Exposing Islam

The Coin That Spoke: Tracing Muhammad’s Posthumous Rise Through Currency and Stone

Introduction: When Silence Speaks Loudest

For a man said to be the final prophet of God, the founder of a global religion, and the leader of a rising empire, Muhammad is strikingly absent from the historical record immediately following his alleged death in 632 CE. In fact, for decades, there’s no mention of him—not on coins, not in inscriptions, not in official proclamations.

It is only much later—under the Umayyads and then decisively under the Abbasids—that his name begins to appear in public record. This conspicuous silence, followed by a sudden and strategic emergence, suggests something far more complex than Islam’s traditional narrative admits. It suggests invention, evolution, and the deliberate construction of a religious identity posthumously anchored to a prophet retrofitted into the story.

1. The Missing Prophet: 632–685 CE

According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad died in 632 CE. But from that point until the late 7th century, his name is nowhere to be found on any Islamic coins or state inscriptions. The early caliphate—supposedly a religious enterprise founded by his immediate successors—used coinage that mimicked existing Byzantine and Sasanian designs. These coins bore no Islamic symbols or phrases, let alone Muhammad’s name. They retained:

Sasanian fire altars
Depictions of emperors
Pahlavi or Greek inscriptions

If Muhammad were universally revered and his message fully crystallized by this point, why did the state not publicly invoke him?

The only logical conclusion: Muhammad had not yet become the centerpiece of Islamic identity. His cult had not yet been politically weaponized. Islam as we recognize it today—centered on Muhammad as a divine lawgiver—did not yet exist.

2. Abd al-Malik: The Architect of Islamic Identity (685–705 CE)

This changes dramatically under Caliph Abd al-Malik, who faced a civil war against Ibn al-Zubayr (who controlled Mecca) and needed to centralize authority around a new unifying symbol. That symbol became Muhammad.

Coins from Bishapur (c. 685–86 CE) begin to carry the Arabic phrase:
"Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah", still alongside Zoroastrian fire altars.
By 696–697 CE, a major coinage reform under Abd al-Malik abolishes imagery altogether. Coins now feature:
- Qur’anic inscriptions in Arabic
- The Shahada: "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah"
- No royal images or figures—just text

This move was more than monetary policy. It was ideological rebranding. Muhammad was now being publicly installed as a central political symbol. The state didn’t just print money—it minted legitimacy.

3. The Dome of the Rock (691 CE): Muhammad Enshrined in Stone

In 691 CE, Abd al-Malik built the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem—one of the earliest and most prominent Islamic architectural statements. Its inscriptions:

Repeatedly mention Muhammad by name
Attack core Christian doctrines (e.g., the divinity of Jesus and the Trinity)
Never reference Mecca or the Kaaba

This was not Islam as we know it today. It was a hybridized imperial theology, emerging out of Arab monotheism, competing with Christianity and Judaism, and only beginning to shape its own identity. The Dome’s message was clear: Muhammad was now the prophetic figurehead of a state religion—but this formulation was top-down, politically motivated, and still evolving.

4. Why Coins and Inscriptions Matter More Than Hadiths

Coins and inscriptions are not sermons. They are public, state-sanctioned artifacts—issued by rulers to declare sovereignty, religious legitimacy, and power. They were standardized, mass-produced, and widely circulated.

If Muhammad were central from the beginning, his name would appear from the outset.
If Islam were already fully developed, its founder would be publicly venerated from day one.

But that’s not what we see. For decades, the state did not invoke him. The earliest Islamic governments were not “Muhammadan” in any public sense. The silence suggests not reverence, but absence—an absence filled in only when politically convenient.

5. Abbasid Reinvention: From Prophet to Lawmaker (Post-750 CE)

The Abbasid revolution (750 CE) completed the transformation. While the Umayyads elevated Muhammad as a prophetic symbol, the Abbasids turned him into an infallible lawgiver, moral exemplar, and source of authority:

Hadith collections were compiled—many retroactively “authenticated” via fabricated isnads
The Sīrah (biography of Muhammad) was codified from oral traditions long after his death
Islamic law (sharia) was constructed atop this invented foundation

Coins under the Abbasids reflect this shift:

Saturated with Qur’anic text and affirmations of Muhammad’s authority
Used as tools to declare orthodoxy and suppress dissent
Reinforce the notion that Islamic governance = obedience to Muhammad’s legacy

The transformation was complete. Muhammad had become a posthumous mouthpiece—a flexible oracle whose authority could be summoned to validate caliphal policy.

6. The Argument from Absence: What the Silence Proves

Apologists argue the absence of Muhammad’s name is due to Islam’s aniconic nature or gradual standardization. This fails under scrutiny:

Aniconism is irrelevant—text isn’t imagery. His name could appear without violating any prohibition.
Gradualism contradicts Islamic dogma, which insists the religion was perfect and complete from Muhammad’s final sermon.

The truth is simpler and more disturbing: Muhammad was not central to early Islamic identity. He was inserted into the story later—strategically, politically, and irreversibly.

Conclusion: The Coin That Spoke Too Late

The first coins that mention Muhammad don’t appear until over 50 years after his death. When they do, it’s not out of spontaneous devotion but out of imperial necessity. These coins, and the Dome of the Rock, mark the point at which Muhammad was not merely remembered—he was repurposed.

He was crafted into an all-purpose tool of the state:

Legitimizer of rulers
Source of divine law
Final word in all theological debates

Coins don’t lie. They tell us exactly when Muhammad mattered—and, more importantly, when he didn’t.

Key Takeaways:

✅ No mention of Muhammad on any coins or inscriptions for decades after his death
✅ First public use of his name under Abd al-Malik during civil war
✅ Dome of the Rock enshrines Muhammad but ignores Mecca
✅ Abbasids weaponized Muhammad’s legacy to build state orthodoxy
✅ Silence in archaeology destroys the claim of Islam’s early doctrinal unity