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The pre-Islamic poet Zuhayr b. Abī Salmà sang:
وَمَنْ لا يَظْلِمْ النَّاسَ يُظْلَـمِ
'and whosoever fails to oppress ends up oppressed'
A terrible world view! Our Safaitic writers had prayers to protect them from "ẓlm", as in this new Safaitic text BES20 8. Let's see.
وَمَنْ لا يَظْلِمْ النَّاسَ يُظْلَـمِ
'and whosoever fails to oppress ends up oppressed'
A terrible world view! Our Safaitic writers had prayers to protect them from "ẓlm", as in this new Safaitic text BES20 8. Let's see.
The inscription is by a man named ʾOdayʿegat, diminutive of ʾAdʿag. He invokes Allāt to be delivered from oppression:
hy lt flṭ m-ẓlm
hy = vocative, probably hayyā
lt = Allāt, goddess.
Now the syntax of the prayer is extremely interesting....
hy lt flṭ m-ẓlm
hy = vocative, probably hayyā
lt = Allāt, goddess.
Now the syntax of the prayer is extremely interesting....
It should probably be understood as a sequence of two passives, a very common stylistic construction in early Classical Arabic. Perhaps:
pʰol(l)eṭa maṯ̣-ṯ̣olema =
فُلط من ظُلم
'may he who is oppressed be delivered'
pʰol(l)eṭa maṯ̣-ṯ̣olema =
فُلط من ظُلم
'may he who is oppressed be delivered'
Tribes could be "oppressive". The author of KRS 1087 invokes the god Gadd-ʿAwīḏ for vengeance against the tribe of Gʿ, who were ẓlmn f ẓlmn /ṯ̣ālemīna pʰa-ṯ̣ālemīna/ 'terribly unjust/oppressive'.
Despite this, the name ẓlm 'oppressor' is quite common, and reflects...
Despite this, the name ẓlm 'oppressor' is quite common, and reflects...
the old custom of naming your children for your enemies. The name ẓālem is also found in the Harran Arabic inscription (568 CE), where it is written:
طلمو
and Ταλεμου (gen.) in Greek.
Ps
I would reconstruct the pronunciation of ẓ as
[θˁ] in N. Old Arabic, or maybe even [ᵗθˁ]
![the old custom of naming your children for your enemies. The name ẓālem is also found in the Harran Arabic inscription (568 CE), where it is written:طلموand Ταλεμου (gen.) in Greek.PsI would reconstruct the pronunciation of ẓ as[θˁ] in N. Old Arabic, or maybe even [ᵗθˁ]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ElmUfPrXUAAcrcd.png "the old custom of naming your children for your enemies. The name ẓālem is also found in the Harran Arabic inscription (568 CE), where it is written:طلموand Ταλεμου (gen.) in Greek.PsI would reconstruct the pronunciation of ẓ as[θˁ] in N. Old Arabic, or maybe even [ᵗθˁ]")
طلمو
and Ταλεμου (gen.) in Greek.
Ps
I would reconstruct the pronunciation of ẓ as
[θˁ] in N. Old Arabic, or maybe even [ᵗθˁ]
Bibliography:
KRS and BES20, inscriptions published on OCIANA; BES20 = inscriptions collected during the spring 2020 Badia Epigraphic Survey.
Read Zuhayr's muʿallaqah here: https://ar.wikisource.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A9_%D8%B2%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%B1_%D8%A8%D9%86_%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%8A_%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85%D9%89
KRS and BES20, inscriptions published on OCIANA; BES20 = inscriptions collected during the spring 2020 Badia Epigraphic Survey.
Read Zuhayr's muʿallaqah here: https://ar.wikisource.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A9_%D8%B2%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%B1_%D8%A8%D9%86_%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%8A_%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85%D9%89
