A Palaeo-Arabic inscription from the Ḥismā Desert (Tabūk region)

Abstract

The current study discusses a Palaeo-Arabic inscription found in the Ḥismā desert and engraved by a man named ʿAbd Šams, son of al-Muġīrah, who likely belonged to the Qurayš tribe. This inscription is particularly important as it is an addition to the Palaeo-Arabic corpus, as well as the first one in which an attested Palaeo-Arabic opening invocation with the deity's name Allāhumma is mentioned. It is also the second Palaeo-Arabic inscription that refers to the Lord by the Arabic term Rabb and the first inscription in which the personal name ʿAbd Šams is written in Arabic script. The inscription was documented by its finder, Muhammed Abdul Nayeem, and it was recently redocumented by the Saudi citizen Saleh al-Hwaiti. This essay discusses the text in terms of meaning, authorship and religious implications.