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Books Section > Muhammad the Prophet by Maulana Muhammad Ali >
Chapter 1: The Dark Age
Chapter 1:
The Dark Age:
"Certainly the first house appointed for men is the one at Makkah, blessed and a guidance for the nations" (3:96).
The Arabian
Peninsula:
The land known as Jazirat
al-‘Arab, or the Arabian Peninsula, occupies a central
position in the hemisphere comprising the continents of Asia, Africa
and Europe. It forms the heart, so to speak, of the Old World. This
is the country that gave birth to Muhammad (may peace and blessings
of God be upon him), the last of the great religious reformers to
found a religion. The Indian Ocean washes its coast on the south, the
Mediterranean and the Red Sea on the west. To the east lie the
Persian Gulf, the Tigris and the Euphrates, the latter two rivers
traversing its northern part as well. According to ancient historians
and geographers, it comprises within its boundaries the strip of land
known as Iraq (Mesopotamia) as well as Arabian Syria. The map of the
modern world, however, does not show these forming an integral part
of Arabia. Leaving them aside, the country yet covers an area of
twelve hundred thousand square miles. About a third of this is
covered by sandy deserts, the largest being the one known as
al-Dahna’, lying in the middle of the southern part.
There are practically no rivers worthy of mention in the country.
Small streams, however, are met with here and there. Some of these
lose themselves in the desert sands, while others wind their way to
the sea. From south to north runs a chain of mountains known as
Jabal al-Sarat, the highest peak of which is eight thousand
feet. Dates are the main produce. In ancient days, Arabia was famous
for its gold, silver, precious stones and spices. Of the animals
found here, the camel is the most valuable and useful, while the Arab
horse has no match in the world for beauty, stamina and
mettle.
‘Iraq and
Syria:
As a matter of fact, Iraq and Arabian
Syria form an integral part of Arabia, though modern political
distribution shows them as distinct from the mainland. Of these, Iraq
stretches adjacent to Iran. The towns of Basrah and Kufah, which long
remained centres of Islamic learning, were founded here during the
caliphate of ‘Umar the Great. Arabian Syria lies to the north,
extending right up to Aleppo. Arab geographers have, therefore, shown
the Euphrates as the northern boundary of Arabia. In this part lies
Mount Sinai, where Moses received Divine revelation. The Amalekites
once had a mighty kingdom here.
Hijaz:
Arabia proper is subdivided into a
number of parts. Of these, Hijaz is the province in which the sacred
land of Haram is situated. The Haram (sacred or forbidden
territory) is so called because from time immemorial the place has
been held in the highest veneration, and every kind of warfare is
forbidden therein. It is within the precincts of the Haram
that the sacred house of Kabah stands. The Torah, sacred book of
the Jews, speaks of Hijaz by the name of Paran. Its chief towns are
Makkah, Madinah and Ta'if. This province extends along the Red Sea in
a rectangular strip. Jeddah and Yenbo are its two main sea-ports,
where pilgrims for Makkah and Madinah respectively land. On the east,
Hijaz is bounded by the province of Najd and, on the south, by Asir,
part of Yaman.
Yaman:
The second main province is Yaman,
which lies in the south of the Peninsula. Hadzramaut and Ahqaf form
parts of this province. It is the most fertile tract in the country
and has consequently been the most civilised. Even to-day relics of
some most magnificent buildings are met with here. Huge embankments
were once constructed here to control the springs of water from the
mountains and utilise them for purposes of irrigation. The most
famous of these was Ma'arib, the destruction of which is mentioned in
the Holy Quran [The Quran, 34:16]. Yaman was,
moreover, the centre of the trade in minerals, precious stones and
spices for which Arabia was once so famous. The mighty empire of
‘Ad, of which the Quran speaks [The Quran, 7:65],
was established here. This particular area is known as Ahqaf.
Hadzramaut is that part of Yaman which lies in the extreme south,
along the shore of the Indian Ocean. Sand is the capital of the
province and Aden its chief port. To the north of Sand lies Najran,
where Christianity had spread before the advent of Islam. The
well-known Christian delegation, that waited upon the Holy Prophet
and which was allowed to stay in the Prophet's Mosque, came from this
place. To the north of Najran lies 'Asir.
Najd:
The third great part of Arabia is Najd,
which extends from Jabal al-Sarat eastward across the interior of the
country. It is a rich and fertile plateau, some three to four
thousand feet above sea-level. Here lived the clan of Ghatafan, for
whose chastisement the Holy Prophet had once to lead an expedition.
The desert bounds it on three sides, while in its south lies Yamamah.
The Banu Hanifah, of which tribe came Musailimah, the impostor, lived
here.
‘Uman:
In the south-east of Arabia, and along
the coast of the Gulf of ‘Uman, stretches the tract of land
known as ‘Uman. Its capital is Masqat, where a nominally
independent Sultan has now been established. To the north of
‘Uman lies the port known as Bahrain also called al-Ahsa, famous
for its pearls. Close by is Hirah, once a kingdom.
Hijr:
Hijr, the home of the Thamud, among
whom Salih was raised as a prophet, is another place of note. It lies
to the north of Madinah. On his march to Tabuk, the Holy Prophet
happened to pass by this place. To the west of Hijr lies Madyan, the
home of the prophet Shu‘aib. To the north of Madinah is
Khaibar, once the strong-hold of the Jews.
Makkah and
Kabah:
The three chief towns of Hijaz, as
previously mentioned, are Makkah, Madinah and Ta'if. Ta'if owes its
fame to the fact that, situated as it is at the foot of the
mountains, it is cool and rich in verdure, with innumerable springs
of water and abundance of fruit. It lies to the east of Makkah and is
the general summer resort of the Hijaz nobility. But the most famous
towns of Hijaz are Makkah and Madinah. Makkah is also known as Umm
al-Qura (Mother of Towns). On all four sides it is enclosed by
mountains. Its present population numbers fifty thousand. From days
of hoary antiquity it has been the spiritual and religious capital of
Arabia, for here stands the sacred House of God, known as Kabah,
which has been the resort of pilgrims from every corner of Arabia
from prehistoric days. Sir William Muir thus comments on the
antiquity of the House in his Life of Muhammad: "A very
high antiquity must be assigned to the main features of the religion
of Mecca .... Diodorus Siculus, writing about half a century before
our era, says of that part of Arabia washed by the Red Sea,
‘there is in this country a temple greatly revered by all the
Arabs.’ These words must refer to the holy house of Mecca, for
we know of no other which ever commanded the universal homage of
Arabia.... Tradition represents the Kabah as from time immemorial the
scene of pilgrimage from all quarters of Arabia: from Yaman,
Hadzramaut, and the shores of the Persian Gulf, from the desert of
Syria, and from the distant environs of Hirah and Mesopotamia, men
yearly flocked to Mecca. So extensive a homage must have had its
beginning in an extremely remote age. "
To establish the antiquity of the Kabah, Muir has drawn upon historical facts and oral traditions. The Quran also points to the same. It speaks of the Kabah as "the first house appointed for men; [The Quran, 3:96]" in other words, the first house on the face of the earth assigned to the worship of God. The rays of Divine revelation emanated first of all from this place. And it is a remarkable coincidence that this same place enjoys the distinction of giving birth to the last of the prophets. Makkah owes its importance to this house. As early as 2,500 years B.C., it was a halting-station for caravans plying between Yaman and Syria. The Quran also confirms that the sacred house was in existence before Abraham [The Quran, 2:125]. When leaving his son Ishmael there, the great patriarch prayed: "Our Lord, I have settled a part of my offspring in a valley unproductive of fruit near Thy Sacred House... [The Quran, 14:37]" These words show that the Kabah was there even at that remote date.
Madinah:
Madinah was originally called Yathrib.
Later, when it was adopted by the Holy Prophet as his residence, it
came to be known as Madinat al-Nabi (the Prophet's Town),
which was gradually contracted into al-Madinah. This, too, is an
ancient town. Historical evidence suggests its foundation as early as
1600 B.C. It was originally inhabited by the Amalekites, after whom
came the Jews, the Aus and the Khazraj. When the Holy Prophet came to
settle here, these three peoples formed the population of the town.
It was the latter two who, later, came to be known by the name of
Ansar (Helpers). In the fourteenth year of his mission, the
Holy Prophet emigrated from Makkah to Madinah where he spent the
remaining days of his life. Here it was that he breathed his last,
and here stands his tomb to this day. Madinah lies 270 miles to the
north of Makkah and, unlike the latter, is not barren. Besides rich
cultivation, it has an abundance of fruit-bearing trees. In winter it
is comparatively cooler than Makkah.
Arabian
Races:
The ‘Ad, Thamud, Tasm and Jadis
are the most ancient races of Arabia, as far as can be traced, the
first two having been spoken of in the Quran. These aboriginal races
are known as the Baidah (ancient Arabs). The destruction of
the tribe of Noah was followed by the rise of ‘Ad, whose
settlements spread far and wide beyond the limits of Arabia.
Historical evidence proves their domination over Arabia, Egypt, and
many other places. On the fall of this race, the Thamud rose to
power.
Then came the rise of the Banu Qahtan, whose homeland was Yaman. In their days, they too attained to great power and ascendancy. The Aus and the Khazraj were the offshoots of this tribe. All these races are known as the ‘Aribah (pure Arabs).
Ishmael and his
Progeny:
Last of all came Ishmael, whose progeny
goes by the name of Musta‘ribah (naturalised Arabs). In
obedience to a divine behest, he was left by his father, Abraham,
along with his mother Hajirah, at the place, where stands the Kabah
[The Quran, 14:37; 2:125]. There is little truth in
the belief that they were banished by Abraham at the instance of his
second wife, Sarah. The idea is emphatically repudiated in a saying
of the Holy Prophet which says that on Hajirah's question whether
Abraham was leaving them there in obedience to a Divine behest, the
Patriarch replied in the affirmative. The account given in the Quran
also leads to the same conclusion. Later, father and son
reconstructed, at the Divine injunction, the Sacred House of Kabah
which, it seems was in a dilapidated condition [The Quran,
2:127]. This done, together they addressed the Lord with a
prayer which the Quran reports in these words: "Our Lord, raise up in
them a Messenger from among them ... [The Quran, 2:129]"
This prayer found fulfilment in the person of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad. For this reason, the Holy Prophet is reported as saying: "I
am the prayer of my father Abraham." Ishmael's progeny multiplied and
ramified into numerous tribes. One of these is known as the Quraish
which is descended from Nadzr. This tribe was later subdivided into a
number of clans, the Holy Prophet being a scion of one of these,
known as the Banu Hashim.
Time of
Ignorance:
The period preceding the advent of the
Holy Prophet has been designated as the Dark Age. The Quran gives it
the name al-Jahiliyyah, (Ignorance or the time of Ignorance)
[The Quran, 33:33, 48:26]. The picture drawn in the
verse "corruption has appeared in the land and sea ... [The
Quran, 30:41]" portrays the fallen state of Arab idolaters, Jews,
Christians and followers of other religions alike. It avers that
corruption was rampant throughout the world. This does not, however,
imply that the world had never witnessed a better state of things;
but whatever civilisation and moral awakening had ever sprung up
anywhere through the various prophets sent from time to time among
different peoples had by that time utterly disappeared in consequence
of the lapse of long ages. Every nation of the world had at the time
fallen into a state of decrepitude. These words found utterance
through the mouth of one who was, no doubt, quite illiterate. He had
had no opportunity of going round the world to study the condition of
different countries; nor had he the benefit of the publicity systems
of today that might have acquainted him with the state of the world
at that time. Nevertheless, a reference to the pages of history
corroborates the truth of the assertion in a striking manner. Barring
the fact that Europe had a mighty Empire towards its south-east - the
Christian Empire of Rome - it was sunk in barbarism. Asia, of all the
continents of the world, had once been the nursery of civilisation.
But a study of the various countries of this cradle of philosophies
and religions shows that here, as elsewhere, rank immorality was the
order of the day. India, once the centre of ancient Eastern culture,
presented the same horrid picture. Foul, base and heinous things were
attributed even to those whom the people regarded as their gods. Evil
had taken so great a hold on them, that even the virtuous were
painted in dark colours. Persia and China, too, were in the same
plight. This no doubt was due to the fact that centuries had elapsed
since the advent of former teachers; and whatever reformation had
been previously brought about had become gradually weak and finally
extinct. The Quran says that "time was prolonged for them, so their
hearts hardened... [The Quran, 57:16]"
A modern writer, J.H. Denison, who has studied the different systems of religion and the civilisations that grew up therefrom has come to exactly the same conclusion in his Emotion as the Basis of Civilization: "In the fifth and the sixth centuries, the civilized world stood on the verge of chaos. The old emotional cultures that had made civilization possible ... had broken down and nothing had been found adequate to take their place.... It seemed then that the great civilization that it had taken four thousand years to construct was on the verge of disintegration and that mankind was likely to return to that condition of barbarism where every tribe and sect was against the next, and law and order were unknown....The new sanctions created by Christianity were working division and destruction instead of unity and order .... Civilization like a gigantic tree whose foliage had over-reached the world... stood tottering... rotted to the core.... It was among these people that the man [The reference is to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.] was born who was to unite the whole known world of east and south."
Christianity in a Decrepit
State:
Jesus was the prophet most proximate to
the Holy Prophet Muhammad in point of time. One would have naturally
expected amongst Christians some relics of virtue and morality. But
what was the state of Christianity at the time? Let us quote
Christian writers themselves on the point. Drawing a picture of those
days, a bishop says that the heavenly kingdom was utterly upset, and
a state of veritable hell had been established on the earth, in
consequence of inner corruption. Sir William Muir writes to the same
effect: "Moreover, the Christianity of the seventh century was itself
decrepit and corrupt. It was disabled by contending schisms, and had
substituted. the puerilities of superstition for the pure and
expansive faith of the early ages."
This is a picture of Christianity concerning its general state. Belief in the Oneness of God had disappeared long since. The doctrine of Trinity had given rise to numerous complications. Diverse schisms and sects vied one another in the exercise of their ingenuities in the disentanglement of the riddle how man became God or how three made one and vice versa. This led to the production of a mass of polemical works, taking man far from the true purpose of religion. Gibbon, commenting on the event of the famous library at Alexandria having been set on fire by intolerant Christians, makes a significant observation in this connection: "But if the ponderous mass of Arian and Monophysite controversy was indeed consumed in the public baths, a philosopher may allow, with a smile, that it was ultimately devoted to the benefit of mankind." The general evils - drinking, gambling and adultery - were in full swing even in those days. Dozy quotes the Caliph ‘Ali as speaking of the Taghlib, a Christian tribe, in the following significant words: "All they have borrowed from that Church is the practice of a wine-bibbing." In short Christianity - last of the revealed religions of the world - was practically defunct. It had lost all driving force towards moral reformation.
Arab
Poetry:
As to Arabia itself, it is true that
Arab poetry was at its zenith, and pre-Islamic poetry displays a high
degree of ability and skill. It is also true that the art of writing
was not unknown to the Arabs; but they seldom turned it to useful
purpose. Even their poetry was not preserved in writing. Poetical
compositions of the Dark Age have all come down to us through oral
tradition with the solitary exception of the pieces known as the
Mu‘allaqat which were committed to writing and hung on
the walls of the Kabah. As regards Arab development of the art of
poetry, it is enough to say that mere poetry, as such, affords no
sure criterion of a people's stage of civilisation. Interest in
poetry is observed in almost every stage of society, however crude
and primitive. And the reason is not far to seek. Primitive people
have very few interests, which multiply only with the growth of
civilisation, and hence their exclusive devotion to the only
available form of fine art - poetry. But Arab poetry is devoid of the
breadth of vision and loftiness of thought which come only with
culture. Beauty of language is all it can boast of.
The Arab
Character:
There were, no doubt, certain noble
traits in the Arab character. Hospitality, love of freedom, daring,
manliness, tribal fidelity and generosity were some of the qualities
in which the Arab had no equal. But a few virtues, by themselves,
especially when overbalanced by the weight of barbarity and brutality
can hardly be taken to constitute civilisation. Side by side with the
most hospitable treatment accorded to a guest, it was common practice
to rob a wayfarer. The sentiment of tribal patriotism, though highly
commendable in itself, had also been abused and carried to excess.
Trifling disputes between individuals would lead to terrible
conflagrations of war and blood-feuds extended from generation to
generation.
The Arab
Idolatry:
No doubt, the Arabs professed faith in
the unity of God, but their belief was shallow. Their practical life
belied their profession. They were given to idolatry, thinking that
the Almighty had entrusted the discharge of the various functions of
the universe to different gods, goddesses and idols. They therefore
turned to these, invoking their blessings in all their undertakings.
Thus their belief in the Unity of God was an empty dogma, finding no
place in the system of their practical life. Besides, idols, they
looked upon the air, the sun, the moon and the stars as the
controllers of their destinies, and worshipped them as such. They had
fallen as low as to worship pieces of stone, trees and sand-heaps.
They prostrated before any fine piece of stone they might come
across. Should they fail to find a piece of stone, they would worship
a sand hill, after having milked their she-camel thereon. They looked
upon angels as the daughters of God! Even men of fame were
worshipped, images being carved out in their names. It was not
necessary to have the stones properly carved or shaped; even rough,
unhewn ones served the purpose.
Going out on a journey, they would carry four stones along with them, three to make a hearth, and the fourth to serve as an object of worship. Sometimes no separate one for purposes of worship would be carried. The cooking done, any of the three would be pulled out and worshipped. Besides the three hundred and sixty idols set up in the Kabah, every tribe had an idol of its own. In fact, one was kept in each and every household. Idol-worship had, in short, become second nature with them and it influenced their everyday life in all its detail. The central idea of their faith was that God had made over the control and administration of the universe to others in whom He had vested all powers, such as healing the sick, granting children and removing famine and epidemic. Divine favour could not be obtained but through the intercession of these idols. They would prostrate before them, circumambulate them, offer sacrifices to them, and set apart some of the produce of their fields and their animals as offerings to them.
From such debasing idolatry, the Holy Prophet Muhammad uplifted the whole of Arabia in the brief span of twenty years. Not only was idolatry extirpated root and branch from the soil of Arabia, but such enthusiasm for the Unity of God was kindled in the hearts of the self-same Arabs that it carried them far and wide over the length and breadth of the then known world to uphold the name of the One God. The weaning of a whole country extending over a vast area of twelve hundred thousand square miles from the curse of idol-worship, to which it was hopelessly wedded by long-established traditions and heredity, in no more time than a fifth of a century, so far as to win for it the title of iconoclast - is not this the mightiest miracle that the world has ever witnessed?
Religion a
Mockery:
In addition to idol-worship, which was
the order of the day, star-worship had taken as firm a root in the
soil of Arabia. Human destiny was associated with the movements of
various stars and the phenomena of nature affecting the fortunes of
man for good or evil were attributed to their influence. Whereas on
the one hand the worst form of idolatry had its hold on the Arab mind
in general, there were also some who had no faith in the existence of
God, the immortality of the human soul and the day of retribution. To
them all religion was mockery. They held up to ridicule the very
idols they professed to adore. It is said of the famous poet, Imra'
al-Qais, that on the murder of his father he consulted an oracle in
accordance with the traditional practice among the Arabs, to decide
whether or not he should avenge the murder. The process consisted in
marking two arrows, one with the word na‘am (yes), the
other with la (no), to indicate respectively whether the
undertaking should be entered upon or not. A blank one was also put
in, which if drawn, advised the lot to be drawn afresh. Imra' al-Qais
drew the arrows three times and each time the negative one came out.
In a fit of rage he flung the arrow in the face of the idol, saying:
"O Wretch! Had it been the murder of thy own father thou wouldst not
have forbidden me to avenge it."
Social
Life:
Such was the state of irreligion and
idol worship in Arabia! Social life presented no better a picture.
The Arabs were ignorant of the very rudiments of social virtues.
Their manner of life made the evolution of any social virtue
impossible. Tribal feuds engaged their whole attention. A settled and
peaceful mode of life, indispensable to the cultivation of social
qualities, was unknown to them. The prospect of hostilities with
another clan that might break out at any time was ever present before
their minds. They led a nomadic life, wandering with their cattle
from place to place. They would set up their tents of camel-skins
wherever they found water to drink and forage for their cattle. Only
a small minority of them had settled in villages and still fewer in
towns. How was it possible, under such circumstances, that the
blessings of an ordered and settled society should accrue to
them?
No Law and
Order:
There was no central government to
enforce law and order in the country, which was rent into innumerable
petty states, each clan forming a separate and independent political
unit. They were too weak to enforce justice; to wrench one's rights
from another, one had to depend upon one's strength of arm. Each
tribe had a chief of its own, its leader in battle; but there was no
law whatsoever binding the tribe to the nation. Each was independent,
owing no allegiance to any central authority until Islam came with
its unifying force. William Muir says that "The first peculiarity,
then, which attracts our attention is the subdivision of the Arabs
into innumerable bodies, governed by the same code of honour and
morals, and exhibiting the same manners, speaking for the most part
the same language, but each independent of the others; restless and
often at war amongst themselves; and even where united by blood or by
interest, ever ready on some insignificant cause to separate and give
way to an implacable hostility. Thus at the era of Islam, the
retrospect of Arabian history exhibits, as in the kaleidoscope, an
ever-varying state of combination and repulsion, such as had hitherto
rendered abortive any attempt at a general union .... The problem had
yet to be solved, by what force these tribes could be subdued, or
drawn to one common centre; and it was solved by
Muhammad."
The Quran sums up succinctly this utter deterioration that embraced every phase of life in a single sentence: "You were on the brink of a pit of fire... [The Quran, 3:103]" Hostilities once breaking out continued for generations. Trifles, such as a word of contempt, or a slight mischief in a horse race, led to the slaughter of thousands and the eternal bondage of the vanquished. It was this fallen humanity whom the Holy Prophet raised to the highest level of moral rectitude. He welded these discordant elements into a brotherhood unique in the history of the world. A mighty transformation! A miracle, as a modern writer calls it in his Ins and Outs of Mesopotamia: "A more disunited people it would be hard to find, till, suddenly, the miracle took place. A man arose who, by his personality and by his claim to direct Divine guidance, actually brought about the impossible namely the union of all these warring factions."
Position of
Woman:
Woman occupied a very low position in
Arab society. Despite love-songs in praise of the beloved, which were
the outcome of carnal lust, woman was accorded no better treatment
than the lower animals. Polyandry, which is a characteristic of the
very primitive stages of human society, was also in vogue; yet
neither was there a limit to the number of wives a man could take.
Besides a plurality of wives, he could have illicit relations with
any number of other women. Prostitution was a recognised profession.
Captive women, kept as handmaids, were forced to make money for their
masters in this debasing manner. Married women were allowed by their
husbands to conjugate with others for the sake of offspring [This
practice was called Istibdza’; and was similar to the
practice of Niyoga still prevalent among Hindus.].
Moreover, woman was looked upon as a mere chattel. She was entitled to no share of the legacy of her deceased husband, father or other relations. On the contrary, she was herself inherited as part of the property of the deceased. The heir was at liberty to dispose of her as he would. He could even marry her himself, or give her in marriage to anybody he chose. On the death of his father, a son would even marry his step-mother, she being a part of the inheritance. The practice of divorce in vogue among them was no less barbarous. A thousand times could a man divorce his wife and take her back within a prescribed period (known as ‘iddah). Sometimes he would swear he would not go near her, sometimes he would announce that he would look upon her as his mother, thus leaving her in a state of suspension, being neither wife nor yet divorced. These methods were adopted simply to harass her. She had no way out of her sad plight.
The most obscene language was used in expressing sex relations. Stories of love and illicit relationships were narrated proudly and with utter absence of shame in verses of the most indecent kind. Women of high families were openly addressed in love-songs. Considering the state of things obtaining among the Arabs with regard to the status of woman, it is not difficult to judge what a heavy debt of gratitude woman owes to Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who lifted her up from the depths of lowliness to a position of respect and dignity [Even modern European civilisation, which has a superficial respect for the gentle sex, fails to grant those rights to women which Islam has given them. Genuine respect for the female sex lies in having proper regard for its chastity and the equality of its rights with man, neither of which is, unfortunately, met with anywhere in Western society.].
Let us turn to the amelioration wrought in the condition of woman by Islam. The Quranic injunction, "Women shall have the same rights over men as men have over them, [The Quran, 2: 228]" was the Magna Carta, so to speak, of women's franchise. In the same strain observed the Holy Prophet: "The best of you is he who treats his wife best." To implant veneration for woman in a soil where it was regarded as a mark of nobility to bury female offspring alive is surely no mean service to humanity. On hearing of the birth of a daughter, the father's face would turn black with grief and rage. He had either to bury her alive or put up with social disgrace [The Quran, 16:58, 59]. He would take his daughter to the desert, throw her into a pit dug there beforehand and bury alive the screaming child with his own hands underneath a heap of earth! The Prophet when informed of one such incident burst into tears of pity. Sometimes an explicit agreement was made at the nuptial ceremony that female offspring was to be killed, in which case it was the duty of the mother herself to commit the barbarous deed. She had to do it in the presence of all the female members of the family, especially invited to attend the grim function. All these cold-blooded brutalities were ended, at a single stroke, by the Quranic words: "And when the one buried alive is asked for what sin she was killed .... [The Quran, 81:8, 9]" Never thereafter even in a single instance was the horrible cruelty repeated. In this respect, Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, stands unrivalled in the history of the world for his service to mankind.
Standing
Evils:
Drinking was another vice to which the
whole of Arabia was hopelessly wedded. Intoxicating liquors were
served several times daily. There was not a household but had a
number of wine pitchers in store. No sooner, however, was the Quranic
prohibition proclaimed [The Quran, 5:90] than the very pots
used for storing liquor were broken to pieces and thrown away; and,
it is related, wine flowed like rain-water in the streets of Madinah.
The centuries-old habit of drinking was thus rooted out in no time,
and utter abstinence became the order of the day.
Gambling was another curse which had a firm hold on the Arab society. It was indulged in as a common daily pastime. Those who abstained were looked down upon as miserly. The Holy Prophet Muhammad's spiritual force made short the work of this as well, and relieved Arabia of another longstanding evil.
There was no education worthy of mention among the Arabs. Those able to decipher a script could be counted. Ignorance bred superstition, and they were given to all sorts of queer beliefs. They had faith in the existence of genii and evil spirits, whom they would conjure up in solitary places: To these they attributed certain diseases, to escape which they would make use of charms and incantations. In times of drought, they would fasten dry blades of grass and undergrowth to a cow's tail, set fire thereto and drive the animal to the mountains. They thought the flame of fire resembled a flash of lightning and would, by reason of similarity, attract rainfall. In case a calamity befell them, they would enter the house by the back door. From the flight of birds they took good or evil omens. If a bird crossed their way from left to right, it was regarded as a good omen; from right to left it was a bad omen. Those who believed in a life after death would tie a camel to a tomb and starve it to death, thinking the deceased would mount it on the day of resurrection. They held the human soul to be a tiny creature which entered a man's body at the time of his birth and went on growing. At his death it assumed the form of an owl and kept hovering over his tomb. In the event of violent death, the owl would keep droning "Give me water, Give me water," until the murder had been avenged. They believed in soothsayers and fortune tellers, and had implicit faith in whatever they told them. In short, these and a hundred and one other superstitions were believed in by the Arabs of the pre-Islamic days. In the course of a few years, the Holy Prophet Muhammad emancipated them from all these shackles of hereditary bondage and elevated them to the pinnacle of morality, learning and culture. History will vainly turn its pages to point to a parallel of the wholesale reformation and elevation of a fallen people such as the Arabs were. A mighty achievement indeed!
Earlier
Prophets:
Prophets appeared in various parts of
Arabia before the dispensation of the patriarch Abraham as well as
after. References to some of them have been made in the Quran. Hud
was deputed for the reformation of the tribe of ‘Ad that settled
in a part of Yaman, known as Ahqaf, and Salih was raised for the
Thamud, inhabiting the part called Hijr, to the north of Madinah.
Both these reformers preceded Abraham; while two others, Ishmael and
Shu‘aib, who appeared in Yaman and Madyan respectively, came
after him. Traditions as well as inscriptions show that the
‘Adites were a very mighty people. They had founded a great
empire which extended far beyond the confines of Arabia. It seems
that prophets had been sent among them even before the advent of Hud,
who made his appearance at a time when the nation was sunk very low.
They turned a deaf ear lo this prophet and were severely punished.
Their destruction was wrought by a dust-storm from the desert which
lies to the north of Ahqaf and goes by the name of the Rub
‘Khali (the Barren Quarter). The Thamudites, therefore,
betook themselves to the mountains, where they carved homes for
themselves out of the rocks [The Quran, 26:149]. But since
the doom was sealed, strongholds could not save them. They perished
in an earthquake. A look at the map of Arabia shows that, of these
four, the mission of Hud and Ishmael was confined to the south, and
that of Salih and Shu'aib to the north of Arabia; the middle portion,
known as Hij'az, remained without a prophet. But Abraham's visiting
Makkah and leaving Ishmael there, and afterwards his building the
Kabah, have preserved to this day the association of Abraham's name
with certain places there.
Jewish
Settlement:
During the dispensation of the
Israelite prophets, idol-worship had reached its highest pitch in
Arabia. A queen of Yaman was converted to the doctrine of the Unity
of God by Solomon. This was followed by another feeble ripple on the
religious deep of Arabia. Jews migrated and settled there, probably
about the 5th century B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar, drove
them out of their homelands. Prophecies as to the appearance of the
Last Prophet from the soil of Arabia were current among them.
Therefore they took up their abode there, and Khaibar became a purely
Jewish settlement. When they had gained a firm footing, they began
propagating their faith and about the 3rd century B.C.,
the King of Yaman, Dhu Nawas by name, embraced Judaism. This added
fresh momentum to the Jewish movement of proselytism and in the
course of time Judaism won considerable ascendancy in Arabia. But the
Arab nation as a whole remained addicted to its ancestral religion of
idol-worship, and after a short-lived career the Jewish religious
movement died a natural death, leaving the Arabs as a nation of
idolaters.
Christians:
A second wave of reformation followed.
Christian missionaries began pouring into Arabia in the
3rd century A.D. and settled in Najran. Their
proselytising activities were considerably supplemented by the
political influence of the two Christian powers in the neighbourhood
of Arabia, the Abyssinian to the west and the Roman Empire to the
north. Consequently the entire province of Najran, which lies between
'Asir and San'a, accepted Christianity. Barring just a bare
sprinkling of converts here and there, little impress was made by
Christianity on Arabia proper. Thus ended in utter failure the second
attempt at the reformation of Arabia.
Unitarians:
The third reformatory wave set in
motion was internal. Just a little before the advent of Islam, there
had sprung up a new school of thought known as Hanif. It was a small
band of earnest men who discarded idolatry but were not disposed
towards Judaism or Christianity. They worshipped only one God, but
did not trouble themselves at all about reformation in the social
life of their country. Feeling aversion for idol-worship, some of
them did no doubt join the fold of Christianity, such as Waraqah,
Khadijah's cousin, and ‘Abd Allah ibn Jahsh, Hamzah's nephew,
but their number was insignificant. The majority of them found no
satisfaction in either Christianity or Judaism. Of these, the
noteworthy were Zaid ibn ‘Amr ibn Nufail, 'Umar's uncle, and
Umayyah, a renowned poet and the chief of Ta'if. These people had
little zeal for promulgating their newly-conceived notions.
Nevertheless they made no secret of their abhorrence of idolatry, and
openly avowed Unitarianism as their faith, which they professed to be
the religion taught by Abraham. Feeble though the movement was, it
was undoubtedly there. But, like its predecessors, this internal
movement also failed to go below the surface, leaving Arab society as
unaffected as ever. In fact, it was more feeble than either the
Jewish or the Christian movement.
Failures:
The Jews had family affinity with the
Arabs. Both came of the same stock. Their language, their manners,
their customs had much in common. Both held the great patriarch
Abraham in high esteem. A king of Yaman, the most fertile province of
Arabia, had accepted the Jewish religion. Thus to all human
calculations, these various forces in favour of Judaism had a
cumulative effect potent enough to secure the conversion of the whole
of Arabia. But Arabia proved adamant to all these
influences.
Then came Christianity with quite a new message. Its so-called Unitarianism resembled the Arab concept of Godhead. The idolatry obtaining among the Arabs was akin to Greek idol-worship under the influence of which the Christian doctrine of Trinity had taken birth. St. Paul, the real founder of the Church religion as we have it, had given such an idolatrous form to the monotheistic teaching of the Israelite prophets as to make it fascinating for the idolatrous peoples of his day. Consequently, Christianity secured large numbers of converts from among the Arabs. It had another feature particularly attractive to them. It dispensed with the necessity of observing the law - a licence quite in keeping with the Arab mode of life. Having no religious or secular code of laws to regulate their conduct, these wild children of the desert had given themselves up to unbridled debauchery. Christianity allowed ample latitude for the gratification of their licentious propensities. It was therefore a creed offering the least line of resistance, and hence the easiest for them to adopt. In addition to these inherent attractions, Christianity had the advantage of temporal power to commend it to the Arabs. The great Roman Empire to the north, the Abyssinian kingdom to the west, the conversion of one of the provinces of Yaman and the hold acquired by Christianity over the states of Hirah and Ghassan - these were the manifold influences in favour of Christianity. Under such circumstances, the conversion of the peninsula seemed but a matter of days. Nevertheless, the Church failed to make any appreciable impression on Arab society.
The third movement, that of the Hanifs was purely internal in origin and had little to do with the social reformation of Arabia, confining its aims to one single object - the supplanting of idolatry by Unitarianism. Notwithstanding such an unambitious programme, it found the soil of Arabia far less congenial than had the preceding movements. It proved the weakest of all, perhaps, for the reason that it was backed by no worldly power.
It is remarkable that before the appearance of the Holy Prophet, three different movements were set afoot, all aiming at the reformation of Arabia. Keeping at work for centuries with all the advantages that worldly power can afford, all these movements vanish in smoke. But then arises an individual who achieves, single-handed and in a state of utter helplessness, what they had all failed to achieve. In the course of a few years, he brings about a transformation unparalleled in the history of the world. Not only is the debasing superstition of the country -idolatry - eradicated, but the entire social fabric is reclaimed and released from long-standing and deep-rooted corruption.
Arabia Impervious to
Reform:
In view of all this, a critical eye
cannot fail to perceive that, behind the scenes, it was the mighty
hand of the Lord that helped the Holy Prophet Muhammad in working
such a radical transformation in the religious, social and moral life
of Arabia within the brief span of twenty years - a transformation
that stands unique in the history of the world. William Muir, by no
means a friendly critic of the Prophet, has to admit this miraculous
regeneration of Arabia in the following words: "During the youth of
Muhammad, the aspect of the Peninsula was strongly conservative;
perhaps reform never was at any period more hopeless. Causes are
sometimes conjured up to account for the results produced by an agent
apparently inadequate to effect them. Muhammad arose, and forthwith
the Arabs were aroused to a new and a spiritual faith. Hence the
conclusion that Arabia was fermenting for the change, and prepared to
adopt it. To us, calmly reviewing the past, pre-Islamite history
belies the assumption. After five centuries of Christian
evangelization, we can point to but a sprinkling here and there of
Christian converts."
"In fine, viewed thus in a religious aspect, the surface of Arabia had been now and then gently rippled by the feeble efforts of Christianity; the sterner influence of Judaism had been occasionally visible in a deeper and more troubled current; but the tide of indigenous idolatry and of Ishmaelite superstition, setting strongly from every quarter towards the Kabah, gave ample evidence that the faith and worship of Mecca held the Arab mind in a rigorous and undisputed thraldom."
Further on, the same critic observes that "the prospects of Arabia before the rise of Muhammad were as unfavourable to religious reform as to political union or national regeneration. The foundation of the Arab faith was a deep-rooted idolatry, which for centuries had stood proof, with no palpable symptom of decay, against every attempt at evangelization from Egypt and Syria."
Thus the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sent as a warner to a people who were proof against all warning. They had baffled all previous attempts at their regeneration. But phenomenal success attended his labours in bringing about the reformation of that self-same, incorrigible race. It is to this miraculous transformation of idolatrous Arabs, and through them of the followers of other religions, that the Quran prophetically refers: "Those who disbelieve from among the People of the Book and the idolaters could not have been freed till clear evidence came to them - A Messenger from Allah, reciting pure pages, wherein are (all) right books. [The Quran, 98:1-3]"
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