To the origins of Islam

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

It seems that everyone knows where Islam came from: hundreds of books, articles, daily and episodic TV and radio broadcasts … You can read about this in any ordinary and religious encyclopedia and even in the "Atheist's Handbook". But the researcher of the history of the Great Steppe Murad Aji recently brought from Iran sensational confirmation of his hypothesis of the origin of Islam. His word.

- Murad Eskenderovich, it is generally accepted that Islam as a religion originated in Arabia. You have a different point of view. Why?

- That's right, nowadays it is customary to think that way - starting from Arabia. But three or four hundred years ago, people expressed themselves differently: then there were different ideas about Islam. Actually, I am talking about that time in my book "Kipchaks, Oguzes".

Early Islam was significantly different from modern Islam. For example, in medieval Europe it was called "Egyptian heresy", because the new faith was very similar in appearance to Eastern Christianity - the same Monotheism. Their ceremonies and prayers were almost the same. Byzantium, the then legislator of order in Europe, did not recognize Islam for a long time, considering it a Christian sect.

On the other hand, Western Christians (apparently, to annoy the Byzantines!), On the contrary, called themselves allies of Islam, and the popes admitted that they believed in the same God as Muslims, they knew the Koran. For example, Pope Sylvester II, before his election, lived among Muslims for several years, studying mathematics, chemistry and technical sciences there. And believe me, there are many such examples. After all, the equilateral cross was the symbol of early Islam. At least as early as 1024, the feast of the Holy Cross was celebrated in the Caliphate, the festivities were opened by the Caliph himself. And icons were used by Muslims … In a word, many things were really different from what they are today.

- Then why so little is known about the early history of Islam?

- The answer must be sought in world politics. She, politics, by the beginning of the 19th century forced to rewrite the history of Islam, to make it the way it is known today. The truth faded into the background. The emphasis was put on the Arabic origin. As if there were no other "roots".

This was done in order to fill the resulting vacuum: the Ottoman Empire then suffered defeats, the role of the Turkic principle in the culture of the East was weakening along with the Turks, it had to be forgotten. The rewriting of history is common, it always follows the change of power.

“But the first Quran is written in Arabic. With this you will not argue?

- And how is this known? Yes, in the modern text of the Qur'an there are, for example, the following lines: "We made it the Qur'an in Arabic so that you can understand." (Sura 43-3). I especially emphasize the word "Arabic" and say that at the time of the Prophet there was no Arabic language. And no one knew the word "Arab". The Arabs appeared later, decades later, when the state of the Caliphate arose. Its inhabitants, who converted to Islam, were called Arabs. They were the Turks, Egyptians, Syrians, Libyans and other peoples. Precisely the peoples! As you can see, Arab is not an ethnic term.

The Arabic language developed later, towards the end of the 10th century. At least, al-Khalil made the first attempt to create an Arabic dictionary and rules, or rather, some scientific substantiation of a new religious language, at the end of the 8th century, but his attempt failed. The "composite" language did not work out. Apparently, it was based on the Turkic language.

The second attempt to create a dictionary of the Arabic language was the work of Ibn Duraid (837 - 933), it has survived to this day, known to Arab scholars. It is quite possible to judge the development of the Arabic language by it. But that was also not Arabic yet. Only later, when the "basic" language was supplemented with the vocabulary of Bedouin nomads, something resembling Arabic appeared. Then the handwritten "Book of Correction" in 10 volumes was published, its author Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn al-Azhar al-Azhari (895 - 981). Perhaps he is the founder of the Arabic language, at least he stood at its origins.

The concept of "Arabic" is still very conditional. For example, it sounds different in Saudi Arabia than in Egypt or Algeria. Arabs understand each other as Russians understand Ukrainians or Bulgarians. Something is clear, but not all. Moreover, the very language of the Quran is completely different.

And this is because the Arabs are a union of different peoples who have been united by Islam, a political or religious association.

- Then it's not clear at all. Where did the writing of the Arabians come from?

- I admit, it interested me too. But I did not turn to textbooks of the Arabic language or an encyclopedia. It makes no sense, there the history of the Arabic language begins with a vague date - "before the IV century." Complete absurdity. Why, you ask?

Because the 4th century, more precisely 312, is the date of the oldest known manuscript of the Middle East, written in a script reminiscent of Arabic script. True, not a single Arabist was able to read it, as well as all other ancient "Arabic" texts. Nevertheless, they are stubbornly called Arab. This is what politics does in science …

They even came up with a version of the connection between Arabic and Aramaic, but this is incorrect from the outset. After all, the Arabic letter begins from right to left, it has expressive and peculiar graphics, similar to it in the Near and Middle East. Cuneiform - yes, there was, hieroglyphs - also yes, but ligature - no. So the question arose - where did a fundamentally new letter come from in the 4th century in the Middle East? And the Copts and Ethiopians?

My scientific interest lies in the Great Migration of Peoples, which began before the new era from the Ancient Altai and continued along the steppes of Eurasia until the 5th century. In other words, I am studying the history of the Turkic world and the Great Steppe. Here the answer to your question was found.

It turns out that long before the new era, Ancient Altai had its own written language. These are runes, they were carved on the rocks, they have been studied by science, their age has been established. But that's not the point. Runic writing began from right to left or from top to bottom, vowels were skipped, the text was written in one word. This was the originality of the Altai writing. The runes served as "block letters".

In addition to the runes, the ancient Altaians knew cursive writing. She wrote by hand on dressed pieces of leather, wrote with quills or finely pointed sticks, dipping them in paint, because they did not have paper, ink or other writing material at that time. The Western world learned about the written language of the Altaians in 250 BC, when the Great Migration of Peoples touched the lands of Ancient Persia. Power there passed to the dynasty of Arshakids, or the Red Sakas, they came from Altai.

The seal of the Arshakids allows one to say so, it is kept in the State Museum of Iran, there are clear Turkic runes on it, and this is an indelible mark. I saw them myself.

Together with the rulers, a new writing system came to Iran from right to left, in one word, that is, according to the rules of the Ancient Altai! Then the local scribes gave the letter a certain floridness, and the "letters" began to resemble swans, they got a name - kufi (in Turkic "kuf" - "swan"), but of course they did not change the letter in principle.

When, at the beginning of the 4th century, the Great Migration of Peoples reached the Middle East, the Kufic script, which is now for some reason called ancient Arabic, also came here. But, I repeat, not a single Arabist has read it …

In order not to bore readers with details, I will note: the ancient texts of the Koran are written in Kufic script. They are kept in the libraries of the Muslim world as the shrine of Islam.

In Iran, Altai paper appeared at the end of the 6th century. (Read more about this in my book). And the Arabs learned about it in the 8th century, more precisely, in 751. Since that time, the text of the Koran began to be written on paper in Turkic kufi, but on paper, which was now cooked in Samarkand and called the Turkic word "kagit". Prior to this, the Korans were written in Kufi script, but on finely dressed leather.

In order not to procrastinate the topic, I will note: the word "book" (kinig) is Turkic, in ancient times it meant "in a scroll": modern books began with scrolls. The case for the scroll was called "sanduk" among the Turks, and among the Arabs - too … You can go on and on, because almost all book business began in Altai. This is evidenced by the design of the pages of the ancient Koran. Here they are, look, these are Turkic ornaments!

This question should have been of interest to scientists for a long time, it lies on the surface, but no one has formulated it. Politics interfered. I was convinced of this during a recent trip to Iran. Iranian colleagues showed the most ancient texts of the Koran, written on the skin in Kufic script. I held in my hands these books, sacred to a Muslim. They are actually "Altai", such as I described in my book.