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Early Coins, 8th - 14th Century
Left: Shahadah, The declaration of faith: 'There is no diety worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah'.
Bottom Right: Shahadah in angular Kufi script, minted in 723 CE (105 AH) during the reign of Caliph Hisham Ibn 'Abd al-Malik.
Shah Jahan, Mughal, India
1628-1666 C.E., Mughal Dynasty
History of Islamic Dinar
and Dirham
The
Dirham and Dinar were used as the official Islamic currency beginning
with the second Caliphate, 634-644 CE. The Islamic Dinar is the weight
of gold equivalent to 4.3 grams, whereas the Islamic Dirham is the
weight of silver equivalent to 3.0 grams.
The
first Muslim coins were struck during the Caliphate of Uthman (ra),
644-656 CE. The first original minting of Islamic dirham was done in
695 CE (75 AH) during the reign of Khalifah 'Abd al-Malik. It followed
the standard set by Umar Ibn al-Khattab
(ra). These coins included the phrase: "Allah is Unique, Allah is
Eternal". Beginning with these coins the use of Human figures and
animals was discontinued. Both the dinar and dirham coins were round in
shape. Typically, one side of coin was stamped with the words "La ilaha
ill'Allah" and "Alhamdu-lillah" and the obverse side with the name of
caliph or ruler and the date of minting.
Paper
currencies were introduced in Muslim lands in the colonial era and
continued into post-colonial era. Paper-money is essentially a promise
of payment by the state or ruler, whereas gold and silver coins also
act as a commodity having their own value by weight.
Allah:
Allah is the proper name in Arabic for The One and Only God, The
Creator and Sustainer of the universe. It is used by the Arab
Christians and Jews for the God ('Eloh-im' in Hebrew, 'Allaha' in
Aramaic the mother tongue of Jesus, pbuh). The word
Allah
does not have a plural or gender. Allah does not have any associates or
partners, and He does not beget nor was He begotten. SWT is an
abbreviation of Arabic words that mean 'Glory Be To Him.'
pbuh:
Peace Be Upon Him. This expression is used for all Prophets of Allah.
ra: Radiallahu Anhu (May Allah be pleased with him).
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