No. 4.
TYPICAL FORM OF THE MAGHRIB MANUSCRIPT CHARACTER.
قالت عائشة رضى الَّله عنها فجئْت رسول الَّله صلَّى الَّله عليه
Qālat ʿĀyishatu raẓiya ʾllāhu ʿan-hā fa-jiʾtu rasūla ʾllāhi ṣalla ʾllāhu ʿalai-hi.
“ʿĀyishah, may God be gracious to her, related: I went to the Apostle of God, may God’s blessing be upon him,” &c.
On comparing the initial letter of either line, it will be found that the one is قـ (in qālat), the other فـ (in fa-jiʾtu); but in the Maghrebian original, the former is marked by a dot above, the latter by a dot beneath the character, instead of the superscribed double and single point respectively in the transcript. This is the distinguishing feature between the two styles previously alluded to, and it seems to prove that the use of the diacritical points for these two letters is of later origin, and dates from a time when the two great divisions of the nation had definitely separated and followed each their own destinies. Another point to which we draw attention, is the different form of the Tashdīd, as seen in the word Allāh. The Mag͟hrib form is
instead of
; and while in the Oriental writing the vowel signs are placed over it, the Western style places the sign for the Tashdīd and for the vowel frequently side by side, as it is done here.
