Page 144 - Arabian Studies (I)

128 A rabian Studies l

attempt to indicate the present position of the blocks as compared
with the original which Niebuhr copied, presumably in situ. This can
perhaps be best done in tabular form. But firstly, it should be noted
that certain of the stones are now badly worn, or perhaps they were
even damaged at the time of the construction of the present mosque.
Without the help of Niebuhr’s copy, the deciphering of much of the
inscription would be impossible today. For the table below, the
stones are numbered firstly 1 or 2, each indicating the line, and
secondly, following the oblique stroke, by the number of the stone.
Thus Plate I shows 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 2/1,2/2, 2/3, 2/4; Plate II 1/5,
1/6, 1/7, 1/8, 1/9, 2/5, 2/6, 2/7, 2/8; Plate III 1/6, 1/7, 1/8, 1/9,
1/10, 1/11, 1/12, 2/6, 2/7, 2/8, 2/9, 2/10, 2/11,2/12.

Present position of stones Niebuhr's copy

1/1 10 letters? Not found.
1/2 3 letters. AB, \ .. ram’ of al-kiram.
1/3 8 letters. AB, ‘wa-walidayhima wa—'
1/4 ? letters. BC, ending ‘/7DhH-Hijjah\
stone inverted!
1/5 ?
1/6 ? Stone inverted!
1/7 ?
1/8 ? Stone broken.
1/9 ? Stone cracked.
1/10 10 letters. BC, ‘wa-katabahu cUmar i[bnj\
1/11 9
1/12 8—9 letters? Not found.
2/1 10 letters? Stone slightly shorter
than remainder
2/2 18 letters. CD, ‘cAbdallah, ghafara'llah
la-huma\
2/3 10-11 letters? Bottom right of stone
damaged.
2/4 ?
2/5 ?
2/6 ?
2/7 10 letters? DE, ‘wa-li-walidayhimef.
2/8 ?
2/9 ?
2/10 2 lines, 17 and 12 letters. E, iCala
sayyidina Muhammad al-nabT/ wa-cala
ahlihi wa-sallama\
=!' 2/12 9 letters? DE, *___limina, Allahumma'l
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