ARABIA AFTER THE ADVENT OF ISLAM
(Al Quran 30:41)
The condition of affairs in Arabia, of the Arabs and Arabia, and
of the Arabs before the advent of Rasulullahﷺ was calamitous. The
whole land was plunged into a sea of ignorance and darkness, Justice and Truth
the two fundamentals of civilized life, were unknown. Morality was at its
lowest ebb. Religion was at the lowest depth. The lives of the people were a
little than those of the beast, and the finer qualities inherent in man were dead.
Some redeeming points there still might be, hospitality, bravery, generosity, manliness, and tribal fidelity were some of the noble traits in their character. ; But what were those few virtues in comparison with the general life of corruption and brutality that they were leading. These few good qualities were easily drowned in an extravagance of sin, free and open indulgences in adultery gambling, drinking, highway robbery uncleanness, and every kind of abomination. Not only, moreover, were these vices indulged in, but they were actually praised and made the themes of the poet’s songs. In place of the One True God, Invisible, Incomprehensible, they worshipped gods and goddesses made of stone.
There were about 360 such deities in all; the belief being that to each one God had delegated the discharge of certain of His functions. For everything they desired they turned to these idols, invoking their help and blessing, and in addition, they regarded the sun, the moon, the stars, and the air all as gods worshipping them and believing them to be controllers of their destinies. These people had fallen so low as even to worship stones, mud, and trees; before any shapely of stone on their way they would prostrate themselves. Even men of wealth and fame were considered beings worthy of worship and adoration, while their lives were fettered in vain superstitious.
Before going on a journey they
would first secure four roughly hewn stones, three to cook on and one to worship.
If they were unable to take four, three would suffice, and at a halt, after
cooking they would take out one and worship it before continuing their travel.
Their heathenism had reached such a pitch that the Kaabah, The house of God,
which was reconstructed by Abraham, for the worship of the One Almighty God
Allah Rabbul Jalil, become a depository for their idols.
They divided themselves into clans, and in the clans, the family had
their own beliefs and customs, and each family had its own idols in the house. In
times of sickness and famine, they would prostrate themselves before the idols,
offering up cattle. Grain, and the like in return for their help. But although
idolatry had obtained such a firm hold on the Arabs in general, there were
frankly atheists who believed in no religion at all and make a mock of the
idolaters. There were few who practiced religions such as Christianity and the
Jews faith. The followers of the said religion believed in the book and in the
prophets Sheesh bin Adam and Idris. They said prayers seven times a day and
did half a month’s fasting in a year. They also believed in the worship of
planets. The followers of the Abrahamic religion were also polytheists, circumcised,
sacrificed, and grew beards among the essentials of their creed.
They have their own idols in the Kaabah, including an image of
Abraham and one of his sons Ismail. The Idol of Ismail had seven arrows in his
hand, and each arrow had a different name and was there for a different purpose.
The Jews have become idolaters and had their idols in the Kaabah also. The
Christians too had made an idol of the Virgin Mary (Maryam) with the child Jesus
(Nabi Isa AS) in her lap, and that also was placed in the Kaabah.
In fact, all the different religions then prevalent among the Arabs
believed in the worship of idols, and the Kaabah was full of them, some
belonging only to certain of the big clans, while others were for the worship
of all.
Hubal was considered the greatest of all idols, and its power
extended over the rains, riches, and the general good. Dawar was an idol
worshipped by only young women. The house of God that has been built for the worship
of One True God had thus become a great temple packed with idols: for the Arabs
believed that everything could be obtained through the intercession of idols
and that these idols would save their souls and send them to Heaven
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As for the social condition of the Arabs, it was everywhere as bad as the religious. The various clans and families were always at war with one another. Anger and hatred were the chief characteristics, and revenge was their main life force. Fighting and the shedding of blood over trifles were the commonplaces of their existence. They were ignorant of every social principle and did not know what it was to lead a peaceful and settled life. They wandered from place to place with their cattle, halting when and where they chose. A few settled in villages and towns, but wherever they were there was constant fighting and bloodshed. Above all, there was no central government to enforce law and order.
The whole of Arabia was
divided into little states and each state or clan was a separate political unit, with its own chief who whenever he thought proper would lead it
to battle against another clan. There
were indeed a few provincial governments, but these were too weak to enforce
justice. When not fighting, “Wine, Women and Song” represented the summit of
their ambitions, while gambling was
their chief or major intellectual occupation.
This was a daily pastime and the very few who did not indulge in its object of derision. As to drink, it was as great a vice as gambling. Intoxicating liquors
flowed like water in nearly every household. And there was not a dwelling
without its goodly reserve of wine jars.
Women in those days were considered mere chattels – things scarcely human. It was this low esteem in which they were held that established the custom of infanticide in many tribes, it brings reckoned a disgrace and ignominy for a man to have a daughter. Those girls who by any chance escaped death at birth were cruelly treated. When they grew up they make to work like beasts of burden and were regarded as being without a soul, the slave tolerable, by enforcing the same treatment for him as for a member of the family. The Islamic brotherhood which the teachings of Rasulullahﷺ brought into doing away with all social inequalities’ between man and man, and man and woman.
He taught them to treat slaves with kindness
and love and made the manumission of a slave a meritorious deed. He insisted
that no free person should be forced to be made a slave and should be treated as a member of the family and granted them freedom gradually. The Holy Prophet
made it an obligation on the part of the Islamic government to budget annually
for the allocation of a certain percentage of the revenues to the purpose of
the liberation of the slave, by paying the ransom from the government exchequer.
Rasulullahﷺ removes all misconceptions about women. He taught the Arabs to regard them as friends and companions and to be kind and loving to them.
He said: “A person who does not show kindness should not expect kindness from Allah.” He taught them to regard infanticide as abominable and most displeasing to Allah, and thus it soon came to an end.
Rasulullahﷺ had great regard for the right of women; since the passing away from the matriarchal form of society women were, for the first time, emancipated by Rasulullahﷺ. He showed by his example the love, care, and respect that was due to them, and so women once deemed the lowest of the low were raised up to a position of great dignity.
As has been shown, all this was achieved by the holy Rasulullahﷺ in face of the greatest difficulties in but a few years. Is this not enough to
convince all that he was the greatest of Reformers and the most perfect of
mankind?
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