Byzantium & Friends 132. Who was Allah before Islam?, with Ahmad Al-Jallad
22 snips
Mar 20, 2025 
Ahmad Al-Jallad, a Professor of historical linguistics and epigraphy at Ohio State University, delves into pre-Islamic Arabia's inscriptions and languages. He reveals how these artifacts challenge the notion of an illiterate society. The conversation touches on the intriguing motivations behind nomadic inscriptions, including rituals and candid graffiti. Ahmad discusses the shift from polytheism to a focus on Allah and how inscriptions illuminate this transition. He also speculates on what these ancient texts may reveal about the religious landscape during and after Muhammad's time.
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Hidden Literate Landscape
- Pre-Islamic Arabia had a diverse, literate inscriptional culture hidden in the landscape, not an illiterate 'biodome.'
- Rock graffiti preserve many extinct Semitic languages and a complex, non-homogeneous Arabian past.
Harsh Desert Fieldwork
- Ahmad describes surveying the basalt Harrah desert in extreme heat with no shade and pitching tents.
- He recalls a Greek graffito by a musician and barber complaining about the brutal landscape.
Writing Adopted For Ritual
- Nomadic groups adapted writing into ritual practices rather than bureaucratic record keeping.
- Funerary cairns and prayers were augmented with inscribed memorials and petitions.
