by B. R. GOWANI
“This unique gold coin of Offa, king of Mercia, is one of the most remarkable English coins of the Middle Ages. It is remarkable because it imitates a gold dinar of the caliph al-Mansur, ruler of the Islamic Abbasid dynasty. Although the Arabic inscription is not copied perfectly, it is close enough that it is clear that the original from which it was copied was struck in the Islamic year AH 157 (AD 773-74). It seems that the engraver had no understanding of the Arabic script: the name and title OFFA REX has been inserted upside down in relation to the Arabic inscription.” “… The three remaining lines of text in the central field of the obverse only make sense when the coin is turned upside down. Written in Arabic are the words, Muhammad rasul Allah (‘Muhammad is the Prophet of God’). The script running around the outer band is also based on Arabic, though it is difficult to decipher. Turning to the reverse one encounters in the central field of the coin another common Muslim religious formula: La ilah illa allah wahdahu sharik lahu (‘There is no god but God [Allah], alone, He is without associates’). Taken together these phrases comprise a two parts of the Muslim shahada, or profession of faith.” IMAGE/The British Museum TEXT/INFORMATION SOURCES/The British Museum, University of Victoria, and Susan Wise Bauer, The History of the Medieval World (New York & London: W. W. Norton, 2010), p. 397.
during “Dark Age“, a British ruler named Offa King
by minting some coins, committed a wrong thing
the entire Shahada was written upside down
and thus he had shamed his own royal crown
for the fatwa issuers, it’s a very good excuse
to have Offa’s neck strangled in a tight noose
it’s a different matter that in year 796 CE he died
but logic is unimportant, cause idiocy is their guide
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com