Instructions for Islamic Prayer from the Second Century AH/Eighth Century CE

Author(s): W. Matt Malczycki

Source: The Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists, Vol. 49 (2012), pp. 41-54
Published by: American Society of Papyrologists
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 Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists 49 (2012) 41-54

Instructions for Islamic Prayer from the

Second Century AH/Eighth Century CE

W. Matt Malczycki Auburn University

Abstract

P.Utah Ar. inv. 205 is an undated papyrus that contains instructions

for Islamic prayer. Comparison of the script with published papyri
indicates a second-century AH/eighth-century CE date. The text does
not fit neatly into the standard Arabic papyrological categories of
documentary and literary. Comparisons with fully-developed liter
ary texts such as in Abbott, Studies in Arabic Literary Papyri 1-3, the
Ibn Wahb papyrus (ed. David-Weill, 1939-1948), PSR inv. 23 (ed.
Khoury, 1972), and PSR inv. 50-53 (ed. Khoury, 1986) are not as use
ful as comparisons with documents such as P.Qurra and Hinds and
Sakkout, "A Letter from the Governor of Egypt," because P.Utah Ar.
inv. 205 is "pre-literary." The text itself - instructions for prayer - is
a rare surviving example of the types of non-Quranic religious texts
that were in circulation before the great theological and legal debates
of the third/ninth and fourth/tenth centuries led to the canonization
of many bodies of Islamic literature. There are rumors that similar
fragments exist in private collections and at the Egyptian National Li
brary (Dàr al-Kutub) in Cairo, but no one has published any of them.1

P.Utah Ar. inv. 205 HxW=12x26cm Provenance unknown

2d/8th century

The papyrus is brown and coarse and measures 12 χ 26 cm with

in black ink on both recto and verso. There are eleven lines on the
eight lines on the verso written in a distinct second/eighth-century
top and right margins are intact. The far left edge of the papyrus is f

1 References to documentary papyri follow E. Grob, A. Kaplony, and

steijn, "Checklist of Arabic Documents," at http://www.ori.uzh.ch/isap/is
ISAP_Checklist_2011.pdf (accessed July 18, 2012). This is an updated vers
Oates, A. Kaplony, and RM. Sijpesteijn, "Checklist of Arabic Papyri (Bet
BASP 42 (2005) 127-166.

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 42 W. Matt Malczycki

no letters are lost. The bottom margins are completely

tops of the last lines of the recto and verso are visibl
lacuna in the bottom middle of the papyrus that cut
recto and lines 6-8 on the verso. The top 3.9 cm of the
protocol leaf, but there are no traces of protocol text.2
papyrus at the top of the fragment where the protoc
of the roll. The top 1 cm of the verso has peeled away t
protocol sheet as well as the two layers of the recto a
lines of the recto run parallel to the fibers on the prot
the protocol sheet ends, after which the text runs pe
on the underlying sheet. On the verso, the text runs
the protocol sheet. It is impossible to determine the
on the contents of the rest of the University of Utah p
likelihood the papyrus comes from Egypt.3
Typically, Arabic papyri have few diacritical marks
scriptions of texts must provide these. One usually in
dotted in the original by listing them underneath the
the original text of P.Utah Ar. inv. 205 has a nearly com
diacritical marks, so following papyrological conven
result in two almost identical transcriptions. In the
words and other irregularities (e.g. one dot below the
above for qâf, irregular use of long or plene alif) appe
tion instead of dotted words. I have added hamza, ma
as the alifqasïra (dagger alif) in the word Allah. Thes
tion signs do not appear in the original.

Recto

‫ميحرلا نمحرلا كلا مسب‬

‫ريبكتلا اهمرحي و ميلستلا اهلحي اهحتف اهنم وه ءوضولا نسح ةأليملا نم‬
‫تونقلاو اتناق ش موقي نا ةوليصلا ىلا ماق اذا ملسم دك ىلع‬
‫لوا نوكي مث يللا ةبهر نم عوشخلاو عوشخلاو عوكرلاو عوكرلا‬
١٠ ‫هينذا نازواجت ريغ نم هيبكنم ءاذإحز هيدي عفار وهو موقي نيح لوقي‬
‫ربكاوه شا لوقيف‬
2 A. Grohmann describes protocol leaves in his From the World of Arabic Papyri
(Cairo 1952) 32-43. Published protocols include PERF 71 -101, CPR 3.2.131, and Chrest.
Khoury 1.1-6.
3 W.M. Malczycki, "An Early Survey of the University of Utah Arabic Papyrus and
Paper Collection," al-Bardiyyat 2 (2007) 7. Images of the collection are available online:
"The University of Utah Arabic Papyrus, Parchment, and Paper Collection," at http://
content.lib.utah.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/uuappp (accessed July 26, 2012).

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 ‫‪Instructions for Islamic Prayer 43‬‬

‫هجو تهجو كريغ هلا الو كدج ىلاعتو كئامسا كرابتو مهللا كناحبس‬
‫رطف يذلل‬
‫ىكسنو يتالص نا نيكرشملا نم انا امو املسم افينح ضرألاو تاومسلا‬
‫و يايحمو‬
‫نيملسملا نم نوكا ناو ترما كلذب هل كيرش ال نيملاعلا بر ه يتامم‬
‫حتتفي مئ‬

‫ذح هيدي عفاروهو ربكا وره شا لزاق هت ءارق نم غرف اذاف نارثلا لوقيف‬
‫هقعي ملو هسار لط]يل ‪ [ . . ..‬عكر مث هينذا ناازو[اجت ريغ نم هيبكنم ءا‬
‫هيفكو امب‬
‫‪traces‬‬

‫هبهر ‪> ٤‬ووصلا ‪،‬اشف ‪،‬موقي ‪،‬ماق ‪،‬يلع آّاهحه ‪٢‬‬

‫‪،‬كدح ‪،‬يلعن ‪،‬كيامسا ‪،‬كنحبس ‪ ٦‬لوفيق ‪،‬ادح ‪،‬موقي ‪،‬لوقي ‪٥‬‬
‫‪،‬يتامم ‪ ٨‬يايحم ‪،‬يكس ‪،‬يتالص ‪،‬ابحمنح ‪،‬نومملا ‪ ٧‬رطق‬
‫عرق ‪،‬هنارف ‪،‬اداق ‪،‬ناورغلا ‪،‬لوفيق ‪ ٩‬حتنفب ‪،‬كلادب ‪،‬نيملعلا‬

‫‪Verso‬‬

‫]او لبق هعباصا عرشي هيتبكر ىلع هيتقك عجرم لعجيو هسار عفري مئ‬
‫تملج اذاف اذه ىلع اهلك ةولصلا يلصي مث هماهبا ميقيو ةلبثلا‬
‫اهس نم غرفت ىئح هيشت الو ائيش هيف نديزت الو دهشتف نيتعكرلا يف‬
‫ناك اريبك بيطلا مالكلا نإ تئش ‪ ١٠‬لقف تغرف اذاف كند‬
‫بيطلا مالكلا لوقيف شا مسب لق هتداهش يف لوقي دوعسم نب>ا<‬
‫ةمحرو يبنلا اهيا كيلع مالسلا ه تابيطلاو تاولصلاو ش تايحتلاواذكه‬
‫‪]4‬دابع ىلعو انيلع مالسلا هتاكربو للا‬
‫]هلوسر و هدبع دمحم نا دهشاو ها الاز هلا ال ]نار دهشا نيحلاصلا شا‬
‫هنم‬ ‫ر‬ ‫]‬

‫‪4‬‬ ‫‪The‬‬ ‫‪papyrus‬‬ ‫‪would‬‬

‫‪the‬‬ ‫‪line‬‬ ‫‪note.‬‬

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44 W. Matt Malczycki

١ ‫عقري‬، ‫عرشب‬، ‫هصك‬، ‫ لبف‬٢ ‫هلبفلا‬، ‫ي‬

٣ ‫هيق‬، ‫ايش‬، ‫هصقنت‬، ‫ينح‬، ‫ عرهت‬٤ ‫ق‬
‫ ملكلا‬٥ ‫ملكلا‬، ‫لوقي‬، ‫لف‬، ‫فيق‬
"(Recto) In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most
there is goodness. The ablution is its opening, the salu
licit, and the exclamation of Gods greatness makes it
on every Muslim when he comes to prayer that he co
reverently. And the qunut is the repetitious bowing a
God. Then there is the first of what one says while
hands up to his shoulders without passing his ears: 'G
be to You, God, and blessed be Your names! Exalted is
is no god but You! I have turned my face, being a han
who cleft the Heavens and the Earth. I am not one of th
prayers and piety, my life and death are all for God,
He has no partner. By that I was ordered to become
by reciting from the Qur an. When he has finished h
is Greatest!,' and he raises his hands up to his should
his ears. Then a bow ... so let him extend his head an
where (he will put his head) and his two palms ...
(Verso) Then he raises his head and he places his pa
he points his finger toward the Qibla, and he arrang
of the prayer in this manner. When you sit after the t
the profession of faith, being very careful not to add
anything out until you finish your profession of fait
what you wish. Verily, the good words are great! Ibn
profession of faith, 'Say "In the name of God,"' and the
thus: ['Greetings to God and prayers and righteousnes
Prophet, and the mercy of God and His blessings. Pe
God's pious servants. I witness that there is no god [
that Muhammad is His servant.] From him ..

Recto

1 It is not uncommon to find early papyrus texts

marks, but it is extraordinary to find one as thoroug

5 The papyrus would not have contained all of what is tr

See the line note.

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 Instructions for Islamic Prayer 45

inv. 205.6 The only letters the scribe never dots at are final ta marbùta (or, if one
prefers, hà'al-tà'nïth) (recto, lines 2,3, and 4; verso, line 2 [2x]) anddhâl (recto,
lines 3, 5, 9, and 10; verso, lines 2 [2x], 4, and 6). In addition, the scribe dots
ghayn only once (verso, line 4). The scribe is inconsistent in his arrangement
of the dots, sometimes arranging them vertically, sometimes horizontally, and
sometimes diagonally. One can find this inconsistency in arranging dots in
many other first/seventh and second/eighth-century papyri.7 As is almost al
ways the case in documentary papyri and often in literary papyri, there are no
signs for short vowels.

2 The canonical hadith collections provide matn-s that parallel this line.8
None of them include the words min al-salati husnun, so that must be an in
dependent clause. The parallel matn-s are:

6 For general discussions about diacritical marks, see A. Grohmann, "Aperçu de pa

pyrologie arabe," Études de Papyrologie 1 (1932) 23-90; N. Abbott, The Rise of the North
Arabic Script (Chicago 1939) 38-40; E. Whelan, "Forgotten Witness: Early Evidence for
the Codification of the Quran," Journal of the American Oriental Society 118 (1988)
1-14; Y. Ràgib, "L'écriture des papyrus arabes aux premiers siècles de l'Islam," Revue du
Monde Musulman et de la Méditerannée 58 (1994) 14-29; Y. Ràgib, "Les plus anciens
papyrus arabes," Annales Islamogiques 30 (1996) 1-19; A. Kaplony, "What are Those
Few Dots For?" Arabica 55 (2008) 91-112. For specific examples of early documentary
papyri with substantial diacritical marking, see P.Khalili 1.9, Chrest.Khoury 1.96, and
Hinds and Sakkout, "A Letter from the Governor of Egypt."
7 B. Gruendler, The Development of the Arabic Scripts (Atlanta 1993) 112-115; G.
Khan, Arabic Papyri: Selected Material from the Khalili Collection (Oxford 1992) 43.
Here Khan cites A. Grohmann, Allgemeine Einfùhrung in die arabischen Papyri (Vienna
1924) 70. For specific examples of vertical and horizontal arrangement of diacriti
cal marks in the same text, see Jahn, "Vom friiharabischen Briefwesen," no. 9; Chrest.
Khoury 1.97; P.Khalili 1.9a and 14; P.Khalili 2.109; Ràgib, "Lettres arabes (I)," no. 1;
Ràgib, "Lettres nouvelles de Qurra b. Sharik," no. 2.
8 In this article, "canonical collections" refers to the six major collections as well as
Musnad Ibn Hanbal and Sunan al-Dàrimï. I realize these last two works are usually
not counted as canonical, but categorizing them as such in this article will make it less
cluttered, i.e. it will prevent having to write "... the canonical collections, Musnad Ibn
Hanbal, and Sunan al-Dârimi..." several times. References to hadith collections except
for al-Dârimï's Sunan and Ibn Hanbal's Musnad come from the Jamiyat al-maktab al
islàmï/Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation editions (Liechtenstein 2000). References to
Sunan al-Dârimï come from al-Dàrimi, Sunan al-Dârimi, 2 vols., ed. Muhammad Abd
al-Άζϊζ al-Khàlidï (Beirut 1996). References to Musnad Ibn Hanbal come from Ibn
Hanbal, Musnad al-Imâm Ahmad ibn Hanbal, 6 vols. + 2 index vols., ed. Muhammad
Abd al-Sallâm Abd al-Shâfï (Beirut 1993).

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 46 W. Matt Malczycki

(1) Miftâhu al-salâti al-wudù'u wa-tahrïmuhâ al-t

al-taslïmu.9
(2) Miftâhu al-salâti al-tuhùru wa-tahrïmuhâ al-ta
al-taslïmu.10
(3) Miftâhu al-salâti al-tuhùru wa-tahrïmuhâ al-ta
al-taslïmu wa-lâ salâta li-man lam yaqra bi-al-hamd

The first line of P.Utah Ar. inv. 205 matches non

fectly, but it comes close to matching the first matn.
al-wudù'u have similar meanings. Tuhùr refers to cle
dergo in order to be in a state of tahâra or ritual pur
ritual ablution Muslims perform before prayer in order
(tahâra).
There are also syntactic differences between the papyrus and the matn
s. The pronoun huwa and the prepositional phrase minhâ in the phrase al
wuduu huwa minhâ fathuhâ are superfluous, whereas the canonical matn-s
have no extra words. The scribe also used the verbs yuhilluhâ andyuharrimihâ
instead of the nominal phrases tahlïluhâ and tahrïmuhâ. The canonical matn-s
maintain parallel syntactical structure by using nominal phrases (al-miftâhu,
tahlïluhâ and tahrïmuhâ) while the scribe of P.Utah Ar. inv. 205 used a nominal
phrase (fathuhâ) and then two verbal phrases (yuhilluhâ and yuharrimihâ).
The papyrus text also differs from the canonical matn-s in the order in
which the nouns salâ, takbïr, and taslïm appear. In the canonical matn-s, the
order is salâ, takbïr, and taslïm whereas in the papyrus the order is salâ, taslïm,
and takbïr. The order given in the matn-s is the one that medieval Muslims
recognized as the proper order of the prayer ritual.
The scribe of P.Utah Ar. inv. 205 used the wâw to represent hamza in the
word al-wuduu. In contrast to documentary papyri in which hamza is almost
always omitted, the scribe consistently represented hamza in this text.12 He
used alif for hamza with vowel fatha, wâw for hamza with vowel dhamma, and
dotted yd'for hamza with vowel kasra.13 The specific examples are: al-wuduu

9 Ibn Hanbal (η. 8) 1:161.

10 Abi Dàwùd (η. 8) 1:11 and 1:108; al-Dàrimï (η. 8) 1:117; Ibn Hanbal (η. 8) 1:154;
Ibn Mâjah (η. 8) 45 (both hadïth have the same matn); al-Tirmidhi (n. 8) 1:3 (first
hadith).
11 al-Tirmidhi (n. 8) 1:72.
12 S. Hopkins, Studies in Early Arabic Grammar Based upon Papyri Datable to Before
300 A.H./912 A.D. (New York 1984) 19.
13 The use οiya for hamza is quite common. Among the best explanations of the his
tory of the orthography of hamza are W. Diem, "Some Glimpses at the Rise and Early

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 Instructions for Islamic Prayer 47

(recto, line 2), asmauka (recto, line 6; written with the wrong vowel as asmdika;
see commentary below), rasahu (verso, line 1), and shi'ta (verso, line 4; writ
ten as shitu). Granted, there are some cases in P.Utah Ar. inv. 205 in which the
orthography of hamza - or lack thereof - is debatable. For example, in qiraatihi
(recto, line 9) it is unclear if the alif here represents the hamza or alif tawila. In
shay'an (verso, line 3), the scribe omitted a letter that could have been either
the hamza or the yd'.14 Nevertheless, there are no instances in which the scribe
unambiguously omitted hamza.

3 The scribe use dotted y a' instead of alifmaqsura in the 'aid. He did the
same thing in taald (recto, line 6), and hattd (verso, line 3). This orthography
is more common in first/seventh and second/eighth-century papyri than it is
in later texts.15

In the words qàma and yaqùma in this line, the scribe used one dot above
the loop to designate the letter qdf He wrote qâf in that manner throughout the
text. He also consistently wrote fa' with one dot below the loop (recto, lines 3
[2x], 5, [4x], 6, 8,9 [7x], and 10; verso, lines 1 [3x], 2 [3x], 3 [4x], 4 [4x], and
5). The only exceptions zxefathuhd (recto, line 1) and al-qunùtu (recto, line
2) where the scribe used no dots at all. This way of dotting/a' and qâf is not
uncommon in papyri through the end of the second/eighth century.16 This

Development of the Arabic Orthography," Orientalia 45 (1976) 257-260; and W. Diem,

"Untersuchungen zur friihen Geschichte der arabischen Orthographie II," Orientalia
49 (1980) 97-105. In the former article, Diem is talking about Arabic orthography in
inscriptions, but his observations are also pertinent for the study of papyri. See also
Hopkins (n. 12) 19-32. Some examples from the papyrological record are Ràgib, "Lettres
arabes (II)," no. 9 (line 8, the name Mu'mina), and Diem, "Einige friihe amtliche Urkun
den," no. 10 (the word abaihim in line 2).
14 Wright cites examples of this orthography. W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic
Language, 2 vols., 3rd ed., revised by W. Robertson Smith and M.J. de Goeje (Cambridge
1999 [1896]) 1:18.
15 See especially Hinds and Sakkout, "A Letter from the Governor of Egypt." There
word 'alâ is spelled with a dotted yâ' in lines 5,14,64. Interestingly, in line 14 one finds
the word ya'tadi ("he attacks") with an undotted y a followed immediately by alâ with
dotted alif maqsura. There are also clearly undotted ya-s in 'aid in lines 18 and 67.
One can find a clearer image of the papyrus in Ràgib (η. 6, "Lecriture") 19. J. Blau also
comments on this papyrus in A Handbook of Early Middle Arabic (Jerusalem 2002)
16,57-60. Other papyri with pointed ya for alif maqsura are CPR 16.9 (line 2); Ràgib,
"Lettres arabes (I)," no. 1 (line 11); CPR 26.16 (line 2), 36 (lines 1,5, and 7). For more
information on alif maqsura in the papyrological record, see Hopkins (n. 12) 6-8, Μ
Ι 8, 57-59,122,124.
16 Grohmann mentions this feature of early papyri. See Grohmann (n. 2) 85. For an
example of fa with one dot below the loop, see Ràgib, "Lettres arabes (I)," no. 2. For

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48 W. Matt Malczycki

archaic system of dotting fa and qâf continued in th

disappeared in Egypt and the East.17
Words based on the root qâf-nûn-ta appear frequ
For example, in Quran 2:238 one finds the phrase h
al-salâti al-wustâ wa-qûmu li-'l-lâhi qânitïna ("keep t
the midday prayer - and come to God reverently"). O
"he who is standing reverently." Wensinck cites two ha
participle qânit has that meaning.19 Those examples
examples and the definitions provided by Ibn Manzfir
in recto line 3.
The phrase transcribed as wa-al-qunutu above is th
sentence. The word qanut has many meanings. J. Da
traditions sur papyrus du Hie siècle de l'Hégire," in M
3 (Damascus 1957) 375-381, leaves it untranslated, an
leave it untranslated here too.20

examples of qâf with one dot above the loop, see P.Qurra 4;
Hinds and Sakkout, "A Letter from the Governor of Egypt"
no. 12; CPR 26.16.
17 Kaplony explains the difference between Maghribi and
ony (n. 6) 94.
18 See Quran 2:116, 2:238, 3:17, 3:43, 4:34, 16:120, 27:14,
66:5, 66:12.
19 Abû Dawûd (η. 8) 2:240; Muslim (η. 8) 2:827. Wensinck
of the canonical collections.
20 According to Ibn Manzûr, qunut can mean "the submis
of subservience (to God) and the standing in sinless devotio
(al-khushuu wa-al-iqràru bi-al-'ubuùdiyya wa-al-qiyâmu bi-
masiyyatun). See Ibn Manzûr, Lisàn al-'Arab, 18 vols. (Be
Poole says qunùt can mean, "being obedient," "standing," an
appointed act of prayer." See St. Lane-Poole, An Arabic-Engl
(Beirut 1968 [1865-1893]) 7:2566-2567. Wensinck says tha
term of the Islamic religion, with various meanings, regard
cation of which there is no unanimity among lexicographer
by the third/ninth century, qunùt had acquired many mea
which was "short prayers" (du a') or "recitations within the
in regard to the subh Ifajr and witr prayers. The word qun
as in the following matn: afdalu al-salâti tùlu al-qunùti (the
a long time). See Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd éd., s.v. kunùt.
that contain this phrase is: Muslim (n. 8) 1:299. Ibn Màjah r
matn with the same meaning. It reads, Su'ilu al-nabi "ayyu
al-qunùti." Ibn Màjah (η. 8) 208. In the EI 2 article, Wensinc
"The best salat (sic) is a long qunùt"

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 Instructions for Islamic Prayer 49

4 The phrase raghbatan wa-rahbatan appears many times in the hadïth

collections. It usually occurs as an adverbial or adjectival phrase describing
prayer e.g. sallaytu raghbatan wa-rahbatan ilayka.2' The scribe wrote min rah
bati Allahi but, according to Ibn Manzur, the prepositions li- or ilâ would have
been more proper, e.g. rahbatan ilâ Allahi and rahbatan li-llâhi.22
5 Note that the scribe wrote Allâhu huwa akbaru instead of the more
common Allâhu akbaru." The structure of the phrase in the papyrus is similar
to Quran 22:62 and 31:30, both of which have the phrases Allâhu huwa al
haqqu ("God, He is the Truth/the Reality") and Allâhu huwa al-'aliyu al-akbaru
("God, He is the Most Exalted, the Greatest").

6 The canonical hadïth collections contain a nearly perfect parallel for

the phrase subhànaka Allahumma wa-tabâraka asmauka wa-ta'âlâ jidduka
wa-là ilâha ghayruka. Abù Dawùd, Ibn Mâjah, al-Nasai, and al-Tirmidhî re
late matn-s that are nearly identical to this line.24 The only difference between
the canonical hadïth and the papyrus text is the use of the singular ismuka in
the former rather than the plural asmauka (written incorrectly as asmâïka)
in the latter.

In the original, taalâ is spelled without the plene alif, which accords with
standard in Qur anic orthography.25 The dotted y a is not standard Qur anic
orthography, but as mentioned above, it is common in papyrus texts.
The scribe used ya to represent the hamza in asmauka (written as
asmaïka). There are no recorded instances of scribe using dotted ya to repre
sent a hamza with the vowel dhamma; therefore, this is a misspelling.
According to Ibn Manzûr, among the many meanings of hanif are "Mus
lim," "monotheist," or "follower of the religion of Abraham in the pre-Islamic

21 Abû Dawùd (η. 8) 2:842; al-Bukhàrï (η. 8) 1:54,3:1284,3:1285,3:1514; al-Dàrimï

(η. 8) 2:231; Ibn Hanbal (n. 8) 3:180,3:191,4:356,4:359,4:368,4:370,5:283-284,5:287;
Ibn Mâjah (n. 8) 557,569-70; Muslim (η. 8) 2:1143-1144 (two hadïth); al-Tirmidhï (η.
8) 2:560, 2:872, 2:916. One also finds the phrase qâla fa'ayyuhum taudu li-raghbatika
wa-rahbatika. See al-Tirmidhï (η. 8) 2:894-895. One finds rahban wa-raghban in Qur an
21:90. See also Ibn Manzùr (η. 20) 6:240-241.
22 Ibn Manzur (η. 20) 6:240-241.
23 For an example of the takbir, see Qur'ân 29:45.
24 Abu Dawud (η. 8) 1:133 (same 1:146-147); al-Dàrimï (η. 8) 1:19; Ibn Màjah (η.
8) 118-119; al-Tirmidhï (η. 8) 1:73-74 (three isnâd-s). Al-Dàrami's hadïth includes the
ta'awwudh (= audhù bi-Allâhial-sami'ial-'alïmi min al-Shaytânial-rajïmimin hamzihi
wa-nafthihi wa-nafkhihi).
25 Abû 'Uthmân b. Sa'ïd al-Dànï, Kitâb al-Muqnifï rasm masàhif al-amsâr maa kitàb
al-nuqat, ed. O. Pretzl (Istanbul 1932) 19.

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 50 W. Matt Malczycki

era." Most of his definitions, however, roughly equate

is best left untranslated.

6-8 There are nearly perfect parallels to these line

tions and in the Quran (6:14 and 6:161 -3).27 The varia
using wa-an akûna min al-Muslimîn as in the papyru
use wa-ana awwalu al-Muslimin. The syntax that the
similar to another Quranic passage (Qur'an 6:14), the
reads qui innï umirtu an akûna awwala man aslam
al-mushrikïna.
There is also an orthographic variation. In P.Utah A
included the dots to mark the final yds in the words n
and salâtï. Classical Qur anic orthography does not dot
they represent the first-person possessive pronoun -i.2

8 The scribe omitted one of the dots in the ya of

thereby giving the letter the appearance of ba rather
thing on the verso in the words yashrau (line 1) and

9 The second word of this line contains an intere

spelling of al-Quran. The scribe spelled the word ali
nûn. The plene spelling of al-Quran is alif-lâm-qâf-r
Classical spelling is alif-lâm-qâf-ra-alifmamdûda-nûn.
orthographic device that represents the combination
The alifmamduda came into existence no earlier than t
Without full vocalic marking (i.e., without the tilde
alifmamduda looks like a regular alif. Hopkins cites a
scribes used two alif-s to represent alifmamduda, but
to omit the hamza.29 Before the appearance of alif m
used a regular alif to write the word al-Quran, so it i
of this papyrus added a wàw. As mentioned in the com
are no instances in which the scribe unambiguously om
the wàw in al-Quran must represent the hamza in th
Why the scribe chose wàw instead of writing two ali
altogether is difficult to explain. It seems that the scrib

26 Ibn Manzûr (η. 20) 4:249-250.

27 Abï Dàwûd (η. 8) 1:130 and 2:482; al-Dàrimî (η. 8) 1:19
8) 1:118,1:128, 3:458; Ibn Màjah (η. 8) 458-459; Muslim (η
8) 1:145-146 (two hadîth); al-Tirmidhï (η. 8) 2:879-881 (th
6:79 and 6:161-163.
28 al-Dànî (η. 25) 68-69.
29 Hopkins (η. 12) 20, 22-24.

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 Instructions for Islamic Prayer 51

on the vowel dhamma (u) in the second syllable of al-Quran. The dhamma is
followed by sukiin which is followed by fatha tawila. The scribe was intent on
representing hamza somehow, but he must not have been sure if he should
use alif or wâw. He chose wâw, resulting in a unique hypercorrect spelling of
al-Quran.

9-10 The parallel text in line 5 (hidhâ'a mankibayhi ) provides the justi
fication for reading hidhaa here also.

10 The graphemes and dots are clear, so editing the line is not especially
challenging, but making sense of the words and translating the line proves
very difficult. The words that are there simply do not make sense together. The
translation above is highly tentative.

11 Only the tops of some of the letters of this line are visible.

Verso

1 There is a superfluous alif at the end of the line.

2 At the end of the line in the word, jalasta, the scribe shifted from third
to second person, which indicates that this text served a functional instruc
tional purpose.

3 The scribe used the energetic form in tazidanna. The use of the ener
getic in the papyrological record is most common in first/seventh and second/
eighth century texts, although there are a few instances in third/ninth century
papyri.30

4 The phrase al-kaldmu al-tayyibu appears in Quran 35:10. Medi

eval Qur anic exegetes say that Ibn Mas ud and other Companions said that
al-kalâmu al-tayyibu were short invocations such as subhâna Allâhi wa-bi
hamdihi, al-hamdu li-llahi, là ilàha illâ Allàhu, and Allâhu akbaru.31

4-5 The very last word in line 4 is nearly illegible. It appears to be three
to five individual letters written on top of each other. Syntactically, kàna fits
well here and, in addition, there is an example from the papyrological record
to justify editing the word as kàna. Hopkins gives examples of the omission
of the alif al-wasl in ibn when kàna precedes it. At the beginning of line 5 the
scribe omitted the alif of ibn. The papyrus published by David-Weill (note to

30 Hopkins (η. 12) 70-71.

31 al-Jabari, Jâmi' al-bayan an tawil ày al-Quran, 26 vols., ed. 'Abd Allah b. Abd al
Muhsin al-Turki (Cairo 2001) 19:336-340. Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-'aztm, 8 vols.,
ed. Sàmï b. Muhammad al-Salâma (al-Rïyàd 1999) 6:536-537.

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52 W. Matt Malczycki

recto, line 3) line 12 has the phrase kâna <l>bn Zubayr

the same syntax as the proposed reading given above.3
kâna <I>bn Masudyaquluflshahâdatihi... is plausi

6-7 Note that the transcription includes more wo

fitted on line 6. These lines contain an abbreviated ve
of Ibn Mas ud, a prayer formula still in use. Rather t
might not have appeared on the papyrus, I have given
it appears in the canonical hadith collections.33

7 There are not two lines here but one. A horizont

missing from the middle of the line giving it the app
missing the bottoms of the letters and the other mis
close look at the image shows that what remains are
the vertical strokes in the alif-s and lâm-s of Allàhi a
The phrase <I>bn Masud yaqûlufl shahâdatihi... in
so it is possible to ascertain the subject of the followi
though they are. Although only three words are legi
ashhadu...), combined with evidence from the hadith
enough justification for the edition of the lines given h

8 Only one word is visible.

32 Blau, (η. 15) 34-35; Hopkins (η. 12) 49-50.

33 Abî Dàwûd (η. 8) 1:130 and 2:482; al-Dàrimi (η. 8) 1:19
8) 1:118,1:128,3:458; Ibn Mâjah (η. 8) 458-9; Muslim (η. 8)
1:145-146 (two hadith); al-Tirmidhi (η. 8) 2:879-881 (three
34 The relevant matn reads:... 'Abd Allah (ibn Masud) qâ
an naqula idhâ jalasnâ fî al-rak'atayni al-tahiyyâtu li-A
tayyibâtu al-salâmu 'alayka ayyuhâ al-nabiyyu wa-rahm
al-salâmu 'alaynâ wa-'alâ 'ibâdi Allâhi al-sâlihina ashhadu
ashhadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa-rasûluhu. See Ibn
Nasâ'ï (n. 8) 1:188-190; al-Tirmidhi (n. 8) 85-87.

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 Instructions for Islamic Prayer 53

P. Utah Ar. inv. 205 recto

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54 W. Matt Malczycki

P. Utah Ar. inv. 205 verso

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