CHAPTER 1: PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIA
CHAPTER 1: PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIA:
Key Points from this chapter:
The Arabian Peninsula was isolated from the rest of the World before the advent of Islam
The Arabs lived a nomadic way of life with tribalism being very common amongst them
The Arabs were very eloquent people and regarded poetry as the highest form of expression
They were a polytheistic people who worshipped over 300 Gods
The first chapter of the book provides an overview of Pre-Islamic Arabia, focusing on the geographic conditions of the Arabian Peninsula and some of the characteristics of its inhabitants. While the author briefly touches on the relationship between the Arabs and their neighbours, as well as their place in the global world, there are other important characteristics that should be mentioned in order to fully appreciate the weight of the mission of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. While the author may have omitted these for the sake of simplicity, it is important to explore them in order to gain a deeper understanding of Pre-Islamic Arabia. As such, this summary will be divided into two sections, the first examining the topics mentioned in the book, and the second looking at additional characteristics not covered by the author.
The Hejaaz, which is a section on the Western side of the Arabian Peninsula and in which the cities of Makkah and Madinah lie, had a very harsh climate. It was mainly full of deserts with little rain throughout the year. This made it difficult to grow crops and food making the climate unsustainable for an advanced society or large population. However, it was from this landscape that “a new movement emerged; one that would change the course of history in the Arabian Peninsula and beyond”. Due to the harsh climate, the Arabs would constantly migrate from one place to another in search of fertile lands to live on. This was similar to the famous Turkish Nomadic Tribes who would go on to found great Muslim empires. One key characteristic of the Arabs was tribal identity and belonging which was vital to the pre-Islamic world. Several clans would form a tribe and be led by a ‘Shaikh’. Often these tribes were mainly formed through familial connections. Belonging to a tribe gave one protection, support and economic opportunities. However, there also were many feuds between tribes and even clans which often had high death tolls. Despite being in a harsh environment, the Arabs still found their artistic expression and this was something unique to them at that time. They did not find it in sculptures as their Persian and Byzantine Neighbours did but in language and poetry. The Arabs were known for their eloquent speech and often wrote great poems. Although the literacy rate was extremely low even for that time, the Arabs settled for memorising long poems instead. The Poets were regarded as celebrities. Religion in Arabia was without a doubt polytheistic. By the time of the advent of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Arabs had 360 idols in the Ka’bah which they worshipped. However, they still revered their forefathers Ibrahim (AS) and Isma’il (AS). They still had respect for their teachings and some of it was at the very core of Arab culture and practices. They even worshipped the same God as Ibrahim (AS) and Isma’il (AS) and even called Him Allah. However, Allah (SWT) had just become one of many Gods that they worshipped. The Arabs also had good relations with their neighbours. They had the Byzantines to their west, the Persians to their east and the Kingdom of Aksum in the south. They had good trading relations with all of them and some Christian Arab tribes were even propped up to the status of a proxy state to fight the many centuries-long Byzantine-Persian War. These two proxy states were the Ghassanids who allied with the Byzantines and the Lakhmids who allied with the Persians. However, the Arabs remained fairly undisrupted by the many wars that took place next to their borders and even felt protected from their neighbours by the harsh climate of the Arabian Peninsula. They went so far as to call the Arabian Peninsula ‘Jaziratul Arab’ which translates to ‘Island of The Arabs’. It was from this harsh climate that a movement would begin in the 7th century that would change the course of the Arabs and world history.
There are many other characteristics of the Arabs that is worth mentioning to develop a deeper understanding of the state of the Arabs before the advent of Islam. A detailed description is found in chapter 1 of Shaykh Abul Hassan Ali Nadwi’s ‘Islam and The World’. He gives a more critical description of the Arabs, speaking about how centuries of isolation in the Arabian Peninsula led to moral depravity and perversion. The upkeep and maintenance of brothels were of great importance to the Arabs. They also had a great love for wine. Their addiction to gambling often led to many feuds. Women in the Arabian Peninsula had little to no rights. They could not inherit anything, the widows could not marry and according to Haitham ibn Adi, one in ten men was guilty of burying their daughters alive at birth. This shows that the Arabs were in a state of utter moral depravity before the advent of Islam and had little to no moral maxims by which to live their lives. However, they did possess some redeeming qualities. As well as having excellent oratory skills as mentioned by the author, they were also superb horsemen – something that would prove crucial to the success of Muslim expansion.
In conclusion, it can be inferred that the Arabs were experiencing a decline during that period. They were deprived of all morality and had become very isolated from the rest of the world. However, despite these negative qualities, the Arabs did possess some redeeming characteristics which were nurtured by the Prophet (PBUH). Therefore, it is clear Islam rescued the Arabs from their period of decline.