TheJabal Ḏabūbinscription (also known asJabal Ḏabūb 1) is a South Arabiangraffitoinscription composed in a minuscule variant of the lateSabaic language and dates to the 6th century, notable for the appearance of a pre-Islamic variant of theBasmala. It was found on a rocky facade at the top of the eastern topside of mount Thaboob in theDhale region ofYemen and first published in 2018 by M.A. Al-Hajj and A.A. Faqʿas, with the reading and interpretation of the text revised byAhmad Al-Jallad in 2022.[1][2]
The inscription is two lines long. Theeditio princeps originally read:[2]
بسم للاه الرحمن الرحيم ربه السمواته الرزاق ) الذيه( مفضلك ) أيها االنسان( والمردف نعمهه عليكه ) بأنه( أعطاك االيمانهبسم للاه الرحمن الرحيم ربه السمواته (أسألكه( الرزق من فضلك وأن تمنحه عقله ) قبلهه( قوة)حالوة( االيمان
Later, the reading was revised to:[2]
بسم الله الرحمن
ارحمنا رب السموات
ارزقنا من فضلك
و آترنا مخّه سكمت ايامنا
bs¹mlh | rḥmn | rḥmn | rb | s¹mwt
r{z}{q}n | mfḍlk | wʾṯrn | mḫh | s²kmt ʾymn
In English:[2]
In the name of Allāh, the Raḥmān
have mercy upon us, O lord of the heavens
satisfy us by means of your favor
and grant us the essence of it at the end/gift of our days
The first dating of the text, based on reconstructing it as an Islamic Basmalah, led to it being dated to the mid-7th century. The revised reading lacks an Islamic Basmalah, rather it possesses an earlier stage in the evolution of the Basmalah, as well as a lack of use of standardized Arabic language from early Islamic inscriptions (including graffiti), indicating a date in the sixth century, or the early seventh century at the latest. An assessment of the script of the inscription (LateSabaic) suggests it was written in the mid-6th century.[2]
The author may have been Jewish.[3] Significantly, this inscription contains a pre-Islamic Arabian reference to theBasmala, invoking the monotheistic deityRahmanan.[4] However, while this inscription is apparently the first attested case where "In the name of Allāh/God" is combined with "the Merciful," the Qur'anic form of the Basmalah contains a phraseological expansion into a tripartite form to include the final adjectiveal-raḥīm.[2] It is possible that this expansion was made to facilitate the common Qur’anic rhymeī/ū +m/n.[5]
The request, "have mercy upon us, O lord of the heavens" resembles the biblical phrase "Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us" inPsalm 123:3. Likewise, the request to "grant us the essence of it at the end of our days" may also be a reference to another Psalmic passage, where the reader asks "So teach us to number our days, that we may obtain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). The particular phrasing ofrabb al-samāwāt is also known from theQuran (rabbu s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi, Q 19:65). In its use of both the terms "Allāh," which was the proper name of the one monotheistic God in pre-Islamic North Arabia, and "Rahmān," the proper name of the one South Arabian monotheistic God, this inscription may reflect a syncretism that resulted from an alliance between multiple Arabian tribes to symbolize their political unity.[2]
Alongside the ʿAbd- Shams inscription and theRi al-Zallalah inscription, the Jabal Dabub inscription implies that the use of the termrabb was widely used by Arabian monotheists.[6]