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Most of the Arabs had complied with the call of Ishmael [AWS] , and
professed the religion of his father Abraham [AWS] . They had worshipped Allâh, professed
His Oneness and followed His religion a long time until they forgot part of what they had
been reminded of. However, they still maintained such fundamental beliefs such as
monotheism as well as various other aspects of Abraham’s religion, until the time
when a chief of Khuza‘a, namely ‘Amr bin Luhai, who was renowned for
righteousness, charity, reverence and care for religion, and was granted unreserved love
and obedience by his tribesmen, came back from a trip to Syria where he saw people worship
idols, a phenomenon he approved of and believed it to be righteous since Syria was the
locus of Messengers and Scriptures, he brought with him an idol (Hubal) which he placed in
the middle of Al-Ka‘bah and summoned people to worship it. Readily enough, paganism
spread all over Makkah and, thence, to Hijaz, people of Makkah being custodians of not
only the Sacred House but the whole Haram as well. A great many idols, bearing different
names, were introduced into the area. [Mukhtasar Seerat-ar-Rasool
p.12]
An idol called ‘Manat’, for instance, was worshipped in a
place known as Al-Mushallal near Qadid on the Red Sea. Another, ‘Al-Lat’ in
Ta’if, a third, ‘Al-‘Uzza’ in the valley of Nakhlah, and so on and so
forth. Polytheism prevailed and the number of idols increased everywhere in
Hijaz. It was
even mentioned that ‘Amr bin Luhai, with the help of a jinn companion who told him
that the idols of Noah’s folk – Wadd, Suwa‘, Yaguth, Ya‘uk and Nasr
– were buried in Jeddah, dug them out and took them to Tihama. Upon pilgrimage time,
the idols were distributed among the tribes to take back home. [Bukhari
1/222] Every tribe, and house, had their own idols, and the Sacred House was also
overcrowded with them. On the Prophet’s conquest of Makkah, 360 idols were found
around Al-Ka‘bah. He broke them down and had them removed and burned up. [Mukhtasar Seerat-ar-Rasool p.13-54]
Polytheism and worship of idols became the most prominent feature of
the religion of pre-Islam Arabs despite alleged profession of Abraham’s religion.
Traditions and ceremonies of the worship of their idols had been
mostly created by ‘Amr bin Luhai, and were deemed as good innovations rather than
deviations from Abraham’s religion. Some features of their worship of idols were:
- Self-devotion to the idols, seeking refuge with them, acclamation of
their names, calling for their help in hardship, and supplication to them for fulfillment
of wishes, hopefully that the idols (i.e., heathen gods) would mediate with Allâh for the
fulfillment of people’s wishes.
- Performing pilgrimage to the idols, circumrotation round them,
self-abasement and even prostrating themselves before them.
- Seeking favour of idols through various kinds of sacrifices and
immolations, which is mentioned in the Qur’ânic verses:
"And that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An-Nusub
(stone-altars)" [Al-Qur'an 5:3]
Allâh also says:
"Eat not (O believers) of that (meat) on which
Allâh’s Name has not been pronounced (at the time of the slaughtering of the
animal)." [Al-Qur'an 6:121]
- Consecration of certain portions of food, drink, cattle, and crops to
idols. Surprisingly enough, portions were also consecrated to Allâh Himself, but people
often found reasons to transfer parts of Allâh’s portion to idols, but never did the
opposite. To this effect, the Qur’ânic verses go:
"And they assign to Allâh a
share of the tilth and cattle which He has created, and they say: ‘This is for Allâh
according to their pretending, and this is for our (Allâh’s so-called)
partners.’ But the share of their (Allâh’s so-called) ‘partners’,
reaches not Allâh, while the share of Allâh reaches their (Allâh’s so-called)
‘partners’. Evil is the way they judge." [Al-Qur'an 6:136]
- Currying favours with these idols through votive offerings of crops
and cattle, to which effect, the Qur’ân goes:
"And according to their
pretending, they say that such and such cattle and crops are forbidden, and none should
eat of them except those whom we allow. And (they say) there are cattle forbidden to be
used for burden or any other work, and cattle on which (at slaughtering) the Name of
Allâh is not pronounced; lying against Him (Allâh)." [Al-Qur'an
6:138]
- Dedication of certain animals (such as Bahira, Sa’iba,
Wasila and Hami) to idols, which meant sparing such animals from useful work
for the sake of these heathen gods. Bahira, as reported by the well-known
historian, Ibn Ishaq, was daughter of Sa’iba which was a female camel that
gave birth to ten successive female animals, but no male ones, was set free and forbidden
to yoke, burden or being sheared off its wool, or milked (but for guests to drink from);
and so was done to all her female offspring which were given the name ‘Bahira’,
after having their ears slit. The Wasila was a female sheep which had ten
successive female daughters in five pregnancies. Any new births from this Wasila
were assigned only for male people. The Hami was a male camel which produced ten
progressive females, and was thus similarly forbidden. In mention of this, the
Qur’ânic verses go:
"Allâh has not instituted things
like Bahira ( a she-camel whose milk was spared for the idols and nobody was
allowed to milk it) or a Sa’iba (a she camel let loose for free pasture for
their false gods, e.g. idols, etc., and nothing was allowed to be carried on it), or a Wasila
(a she-camel set free for idols because it has given birth to a she-camel at its first
delivery and then again gives birth to a she-camel at its second delivery) or a Hâm
(a stallion-camel freed from work for their idols, after it had finished a number of
copulations assigned for it, all these animals were liberated in honour of idols as
practised by pagan Arabs in the pre-Islamic period). But those who disbelieve, invent lies
against Allâh, and most of them have no understanding." [Al-Qur'an
5:103]
"And they say: What is in the
bellies of such and such cattle (milk or foetus) is for our males alone, and forbidden to
our females (girls and women), but if it is born dead, then all have shares therein."
[Al-Qur'an 6:139]
It has been authentically reported that such superstitions were
first invented by ‘Amr bin Luhai. [Bukhari 1/499]
The Arabs believed that such idols, or heathen gods, would bring
them nearer to Allâh, lead them to Him, and mediate with Him for their sake, to which
effect, the Qur’ân goes:
"We worship them only that they
may bring us near to Allâh." [Al-Qur'an 39:3]
and
"And they worship besides Allâh
things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with
Allâh." [Al-Qur'an 10:18]
Another divinatory tradition among the Arabs was casting of Azlam
(i.e. featherless arrows which were of three kinds: one showing ‘yes’,
another ‘no’ and a third was blank) which they used to do in case of
serious matters like travel, marriage and the like. If the lot showed ‘yes’,
they would do, if ‘no’, they would delay for the next year. Other kinds
of Azlam were cast for water, blood-money or showed ‘from you’,
‘not from you’, or ‘Mulsaq’ (consociated). In cases of
doubt in filiation they would resort to the idol of Hubal, with a hundred-camel gift, for
the arrow caster. Only the arrows would then decide the sort of relationship. If the arrow showed (from you), then it was decided that the
child belonged to the tribe; if it showed (from others), he would then be regarded as an
ally, but if (consociated) appeared, the person would retain his position but with no
lineage or alliance contract. [Muhadrat Tareekh Al-Umam Al-Islamiyah
1/56; Ibn Hisham 1/152,153]
This was very much like gambling and arrow-shafting whereby they used to divide the meat of the camels they slaughtered
according to this tradition.
Moreover, they used to have a deep conviction in the tidings of
soothsayers, diviners and astrologers. A soothsayer used to traffic in the business of
foretelling future events and claim knowledge of private secrets and having jinn
subordinates who would communicate the news to him. Some soothsayers claimed that they
could uncover the unknown by means of a granted power, while other diviners boasted they
could divulge the secrets through a cause-and-effect-inductive process that would lead to
detecting a stolen commodity, location of a theft, a stray animal, and the like. The
astrologer belonged to a third category who used to observe the stars and calculate their
movements and orbits whereby he would foretell the future. [Mirqat
Al-Mafateeh 2/2,3] Lending credence to this news constituted a clue to their
conviction that attached special significance to the movements of particular stars with
regard to rainfall. [Muslim with An-Nawawi 1/59]
The belief in signs as betokening future events, was, of course
common among the Arabians. Some days and months and particular animals were regarded as
ominous. They also believed that the soul of a murdered person would fly in the wilderness
and would never rest at rest until revenge was taken. Superstition was rampant. Should a
deer or bird, when released, turn right then what they embarked on would be regarded
auspicious, otherwise they would get pessimistic and withhold from pursuing it. [Bukhari with footnotes of Ahmad Ali Saharanpuri 2/851,857]
People of pre-Islamic period, whilst believing in superstition, they
still retained some of the Abrahamic traditions such as devotion to the Holy Sanctuary,
circumambulation, observance of pilgrimage, the vigil on ‘Arafah and offering
sacrifices, all of these were observed fully despite some innovations that adulterated
these holy rituals. Quraish, for example, out of arrogance, feeling of superiority to
other tribes and pride in their custodianship of the Sacred House, would refrain from
going to ‘Arafah with the crowd, instead they would stop short at Muzdalifah. The
Noble Qur’ân rebuked and told them:
"Then depart from the place
whence all the people depart." [Al-Qur'an
2:199] [Ibn Hisham 1/199; Bukhari 1/226]
Another heresy, deeply established in their social tradition,
dictated that they would not eat dried yoghurt or cooked fat, nor would they enter a tent
made of camel hair or seek shade unless in a house of adobe bricks, so long as they were
committed to the intention of pilgrimage. They also, out of a deeply-rooted misconception,
denied pilgrims, other than Makkans, access to the food they had brought when they wanted
to make pilgrimage or lesser pilgrimage.
They ordered pilgrims coming from outside Makkah to circumambulate
Al-Ka‘bah in Quraish uniform clothes, but if they could not afford them, men were to
do so in a state of nudity, and women with only some piece of cloth to hide their groins.
Allâh says in this concern:
"O Children of Adam! Take your
adornment (by wearing your clean clothes), while praying [and going round (the Tawaf
of) the Ka‘bah]. [Al-Qur'an 7:31]
If men or women were generous enough to go round Al-Ka‘bah in
their clothes, they had to discard them after circumambulation for good. [Bukhari 1/226; Ibn Hisham 1/202]
When the Makkans were in a pilgrimage consecration state, they would
not enter their houses through the doors but through holes they used to dig in the back
walls. They used to regard such behaviour as deeds of piety and god-fearing. This practice
was prohibited by the Qur’ân:
"It is not Al-Birr (piety,
righteousness, etc.) that you enter the houses from the back but Al-Birr (is the
quality of the one) who fears Allâh. So enter houses through their proper doors, and fear
Allâh that you may be successful." [Al-Qur'an 2:189]
Such was the religious life in Arabia, polytheism, idolatry, and
superstition.
Judaism, Christianity, Magianism and Sabianism, however, could find
their ways easily into Arabia.
The migration of the Jews from Palestine to Arabia passed through
two phases: first, as a result of the pressure to which they were exposed, the destruction
of the their temple, and taking most of them as captives to Babylon, at the hand of the
King Bukhtanassar. In the year B.C. 587 some Jews left Palestine for Hijaz and settled in
the northern areas whereof. The second phase started with the Roman occupation of
Palestine under the leadership of Roman Buts in 70 A.D. This resulted in a tidal wave of
Jewish migration into Hijaz, and Yathrib, Khaibar and Taima’, in particular. Here,
they made proselytes of several tribes, built forts and castles, and lived in villages.
Judaism managed to play an important role in the pre-Islam political life. When Islam
dawned on that land, there had already been several famous Jewish tribes — Khabeer,
Al-Mustaliq, An-Nadeer, Quraizah and Qainuqa‘. In some versions, the Jewish tribes
counted as many as twenty. [Qalb Jazeerat Al-Arab, p.151]
Judaism was introduced into Yemen by someone called As‘ad Abi
Karb. He had gone to fight in Yathrib and there he embraced Judaism and then went back
taking with him two rabbis from Bani Quraizah to instruct the people of Yemen in this new
religion. Judaism found a fertile soil there to propagate and gain adherents. After his
death, his son Yusuf Dhu Nawas rose to power, attacked the Christian community in Najran
and ordered them to embrace Judaism. When they refused, he ordered that a pit of fire be
dug and all the Christians indiscriminately be dropped to burn therein. Estimates say that
between 20-40 thousand Christians were killed in that human massacre. The Qur’ân
related part of that story in Al-Buruj (zodiacal signs) Chapter.
[Tafheem-ul-Qur'an 6/297; Ibn Hisham 1/20-36]
Christianity had first made its appearance in Arabia following the
entry of the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) and Roman colonists into that country. The Abyssinian
(Ethiopian) colonization forces in league with Christian missions entered Yemen as a
retaliatory reaction for the iniquities of Dhu Nawas, and started vehemently to propagate
their faith ardently. They even built a church and called it Yemeni Al-Ka‘bah with
the aim of directing the Arab pilgrimage caravans towards Yemen, and then made an attempt
to demolish the Sacred House in Makkah. Allâh, the
Almighty, however did punish them and made an example of them – here and hereafter.
[Tafheem-ul-Qur'an 6/297; Ibn Hisham 1/20-36]
A Christian missionary called Fimion, and known for his ascetic
behaviour and working miracles, had likewise infiltrated into Najran. There he called
people to Christianity, and by virtue of his honesty and truthful devotion, he managed to
persuade them to respond positively to his invitation and embrace Christianity.
The principal tribes that embraced Christianity were Ghassan,
Taghlib, Tai’ and some Himyarite kings as well as other tribes living on the borders
of the Roman Empire.
Magianism was also popular among the Arabs living in the
neighbourhood of Persia, Iraq, Bahrain, Al-Ahsâ’ and some areas on the Arabian Gulf
coast. Some Yemenis are also reported to have professed Magianism during the Persian
occupation.
As for Sabianism, excavations in Iraq revealed that it had been
popular amongst Kaldanian folks, the Syrians and Yemenis. With the advent of Judaism and
Christianity, however, Sabianism began to give way to the new religions, although it
retained some followers mixed or adjacent to the Magians in Iraq and the Arabian Gulf. [Tareekh Ard
Al-Qur'an 2/193-208]
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Such was the religious life of the Arabians before the advent of
Islam. The role that the religions prevalent played was so marginal, in fact it was next
to nothing. The polytheists, who faked Abrahamism, were so far detached from its precepts,
and totally oblivious of its immanent good manners. They plunged into disobedience and
ungodliness, and developed certain peculiar religious superstitions that managed to leave
a serious impact on the religious and socio-political life in the whole of Arabia.
Judaism turned into abominable hypocrisy in league with hegemony.
Rabbis turned into lords to the exclusion of the Lord. They got involved in the practice
of dictatorial subjection of people and calling their subordinates to account for the
least word or idea. Their sole target turned into acquisition of wealth and power even if
it were at the risk of losing their religion, or the emergence of atheism and disbelief.
Christianity likewise opened its doors wide to polytheism, and got
too difficult to comprehend as a heavenly religion. As a religious practice, it developed
a sort of peculiar medley of man and God. It exercised no bearing whatsoever on the souls
of the Arabs who professed it simply because it was alien to their style of life and did
not have the least relationship with their practical life.
People of other religions were similar to the
polytheists with respect to their inclinations, dogmas, customs and traditions.
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