31 August 2026
Arabic page numbers and Hijri date stamps
Numbering an Arabic document raises two questions an English one never asks: which digits to use, and which calendar to date it in. Each file has one right answer to both, and both are set in a single pass. This guide covers the digit conventions Saudi paperwork follows, where the number belongs on a page that reads right to left, and why the Hijri month is spelled out in one place and written in figures in another.
Open page numbers with Arabic-Indic digits and a Hijri stampArabic-Indic ١٢٣ or Western 123?
Both are correct Arabic, and the difference is convention rather than grammar. Official correspondence, contracts and government paperwork written in Arabic usually expect Arabic-Indic numerals, the ١٢٣ forms you see on ministry documents and in school textbooks. Theses, technical reports and anything that will be read alongside English references tend to settle on Western 123 instead, because the tables, equations and citation numbers around them are already in that form. The worst option is mixing both in one document. The practical rule: open the first page, look at how numbers are written inside the text itself, and number the pages the same way.
Where the number sits on a right-to-left page
You get three positions: right, centre and left. Centre is the safe choice in Arabic documents because it never raises the direction question at all, and it is what most university thesis guides ask for. If you do want the number to one side, right is the Arabic equivalent of left in an English document, which is to say the start of the line. One practical point outweighs the whole theoretical argument: binding. In an Arabic document it is the right margin that a staple or a comb binder eats, so if the file is going to be printed and bound, centre beats losing half the number into the spine.
Why the Hijri month is spelled out in one tool and not the other
Both tools use the Umm al-Qura calendar, the Saudi civil calendar, but each writes it differently and the difference is deliberate. The date stamped beside a page number comes out in figures only, as ١٤٤٧/٠٣/١٥ هـ, because that path draws real text into the file so it stays sharp in print and remains searchable. The trade is that this path does not join Arabic letters, so a month name written there would come out as disconnected shapes. The watermark, by contrast, is drawn through your browser's canvas, and the browser joins letters properly, which is why its date appears written out in full as ١٥ رمضان ١٤٤٧ هـ. Pick the path by what you want read: a small neutral date next to every number, or a visible date across the whole page.
Starting from something other than 1
Cover pages, dedications and tables of contents usually go unnumbered, or carry their own separate numbering, so the body begins at page 1 while sitting several sheets into the file. That is what the start number is for: leave the front matter in place and begin the count at whatever number the guide requires, or split it into its own file and number each part separately. If you are handing over a bundle that has to prove nothing is missing, turn on the total as well, so each page reads 3 / 12 and the person receiving it can see at a glance that nothing fell out.
Number last, not first
Numbering is the final step of preparing a document, not the first. Number it, then merge in another file or delete a page or reorder the pages, and the printed numbers now contradict the real order, which destroys confidence in a bundle faster than almost anything else. Reorder, merge and delete first; once the file has settled into its final shape, add the numbers. If this is a circulating copy rather than the original, add a watermark reading copy with its Hijri date before you number it, then sign it if a signature is required. Every one of those steps runs inside your browser, and the file never leaves your device at any of them.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Hijri date follow the Umm al-Qura calendar?
Yes. The date comes from the Umm al-Qura calendar, the Saudi civil calendar, and is computed in your browser from your device's date today. One run stamps one date across every page, so if your work runs past midnight, run it again rather than letting a single file carry two different days.
Why is there no Hijri month name next to the page number?
Because the page number is drawn as real text inside the file so it stays sharp in print, and that path does not join Arabic letters, so a month name would come out as disconnected shapes. The date there is figures only for that reason. If you want the month written out in letters, use the Hijri date option in the watermark tool instead.
Do Arabic-Indic numerals stay crisp when printed?
Yes. The numerals are drawn as text with a font embedded in the file rather than as an image, so they print sharp at any size and can still be selected, copied and searched. Because the font is embedded as a subset covering only the characters used, the file grows by very little.
