Refuting the Misconception About a Few Dirhams
The ClaimWas there a coin minted during the time of Joseph that the Quran claims they bought him with dirhams?
And they sold him for a paltry price, a few dirhams, and they were indifferent to him.
While the First Historically Known Coin Dates back to 600 BC https://rg.ancients.info/lion/article.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawPu9s1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFwS1ZZNXpSd1FkRmd6S2R3c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHg9zFRajvUm91AZdccKvCUZDpkOV-lzd0daQgHwg_dwobvjvm3FJR508hcCP_aem_nGaQnbT_I6EWLrpDR7IrNA
World’s Oldest Coin - First Coins
The world’s oldest coins, beginning in Lydia, Asia Minor
A Comprehensive Response
First ResponseBefore proceeding to respond, we must know that the Quranic text here does not speak at all about minted currency, but rather about a weight of silver that was called a dirham as a unit of measurement.
Evidence from Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari 2887The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Wretched is the slave of the dinar and the slave of the dirham.”
It does not refer to minted currency, but rather to the worship of money in all its forms and types.
Hidayat al-Ruwat (4/137)The Messenger of God performed the ‘aqiqah for Al-Hasan and said:
“O Fatimah, shave his head and give in charity the weight of his hair in silver.” dirham or part of a dirham .
Narrator: Ali ibn Abi Talib
Supporting narration (4082)The same narration graded supported with a good chain.
Therefore, the dirham in question is simply a weight of silver and not a minted coin.
Why Did He Say “Counted Dirhams”?
Tafsir al-Tabari”A few dirhams” means deficient, few, insignificant.It was said “counted” because amounts under forty dirhams were counted rather than weighed.
Some said Joseph was sold for twenty dirhams .
Ibn KathirAnd they sold him for a paltry price, a few dirhamsmeaning his brothers sold him for a small price.
Al-BaghawiThey counted amounts less than forty dirhams, but weighed larger quantities.
Lexical Evidence
Dictionary of MeaningsThe word dirham can refer metaphorically to:
money
silver
price
weighed silver
unit of value
Source:
https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%87%D9%85/
Historical Evidence From Jawad Ali
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Al-Mufassal fi Tarikh al-ArabThe Quraysh used to weigh silver by a weight they called a dirham, and their ounce equaled forty dirhams.
Source:
http://ashraf1962.blogspot.com/2016/02/1722.html
Non-Islamic Admission
Concise Encyclopedia of IslamThe dirham is also the name of a unit of weight, distinct from the coin.
Source:
https://waqfeya.net/book.php?bid=8247
First Counterargument Against the Claim Genesis 37
They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver.
Question:
Archaeological and Historical Claims for Coins in Joseph’s Era Christian Source https://answersingenesis.org/kids/bible/coins-of-joseph/
ClaimArchaeologists allegedly discovered coins bearing the name and image of Joseph.
Jewish Source https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/133601
MEMRI https://www.memri.org/reports/leading-egyptian-daily-al-ahram-reports-coins-era-biblical-joseph-found-egypt
Egyptology Source https://www.tripsinegypt.com/blog/egyptian-civilization/ancient-egyptian-coins/
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https://www.tripsinegypt.com/blog/egyptian-civilization/ancient-egyptian-coins/
ancient egyptian coins trips in egypt 7adb5d5ed05f46bd
ClaimCoins or hacksilver may date back to as early as 2000 BC.
Secondly
Lack of Knowledge ≠ NonexistenceIt is not necessary to know the names of all ancient coins for them to have existed.
Example: Qasita Source:
https://st-takla.org/pub_Bible-Interpretations/Holy-Bible-Tafsir-02-New-Testament/Father-Antonious-Fekry/00-1-Bible-Introductions/Mokademat-El-Engil__01-Chapter-08.html
Thirdly: Dirham in Biblical Usage 1 Chronicles 29:7
…ten thousand dirhams of gold…
Jewish Commentary:
https://www.sefaria.org/I_Chronicles.29.7
Christian Sources:
https://st-takla.org/bible/commentary/ar/ot/church-encyclopedia/chronicles1/chapter-29.html
https://st-takla.org/Full-Free-Coptic-Books/FreeCopticBooks-002-Holy-Arabic-Bible-Dictionary/08_D/d_33.html
Serious AdmissionEven when not coined money, dirham could refer to a weight of silver.
Parallel Example: The Shekel
Same PrincipleThe shekel was also originally a weight, not necessarily a minted coin.
Examples
Genesis 23:15
Genesis 24:22
Exodus 21:32
Exodus 30:13–24
Exodus 38:24–29
Leviticus 5:15
Leviticus 27:3–5
Amos 8:5
Jeremiah 32:9
Nehemiah 5:15
Nehemiah 10:32
Additional Argument Isaiah 40:10
“His reward is with Him, and His wages before Him.”
Claim raised:
Isaiah predates 600 BC.
Yet language of monetary compensation appears.
Jewish Coin Minting 1 Maccabees 15:6
“I have permitted you to mint your own currency.”
Sources:
https://st-takla.org/Full-Free-Coptic-Books/FreeCopticBooks-002-Holy-Arabic-Bible-Dictionary/08_D/d_81_02.html
Conclusion
SummaryThe objection fails on multiple levels:
Dirham in Surah Yusuf can mean a weight of silver, not minted coin.Hadith, lexicons, historians, and tafsir support this.
Biblical usage itself applies monetary names to weights.
The objection rebounds against Biblical texts mentioning shekels, dirhams, and coinage.
Archaeological and historical claims cited further weaken the criticism.
Therefore the alleged contradiction does not stand.
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