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Of the Evolution's History of the
Arabic Numerals in the Levant

1-	Arabs have already used - as Greeks and others have - their alphabet symbols in count, the system which is known as Letter-Value Attributes.  Even this system has its symbols vary in arrangement between the Arabic-Eastern and -Western parts in 6 litters as follows: Letter at Eastern Arabs س ص ش ض ط غ Letter-Value 60 90 300 800 900 1000 Letter at Western Arabs ص ض س ظ غ ش
2-	Using Greek letters as numeral symbols in the Arabic papyrus manuscripts and in numbering pages of Arabic books which Copts have copied in Egypt came as an influence of the Greek (Ptolemaic) rule to Egypt throughout 300 years (BC), not for the inexistence of the Arabic numerals.  A proof to this is not only Rosetta Stone that has combined Greek script together with Hieroglyphic and Hieratic ones, but also the Copts of Egypt taking the same Greek alphabet till this date in writing their own local language - though their speaking and writing Arabic in its alphabet.
3-	Arabs used a form of numbering that was known by "Diwani ديواني" [Divanian or Departmental], and have been used in the Eastern part of the Islamic World in writing dates and other numbers in the department's manuscripts.  That form has been formed of the digit words' abbreviation as follows: (from right to left: …4 3 2 1) Arabic alphabetic letters, for some time, have not been doted, of course. Obviously, there has not also been adherence to or widespread of using Arabic numerals by all Arabs, and many of them remained writing numbers as familiarized and inherited (whatever, an Arabic or Greek primeval system using alphabetic letters) for merely page numbering, not for doing mathematical, mercantile or scientific works.
4-	Ben-Annadeem بن النديم (died after 999 AD), in his book "Alfehrest الفهرست" [The Index], said: "A man who roams in their country [Land of Sind] told me that the majority of them write [numbers] with nine digits like this example: , whose start is: a b c d e f g h i.  By reaching i, they repeat them putting a dot beneath, like this: , which are: j k l m n o p q r, increased by ten.  By reaching r, they write like this, putting two dots beneath each digit: , which are: s t u v w x y z ظ.  By reaching ظ, they write the same putting 3 dots: ".

First:	These Arabic numerals had been used in the books composed by Alfazari and Alkhawarizmi in Baghdad over 200 years before Ben-Annadeem, thence it is meaningless for Ben-Annadeem to come two hundred years later to introduce them to people in Iraq.
Second:	If such Arabic numerals showed by Ben-Annadeem were transmitted or known to Arabs from India, it would have been meaningless for him to introduce how Indians do with their numerals, rather he would have limited himself to report (the fact of our using the Indian numerals and system that we have borrowed and apply).
Third:	If such numerals were Indian, they would have almost been identical to any of the ten forms of digits being used in Indian subcontinent, which I will begin to introduce just a few pages on.

The Maghrabi (Arabic-western) form of Arabic numerals have been known by "Ghebar غِبار" which is an irregular (incorrect) Arabic plural of the singular adjective "Ghaber غابر" [remaining, old].  Contemporarily, the adjectival-form of the same is formed as "Ghebariyah غِبارية", but due to negligence of the diacritical marks (in the past and today) in writing in Arabic, many have read it "Ghobar غُبار" (dust) so that contemporaries wrongly understood it as such "dust".  One other alike irregular Arabic plural is "Jehal جِهال" of the singular "Jahel جاهِل" [ignorant].  Thence, interpreting the word that the numerals used to be written on a plate covered with dust is a naive one, because if it was true, how were alphabet characters written - was that on a dusty plate too, or on a media such as paper using pen?

Confirms the meaning of "ghebar غِبار" [past] I stated, is what has been mentioned in the manuscript book titled: "Boghyat Attollabb Fi Sharh Monyat Alhesabb بُغية الطلاب في شرح مُنية الحساب" [Want of Students on Explaining the Wish of Arithmetics], written in poetry by the Moroccan: "Mohammad Ben-Ghazi Almaknasi محمّد بن غازي المكناسي" (of Maknass) (died 919 AH [1513 AD]):

"All" means "all numbers" in Arabic that are enclosed in twelve sounds/words: Wahed واحد, Ethnann اثنان, Thalath ثلاث, Arba' أربع, Khams خَمس, Set سِت, Sab' سَبع, Thaman ثمان, Tes' تِسع, 'ashr عَشْر, Me'at مئة, Alf ألف.  Other numbers are combined from those, either in feminizing, in making dual, in pluralizing, or else, such as: 'eshroon عِشرون, and 'eshreen عِشرين [twenty], are the making-dual of 'ashr عَشْر, and in this manner for Thalathoon ثلاثون [thirty] to Tes'oon تِسعون [ninety].  The author, as explained within the poem, meant by (ghabar غَبَر) [which is the past tense, meaning: remained], the remaining of the numbers in the Ghebar-form.

Writing alphabet characters were definitely not taking a different way than writing numerals.  But writing alphabet characters in the Arabic west has not been known as Ghebariyat الغِبارية, confirming that giving that adjective to the digits has nothing to do with the dust.  This will further be confirmed by one manuscript of Ghebariyat digits from Mali that I will, God willing, deal with.

Arabic numerals, however, have remained narrow-spread for long before, and their use been considered as an art or skill of trade, used by whole merchants only, while others needed not to use.
As coastal Arabs have not almost left any scripts about their past history in the navigation, and left no ships - mostly due to destructing them by westerners, at the geographical discoveries, especially Portuguese who have kept away Arabs from sea trade routes - Arabs have left us almost nothing about the story of inventing their numeral system and its development.

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