Moro Armor Arabic Inscription

[Lew]

Ward

I picked up a very nice tulwar a few months back which had this inscription on the spine. I asked about 10 of my Arabic friends to help me out with the translations but none of them could read. They all told me it was an older script form that they were not familar with. So if Arabic is Arabic why did they have trouble reading it? Btw Ham was able to translate it and it reads "THERE IS NO HERO LIKE 'ALI AND SWORD LIKE DHUL'FAKAR".

Lew

[Lew]

Here is an example of different Arabic script forms. So what I am trying to say that if the script on the armor was Thuluth than it could have been of Ottoman origin but it does not seem to be of that type.

7. Samples of Cursive Styles of Arabic calligraphy. From top to bottom:
Naskh, Thuluth, Muhaqqaq, Nastaliq, and riq'a.

[ward]

reading a individual's handwriting is difficult at times and I believe ham has had a lot of practice at that. If you would look at my english cursive script and my wifes it is like night and day. still the same language but it looks totally different. Caligraphy is another fun one sometimes there is a lot of artistic licence used the look being more important than the message.

[Lew]

Ward

I am not an expert in Arabic and I will have to leave this up to more knowledgeable people

Lew

[ward]

Here is a example of moroccan arabic. The scipt is more kufic and messy but it does show how difficult handwriting can be do decipher. This is a student board it was used instead of paper in class. It gets whiped done and when it got really messy was white washed again

[Zifir]

This is a prayer in Arabic, reciting and praising different names of Allah. I could not read all, but for example lines 5th and 6th is read:

La Havle ve la Kuvvete illa billahil aliyyu'l-Azim (There is no power and strength except with Allah, The Grand, The Great)

Although in some places the script is little bit erased or blurred because of the picture, an Arabic speaking member can read it all easily I think. As far as I see there is not anything which can clearly link it to Ottomans.

[ward]

here are 2 types of arabic scripts different regions and within a 100 years or so. They are both chapters from the Koran but even though the scrpts are very different if you look caefully you will see a lot of the same words. Whenever you see a lot of tashkel or voweling( the dashes over top or underneath or little u's or 9's or g's) you can ususally assume that it is a koranic script. In standad arabic the author assumes you know the short voweling of the word and drives any student of arabic crazy.These 2 are the more dramatic changes to the scipting

[ward]

Basically if you study the style of the script and roughly can tell if it is fully voweled. A. you can tell what region the piece is from and B, if it is just a koranic quotation

[Dom]

and if we back to the subject ......
"the mention ot the 13 sentences on this moro armor ??"

the translation is the spirit, none word per word, but sentence per sentence
sometime the "spirit" is on two (2) sentences, will be mentionned by // and (??)

1 )In the name of God
2) you are my God , no other God
3) only you, I’m in dependance on you
4) you are the God of the Great Throne (reference to Kuran Surate)
5) there is force and power only in God
6) the High and the Great //
7) God willing // (7) God is protecting you
8) I confess that only one God
9) you have to know than the God //
10) he is // (10) omnipotent in everything and the God
11) is surrounded himself with //
12) // (11) knowledge of everything ??????????????
13) ????????????

religious dedicace, but not Kuranic, wrote in Arabic

may I add some comments
if some one here for time being has a good knowledge in
- Islam religion
- Islamic writting
IT'S WARD ..... at least after my charming translator, because
all what I read from him make a sense, and conform to my background

me .... a shame ... I am just like a parrot ... no more,
if I speak not too bad arabic, I dunno to write or to read

à +

Dom