Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscriptions

nice.. love these topics

1001 nights,

    Thank you for the links. I honestly haven't heard of Sabaean (the real one including the faith) except in books and TV. Never seen one too and first time I learned about them was on Aljazeera channel covering the Iraqi Sabaeans. They believe in all the prophets up to Zakariya (Zechariah in the bible). They are monothiest no doubt and it is amazing how much of their believe is similar to Islam too.

@cok gec... yes.. they even have wuzu2/apdest{don't know how to say it in English}, and they have lots of similarities with Quraan.

As for their language, it is also similar to Arabic, and Hebrew too...

what kind of pictures did you want...

check these out...

http://www.mandaeanunion.com/

http://www.mandaeans.org/aboutthemandaeans.htm

Edited by 1001nights

asootha nahweelokh = selam aleykum {Aramic}

 

Some of the words are still used in Syrian and Iraqi Arabic-accents...

Anyway, now I know what you're talking about.. ok! I will give you a site for the real Sabians{the ones mentioned in the quraan}...

Aramic mostly used in rituals only, that's what I know about Sabian in Iraq and Syria and Iran{I'm not so sure}, because it is outdated language, there are words that doesn't exist in Aramic but it's useed in everyday life, so it is hard to use Aramaic for everday life....

here is a good link...

http://www.mandaeanworld.com/who5.html

read that and maybe you will understand why I was confused... I have much more sites about that if you want...

Edited by 1001nights

@Maju... I wouldn't ask if I did understand what you guys are talking about, that you and cok-gec... plus, if not for discussing, why are we on this forum! Anyway.. don't need your answer.. whatever....

@cok gec.. I know a bit Aramic, the languge Mandaeans Sabians use, is that what you're talking about or?

take a look at that...

 

Edited by 1001nights

Originally posted by 1001nights wait... I think I'm talking about something else... are the Sabaens you're talking about the same as Mandaeans Sabians ?

 yani keeeef...... shooo, ma bedku ejaubouna!!!

why are you ignoring me

Edited by 1001nights

Originally posted by Maju Notice that the quote I posted says that Sabaean is sometimes written in a style that alternates left>right with right>left. I noticed that the slab seems to be written in that style, mirroring the letters, when it changes the direction (every line).

Oh ok, I thought the alternation was about the direction of writing in lines as if Sabaean can be written like Arabic from right to left or like english from left to right.  Mirroring the letters will make sense here as I saw various examples in that slab. I just wonder what use of mirroring the letters can add to the language? never seen a language before that mirror its letters in the middle of words like Sabaean.

Thank you Maju for the link. I tried working on the Sabaean Slab you posted above. It is definitely a very hard task. There are even unidentified letters.

Instead of the regular "M", we have this  which is the opposite of the regualr M shape letter.  Another letter that comes sometimes and puzzled me was this one . This letter is the complete opposite of "N".

Now that is what I worked on assuming that the direction of writing will be from right to left as other semitic languages. It rendered to me so far the following: Ymshqnl/bn/brr/ynqh/nish/rb/mnsor/mshfq/yh/mwyw/wmr/mwfr/mwf rt/...

Yamshnqual (name) Bin (son of)  Barar (name) Yunaqeh (?) Nish (?) Rab (God) Mansoor (victorious) mushfeq (?) yah (?)......

So, I don't really understand each single word, but it definitely of a very Arabic structure and sound. Under this link that Azimuth provided, there were other sabaean slabs http://www.mnh.si.edu/EPIGRAPHY/e_pre-islamic/fig04_sabaean. htm

Interesting enough, some were easy to understand and were 90% current Arabic word usage and selection, and others were little harder.

Originally posted by �ok ge� I found this Sabaen script on my desk. It says "Wael has not come home" or Wael Lam Ya'ti lelbait!!! Just kidding. I was trying to use the Sabaen alphabets to write the sentance. Does anyone knows if those old Arabic scripts as Sabaen or Thamudic, are written from left to right? or from right to left as most semetic languages? I assumed the Sabaen above will be from Left to right.

According to Omniglot, the Sabaean alphabet has the following "notable features":

• The Sabaean alphabet, like Arabic and Hebrew, includes only consonants. Unlike Arabic and Hebrew, Sabaean has no system for vowel indication
• In most inscriptions it is written from right to left, in some it is written in boustrophedon style (alternating right to left and left to right).

It also says that: The Sabaean alphabet is thought to have evolved into the Ethiopic script.

There is another Southern Arabian alphabet refered in Omniglot: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/southarabian.htm. It's also a consonantic abjad and is also written from right to left.

Also, the Arabic language at that time was very close to the classical one? I wonder if the language itself was so different that time as much as the alphabets were different too? What Azimuth posted as what was written on the south Musnad rock, was very understandable in Arabic.

No idea. But here you have another Sabaean slab to translate or play with:

I found this Sabaen script on my desk. It says "Wael has not come home" or Wael Lam Ya'ti lelbait!!!

Just kidding. I was trying to use the Sabaen alphabets to write the sentance. Does anyone knows if those old Arabic scripts as Sabaen or Thamudic, are written from left to right? or from right to left as most semetic languages? I assumed the Sabaen above will be from Left to right.

Also, the Arabic language at that time was very close to the classical one? I wonder if the language itself was so different that time as much as the alphabets were different too?

What Azimuth posted as what was written on the south Musnad rock, was very understandable in Arabic.

Edited by �ok ge�