0021-1818_islam_98-1-2-i-259

66 Jere L. Bacharach, Sherif Anwar
In all five versions which began with the full basmala, it was followed by la ilaha
illa llahu wahdahu, “There is no god except God, alone”. Four of them continue la
sharika lahu, “He has no partner”. In two segments the phrase la sharika lahu is
followed immediately by the words muhammadun rasulu llah, “Muhammad is the
Prophet of God”, while in the other three segments that began with the basmala
the words muhammadun rasulu llah are separated from la sharika lahu by additional
pious phrases and/or Qur’anic verses. In this case we are defining the
Syrian “affirmation of faith” as bismi llahi l-rahmani l-rahim la ilaha illa llahu
wahdahu la sharika lahu muhammadun rasulu llah, “In the name of God the Magnificent,
he Merciful, There is no deity except God, alone, He has no partner, Muhammad
is the Prophet of God.” 14
Therefore the Syrian version differs from the Egyptian “affirmation of faith”
by the physical connection of the basmala with the rest of the words while on the
Aswan tombstone they are separated by many lines of text. Second, this version
ends in the more familiar muhammadun rasulu llah rather than the more complex
formula on the Egyptian tombstone. The inclusion of the phrase la sharika lahu
reaffirms how Muslims differ from the majority of the Syrian population who were
Christians. Unfortunately all we can conclude is that the Egyptian and Syrian
forms of the “affirmation of faith” are different but not why, particularly since
both media – a monument and a tombstone – had enough space to have exactly
the same wording.
As we know from numismatic evidence, there was a different version of the
“affirmation of faith” circulating in Eastern Muslim lands. 15 This version was introduced
into Syria in 72/692 but originated in Iraq. An excellent example is found
on the new style gold solidi minted by the Caliph ^Abd al-Malik in Damascus.
The coin imitates earlier Byzantine gold solidi which had images of the Byzantine
ruler Heraclius and his two sons Heraclius Constantinus and Heraclonas on the
obverse and on the reverse a cross on a four-stepped 16 and the mint name for
14 The inscription in the inner arcade begins with the Syrian “affirmation of faith” through
la sharika lahu. The specific phrase Muhammadun rasulu llah does not appear in the extended
text although references to his prophethood and mission do. Most of the interior text relates to
Muslim beliefs about Jesus as a Prophet.
15 There are many scholarly discussions of the Arab-Sasanian and Arab-Byzantine coinage and
the appearance of pious phrases. An excellent place to begin with is the long introduction
by Album and Goodwin in Stephen Album and Tony Goodwin, Sylloge of Islamic Coins in the
Ashmolean Museum: Vol. I: The Pre-Reform Coinage of the Early Period, Oxford: Ashmolean
Museum, 2002.
16 For a fascinating discussion of the changes on this coinage see Stefan Heidemann, “The
Standing Caliph Type – the Object on the Reverse,” Coinage and History in the Seventh Century
Near East, Andrew Oddy, ed. (London: Archetype Publications, 2010): 23–34.