." [TheDevelopment if Arabic Script, p. 5, footnote
16]. This is utter nonsense. The Prophet had more than sixty scribes [see this work
p. 68], and to expect their handwritings to match one another is absurd.
29 M. Hamidullah, Six Originaux des Lettres Diplomatique: duProphete de L'Islam, p. 149.
Observe the clear difference in handwriting between this letter and the previous one,
due to the use of a different scribe.