Icon of John the Baptist

I love the icon of John the Baptist by Abraham the Scribe. I think the original was around 18th century. I also love the icon of Jonah being spat out by the whale. There’s a rawness to John and Jonah that I really love.

I think John is an interesting figure in that he announced Jesus’ coming even in his mother’s womb. I interpret this icon as John’s faithfulness to live out his calling, when he could see with his gift of prophecy that doing so would cost him his head.

I’ve always been curious what the scroll says in Arabic, if you can read it please translate it for me. Thanks.

As a funny aside, the angel’s outfit reminds me of traditional Korean clothes (hanbok).