Gold Dinar: A Historical Islamic Currency

The Gold Dinar has a rich history, dating back to the early days of Islam. It was the first official currency of the Islamic world, introduced by the Caliph Abu Bakr in the 7th century.

The Gold Dinar was made from 99.5% pure gold, giving it a significant value and making it a trusted form of exchange. It was widely accepted across the Islamic world, facilitating trade and commerce.

The Gold Dinar was also a symbol of the Islamic empire's wealth and power, with its value and authenticity guaranteed by the Caliph. This trust in the Gold Dinar played a significant role in the growth and stability of the Islamic economy.

The Gold Dinar in Islam is based on the gold solidus of the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire, which was accepted by the Prophet Muhammad as the monetary standard for Muslims. This coin was a standard that was just and stable, and facilitated trade and business among Muslims and non-Muslims.

The gold solidus was a 4.5gm coin, which equals 24 qirats or 72 grains of barley, and was made of pure gold. This standard was later adopted by the Muslims and was used as the basis for the Islamic gold dinar. The gold dinar was minted by the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in the year 75H (697CE).

The gold dinar was used as a measure of value and was based on the gold-content, with one who had twenty dinar in one's possession for one year required to pay a 2½ % zakat on it. The gold dinar was also used as the basis for zakat, the fifth pillar of Islam, and was considered a standard that promoted the maqasid al Shari'ah.

The Islamic gold dinar is a monetary standard that has been used throughout Islamic history. It's based on the Roman solidus, which was a gold coin used in the Byzantine Empire.

The gold dinar is made of 24 karat gold, which is 99.99% pure. This is according to the definition given by its issuer, the Byzantine Empire. The actual historical standard for the dinar is 4.5gm of pure gold, but it circulated with an average weight of 4.25gm due to wear and tear.

The weight of the dinar is equivalent to 24 qirats or 72 grains of barley. One barley grain weighs 0.0625gm, or 62.5mg. This was established by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and is still used today.

The gold dinar is a measure of value that depends on the gold content. Its role is simply to measure value, and it's not a store of value. The zakat, or charity, is based on the gold dinar, and one who has 20 dinars for one year will have to pay a 2½% zakat on it.

The gold dinar was used as a monetary standard in the Byzantine Empire and was later adopted by the Islamic world. It was minted starting in 696 AD during the reign of the 5th Umayyad Caliph, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan.

The gold dinar is a standard that has been used for centuries, and its weight and purity have been established by Islamic scholars. It's a measure of value that is based on the gold content, and its role is to measure value, not to store value.

The Islamic gold dinar is not a modern innovation, but a historical standard among Muslims for centuries.

The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, is reported to have said that the system of weights and measures is the system of the people of Medina.

The earliest Islamic gold dinar, that of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, had inscriptions based on Quranic verses, specifically from Surah 112 and Surah 9, Taubah Verse 33.

These inscriptions were carefully chosen to avoid mistakes that could occur when coins pass from hand to hand in circulation.

The gold dinar is generally agreed upon as a 4.25gm gold coin, based on the Roman solidus that circulated during the times of the Prophet pbuh.

Twenty four karat (24K) gold is fine gold, by today’s standard it is 99.99 percent pure.

The question whether the gold dinar is of fine gold or not is important because it is the Shari’ah standard and even the zakat, the fifth pillar of Islam, is based on it.

The nisab for money is 20 dinars, and one who had twenty dinar in one’s possession for one year will have to pay a 2½ % zakat on it, i.e. half-dinar.

During the Prophet's era in Medina, Muslims didn't mint their own gold dinars yet. The Prophet pbuh accepted the Roman Byzantine gold solidus, also known as the bezant, as the monetary standard for Muslims.

The solidus was a widely circulating coin among the Arabs for decades before Muslims minted their own coins. The Prophet pbuh would have not accepted it if it weren't Islamic in nature.

It's worth noting that the first Islamic gold dinars were minted about half a century after the demise of the Prophet pbuh, by the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in the year 75H (697CE).

The solidus was a standard that was just and stable, and it facilitated trade and business even among Muslims and non-Muslims.

The gold dinar played a vital role in Islam as a form of money, eliminating problems associated with barter trades like double coincidence of wants and the problem of divisibility.

As a stable measure of value, the gold dinar enabled people to exchange goods and services in a just manner, save for future consumption and investments, and transact in credit and repay debt in future.

Al Ghazzali and Ibn Khaldun asserted that Allah SWT created gold and silver as a measure of value, and indeed, gold and silver are the standards by which the values of all things are measured.

The gold dinar's design as a stable measure of value allowed people to specialize in their areas of expertise, increasing productivity, output, and trade, and thereby raising the standard of living of the people.

The gold dinar played a crucial role in Islam as a medium of exchange, eliminating problems associated with barter trades like double coincidence of wants and divisibility. It enabled people to specialize in their best endeavors, increasing productivity and trade.

A stable measure of value is essential for a fair exchange of goods and services. The gold dinar served as a stable measure of value, allowing people to save for future consumption and investments, and transact in credit.

The concept of a stable measure of value is not new; it's been used in various forms, like measuring length in kilometers. A kilometer is defined as the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792.458 seconds.

In the same vein, the gold dinar was considered a "pure" and simple standard of value, easily relatable to people. Its value was linked to the value of gold, a widely accepted and valuable metal.

The absence of a stable measure of value in the current global monetary system has significant consequences. The collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971 led to the removal of the gold standard, leaving the monetary sector without a clear anchor to the real economy.

The Islamic gold dinar is based on the Constantine's Roman solidus which was struck 72 to the Roman Byzantine pound (litra) used for gold measurement.

The litra pound is recorded to be 324 gm, which gives an ounce to be 27gm. This gives us a clear understanding of the weight standard.

The weight of the solidus is 4.5 gm as recorded, equals one mithqal, equals 24 Greco-Roman carats.

Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz corrected the weight from 4.25gm to 4.5gm during his reign.

The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him is reported to have said: The weight of the dinar is 24 qirats.

A mithqal of gold is equivalent to 72 grains of barley, which is a widely accepted measurement.

Each barley grain weighs 0.0625gm (4.5gm ÷ 72), or 62.5mg.

This implies that the silver dirham is of pure silver, weighing 3.15gm (0.7 x 4.5gm) that equals 50 2/5 grains.

The Islamic gold dinar is a unique coin that doesn't depict pictures of caliphs, rulers, animals, or other living things, following Shariah guidelines.

The first Islamic gold dinar, issued by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, had inscriptions based on Quranic verses.

One notable aspect of early Islamic coins is that they never had full Qur'anic verses on them.

This was likely due to concerns about the coin's potential exposure to impure places or being lost.

The earliest coins, like the dinar and dirham of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, had inscriptions that were carefully chosen to avoid mistakes.

The obverse of these coins featured the Kalima Shahada, a central legend declaring "There is no god except Allah alone, there is no partner with Him".

The mint date formula, "In the Name of Allah. This dirham was struck in the year 79 AH", was also included on the obverse.

The reverse of the coin had a central inscription based on Surah 112 of the Quran, stating "Allahu Ahad, Allahu-Samad, Lam Yalid wa lam Yulad wa lam Yakul-lahu Kufu-an Ahad".

The marginal legend on the reverse was based on Surah 9, Taubah Verse 33, which declares "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, he was sent with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over every other religion".

The gold dinar is a type of currency that's gaining popularity, and one of its main advantages is that it's not tied to any government or central bank. This means that the value of the gold dinar is not subject to the same economic fluctuations as traditional fiat currencies.

The gold dinar is pegged to the value of gold, which is a tangible asset that's been used as a store of value for centuries. In fact, gold has been used as a form of currency in many ancient civilizations, including the Egyptians and the Romans.

One of the key benefits of the gold dinar is that it's not inflationary, meaning that the value of the currency is not subject to the same inflationary pressures as traditional currencies. This is because the gold dinar is backed by a physical commodity that retains its value over time.

The gold dinar is also a more secure form of currency than traditional fiat currencies, which can be printed by governments at will. In contrast, the gold dinar is a physical currency that's backed by gold reserves, making it more difficult to manipulate or devalue.

The Islamic gold dinar is a historical standard that has been around for centuries, with its purity and weight determined by the Prophet Muhammad. The standard weight of the Islamic gold dinar is 4.5gm of pure gold.

This weight is equivalent to 24 qirats or 72 grains of barley, which was established by consensus among the early Muslims. A barley grain weighs 0.0625gm, or 62.5mg.

The weight of the silver dirham is also determined by the Islamic gold dinar, with 7 mithqals equaling 10 dirhams. This implies that the silver dirham is of pure silver, weighing 3.15gm.

Roman coins were often made from bronze, copper, or silver, and featured portraits of Roman emperors.

The Romans used a variety of metals for their coins, including gold and electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver.

Roman coins were widely used throughout the Roman Empire, which at its peak spanned across three continents.

The Romans also developed a system of coin denominations, with different coins representing different amounts of value.

Many Roman coins featured the image of the emperor, often accompanied by a Latin inscription.

You can find medieval Islamic coins for sale on eBay, including those from the Umayyad Caliphate, which controlled a massive territory from Spain to Afghanistan.

Islamic coins were some of the first coins to be struck with dates, a feature that didn't become common on European coinage until almost 800 years later.

The Umayyad Caliphate's capital city was Damascus, and their coins were minted starting in 696 AD.

The Hijri calendar, used by Muslims, is based on a lunar calendar of approximately 354 days and commenced in 622 AD with the event known as the Hijra.

The abbreviation for the Hijri calendar is "AH" and is often found in date descriptions of Islamic coins.

Gold dinar coins of the famous Harun al-Rashid, who ruled the Abbasid Caliphate from 786-809 AD, can frequently be found on eBay at reasonable prices.

Prices for Islamic medieval gold dinars on eBay range from about $250 for common pieces to over $1,000 for pristine or rare examples.

If you're new to collecting Islamic coins, consider starting with pieces from the minor Islamic dynasties, which are often undervalued in the marketplace.

These smaller kingdoms also struck gold coins that are very collectible, and they offer a beguiling gateway to the world of medieval Islamic coin collecting.