Note 391 — THE BOOK OF THE MESNEVĪ (continued 4)

Qur’ān xxxi. 12. Lokman, the commonly received orthography, is doubly erroneous; the first vowel of the name is u, the Italian u, the French ou, the oo of our words foot, good, wood; not of coot, moot, root. Our q is, historically, the only true representative of the Phoenician letter that equally gave rise to the Hebrew ק, to the old Greek Q, to the Latin Q, and to the Arabic ق; as may be seen by comparing the letters in the last element of the Arabian numeral alphabet, قرشت, with the Hebrew Koph, Resh, Schin, Tau; with the Greek Q = 90, Ρ = 100, Σ = 200, Τ = 300; and with the Latin Q, R, S, T. The proof is still more conclusive by comparing, in order, the whole alphabets, as to positions, names, shapes, values in sound, and numeral values.