Page 475 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

434 NAKAli EL HAJAR. [ch.

historical facts connected with this subject.”

At the period of the promulgation of the

Korhn, two alphabets-were used in Arabia,

the Kufic, in which that work was written,

expressive of the Korish dialect, and the Hi-

mayaritic, adopted by the people of Yemen
.
*
The latter is now lost to us, and I know not

on what grounds certain philologists have

conjectured that it bore “ a strong affinity to

the Ethiopicbut “ when the Koran ap­

peared in the Kufic character the inhabitants

of Yemen were unable to read itf.” It has
frequently been a subject of regret that we

were in possession of no inscriptions from

the country by which these points might be

determined. Niehbur’s attention was par­

ticularly directed to it, although he was un­

able during his stay to obtain any : one was

shown him at Mokha, which was copied some

distance from the coast, but sickness had so

reduced him, that he observes he was then

more occupied with thoughts respecting his

latter end, than any desire to copy unknown

inscriptions; but conjectures, from recollec­

tion only, it might have been the Perse-

* Conder’s invaluable Modem Traveller. “ Arabia.’ Page 41.

f Ibid., p. 42.