Ancient Arabia (earliest times to 450 AD)
• Even though Egypt and Iraq were civilized two to three thousand years before Christ, Arabia was uncivilized until the rise of the southern tribes.
• Aborigines of Arabia in primitive times were a black race who were destroyed or driven into the Rab’al Khali by the southerners i.e. Banu Qahtan.
• The Banu Qahtan established their Ma’in Kingdom in Yemen (1200 – 650 BC).
Kingdom of Saba (Sabaens):
• Sabaen Kingdom of Banu Qahtan overthrew the Ma’in Kingdom (950 BC – 115 AD).
• Sabaens were great builders; built many palaces and fortresses.
• Sabaens were most famous for their dams.
• They built the famous Ma’rib Dam which irrigated a large piece of southern Arabia.
Kingdom of Sana (Himyarites):
• Himyars were a branch of Banu Qahtan. They established the Himyarite Kingdom of Sana (115 – 525 AD).
• They are most famous for their castles, palaces and fortresses.
• During their reign, the Ma’rib Dam was severely damaged or destroyed by floods several times. However, it was always repaired.
• They traded with south Asia and various Roman provinces and flourished.
• When Romans conquered Egypt, Himyarite commercial interests were dealt a blow as Roman ships now entered the Red Sea.
• At the same time, the Ma’rib Dam was breached several times, forcing tribes to migrate with each resulting flood. It was finally destroyed in 540 AD.
• Tribes migrated to:
I. The Syrian Desert.
II. Hira in the Persian Empire.
III. Central and Northern Arabia.
IV. Oman and Bahrain.
V. Aus and Khazraj tribes went to the Jewish state of Madina.
• The last Himyar king, Dhu Nuwas was a Jew who persecuted Christians. Christians appealed to Byzantine Emperor Justin I. He wrote to Negus, King of Abbysinia. A 70,000 man Abbysinian army crushed Dhu Nuwas in 525 AD.
• The Himyarite Kingdom came under Abbysinian rule, which lasted for 50 years.
• In 570 AD, Abrahah, the Abbysinian governor of Yemen, attacked Makkah to destroy it;
his army was destroyed by swallows. Arabs called 570 AD ‘am-al-fil’ or Year of the Elephant, since Abraha’s army had elephants in it.
• Soon, the Yemeni Arabs overthrew their Christian ruler with the aid of Persians.
• However, the Persians were also imperialist masters. Yemenites sought the help of their northern brethren against the Persians.
Jahiliya Period (450 AD to Rise of Islam)
• Age of Ignorance.
• In this period, the ideas and ideologies of the people of Arabia were undergoing a massive change.
• The changes were:
I) Disintegration of the matriarchal system.
II) Growth of a money-economy throughout Arabia.
III) Migration of Yemeni tribes towards Northern Arabia.
IV) Increase in the intrigues of the Roman and Persian empires along the northern and southern borders of Arabia.
• As trade with the rest of the world increased, tribes become more interested in money and trade. The Quraish of Makkah and the Saqifs of Taif were the most prominent.
• These leaders organized the whole of Arabia into trade: markets were opened, fairs were held, caravans were sent in all directions.
• Quraish and the leading tribes lent money to the Bedouins and made huge profits on the interest. Thus, the Quraish became one of the wealthiest tribes in Arabia.
• The matriarchal system was all but destroyed by the cataclysmic change. The moral values promoted by the older system were ravaged. Due to the greed and hunger of both town-dwellers and Bedouins, both engaged in long and protracted wars.
Political conditions of Arabia:
• There was no State of Arabia; there was tribal anarchy.
• If a man killed someone in his own tribe, the victim’s family could freely murder him.
• If a man killed someone from another tribe, the grieved tribe took revenge by raiding the perpetrator’s tribe.
• The tribal spirit or unity was called asabiyha.
• In Bedouin tribes, even the poorest member had a voice in the tribal council. The Sheikh was not a tyrant; he was a chosen leader.
Ayyam-al-Arab (Wars of the Days of the Arabs):
• These usually started a war:
I. Tribal greed and plundering instinct II. War instinct and tendency to fight III. Poets’ fiery words
IV. Pride and honour
• The tribes usually joined alliances during wars.
• Tribes that grew too big usually split up and the two sides started fighting each other.
• Even clans within the same tribe fought each other.
Examples:
War of Basus: Quarrel over a she-camel that was wounded by the chief of the Taghlib tribe and which belonged to a woman named Basus of Banu Bakr tribe. War lasted 40 years. The tribes were descended from a common ancestor!
War of Dahis and al-Ghabra: Dahis and al-Ghabra were a horse and a mare. The sister tribes of Abs and Dhubyan fought each other because of a quarrel over a horse race. Soon all tribes in the area joined in!
Intellectual forces in Arabia:
• Because the nomads were ever mobile and raided their neighbours so much, Arabia spoke a fairly uniform language.
• It is said that the ancient Arabs loved three things the most: his language, his camel and his clan.
• The Arabs considered eloquence of speech, masterful archery and skilled horsemanship the basic attributes of a perfect man.
• Orators and poets were patronized during a war and when preparations were beginning for a new one.
• Rawis recited poems, Qasidahs (odes) and other types of poetry.
• Poets, Rawis and Khatibs (orators) were the oral representatives of a tribe. They led the tribe through oral ‘cold wars’ before actual physical hostilities began and, just before the battle began, they heaped invectives on the enemy on the battlefield.
• Poets were also the public representatives of chiefs of a tribe; they moulded public opinion in favour and wrote Qasidahs for those who patronized them.
• The poets even traced the genealogy of tribal chiefs up to Ibrahim or even up to Adam.
• Fairs were held throughout Arabia for exchange of goods and competitions of poetry and oration.
• The fair of Ukaz near Makkah was the most famous. A national congress of poets was held here in the Haram months when war was forbidden.
Moral Life of the Arabs:
• Their Virtues:
Hospitality and generosity Courage and enthusiasm Loyalty to clan and tribe Steadfastness of character
Giving shelter to those who ask for it; they would die for those to whom they had given shelter
Love of freedom.
• Vices:
I. Looting helpless wayfarers and lonely outcasts. Lavish and extravagant spending II. Senseless barbarity and brutality
III. Unquestioningly murdering another tribe’s people over petty disputes IV. Treating women worse than animals
V. Excessive lying
VI. Breaking of promises and trusts VII. Fiery spirit of revenge
Religious life of the Arabs
• Some of them affirmed the Oneness of Allah, believed in the Creator and the Resurrection and were convinced that Allah would reward those who are obedient to Him and punish the disobedient. In this group fell people like Baheera, the monk, from Abdul Qais, Quss Ibn Sa idah and Rabab Ash-shani.
• There were others who believed in the Creator and the beginning of the creation but denied the Messengers and the Resurrection. It is about this group of people that Allah informed in Surah Al-Jathigah
• “And they say: There is nothing but our life of this world, we die and we live and nothing destroys us except Ad-Dahr (Time)”
• Te vast majority of Arabs, however, believed in the Resurrection and the Return to life but they disbelieved in the messengers and clung to the worship of idols as is evident from the following:
• “We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah” – Surah Az Zumar.
• (iv) There was a multitude of goods and goddesses which the Arabs worshipped, prominent of which were:
• Every family in Makkah had an idol in the house which was worshipped and whenever someone wanted to go on a journey, the first thing he would do was to stroke it and so would it be done when he returned from the trip.
• The Arabs worshipped their idols with special rites and ceremonies; camels, goats, sheep and sometimes even humans were sacrificed to them. Their blood was poured on the altar and the worshippers danced around the idol.
• Pagans believed that if they kissed the idol, they would acquire holiness.
• Pagans believed in Jinns and they thought that malicious Jinns inhabited deserted places and paths while good Jinns resided in the populated areas. Jinns could also overpower people and such people were called majnun.
• Sometime Arabs worshipped even trees, sand heaps and a pile of wooden sticks.
Other religions around Arabia
• Verily, those who believe (in Allah and in his Messenger Muhammad) and those who are Jews, and the Sabians, and the Christians, and the Majus (Magians) and those who worship others besides Allah; truly, Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection. Verily, Allah is over all things a Witness. (22:17)
The Magians (Magus):
• Born 600 years before the advent of the Christian calendar in Azerbaijan, Zoroaster established the final doctrine of the Magians. The beliefs of this religion revolve around a constant struggle between the god of goodness or light, Ahura Mazda, and the god of evil and darkness, Ahriman. Deeming fire to be holy, it is ignited in honour of Ahura Mazda in specially constructed temples. A few such temples have survived till today in Yemen,
god /goddess Remarks
Manat One of the oldest idols erected between Madina and Makkah on the shore of the Red Sea. It was venerated by all, in particular by Ams and Al-Khazraj Tribes of Madina
Iran and Azerbaijan. Although majority of the Zoroastrians converted to Islam when the Persian Empire crumbled at the hands of the Muslims, a small percentage, called Parsees, still survives in India, Pakistan and Iran.
The Sabians were originally pure monotheists who lived before the first Jews and Christians and worshipped Allah alone. Later on their beliefs became more linked with stars and planets and therefore they were accused of polytheism. They were well-versed and renowned in the study of natural phenomenon. A small number of them even now live in Iraq. They have been mentioned in Sura Al-Baqra, Al-Maidah and Al-Hajj.
The Jews who always considered themselves as the people chosen by God to rule the world were concentrated in clusters like Yasrab (Madina) and Khyber where they had a dominant position.
They were also living in different pockets of the Persian and Roman Empires to which they had fled to escape persecution of the Greek, Roman and Christian rulers of Palestine. The Jews did believe in the oneness of God but their overall beliefs had been mutilated and distorted. As a people, they always preferred to live aloof and hardly ever encouraged others to join their religion or otherwise have close social contact with them.
The Christians: After a humble beginning in Palestine and bearing the brunt of persecution and victimization at the hands of the Roman Empire for over three centuries, Christianity got a big boost in 325 A.D. after the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to it and adopted it as a State Religion. However, by this time, it had undergone structural changes in its basic philosophy, teachings and approach by adopting the doctrines of Trinity (Three Gods), Incarnation, Sonship, Atonement, Second Coming and the Gospel Truth. Christianity now had more or less complete sway in places like Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Asia Minor, and was fast spreading in all other directions of the Roman Empire. At the same time, ideological in-fighting too was going on between Syrian Jacobites, Egyptian Copts, Lebanese Maronites with the Papal Authority at Rome and the Chief Patriarch of Constantinople.
The Hindus in the Indian-Subcontinent worshipped hundreds and thousands of gods and goddesses, while at the same time believing in the Supreme Deity whom they called Eshwar or Bhagwan. They were also afflicted with the well-entrenched caste system which had stratified their society into four mutually inseparable classes called Brahmins, Kushtrias, Vesh and Shudras.
The Buddhists: Budshism which originated in northern India and posed great threat to Hinduism in the beginning, was in constant decline in the sub continent. However, it had developed a footing in countries like Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Burma, Thailand and China where its philosophy of self-contentment and enlightenment was fast gaining ground.
World Political Conditions
• Arabian Peninsula was flanked by two super powers: Sassanid Empire (Persian Empire) in the north and north-east and the Byzantine Empire (Roman Empire) in the north-west.
Taking advantage of the internal fighting and chaos of the Byzantine Empire, Chosroes, the Emperor of Persia, captured entire territory in the east and west save Constantinople, the capital, from 603 A.D. to 616 A.D. Thus, in Palestine, Egypt and Asia Minor, the Zoroastrian flag replaced the Christian flag. The balance of power tilted so much in favour of the Persians that Chosroes II addressed a letter to Heraclius, the Roman Emperor, as under:
“From Chosroes, the supreme god of all gods, the Lord of the Earth, to his mean and block-headed slave, Heraclius. Thou sayest that thou hast confidence in God. Why did not thy God save Jerusalem from my hands?”
• To the peace overtures from the Romans, He arrogantly replied:
“It was not an embassy, it was the person of Heraclus bound in chains that he should have been brought to the foot of my throne. I will never give peace to the Emperor of Rome till he has abjured his crucified God and embraced the worship of the Sun.”
• To consolidate his hold on the newly captured territory, he took a series of oppressive measures to eradicate Christianity and as a first measure, He massacred ninety thousand adherents of this religion.
• These events, which were taking place in Rome and Persia, the greatest empires of the time, had their repercussions in Makkah which occupied a central place in Arabia. The Iranians worshipped a sun-god and fire, whereas the Romans believed in revelation and prophethood. It made sense psychologically for the Muslims to side with the Christians of Rome, whereas the Makkahn idolaters sided with the Zoroastrians, they too being nature worshippers.
• When finally the Persians emerged victorious in 616 A.D. and this news reached Madina to which Muslims had emigrated, the opponents of Islam claimed that the Muslims too would be uprooted like the Romans.
• It was at this critical juncture that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) had a highly significant revelation made to him:
“The Greeks have been defeated in the neighbouring land. But after their defeat they shall themselves gain victory within a few years.”
• By 625 A.D., the tables had been turned as Heraclius inflicted a humiliating naval defeat on the Persians and smashed their might by penetrating deep into their heart from the mountains of Armenia.
• The final battle was fought at Nineveh on the bank of the River Tigris in December 627 resulting in the crushing defeat of Chosroes. In the ensuing palace revolt, his eighteen sons were murdered before his own eyes and he was throne into a dungeon by his only surviving son, Siroes, where he expired on the fifth day.
• Thus came true the Quranic prediction contained in Sura Al-Room within the specified period and the Persian Empire started crumbling and disintegrating from within.
Commercial Life of Arabia
• In normal times, caravans used to ply on major trade routes resulting in smooth exchange of goods between Asia and Europe right from the eastern seaboard of China to places in the extreme west of Eurasia.
• As severe hostilities erupted between the Persian and Roman empires, the two super giants of their time, normal caravan routes (such as the Samarkand Golden route) became
insecure, so much so that the trade was diverted to the Arabian Peninsula through which the goods were transited for onward delivery to their destination in Asia and Europe.
• Having strategic location and already being the religious hub of the Arab world, Makkah emerged as the focal point of transit trade.
• In winter the Quraish led caravans to the north of Arabia to places such as Gaza (close to the Mediterranean sea), Busra Ash Sham (across the Dead Sea), Al-Heira (close to the River Euphrates in Iraq) while in summer they travelled to Yemen (Sana and Aden) and Aksum, the capital of Abyssinia, across the Red Sea.
• As very high stakes were involved, the Quraish, who were fast emerging as virtual monopolists in transit trade, wanted no disruption in its smooth flow or any security hazards which could imperil their interests and authority on the caravan routes.
• Commercial activity was picking up fast all over Arabia as is evident from the emergence of huge markets where fairs were held to transact goods coming from all directions:
Name of the market Location
Ukaz Near Makkah at Arafat
Dhil Majaz Onite, close to Ukaz
Al-Natah Khaibar
Al-Hijar Al Yamamah
Souq Aden Aden
Al-Rabiyah Hadramamt
Sukar Oman
Diba A place in present day UAE
Al-Mushaqqar Near Hajar in Bahrain
Doumatil-Jandal Daumatil Jandal in the Nafud Desert in extreme north