Jabal al-ʿHayn ( ar, جبل العهين, sometimes; Jabal Uhayn, Uhain or Uhain mount, literally the 'mount of censure') is a prominent outcrop of red sandstone in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, known for its pre-historic petroglyphs, tribal markings (''wusūm'') and inscriptions in early Semitic languages as well as

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

. The mountain is located in Medina Province, about 17.5 km north-east of the town of al-Hanākīyā (الحناكية) at 24°59'21"N 40°38'27"E.

Petroglyphs

Ancient petroglyphs carved on the rock faces of Jabal al-ʿHayn depict horned bison, standing figures and an exceptional wild cat with a curling tail. Camels are shown in some petroglyphs that seem to be less ancient.

Inscriptions

Among the many inscriptions at Jabal al-ʿHayn are a number in Arabic which date to the earliest years of the

Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or ...

. One inscription quotes

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

, Surah 18

Al-Kahf Al-Kahf ( ar, الكهف, ; The Cave) is the 18th chapter (sūrah) of the Quran with 110 verses ( āyāt). Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation (''asbāb al-nuzūl''), it is an earlier "Meccan surah", which mean ...

verse 21. The inscription was studied by

Fred Donner Fred McGraw Donner (born 1945) is a scholar of Islam and Peter B. Ritzma Professor of Near Eastern History at the University of Chicago.

and published in 1984. Following a frequently found formula, the inscription implores God to grant forgiveness and then bears witness to the hour of final judgement. In a second record of singular historical importance, an individual named Rāfiʿ bin 'Alī declares "I believe that there is no God except Him in whom the children of Israel believed, (believing as) a Muslim

Hanif In Islam, a ( ar, حنيف, ḥanīf; plural: , ), meaning "renunciate", is someone who maintains the pure monotheism of the patriarch Abraham. More specifically, in Islamic thought, renunciates were the people who, during the pre-Islamic perio ...

; nor am I among the polytheists." This gives a direct quote of

, Surah 10

Yunus Yunus ibn Matta ( ar, يُونُس ٱبْن مَتّىٰ, Yūnus ibn Mattā) is a prophet and messenger of God (Allah). Yunus is traditionally viewed as highly important in Islam as a prophet who was faithful to God and delivered his messages. Y ...

verse 90.

Also published by Donner is an inscription on a boulder invoking the name of God and giving an exceptional religious maxim. This and the other inscriptions from the site are listed in ''Thesaurus d'épigraphie islamique'', an online research resource supported by the Max van Berchem Foundation, founded in 1973 in honour of the celebrated epigraphist

Max van Berchem Edmond Maximilien Berthout van Berchem (16 March 1863, Geneva – 7 March 1921, Vaumarcus) commonly known as Max van Berchem, was a Swiss Philology, philologist, epigraphist and historian. Best known as the founder of Arabic epigraphy in the W ...

(1863-1921).

References

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External links

* Thesaurus d'épigraphie islamiqu

Archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia Quranic words and phrases Islamic terminology