Introduction

‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwān (born 646/647-705) was the fifth caliph (685-705) of the Umayyad dynasty. During his rule, he attempted to legitimate Umayyad authority and reunify the Muslim world under the Umayyad caliphate. By using the written word on a variety of media (coins, seals, letters, mile markers, architecture), ‘Abd Al-Malik advertised his rulership and created a visuality of power while doing so. 

Before describing how ‘Abd Al-Malik used the Qur’an to create a visualization of power, it is important to understand what the written word is. The written word refers to the verses of the Qur’an, the Holy Book of Muslims, that were revealed to Prophet Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel on Mount Hira in 610. The revelations of the Quran are considered to be the word of God, and the Qur’an is a written manifestation of it. From the very first verses revealed, the importance of reading and writing has been stressed. This has multiple implications for the way we understand how ‘Abd Al-Malik was using the Qur’an. 

It is plausible that ‘Abd Al-Malik was observing a religious duty to God by spreading His sacred message, however, that is not the focus of this digital platform. I argue that the rapid use of the written word by ‘Abd Al-Malik was layered with political fervor and his extensive use of Arabic-language inscriptions was to remind his audiences of the official position of the Umayyads. This is evidenced by its sudden emergence in large numbers, its relative uniformity of content, and the announcement of authority and hierarchy (God, Muhammad, and the caliph). 

Reading the inscriptions

Qur’anic inscriptions are usually found in the form of calligraphy which has played a huge role in the history of Islam. From religious and spiritual sentiments to ornamentation and decoration, the art of calligraphy carries a multi-faceted role. For the sake of this project, I have chosen to look at the use of calligraphy as a “symbol of power, legitimacy, political control and effective administration” (Iftekhar, 2018, p.21).

There were certain formulaic inscriptions used during ‘Abd Al-Malik’s time which means that such inscriptions held resonance for their viewers. There was the bism Allāh, Umayyad affirmations of faith (shahāda) that proclaimed that God is One and Muhammad is his Messenger, and other times there was the use of verses containing anti-trinitarian content. The latter has been interpreted to be a message not only for the Christian Byzantium but for the Muslims in Jerusalem to not be swayed. 

The appearance of Qur’anic content is then contextualized to the kind of surface it inhabits, its audience (Muslims, non-Muslims, Kharijites, Zubayrids, Byzantine), and/or the location of its emergence. For example, if Qur’anic inscriptions are found on portable objects such as coins and seal stamps on letters, the idea is to proliferate a political message far and wide to Muslim and non-Muslim audiences alike. 

Establishment of Postal Services 

Postal services would use official seals to validate a chain of command and authenticate important documents (Ramadan, 2019). The proliferation of ‘Abd Al-Malik’s administrative seals would be used to distribute letters to be read at various sermons. It was either written by the caliph or one of his deputies. One such letter by ‘Abd Al-Malikis mentioned in Ibn A’tham al-Kūfi’s Kitāb al-Futūh ; 

"He (al-Hajjaj) said: 'O boy, read the letter out to them!' So he read out to them the letter from the Commander of the Believers to the people of Iraq: 'In the name of God, the merciful and compassionate. [This is] from 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan, the Commander of the Believers to those believers and Muslims from amongst the people of Iraq. Greetings of peace to you!' But no one said a thing, so al-Hajjaj said: 'O you people who are given to civil wars! The Commander of the Believers bids you greetings of peace and you don't return them? By God and His power, I'll teach you not to do that in the future! O boy, read again!' So when he reached his words 'Greetings of peace to you!', every single person present in the mosque said: 'And peace upon the Commander of the Believers, God's mercy and blessings be upon him, and upon his ('Abd al-Malik's] commander (i.e. al-Hajjaj] too!'."

(Ibn A’tham in Robinson, 2005, p.110)

This letter containing greetings of peace from 'Abd Al-Malik is read out by al-Hajjaj's deputy. When he read, there was no response from the audience and so al-Hajjaj exhorted a response from them by accusing them of being given to the civil wars (Zubayrid and Kharijite challenges).  This is one example of how letters knowingly or unknowingly served 'Abd Al-Malik's propaganda. The letters were linked to the caliphate by the stamp of the caliph that authenticated the messages that were contained in them.

Reformed currency

With the introduction of the all-epigraphic dinar, the Arabic script became identified with the religion of Islam. This was the "first imageless precious metal coinage" (Treadwell, 2009, p.17), having solely written text on the obverse and reverse. However, this was not the only reform. The widespread use of the all-epigraphic dinar was overvalued in relation to earlier gold coinage effectively driving out Byzantine and Arab-Byzantine solidi from the market. This was made possible by making lighter weight dinars which seemed greater in value and so became widely used. 

Arabization of the diwān 

By making Arabic the official language of the administration, ‘Abd Al-Malik was trying to transform the language of God into the language of the empire (Robinson, 2005). Arabic replaced Greek and Pahlavi as the language of the state and functioned as an instrument of political integration. This was enforced by social and economic forces; Arabized mile markers created boundaries of ‘Abd Al-Maliks empire, the Dome of the Rock with Arabic inscriptions was created, coins were used for commerce, and administrative objects such as seals and glass weights also carried the Written Word.