TMES 28

Image © Ahmad Al-Jallad and Hythem Sidky; CC BY
Siglum
TMES 28
Transliteration
ywd ymt
Ahmad Al-Jallad
Translation
he who loves dies
Ahmad Al-Jallad
Language and Script
Unidentifiable

Interpretation

Commentary

The reading is clear and the translation proceeds from it, but this type of expression is unprecedented in the inscriptions. It does, however, find parallels in Jāhilī verse. A love poem attributed to the pre-Islamic poet Ṭarafah b. al-ʿAbd reads: 

 

وَلَوْ مَاتَ مِنْ شَيْءٍ سِوَى الْحُبِّ مَيِّتٌ

لأَصْبَحَ فِي الْمَوْتَى مَنِ الْحُبُّ دَاؤُهُ

 

"Were any man slain by a thing other than love,
then the one who is afflicted by love would be considered already dead" (Trans. A. Al-Jallad)

The terse line explains that the pain of death by any other means is not comparable to the pain of love, so that those who feel love might as well already be considered dead. This exact sentiment seems to be expressed in this short Thamudic inscription.

Ahmad Al-Jallad

Editio Princeps
OCIANA
Field Collector
Ahmad Al-Jallad and Hythem Sidky

Technique
Carved
Direction of Script
Vertical columns

  • [TMES] Thamudic inscriptions documented on the Ṭāʾif-Mecca Epigraphic Survey 2021-2022
Site
Al-ʿArfāʾ, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia
Date Found
2021
Current Location
In situ
Subject
greetings or love (wdd)
Updated 04 Nov, 2026 by Ahmad Al-Jallad

Cite this Site

Ahmad Al-Jallad, 'TMES 28,' ed. A. Al-Jallad and M.C.A. Macdonald, OCIANA, 04 Nov, 2026. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/46045. Accessed: 05 Nov, 2026.