The Abū Bakr Inscription, an Early Arabic-Islamic Inscription: An Epigraphical and Historical Study.

Inscriptions are an important documentary source for the Arabian Peninsula spanning from the pre-Islamic period to early Islamic times. This article re-examines an undated early Arabic inscription believed to date to the time of the Prophet Muḥammad. It was discovered in the Ḥismā desert in north-west Saudi Arabia. It was originally published by Moshalleh al-Moraekhi and Ahmad el-Sayed el-Sawy in 2018 under the title “(The Only) Early Islamic Inscription from the Time of Prophet Muḥammad.” The inscription is the earliest known to refer to a military campaign of the people of Madina during the time of the Prophet. This inscription mentions Abū Bakr, who is likely Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, the first rightly guided caliph (r. 11–13 AH/ 632–634 CE). However, al-Moraekhi and el-Sawy argue that it was written by ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, the second rightly guided caliph (r. 13–23 AH/ 634–644 CE). This paper also seeks to identify the person mentioned in the inscription and to determine whether he is Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq or not. It further aims to explain the term (ghuzāt ahl al-Madīna) mentioned in the inscription and to discuss it based on the Qur’an as the primary source for clarifying this term, in addition to examining it historically, highlighting its historical significance, and exploring the hypotheses regarding the military campaign to which the inscription refers.