Chapter 3: Sects and Religions in the Arabian Peninsula and its Surroundings
Despite the fact that at the advent of Islam the prevailing belief of the Arabs involved idol-worshipping, there were different religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, Hanifiyyah, Manawiyyah, Sabian and other schools practiced in different localities of Arabia. Thus, the Arabs did not follow a specific sect. For this reason, there was a sort of fatigue and delusion among the followers of these sects. We will hereinafter deal with each of these sects, yet briefly:
Monotheists
Monotheists or Hanifiyyah
were those who, despite the infidels and atheists, believed in One and Only God and probably believed in the punishment of the Doomsday. Some members of this group believed in Christianity; but historians have included them with the Hanifiyyah. Among the Hanifiyyah are the following individuals: Waraqah ibn Nawfal, ‘Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh, ‘Uthman ibn Huwayrith, Zayd ibn ‘Amr ibn Nufayl,
al-Nabighah al-Ja’di (Qays ibn ‘Abdullah), Umayyah ibn Abil-Salt, Qiss ibn Sa’idah al-Iyadi, Abu-Qays Surmah ibn Abi-Anas, Zuhayr ibn Abi-Sulma, Abu-’Amir al-Awsi (‘Abd ‘Amr ibn Sayfi), ‘Addas (the servant of ‘Utbah ibn Rabi’ah), Ri'ab al-Shanni, and Bahira the monk.
Some of these people were among the distinguished philosophers or poets.
Of course, the secret behind their inclinations towards monotheism lay in their pure and clean human nature and their bright thoughts. The prevalent ill-ominous sects of those days could not satisfy their spiritual needs. These distinguished individuals deeply believed in Almighty God and refrained from following an illogical set of beliefs such as those of idol-worshippers. Christianity and Judaism, too, had lost their vigor and spirituality with the passage of time and could not offer any means of tranquility to those men. For this reason, we observe that some of these God-seekers suffered the pains of journeys to find the truth. They had long discussions with Christian and Jewish scholars.
They impatiently looked for the signs of prophethood of the Holy Prophet to which there were numerous references in the Holy Books. Since they could not reach any accomplishment, they accepted the very first principle of monotheism. However, we do not know anything about the way they carried out their religious ceremonies.
It should be noted, however, that contrary to the view of some scholars, Hanifiyyah did not play any role in guiding the Arab society towards monotheism; rather, as some other historians have stated, they spent their lives in seclusion. They spent their time in deliberation and contemplation, as they were never well-organized. They did not possess any sect with preset commandments or principles. What they were fond of was their seclusion and staying away from the population and refraining from worshipping idols. They were convinced that the prevalent ideology was a corrupt one. They did not give themselves the trouble of propagating their right ideas. For this very reason, they did not have any conflict with people of their own time.
Christianity
There were some followers of Christianity, too, at some locations of Arabia. This religion had entered Arabia from the south via Ethiopia, and from the north via Syria (The dominated areas by Byzantine) and also from the Sinai Peninsula. However, Christianity achieved no progress in that land.
In the northern parts of the Arabian Peninsula, Christianity had found its way among the members of the tribe of Taghlib (a branch of the tribe of Rabi’ah), Ghassan and some members of the tribe of Qudha’ah.
Qiss ibn Sa’idah, Han¨alah al-Ta’i and Umayyah ibn al-Salt have been enumerated as Christians. Some of these had left their cities and communities and joined monasteries in the deserts.
Christianity in Yemen
Christianity entered Yemen during the fourth century AD. Phillip Hatti, a Christian author, writes:
The first Christian missionary headed by Theofilus Endus Erius who arrived at southern Arabia was the one sent by Emperor Contantius in 356 AD. The dispatch of the abovementioned missionary was motivated by the world diplomacy of those days and the rivalry between Iran and Rome over the domination of territories in southern Arabia. Theofilus established a church
in Aden and two in the country of Himyar. The people of Najran accepted the new religion in 500 AD.
At the dawn of Islam, Christianity was prevalent in the tribes of Tayy, Majhadh, Bahra', Sulayh, Tanukh, Ghassan, Lakhm and Yemen.
The most important center for Christianity in Yemen was Najran, an advanced city. People used to engage in farming, weaving silky cloth, trading hides and weapon making, this city was located at the trade route which extended up to Hirah.
Christianity was prevalent in Yemen until the reign of Dhu-Nuwas who came to power and forced people to put aside their religion. When Christians refused to do so, they were put in fire-pits and burned alive.
Finally, Dhu-Nuwas was defeated in 525 AD by the intervention of Ethiopia and Christians came to power once again.
Christianity in Hirah
Another city where Christianity was prevalent was Hirah, to the east of Arabia. This religion had entered the region through Roman slaves. Since the time of Hormoz I, the government of Iran had built some colonies the inhabitants of which were Roman slaves. Some of them lived in Hirah. In the view of many, the source of Christian influence in this area was these slaves. Christian missionaries used to live in Hirah, promulgating Christianity. They started propagating and spreading Christianity in the Arab markets, discussing the issues of heaven, hell and chastisement. Due to their efforts, some accepted this religion; even Hind, the wife of al-Nu’man X, accepted this religion, building a monastery called Hind's convent. This building was in existence up to the time of al-Tabari. Han¨alah al-Ta’i, Qiss ibn Sa’idah and Umayyah ibn al-Salt were from Hirah.
Al-Nu’man ibn al-Mundhir, the king of Hirah, due to the encouragement of ‘Adi ibn Zayd, accepted Christianity.
Numerous Qur'anic verses deal with Christian ideas and the weak points in their beliefs and actions, especially their assumptions concerning Christ's divinity.
This is the best piece of evidence for the existence of this religion in the Arabian Peninsula at the time of the revelation of the Holy Qur'an. The issue of Mubahalah; mutual cursing, which is well-known in the history of Islam, took place with the Najran priests.
However, Christianity had lost its spirituality and authenticity and had been subject to a lot of distortions. Thus, it could not fill the intellectual and religious vacuum which existed in the mind of people in those days nor could it give any peace of mind anymore.
Judaism
Many centuries prior to the advent of Islam, Judaism had entered certain regions of Arabia. Yathrib was one of the most famous of these regions, which later came to be called Medina. There were Jewish communities in Tayma',
Fadak
, and Khaybar.
The Jews of Yathrib belonged to three tribes: Banu- Nadhir, Banu-Qaynuqa’ and Banu-Quray¨ah.
Besides these three Jewish settlements, there were in Medina two other Jewish tribes; Aws and Khazaraj, during the third century AD. Upon the establishment of the Jews in Yathrib, these two tribes came from Yemen to live in this city. They were originally idolaters and due to their association with the Jews, some of them embraced Judaism. It is said that there were some Jews living in Ta’if who had been driven out of Yemen and Yathrib by force and they started their engagement in trade.
Wherever they lived in Arabia, the Jews were well-known for farming due to their skills in this activity. In Medina too, they were famous due to their skills in blacksmithing, dyeing, and weaponry.
Judaism had some followers among the tribes of Himyar, Banu- Kinanah, Banu-Harith ibn Ka’b, Kindah,
Ghassan and Judham.
Jews in Yemen
Any region in which Jews lived; they propagated the Law of Moses. Yemen, too, was under the influence of the Jews for some time, and Dhu-Nuwas, the king of Yemen, who had accepted Judaism, started suppressing Christians and announced Judaism as the official religion.
In view of some researchers and historians, Dhu-Nuwas had some national and patriotic motives rather than religious sentiments, in announcing Judaism as an official religion; that is to say, Christians in Najran had friendly relations with Ethiopia and its government. Relying heavily on Najran’s Christians, they tried to interfere with the internal affairs of Yemen to achieve political objectives. For this reason, by suppressing the Christians, Dhu-Nuwas and his supporters tried to deprive Ethiopia of this stronghold. After the massacre of Najran's Christians, one of them escaped to Ethiopia and begged the Ethiopian emperor for help. This led to a war between two countries in which Dhu-Nuwas was easily defeated in 525 AD and Najran continued to remain an important center for Christianity up to the Holy Prophet prophethood.
The Sabians
Historians believe that this sect came into being at the time of the kingdom of Tahmurath by Budhasif as its founder. After introducing the history of this sect, Abu-Rayhan al-Bayruni (360-440 AH) writes:
We do not know much about them except for the fact that in their opinion, God has no associate and is void of inappropriate epithets (negative attributes). For instance, they declare: God is not limited; He cannot be seen nor does He engage in injustice. They think the universe is managed by the heavens and that celestial bodies have influence upon us. They believe in life, speech, hearing and sight of the heavenly bodies that have control over rays. Believing in the great influences of the stars and their movement on the earthly creatures, Sabians used to keep the statues of these heavenly bodies in their temples. Examples are the statue of the sun in Baalbek, the statue of the moon in Harran and the statue of Venus in a village.
The center of Sabian activities was the city of Harran.
This sect used to have followers in Rome, Greece, Babel and other places of the world.
The Holy Qur'an refers to them on three occasions.
This sect is now disintegrating and only a few of them live in Khuzestan
and Iraq.
Manichaeism
The sects of Zoroastrianism, Mazdak and Manichaeism all originated in Iran. However, there is no consensus of opinion concerning the influences of these sects over Hijaz prior to Islam. Some contemporary historians believe these sects were present in Arabia in those years. Historical documents attest to the presence of Manichaeism in Arabia in those days. Ya’qubi writes:
Some Arabs adopted Judaism as their religion, others accepted Christianity, and some others became heretic and believed in dualism.
Although the word zindiq (miscreant) originally refers to atheist and denier of God, in the opinion of the scholars, this was used for a group of believers in Manichaeism and gradually included all followers of this sect. Later on, it included infidels and atheists in general. Thus, in the ancient sources, the word zindiq was used to include the followers of Manichaeism.
Now we know that Manichaeism is a combination of Christianity and Zoroastrianism.
A group of historians have confirmed that heresy or Manichean heresy was prevalent among the people of Quraysh who had received it from the people of Hirah.
This clarifies the fact that by heresy, we mean dualism, because Hirah used to be a protégé and neighbor of Iran and Iranian sects which were based on dualism.
Star Worshipping
During the Ignorance Era, a group of the people of the Arabian Peninsula, like many of other areas, worshipped celestial bodies, such as the moon and some stars. They believed in a special power embedded in these bodies which could exert energy over the population of the world, controlling their destiny in this way. For instance, the tribes of Khuza’ah and Himyar worshipped a star called Shi’ra, which is one of the stationary stars. Abu-Kabshah, one of the maternal ancestors of the Holy Prophet, was one of the worshippers of this star.
A group of Tayy tribe used to worship a star called Thurayya or the Pleiades.
The worship of skies and stars was so prevalent that its repercussions are visible in the Arab literature, romance and superstitions.
Besides the Sebians who worshipped the sun and the moon, these two heavenly bodies were sanctified and worshipped by all idolaters in general.
Prohibiting and condemning the worshipping of celestial bodies, the Holy Qur'an considers this limited group of celestial bodies creations of God that are dominated by His power and worshipping Him. Thus, they could be regarded as guides for man and directors towards God, the All-great. This is because these heavenly bodies are just signs for His power:
And He has made subservient for you the night, the day, the sun, and the moon and the stars are made subservient by His commandment; most surely, there are signs in this for a people who ponder. (16:12)
And among His signs are the night and the day and the sun and the moon; do not make obeisance to the sun nor to the moon; and make obeisance to Allah who created them, if Him it is that you serve. (41:37)
And that He is the Lord of the Sirius. (53:49)
These sacred verses depict the fact that at the time of the Holy Prophet, the worshipping of these celestial bodies was a common practice.
The Worshipping of Jinn and Angels
Besides the abovementioned sects, some people of Arabia used to worship Jinn and angels. ‘Abdullah ibn al-Zuba’ri, a tribal chief in Mecca, used to say, “We are the worshippers of the angels; the Jews worship Ezra, and the Christians worship the Christ! Now ask Muhammad: Would we go to hell when we worship so many beloved ones?”
Banu-Malih, a branch of the Khuza’ah tribe, used to worship Jinn.
It is said that the first people who started worshipping jinn were a group of Yemenis; then it was the Banu-Hanifah tribe; then it was spread among the Arabs.
In the words of interpreters, some people believed that God has married the Jinn and the angels are the offspring of such a marriage.
In the Holy Qur'an, God has condemned the worshipping of Jinn and angels and the wrong assumptions about them:
And they made the jinn associates with Allah, while He created them, and they falsely attributed to Him, and highly exalted is He above what they ascribe to Him. (6:100)
And on the day when He will gather them all together, and then He will say to the angels: Did these worship you? They shall say: Glory be to Thee! Thou art our Guardian, not they; nay! The worshippers become abashed. (34:41)
It also becomes clear through the answers offered by the angels that they are not satisfied with people who worship them. (34:41)
It is evident that this question is not asking for any information; neither does it unveil any ambiguity. This is because God is All-knowing. God intends that the angels reveal the truth so that their worshippers become abased. However, the jinn were content in this respect.
Thus, the worshipping of these two sets of invisible creatures on the part of some worshippers was not unlike the dualism-bided sect, because the worshipper considered the jinn as the source of light, benevolence and abundance. When entering a valley at night, some Arabs used to say, “I ask the protection of the chief of the ignorant ones in order to be safe against those ignorant ones who live in this land.”
By chanting such slogans, they believed the jinn would protect them for the truth of this claim comes from the Holy Qur'an:
And persons from among men used to seek refuge with persons from among jinn, so they increased them in wrongdoing. (72:6)
The Appearance of Mecca
The building of Mecca goes back to the time of Prophet Abraham who was ordered by God to bring his wife Hajar and his infant Isma’il from Syria to live in a dry climate. (14:37)
Upon the appearance of Zamzam by God to water these two,
Jurhum, a southern tribe whose individuals had moved towards the north due to famine and drought, came to settle there.
Reaching the age of adulthood, Isma’il married a girl from this tribe.
Prophet Abraham was commanded by Allah to build up the Kaaba with the assistance of his son, Isma’il. (2:127)
When it was built, the city of Mecca came into being and Isma’il's offspring gradually settled therein.
The Remnants of Abraham's Religion: Hanifiyyah
‘Adnan was the great ancestor of the ‘Adnani Arabs and the twentieth ancestor of the Holy Prophet from Isma’il’s generation. Living in Hijaz, Najd, and Tihamah,
the ‘Adnanis followed Prophet Abraham’s religion. In the words of Ya’qubi:
“Quraysh and ‘Adnan's children in general believed in some principles of Prophet Abraham’s religion. They used to perform their pious pilgrimage; they observed the Hajj ceremonies; they were hospitable; they observed the prohibited months; they abhorred nasty deeds, the severing of relations with relatives and injustice or tyranny; they used to punish the wrongdoers.
The remnants of Prophet Abraham’s traditions, such as belief in God, avoidance of marrying one's mother or daughter, ceremonies of Hajj and Sacrifice, nocturnal pollution,
circumcision, and shrouding and burying the dead
were all carried out up to the advent of Islam: they carried the ten rules of cleansing the body and removing the unwanted hairs and the like.
They believed, as well, in the prohibitions imposed on the four months which was one of Prophet Abraham’s traditions.
If for any reason, there occurred a fight among them; they called it a sinful and obnoxious war.
Thus, monotheism had a long history with the Arabs of that region and their idolatry entered there only later and drove them astray from monotheism.
The Beginning of Idolatry among Arabs
In accordance with numerous documents, two factors have been effective in the propagation of idolatry among Arabs:
First: ‘Amr ibn Luhayy, the chief of Khuza’ah, an influential man and custodian of the Kaaba,
made a trip to Syria where he could visit a group at ‘Amaliqah
who were engaged in idolatry. When he asked why they worshipped those idols, they replied, “They cause the rain to fall and help us in many ways.” He asked them for an idol, and they gave him an idol called Hubal. Later, he took it to the Kaaba and stuck it on it asking people to worship it.
Besides this, there are two other idols next to the Kaaba: Asaf and Na’ilah.
These two were also worshipped upon his recommendation. In this way, he laid the foundation of idolatry. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said:
‘Amr ibn Luhayy was the one who transformed Isma’il's religion and laid the foundation of idolatry. I have seen him in the fire of Hell.
Second: When Isma’il's children grew in numbers in Mecca, they decided to go to different cities and locations to continue with their life. Due to their extreme respect and love for Mecca, everybody used to take away a piece of stone and put it on the ground wherever they went and started going around it like the ceremony around the Kaaba. Little by little, the motive behind this practice was forgotten and each stone transformed into an idol. People then would worship any stone they liked. In this way, they completely forgot their precious customs and religion: they transformed the religion of Prophet Abraham and Prophet Isma’il, accepting idolatry.
Of course, these two factors were the basic reasons for the spread of idolatry. Naturally, there were other factors in this process, such as ignorance, human fondness of sensation (according to which man prefers God to be tangible), zeal for being the chief or among the prominent figures of the tribe who preferred people to be stuck in ignorance so that they could carry on with their domination, and imitating their ancestors that caused the spread of idolatry in different forms.
The number of idols gradually increased to such an extent that there was an idol in every home. On their trips, they used to caress it with their hands and ask for blessing.
At the time of the conquest of Mecca, there were three hundred and sixty idols in this city.
Did Idolaters Believe in Allah?
The idolaters did not deny the existence of Allah; they considered Him as the Creator of the skies, the earth and the universe - a fact established in the Holy Qur'an.
However, they committed two huge mistakes which were the very root of their misleading.
(1) A false recognition of Allah and His Attributes; they had puzzling attitudes towards Allah. This is witnessed by the fact that they assumed a wife and children for God. They thought that angels were Allah's daughters. They erroneously assumed that Allah was like men and other creatures that had the power of sexual reproduction. However, in different verses, God has reprimanded them for these attitudes:
And he made the angels - those who are the servants of the Beneficent God - female divinities.
What! Did they witness their creation? Their evidence shall be written down and they shall be questioned. (43:19)
Most surely, they who do not believe in the hereafter name the angels with female names. (53:27)
And they say: The Beneficent God has taken to Himself a son. Glory be to Him. Nay! They are honored servants. (21:16)
And they made the Jinn Associates with Allah, while He created them, and they falsely attributed to Him sons and daughters without knowledge; glory be to Him, and Highly exalted is He above what they ascribe to Him. And that He - exalted be the majesty of our Lord - has not taken a consort, or a son. (6:100-101)
In different verses, God has reprimanded the disbelievers for their ascribing to God the existence of girls, which were considered to be evil, while ascribing boys to themselves:
Or has He daughters while you have sons. (52:39)
Then ask them whether your Lord has daughters and they have sons. Or did we create the angels females while they were witnesses. (37:149-150)
Have you then considered Lat, ‘Uzza, and Manat the third, the last? What! For you the males. And for Him the females! This indeed is an unjust division! They are naught but names which you have named, you and your fathers; Allah has not sent for them any authority. They follow naught but conjecture and the low desires which their souls incline to; and certainly, the guidance has come to them from their Lord. (37:149-150)
What! Has He taken daughters to Himself of what He himself creates and chosen you to have sons? (43:16)
And they assert a relationship between Him and the jinn; and certainly, the jinn do know that they shall surely be brought up. Glory be to Allah for freedom from what they describe. (37:158-159)
In accordance with an interpretation, by the relation of God to Jinn was meant to be their assumption of God's relation with Jinn, the consequence of which was the angels.
2. They used to think of the idols as petty Gods, intermediate between themselves and Allah. Worshipping these petty Gods was supposed to satisfy Him. This assumption was irrational since worship belongs to Allah alone.
Despite the fact that these small gods were not supposed to be the creators of the world, their worshippers assumed some divine roles for them, considering them influential on man's fate and future. They looked for these Gods' assistance to solve their worldly problems. However, in Islam, Allah is considered to be both the Creator of the universe and it’s Manager. (17:111)
The idols are lifeless entities, lacking perception. The Holy Qur'an depicts their baseless assumptions in the following manner:
And they serve beside Allah what can neither harm them nor profit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah. Say: Do you presume to inform Allah of what He knows not in the heavens and the earth? Glory be to Him, and supremely exalted is He above what they set up with Him. (10:18)
Now, surely, sincere obedience is due to Allah alone and as for those who take guardians besides Him, saying, We do not serve them save that they may make us nearer to Allah, Surely Allah will judge between them in that about which they differ; Surely Allah does not guide him aright who is a liar, ungrateful. (39:3)
And they have taken Gods besides Allah that they should be to them a source of strength. (19:81)
And they have taken Gods besides Allah that they may be helped. (36:74)
The Holy Qur'an calls the idolaters liars and ungrateful ones because they considered the idols as helpers to Allah in the management of worldly affairs.
The Chaotic State of Religion
When Islam appeared, idolatry had distorted and transformed the Hanifiyyah through its widespread customs and ceremonies. The disbelievers were in a state of chaos regarding religion. They severely adhered to their idolatry and carried out its customs. They carried out Prophet Abraham’s ceremonies, such as Hajj and sacrifice in a defective, distorted way, and mingled it with superstitions. For instance, besides bowing to and worshipping the Kaaba, they had built other temples around which they performed their ceremonies. They even took sacrifices to those temples, slaughtering them on the spot.
Their prayers beside the Kaaba were nothing more than whistling and hand-clapping. During Hajj time and at the time of uttering the expression at Thy service, they used to call the names of their idols besides Allah's name.
In this way, they mingled the Hajj of Prophet Abraham, which is one of the most sublime manifestations of monotheism, with polytheism. The two tribes, Aws and Khazraj, instead of head-shaving at the land of Mina, carried out this ceremony on their way back to Medina at the foot of Manat (an idol), which was at the seashore
on the route between Mecca and Yathrib.
The disbelievers, both men and women, used to circumambulate the Kaaba naked;
it is apparent what a horrible scene could be seen around the Kaaba!
People of Quraysh used to put musk and ambergris on their idols next to the Kaaba and bow to them; they used to gather around them uttering at Thy service.
Although they believed in the reverence of those four sacred months not to be involved in wars, they used to change the names of the month and postpone the sacred months so that they could be involved in wars.
Drastic Changes in the Light of the Appearance of Islam
The advent of Islam brought forth drastic changes in the lifestyle of the people of Hijaz; a complete revolution took place the effects of which could be observed in the entirety of the Arabian Peninsula. With a resolute and strong struggle against idolatry, the Holy Prophet rooted out idolatry, replacing it with the principle of monotheism. Islam demolished the system of tribal life and its wrong and hazardous customs. It annulled the tribal prejudices and established a zeal for justice in society. Islam changed vengeance, plunder and homicide into peace and tranquility. It called all Muslims brethren of one another. It rescued women from misery and gave them sublime human dignity. Islam turned an ignorant nation into a knowing one. It established the systems of ummah (community) and imamate to replace tribal systems. It made a unified nation out of the scattered tribes. Islam prepared them for a universal government transcending the limited tribal life. Due to Islam, the Arab nation became so powerful that it could overthrow the great empires of those days, namely Iran and Rome. This point is so obvious that even non-Muslim scholars have witnessed to its authenticity. As some examples, we will present the views of three of them.
Dr. Eustan Le Bon, a French author, says:
“It was the great miracle of the Prophet of Islam to unite all the wandering Arabs into a nation prior to his demise. He made every Muslim obedient to one leader. Without doubt, Prophet Muhammad had some tangible results that none of the previous religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, could have achieved. For this, the Arab nation owes him a lot. If we desire to evaluate people with their feats and deeds, definitely Muhammad is the greatest man in the history of mankind. We consider the religion which he brought for mankind as a great Divine asset.”
Thomas Carlyle, an English author, writes:
“Through Islam, God led the Arabs from darkness into light. Islam enlivened the dead and silenced Arabs. From the very beginning of man's life, Arabs were nothing but wandering desert-dwelling groups of people. They had nothing to present to the world. Through the prophet hood of a great Prophet, God changed the unknown Arab people into a well-known nation, a wandering nation into a settled one, a miserable nation into a prosperous one, a weak nation into a powerful one, and a spark into a great fire. The Prophet's rays spread everywhere; his light scattered at every corner of the earth, the south, the east and the west so much so that only one century after its advent, the Islamic government could establish its power from India to Andalusia.”
Will Durant writes:
“In those days, nobody could dream and believe that wandering desert-dwelling people could, after only one century, capture half of the Roman territories in Asia, the whole territory of Iran and Egypt and most of the northern territories of Africa, and be on its way towards Spain. This historic event which started from Arabia and through which the Arabs could capture half of the Mediterranean territories and could establish Islam is no doubt the strangest historical event in the Middle Ages.”
The Development and Significance of Mecca
The majority of the Arabian Peninsula people during the Ignorance Era were desert-dwellers living in tents. Civil life did not exist in the territory of Hijaz. What is referred to as a city was in fact minor villages with small populations. Some historians have estimated that only one-sixth of the population was city-dwellers; some have estimated that seventeen percent of the whole population was living in cities.
The basis for these estimations is not clear. The percentage of city dwellers was small. Being located eighty-three kilometers away from the Red Sea, the city of Mecca, in the south of Hijaz, was the most important in the region; it had attracted a lot of settlers some decades prior to the advent of Islam. There were two reasons for the development of Mecca:
The commercial position
Located in a rough and dry territory, the city of Mecca lacked agricultural or other productive means of life. In order to survive, its people had to engage in trades, yet extremely limited.
Non-Arab merchants used to carry their merchandise to either buy or sell inside the city or in the seasonal markets of the Arabian Peninsula. This continued until the reign of Hashim, the Holy Prophet's great grandfather, who entered into a treaty with the Roman Empire, according to which the Meccan traders could freely enter this country.
He had a contract with the tribes on the way to Damascus to protect the Meccan merchants on their journey.
In return, he had to carry their merchandise to Damascus free of charge.
His brothers, ‘Abd Shams, Nawfal, and al-Muttalib, had similar contracts with the governor of Ethiopia and the kings of Iran
and Yemen.
Upon achieving the security of routes, Hashim established the trade route between Yemen and Damascus
passing through Mecca which was between these two trade-centers.
In this way, the trade of Quraysh outside the country was established.
Since then, Meccan merchants, besides partaking in seasonal markets, such as ‘Uka¨, Dhu’l-Majaz, and al-Majannah, made their journey to Yemen and Ethiopia in winter and to Damascus and Gaza in summer. In this way, they could buy silky cloths, hides and other merchandise which had come from India or China into Yemen and take them to Mecca through the Arabian lands parallel to the Red Sea
to take them again to Gaza, Jerusalem, Damascus and the ports on the Mediterranean. They could then buy wheat, oil, olives, wood and other produce from Damascus. They could also enter Ethiopia, through the Red Sea and Jeddah Port, which is located eight hundred kilometers away from Mecca. In this way, they could take their local merchandise from one place to another.
The establishment of such a merchant route changed the city of Mecca into a lucrative center for trade and had a tremendous effect on the life of its people. God mentions this route as a means for prosperity for the people of Quraysh:
For the protection of the Quraysh - their protection during their trading caravans in the winter and the summer; so, let them serve the Lord to this house, Who feeds them against hunger and gives them security against fear. (106:1-4)
The Holy Kaaba
The very existence of the Kaaba was considered a significant factor for the development of the city and for the prosperity of its people. This is because the Arabs used to arrive to this city twice for the observance of Hajj ceremonies. People of Quraysh, being responsible sponsors for the Kaaba’s affairs, provided the pilgrims with water and food. Trade transactions were carried out between the pilgrims and the Meccan merchants during the Hajj ceremonies.
These two factors played major roles in the trade prosperity of the city.
Of course, the sanctity of Mecca which brought forth the required security for the trade transactions was of utmost importance for the trade prosperity of Mecca. This fact is mentioned by Allah:
And they say: If we follow the guidance with you, we shall be carried off from our country. What! Have We not settled them in a safe, sacred territory to which fruits of every kind shall be drawn-sustenance from Us? But most of them do not know. (38:57)
Upon the settlement of his wife and child beside the Kaaba, Prophet Abraham asked his God for such an asset:
O Our Lord! Surely, I have settled a part of my offspring in a valley unproductive of fruit near Thy Sacred House, our Lord! That they may keep up prayer; therefore make the hearts of some people yearn towards them and provide them either fruits; haply they may be grateful. (14:37)
My Lord, make it a secure town and provide its people with fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the last day. (2:126)
Trade and Custodianship of Quraysh
The two factors of trade and the existence of the Kaaba, which had played their roles in the prosperity of Mecca, had their role in increasing the power of the people of Quraysh in Mecca, because they had the trade and religious initiatives in their hands:
(1) People of Quraysh could amass tremendous amounts of wealth thorough trade. The share of one of these traders in one caravan was more than thirty thousand Dinars.
The Quraysh nobles had a lot of gardens.
in the summer quarters of Ta’if, which, in good weather, was called a part of Damascus.
Al-’Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib had a vineyard in Ta’if the produce of which was carried to Mecca to be made wine.
He was one of the great usurers of Mecca.
Upon his death, his body was enshrouded in two pieces of Yemeni cloth which cost the value of five thousand grams of gold.
It is said his daughter, Hind, manumitted forty slaves in one day.
Al-Walid ibn Mughirah, the elder chief of the Banu-Makhzum, had a great wealth and a great number of children; he was quite famous
and later reprimanded by the Holy Qur'an because of his false pride and ambition.
The wealth of ‘Abdullah ibn Jad’an Tamimi and his luxurious parties were considered fabulous.
Poets composed eulogies to receive prizes.
A poet likened him to Caesar.
It is said that at one tribal war, he gave a thousand camels to a thousand warriors
and armed a hundred warriors at his cost.
He was the custodian and seller of female slaves.
He used to drink out of golden ware.
Upon the seizure of Mecca and when he was on the way to the Battle of Hunayn, the Holy Prophets borrowed one hundred sets of shields and the required ammunitions from Safwan ibn Umayyah, one of the infidels of Mecca.
(2) Quraysh, who had taken away the position of the Kaaba’s custodianship from Qudha’ah
since the time of Quzayy, the fourth generation away from the Holy Prophet, had distributed among the chiefs of the different Quraysh clans the different responsibilities related to the Kaaba, such as watering the pilgrims, guest-affairs, curtain-management and services of the Kaaba; they had in this way secured a religious position for itself. Besides, the Quraysh had distributed among the heads of its different branches the municipal affairs, such as the control of the reception of blood-money and the like.
Quraysh's Power and Influences
Quraysh, who was a small, insignificant and impoverished tribe at the southern part of Hijaz and later became a strong and famous tribe due to its religious and economic power, turned out to be superior to other tribes in honesty, decency and creditability. In the words of contemporary historians, the Quraysh had some special privileges among other Arab tribes in the same way that priests had special privileges among Christians on those days.
After the event of the Elephant Army and the defeat of Abrahah, the significance of the people of Quraysh raised drastically among the other tribes.
This was due to the fact that its members were the custodians of the Kaaba. They took advantage of this event in their own benefit and called themselves al-Allah (Family of Allah), jiran allah (the neighbors of Allah) and sukkan haram allah (Inhabitants of Allah’s Precinct).
In this way, they could strengthen their religious basis and due to their power, they showed inclination towards corruption and monopoly.
This sense of power caused them to impose some new regulations over other tribes.
Quraysh had the special privilege of marrying any daughter from other tribes with the condition that they should accept the religious innovations that they had fabricated concerning the special Hajj ceremonies.
They received taxes from the pilgrims who would enter Mecca,
and called such tributes as special privileges of Quraysh.
They had monopolized the management of the Hajj ceremonies and forced the pilgrims to follow their regulations. This was so severe that the pilgrims' movement from Mina or participation in stone-throwing was authorized by special order of Quraysh.
Quraysh even forced non-Meccan pilgrims to either buy their costumes or carry out the ceremonies naked. These pilgrims had to throw away their costumes if they refused to buy them from the Quraysh.
This would force them to buy their costumes from the Quraysh, anyhow.
In the ninth year of Hegira, in which the Holy Prophet sent Imam ‘Ali to Mecca to take part in the ceremony of acquaintance, one of the items of ‘Ali's resolution was the prohibition of performing Hajj naked.
Recognition of the Quraysh's power and influence is necessary in order to find out the problems that the Holy Prophet had to face and what powerful enemy he had to confront. With few sources of power that the Holy Prophet had at his disposal, he had to struggle against a powerful opponent.
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Author: Mahdi Pishva'i
