A history of arabs
The period of Arab history prior to the emergence of Islam has been described by the historians as the “Age of Ignorance.” However, the oil-rich Arab countries are included among rich and powerful nations of the world today. The world nations aspire to cordial relations with the Arabs.
At the time of Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) birth, the Arabian Peninsula mainly comprised vast and barren deserts, where sandstorms were a frequent occurrence. The Southern parts of this region were somewhat fertile mainly on account of Monsoon rains. The Arabian Peninsula consisted of present-day Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. Who could have imagined at that time that from these sparse regions and uncivilized tribes, a new religion would arise, making these savage tribesmen civilized and powerful enough to rule the world for centuries to come.
Before the advent of Islam, Arabs were idolaters and Lat, Manat and Uzza were their chief idols, whereas Hubal, installed at the roof of the Kaaba, was the biggest of them. Though they were idolaters, nevertheless, they believed in the presence of one supreme God. They thought of those idols as a means to be closer to God. The Holy Quran says:
“Is it not to Allah that sincere devotion is due? But those who take for protectors other than Allah (say): "We only serve them in order that they may bring us nearer to Allah." Truly Allah will judge between them in that wherein they differ. But Allah guides not such as are false and ungrateful.”
(Surah 39: Verse 3)
Thus, Arabs were polytheists and they worshipped the sun, the moon, the stars, stones and fire. Besides, some other tribes believed in Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism that emphasized the worship of fire. Though, some also claimed to be the followers of Prophet Abraham's (AS) religion (known as 'Din-e-Haneef'), they were oblivious to the very nature of Abraham's (AS) religion and, the method to worship Allah in accordance with this religion. Divine revelations were not available in their pure and original form, because those were distorted and altered in such a way that no one could assertively say that what the original scriptures were. Every religion had the system of Salat and Zakat as its main pillars, but hardly any authentic information was available about these at that time. Ibn Ishaq narrates an interesting incident in this connection. He says:
Once, Khadija's (RA) cousin Warqa Bin Nofal, Hamza's (RA) nephew Abdullah Bin Jahash, Umar's (RA) uncle Zaid bin Amr and Usman Bin Al-Hawaires went to attend the annual fair of some idol. During that trip, all of them had the feeling that it was an act of sheer stupidity on their part to prostrate before a stone idol which could neither hear nor speak and was not in a position to harm or benefit anyone. They belonged to the eminent family of Quraish and were in search of the true religion of Abraham.
(Ibn Hisham)
Even in those days of ignorance, the Arabs revered the Kaaba. They used to circumambulate Kaaba clad in Ehram (a white seamless garment), and offer sacrifices there. They had no concept of life after death or resurrection on the Day of Judgement.
Arabs were mainly traders and their trade caravans used to go to other countries for business purposes. In fact, Arabian Peninsula was an important trade route where only the camels were means for transportation of goods. Since the inhabitants of other regions did not dare travel in the desert, they were dependent on Arabs. Black pepper, spices, ivory, aromatic herbs and silk were the main trade items of that time. The trade caravans consisting of hundreds of camels embarked on business travels across the desert, escorted by armed guards. Annual trade fairs were regularly organized in Makkah. There was almost no industry or agriculture while rearing the sheep and goats was another main occupation there. The Arabs were Bedouins; having a nomadic lifestyle. They would settle wherever they could find water and enough greenery to graze their animals.
Their political and social life was marred by chaos, anarchy and confusion. There were deep divisions and rifts within the society between masters and slaves, the rich and the poor. Robberies and bloodshed were the order of the day. There was no concept of law and justice, no freedom of expression and people even didn't know what the fundamental human rights were. The humanity degenerated to such lows that they were unaware of the rights of Allah and rights of the people. Absurd rituals and sham display of piety had replaced the true worship of Allah. Baby girls were buried alive. Referring to this, the Holy Quran says:
“When news is brought to one of them of the birth of a female child, his face darkens and he is filled with inward grief. With shame does he hide himself from his people because of the bad news he has had! Shall he retain her on contempt or bury her in the dust? Ah! what an evil they decide on?”
(Surah 16, verses 58, 59)
The Arabs of those days were savages. They abducted women and children to sell them later. At the end of battles, they would mutilate the corpses, cut off their ears and noses and wear them as necklaces. Prisoners were charred to death. They were so vicious and lupine that they would cut a piece of meat from a living animal to roast and eat. Keeping male and female slaves was a common custom among the Arabs. Arabs would marry two sisters simultaneously and they could have as many wives as they liked. The wives of a deceased father were inherited by his son, who was free to marry any of them except his real mother. Women could freely send marriage proposals to the men of their choice. Usury was the hallmark of their economic system. Gambling, drinking and adultery were some of their moral evils. Poor farmers and labourers were always enmeshed by usurers and money-lenders.
Arabs were extremely proud of their language and their passion for poetry was at its zenith. Umra-ul-Qais was an eminent poet of that period. Arab poets excessively praised their beloveds and felt no hesitation in describing their immoral activities with minute details.
Before the advent of Islam, Arabs were idolaters and Lat, Manat and Uzza were their chief idols, whereas Hubal, installed at the roof of the Kaaba, was the biggest of them. Though they were idolaters, nevertheless, they believed in the presence of one supreme God. They thought of those idols as a means to be closer to God. The Holy Quran says:
“Is it not to Allah that sincere devotion is due? But those who take for protectors other than Allah (say): "We only serve them in order that they may bring us nearer to Allah." Truly Allah will judge between them in that wherein they differ. But Allah guides not such as are false and ungrateful.”
(Surah 39: Verse 3)
Thus, Arabs were polytheists and they worshipped the sun, the moon, the stars, stones and fire. Besides, some other tribes believed in Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism that emphasized the worship of fire. Though, some also claimed to be the followers of Prophet Abraham's (AS) religion (known as 'Din-e-Haneef'), they were oblivious to the very nature of Abraham's (AS) religion and, the method to worship Allah in accordance with this religion. Divine revelations were not available in their pure and original form, because those were distorted and altered in such a way that no one could assertively say that what the original scriptures were. Every religion had the system of Salat and Zakat as its main pillars, but hardly any authentic information was available about these at that time. Ibn Ishaq narrates an interesting incident in this connection. He says:
Once, Khadija's (RA) cousin Warqa Bin Nofal, Hamza's (RA) nephew Abdullah Bin Jahash, Umar's (RA) uncle Zaid bin Amr and Usman Bin Al-Hawaires went to attend the annual fair of some idol. During that trip, all of them had the feeling that it was an act of sheer stupidity on their part to prostrate before a stone idol which could neither hear nor speak and was not in a position to harm or benefit anyone. They belonged to the eminent family of Quraish and were in search of the true religion of Abraham.
(Ibn Hisham)
Even in those days of ignorance, the Arabs revered the Kaaba. They used to circumambulate Kaaba clad in Ehram (a white seamless garment), and offer sacrifices there. They had no concept of life after death or resurrection on the Day of Judgement.
Arabs were mainly traders and their trade caravans used to go to other countries for business purposes. In fact, Arabian Peninsula was an important trade route where only the camels were means for transportation of goods. Since the inhabitants of other regions did not dare travel in the desert, they were dependent on Arabs. Black pepper, spices, ivory, aromatic herbs and silk were the main trade items of that time. The trade caravans consisting of hundreds of camels embarked on business travels across the desert, escorted by armed guards. Annual trade fairs were regularly organized in Makkah. There was almost no industry or agriculture while rearing the sheep and goats was another main occupation there. The Arabs were Bedouins; having a nomadic lifestyle. They would settle wherever they could find water and enough greenery to graze their animals.
Their political and social life was marred by chaos, anarchy and confusion. There were deep divisions and rifts within the society between masters and slaves, the rich and the poor. Robberies and bloodshed were the order of the day. There was no concept of law and justice, no freedom of expression and people even didn't know what the fundamental human rights were. The humanity degenerated to such lows that they were unaware of the rights of Allah and rights of the people. Absurd rituals and sham display of piety had replaced the true worship of Allah. Baby girls were buried alive. Referring to this, the Holy Quran says:
“When news is brought to one of them of the birth of a female child, his face darkens and he is filled with inward grief. With shame does he hide himself from his people because of the bad news he has had! Shall he retain her on contempt or bury her in the dust? Ah! what an evil they decide on?”
(Surah 16, verses 58, 59)
The Arabs of those days were savages. They abducted women and children to sell them later. At the end of battles, they would mutilate the corpses, cut off their ears and noses and wear them as necklaces. Prisoners were charred to death. They were so vicious and lupine that they would cut a piece of meat from a living animal to roast and eat. Keeping male and female slaves was a common custom among the Arabs. Arabs would marry two sisters simultaneously and they could have as many wives as they liked. The wives of a deceased father were inherited by his son, who was free to marry any of them except his real mother. Women could freely send marriage proposals to the men of their choice. Usury was the hallmark of their economic system. Gambling, drinking and adultery were some of their moral evils. Poor farmers and labourers were always enmeshed by usurers and money-lenders.
Arabs were extremely proud of their language and their passion for poetry was at its zenith. Umra-ul-Qais was an eminent poet of that period. Arab poets excessively praised their beloveds and felt no hesitation in describing their immoral activities with minute details.
The humanity degenerated to such lows that they were unaware of the rights of Allah and rights of the people. Absurd rituals and sham display of piety had replaced the true worship of Allah.
Despite all these evils, Arabs did possess some good qualities like generosity, hospitality, fulfilment of promises, self-respect, patience, tolerance and bravery. During their wars, they would display their valour and at the time of distress and difficulty, they showed patience and forbearance. They avenged every wrong done to them and protected their weak and helpless fellow tribesmen. On the whole, Arab society was based on capitalistic and feudalistic principles, characterized by unjust distribution of production. Exploitation, subjugation, oppression, hunger, starvation, lawlessness, poverty, drinking, gambling, adultery and slavery were the dominant flaws of Arab society.
Another interesting ritual of Quraishiite Arabs, which also has been mentioned in the Holy Quran, was that they, after putting on the Ehram for the sake of Hajj, would jump out of their houses from the back wall or pass through a window made therein instead of going out from the main door. Same method was adopted while on return. They thought it to be a virtuous act which would earn Allah's pleasure for them. But Allah told them through the Quran that it was by no means an act of piety.
“It is no virtue if ye enter your houses from the back: It is virtue if ye fear Allah. Enter houses through the proper doors: And fear Allah. That ye may prosper.”
(Surah 2, verse 189)
Arabs neither had any central administrative, judicial or economic system, nor did they have relations with other countries of the world. No mechanism to prevent the oppression of the oppressors and saving the oppressed from this oppression was in place. In short, the society was governed by the principles of “might is right” and “survival of the fittest”.
(Islamic System of Government by Hamid Ansari)
Another interesting ritual of Quraishiite Arabs, which also has been mentioned in the Holy Quran, was that they, after putting on the Ehram for the sake of Hajj, would jump out of their houses from the back wall or pass through a window made therein instead of going out from the main door. Same method was adopted while on return. They thought it to be a virtuous act which would earn Allah's pleasure for them. But Allah told them through the Quran that it was by no means an act of piety.
“It is no virtue if ye enter your houses from the back: It is virtue if ye fear Allah. Enter houses through the proper doors: And fear Allah. That ye may prosper.”
(Surah 2, verse 189)
Arabs neither had any central administrative, judicial or economic system, nor did they have relations with other countries of the world. No mechanism to prevent the oppression of the oppressors and saving the oppressed from this oppression was in place. In short, the society was governed by the principles of “might is right” and “survival of the fittest”.
(Islamic System of Government by Hamid Ansari)
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