Forbidden Coins of Afghanistan '1961 5 Afghanis' - King Muhammed Zahir Shah
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Product information
Forbidden Coins of Afghanistan Deluxe Collectible Folder
'1961 5 Afghanis'
Ordered by the last Afghan King, Muhammed Zahir Shah in defiance of Islamic Law
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N.B. These are generic photos
Islam has been the dominant religion of Afghanistan since Mahmud of Ghazni expelled the
Shahis in 998. Devout followers of the Prophet Mohammed, the Afghans know that to
create a graven image is to incur the wrath of Allah. As the Sahih Bukhari, the Muslim
holy book makes clear: The people who will receive the severest punishment from Allah
will be the picture makers….the most grievously tormented people on the Day of
Resurrection will be the painters of pictures.
For this reason, Islamic money tends to feature calligraphy and design, not representations
of living creatures—and never people. Only once did the government of Afghanistan dare
to violate this strict prohibition: in 1961, when the last Afghan king, Muhammed Zahir
Shah, ordered his visage to be struck on the obverse of this five-Afghani coin.
The king’s brazen act of blasphemy was not well received. Coins entered circulation only
to be destroyed in vast quantities by an angry people. Few survive. This, then, is a rare
example of Afghanistan’s forbidden coin.
