Arabia Before Islam
By Ayatullah
Muhammed Beheshti
In order to acquire a close
familiarization with Islam it is necessary to know the environment in
which Islam took birth and started to spread since such an understanding
greatly aids the recognition of that entity.
It is possible to have a
superficial knowledge of certain matters without being familiar with
their knowing their background or the conditions of their origin. But a
profound understanding of a certain being or phenomenon depends wholly
on a thorough familiarization of the background of that being or
phenomenon.
This applies equally to
individuals or technical , artistic or social phenomena. For this
reason, a deep understanding of the environments of Islam at the time of
its birth is essential. The environments at the time of the birth of
Islam may be misconstrued to mean the region including Mecca, or Mecca
and Medina, or Mecca, Medina and Ta'if, or Hejaz or Arabia. It should be
noted though that the noble Prophet of Islam from the very outset as he
began his call to Islam while he was still at Mecca and Islam had not
yet spread to Medina, began his call in the following manner:
"Come and embrace a faith the
light of which will spread over Iran, Rome, Abyssinia and all other
places." Thus from beginning the Prophet's call was a universal one
addressing the civilized world of that time. Moreover, in the 6th year
of (Hijra) migration, namely six years after the prophet's immigration
to Medina, he wrote letters all of which are found in historical records
namely to Khusrow Parviz King of Persia, Heraclius[2] ruler of a part of
the Roman Empire, Mequqass ruler of Egypt,[3] Najashi (or Negus) ruler
of Abyssinia,[4] Ruler of Ghassan as a deputy of Rome,[5] and to the
ruler of Hira of the tribe of AI-e-Mundir and a vice regent of the
throne of Iran, inviting all of them to accept Islam. Thus it becomes
apparent that in order to know the background of the rise of Islam, we
cannot con fine ourselves to Mecca, Medina and Ta'if, or to the Arab
Lands but expand our view to at least include all such regions as the
Prophet himself called to accept Islam in his own time.
A
brief description of Arabia
The name Arabia is applied to
a land populated by Arabic-speaking people. At the time of the birth of
the Prophet, the Arabic-speaking region was not so vast as it is to-day;
on one side it was bounded by the Persian Gulf much as it is to-day,
since at that time, too, the southern borders of the Persian Gulf were
inhabited by Arabs In Iraq the boundary was almost along the Tigris and
the Euphrates namely that side of the Tigris where Arabic is now the
main language In the region between Iran and the Tigris the main
language was not Arabic, but Kurdish, Persian and some local dialects
with Arabic as the main language that side of River Tigris. In fact the
Arabs now inhabiting Khuzestan are not the original inhabitants but
migrated to this region after Islam. In the north were the present
countries of Shaam or Syria and Jordan where a number of Arab migrant
tribes lived in the time of Islam, the period of that migration will be
explained later. In the north, too, Arabic was not, unlike to-day, the
main language, though a considerable Arab migrants had settled in the
valley of the Jordan River.
It may be observed that at
present the Arab land, have extended as far as Turkey, whereas at that
time it was limited more to the south towards Jordan. The present
Lebanon and Syria were not Arabic speaking. In Jordan, too, Arabic was
not the main language, and only the Arab migrants spoke Arabic. In this
respect Jordan resembled the present Khuzestan where a group speak
Arabic and another speak Persian.
In the west, in a significant
part of Africa where Arabic is now spoken, the main language at the time
was not Arabic. Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
and even Abyssinia and other parts where Arabic is now spoken, Arabic
was not the main language at that time. Thus we see that at the time of
the birth of Islam the region of Arabia and the Arab land from the
viewpoint of the Arabic language was located in the south of the Persian
Gulf and the Sea of Oman extending in the west up to the Red Sea -
beyond which Arabic was not prevalent - and in the north till the Jordan
River valley beyond which Arabic was not prevalent, and in the east to
the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This, then was the extent of Arabia at
the time of the birth of Islam.
Here it should be pointed out
that the language spoken in the regions beyond these frontiers, namely
in a part of Africa, Shaam, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and to the east of
the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq, had been branches of Semitic
languages, having a common root with Arabic - in the same way that
Persian has a common root with German, Indian Sanskrit and Indo-European
languages.
The local languages of
Somalia, Abyssinia, Egypt and a part of Jordan (which was Hebrew) and
those of the present Lebanon and Syria (which had been Phoenician), and
those of other parts (which had been Chaldean, Assyrian etc.) were all
like the Arabic language Semitic in origin and are recognized as Semitic
languages and both from the viewpoint of script as well as vocabulary
linked together.
Georgie Zeydan, in his book,
'History of Civilization,[6] narrates that at that time if someone went
from Arabia to Abyssinai, or from Jordan or the Lebanon to Hejaz, he did
not feel like an alien, the languages were so much alike that he could
understand the local language without the aid of an interpreter, and if
he stayed there for a little while, he could learn the local language -
the same way that a Persian-speaking person visiting Kurdestan can learn
the local language within a short time. Thus the Arabic speaking region
of to-day used to be the region of Semitic languages, which have common
roots with Arabic, and is thus easily understood by their neighbors,
while the Arabian peninsula was the home to Arabs who spoke pure unmixed
Arabic.
Origin of
Arab Tribes
The inhabitants of the
Arabian peninsula who were generally called Arabs, were in two groups:
Qahtani Arabs' and 'Adnani Arabs.' Qahtani Arabs were those whose
original abode was Yemen. The Yeminis and Yemen of that time included
the present Aden, the Sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf littoral and the
Sea of Oman.
The Adnani Arabs were
centered around Najd and Hejaz that is to say around Mecca stretching as
far as the Hejaz Desert. Both the Qahtani and Adnani Arabs share a
common historical root, originating from the same ancestors. You can
imagine an Arab family of three thousand years ago steadily multiplying
in numbers, then branching into two sections The descendants of Ya'rib
Ibn Qahtan went to Yemen. Others who went to Mecca - and founded Mecca -
the descendants of Ismail, because they had an ancestor named Adnan,
came to be called Adnani.
Arabs who went to Yemen, the
Qahtani Arab, had come to the land of good fortune, because Yemen was a
better land compared with Mecca, Najd and the Arabian Desert from the
viewpoint of natural potential climate and water. Accordingly in the
lands of Yemen, civilization and industry and urban development began
much sooner. The history of urban development and civilization in Yemen,
the home of the Qahtani Arabs, dates several centuries before Hejaz and
Najd, the home of the 'Adnani Arabs. It would be pertinent at this stage
to consider how the factor of environment influenced the development of
two branches of a common stock who shared common language as well as
many other characteristics. According to historians, not only from the
viewpoint of urbanization and development, but also from the viewpoint
of political organizations and government, Yemen and Qahtani Arabs were
centuries ahead of Najd and Hejaz and the Adnani Arabs. Further
explanations will follow about this aspect.
In Yemen the Hemyari Kings
ruled as the crowned monarchs at the time when in Hejaz social
organizations had not developed beyond tribal ways. Ya'qubi, the great
Islamic historian narrates that the crown worn by Hemyar, founder of the
Hemyari dynasty was made of silver with a large ruby set in the middle
and such was the situation prevailing in Yemen several centuries before
the establishment of a government in Hejaz, Najd and Arabia. From the
viewpoint of technology and civilization, long before the appearance of
such developments over the ordinary tribal life in Najd and Hejaz, the
historical 'Mareb Dam' had been constructed.
In this regard a historian
narrates that this dam was six kilometers in length situated between two
mountains so that the winter rains and torrents would collect in the
form of a lake. It had a number of sluice gates through which passed
seventy irrigation channels passed for irrigating seventy agricultural
sectors. Mareb Dam had been built eight centuries before Islam and as it
happened two centuries before Christ, the object is to show the
background of the birth place of Islam, as also to compare Yemen with
Hejaz which was the location of the advent of Islam.
Mareb
Dam
Mareb Dam played an effective
role in the development of Yemen which flourished alongside of it.
Strabon, the famous Greek geographer and traveler (about 63 B.C. to 26
A.D ) whose name is mentioned frequently in the annals of history, has
written many strange accounts about the city of Mareb and its wonders
and fine palaces which have been quoted in various books of history.
This city had attracted travelers from many parts of the world and
flourished until the second century A.D. From the beginning of the
second century A.D. it started to deteriorate. The interesting point
which historians have recorded is that since individuals were unable to
maintain the Dam, this task had to be performed by their governments,
but as public authorities had become inefficient and were too busy
feasting and drinking, they neglected their responsibility of preserving
the Dam. Consequently it fell into disrepair.
This shows that in those
times the people of Yemen expected their government to undertake such
tasks. Mareb Dam began to deteriorate in the beginning of second country
A.D. so that all realized that it would collapse within the next ten or
twenty years So the Qahtani Arabs of Yemen began to abandon their homes
fearing that with the collapse of the Dam no water would be available
for irrigation or farming. They were also alarmed that when the Dam
collapsed it would release a torrent which would destroy their homes and
fields and everything else that came in its way Consequently such fears
caused the Qahtani tribes to begin emigrating.
One group emigrated towards
Hira and the land of Iraq and settled along the banks of the Tigris, and
founded the government of Munadherah or Al-e-Mundher. The people &
Munadherah on account of their proximity to Iran, became tributaries of
the Iranian governments possibly maintaining political relations with
them. Another group migrated to the territory near the present day
Jordan, and settled in the flourishing Jordan Valley. They were the
earliest Arabs to settle there and set up the Ghassani dynasty which
normally had relations with Rome. A third group of them in their
migration came to Yathrib (the present Medina) which was at that time
home to the Jews, however this subject will be discussed later in the
chapter related to Judaism. These last Arabs formed the twin tribes of
'Aus' and 'Khazraj' whose names appear frequently in the course of the
history of Islam.
These two tribes settled in
Yathrib where some farming land and water were available. Another group,
namely Bani Khuza'a moved to Mecca and fought the Adnani Arabs of Mecca,
drove them out and took control of Mecca themselves. Yet another group
called Bani 'Addi went to Najd and became the rulers of the greater part
of the desert.
What is note worthy here is
that a civilized people accustomed to urbanization and well developed
social existence should as a result of an anticipated catastrophe,
migrate from their home land, and then organize their communities
wherever they set foot. Those who went to Shaam, established the
Ghassani rule; those who went to Hira, founded the dynasty of Al-e-Mundher,
No'manian and Munadherah; whose who settled in Medina, namely the tribes
of Aus and Khazraj, will be discussed in subsequent chapters; and the
group that went to Mecca, pushed away the Adnanis who were the least
developed. These were the ones who went to the desert, dominated the
waste lands of the Arabian Desert. The remaining Arabs who stayed back
in Yemen, either on account of laziness or hoping that no calamity such
as the collapse of the Dam would occur, were annihilated by the
well-known flood of 'Arem in the end of the second century A.D. which
has been mentioned in the Chapter of Saba of the holy Qur'an, where a
brief history of Yemen is narrated.
Thus the structure of Arabia
in the second century A.D. consisted of the government of one group of
Arabs in the present day Jordan neighboring ancient Rome; another group
building a city state in the present Iraq and Hira set up a state
neighboring Iran; another group settled in Yathrib as neighbors of the
Jews, and lastly another group of Qahtani Arabs settled in Mecca and its
suburbs. This then was the situation four centuries before the birth of
Islam.
Cultural Situation
All historians are agreed
that the highest manifestation of the development of Arab culture in the
century preceding Islam was poetry which was not known before that time.
A well known historian named Ya'qubi has written that poetry among the
Arabs had taken the place of science, philosophy, history and everything
else.[7] If an Arab had a bright idea he would give it the form of a few
verses and thus express it. Thus if someone should question what Arab
culture was at that time, the answer would be 'a few stanzas of poetry'.
The Arabs were a people with
a poetic bent even though their land was no land of flowers and
nightingales, but only thorns and sand, yet it nurtured many a poet. As
poetry was esteemed by them to be the highest manifestation of culture,
their poets were on the lookout for a suitable spot to present their
poems. The finest of their poems were then inscribed on posters and hung
on the walls of the Ka'aba in the annual rendezvous of the Arabs.
They called these posters 'Mu'allaqat'
meaning 'hanging verses'. Such display on the walls of the Ka'aba was
the reward for the poets, who as a result became famous. Amra' al-Qais
and other contemporary poets of early Islam were among the poets thus
honored. They were the authors of 'the seven hanging pieces' that had
found place of honor on the walls of the Ka'aba and in history Beside
poetry there was another cultural source in the Arabia of that time,
namely Jewish culture which will be discussed in detail later on.
Economic Situation
The leading aspect of the
Arabs economy of that time from the viewpoint of production was animal
husbandry and agriculture wherever it was possible. As far as trade and
exchange were concerned, their main trade was with foreign lands. Both
the Arabs of Yemen and Hejaz were engaged in this activity, but since
foreign trade must have links with home trade in order to exchange
home-made products with foreign goods, the Arabs of that age resorted to
the same practice in keeping with the level of their civilization as
they do in modern times. In the developed world of today one of the most
significant essential and effective of economic practices is the
organizing of commercial and industrial fairs. The Arabs, too, at that
time arranged fairs in the form of seasonal bazaars In the same way that
today in each season a fair is held in a city or locality in relation to
local conditions, the Arabs, too, followed the same practice at
different times and in particular places. A few examples of the
extensive and famous exhibitions which were held in Hejaz and Najd were
as follows:
1. The 'Dumatul-Jandal Fair',
held in the month of Rabial-Awwal under the auspices of two local tribes
of Ghassan and Kalb near Shaam.
2. The Mashqar Fair' held in the month of Jamadi-al-'Ula in a place of
the same name, under the auspices of Banu-Tim tribe.[8]
3. The 'Sahar Fair', held on the first of the month of Rajab.[9]
4. The 'Ria Fair' following their Sahar Fair' in the same month of
Rajab, under the patronage of the Jalandi tribc and its ruler.[10]
5. The 'Aden Fair', held at the beginning of the month of Ramadhan,
According to historians since this fair dealt exclusively with perfumes
and scents, it was the great market of perfumers.[11]
6. The 'San'a Fair', held in the middle of Ramadhan
7. The 'Rabia Fair', held in the present Hadamut.
8. The 'Ukaz Fair', held in the month of Dhil-Qa'dah near Ta'if
9. The 'Dhil Majaz Fair', held when all other fairs had concluded and
the merchants who had been busy making a round of these fairs during
those months, finally headed to Mecca, making a pilgrimage to the Ka'aba
in the month of Dhil Hajjah, and dispersed after performing the Hajj
ceremonies.
These fairs and seasonal bazaars were the most valuable and cherished
commercial events in Arabia of those days. The merchant class who
profited from those fairs did their best not to let them become mere
exhibitions. They organized colorful ceremonies and musical shows and
other celebrations as well as exhibits of literary works, poetry and
arts. Thus these exhibitions were show places worth a visit both for
those who intended to buy new and fineries and goods, or listen to the
latest and the finest pieces of verse, or fine music. Thus the poets,
too, were drawn to these exhibitions to recite their poems before judges
who judged their poems. In this manner the fairs served both as
commercial shows and literary societies.
Form
of Government in Pagan Times
Sociologists say that in
those days when man lived alone he had no need of a master, since he was
his own master and servant; his own ruler, his own government and his
own nation. But as soon as he emerged from this solitary state and
formed a family, and as soon as their number rose to four, there rose
the question of who headed the family and who was the chief.
Sociologists claim that in
most parts of the world headship belonged to the men while in certain
parts to the women, that is to say the father acting as the head in the
former case, and the mother in the latter. As the family grew larger,
several families formed a group, called tribe, the family then acquired
a tribal form. Thereby the question of the chief, the elder, the senior
and the 'grey-beard' of the tribe came up who should settle the affairs
of the group.
When several tribes took
form, the issue became more extensive and there came into existence
national government, and the issues in turn became international though
yet such a government has not appeared. With the rise of several tribes,
these tribes that lived alongside each other neither knew their common
ancestors nor did they regard each other as kith and kin. As they
coexisted in one area and shared common interests, they found that they
had need for a government in order to preserve their social system. Thus
the formation of a government from the viewpoints of history and
sociology began with the tribes' realization of a need for a guardian to
safeguard their common interests and social system. This guardian then
became their government.
From the viewpoint of
political process, this was the most critical phase, namely the transfer
of power from the tribal system and tribal chief to a central
government. This critical phase had been accomplished in Yemen many
centuries before Islam where a central government in its true sense had
been formed and this was also the case in Ghassan and Hira where
governments ruled. On the other hand in the interior of Arabia such a
governments did not exist except in very rare instances.
Ya'qubi says in his book of
history: "The tribal disputes or problems between individuals were
usually settled by a number of persons known to be wise and far-sighted
as well as unprejudiced and impartial. They settled the disputes through
elderly intervention and arbitration. Such arbitrators were called
magistrates. Ya'qubi mentions in his book of history (Vol. 1, p. 337)
the names of a large number of such magistrates, who were not heads of a
government but only arbitrators who adjudicated in the matters of
disputes. In the history of the corresponding period in Arabia we come
across only one or two cases when government is mentioned in connection
with the interior of Arabia, namely in Hejaz and Najd. Among these
accounts a Jewish historian writes that in the fifth century A.D., that
is one century before Islam, Abu Karab, king of Yemen had assigned his
son as the regent of Median. Since this governor had been installed by
the ruler of Yemen, it could hardly be called the government of Medina.
Thus at that time while there
existed governments along the borders outside of Arabia, such as the
Chassanis and Mundherian, and those who had remained in Yemen and in the
coastal regions of the Persian Gulf, no progress had been made from a
tribal society towards a central government in the central parts of
Arabia.
Role
of Judaism and Christianity
In order to make a thorough
study of the history of Islam, we should also make a survey of the part
played by Judaism and Christianity in side Arabia.
We are not altogether certain of the date of the Jews migration to
Arabia, however the writer of the 'History of Judaism' writes in this
connection: "There are different views concerning the migration of the
Jews to Arabia and its causes and factors, but there is little doubt
that most of the Jews abandoned their homes owing to the oppression of
Roman rulers and sought refuge in Arabia. If the Jews had been denied
peace and tranquility in Palestine, Europe and in the Roman holdings, in
Arabia on the contrary their living conditions were satisfactory, since
there they were no longer subjected to threats and persecution by
Christian priests, being treated kindly by their neighbors.
What is certain is that owing
to the remoteness of the Hejaz and Najd regions, a number of Jews had
migrated to Arabia centuries before the birth of Islam, and in all
probability concurrent with the appearance of Jesus (a s.) Christ or in
the second and third centuries A.D.
According to the existing books of history, their migrations to the
Hejaz must have begun at least about five centuries before Islam, that
is to say by the end of the first century A.D. The Jews had realized
that in that region they could live freely far removed from the
oppression of Roman governors. The most important center of Jewish
settlements was Yathrib, the present Medina. The Jews who came to
Arabia, found that there was land and water in the Yathrib region, so
they built a fort for themselves and settled down. In Mecca, too, the
Jews were present but in small numbers.
Those who migrated from the
north to the south found their way to Yemen, where the number of the
Jews was not so great, but there occurred an event as a result of which
Judaism became the official religion of Yemen. It so happened that Abu
Karab's son was the governor of Yathrib, when his father was king of
Yemen in the fifth century A.D. The inhabitants of Medina rose in revolt
against this governor and killed him. Abu Karab, despite being engaged
in a war with the kings of Iran over Yemen, on his way came to Yathrib
and in order to punish the Jews and Arabs of Yathrib who had risen
against him, and thereafter to proceed to the war with Iran. When he
reached Yathrib, the inhabitants went inside their forts and shut the
gates and took refuge within: Abu Karab besieged the forts, and as the
siege drew on, the people in the forts were faced with acute shortage of
food. At this time a number of Jewish rabbis came out of the forts and
approached Abu Karab and declared that only four foolish men had killed
his son, and begged the king for his forgiveness. In this meeting they
started reciting some Jewish teachings for Abu Karab who was a heathen;
their ardor so influenced him that he embraced Judaism and at once
returned to Yemen.
When Abu Karab and his
courtiers accepted Judaism as their religion, they began to propagate
that faith. After Abu Karab died some time later, one of his sons, named
'Dhunavas' or 'Dhunuvas' became the king of Yemen and formally and
zealously propagated the Jewish faith in Yemen and so it became the
official religion of Yemen where they set about building a number of
synagogues for the Jews. This happened about eighty or a hundred years
before the rise of Islam.
Thus we witness that in the
Arabia of that time, in the north existed the Jews and Christians, in
the east the Zoroastrians and followers of Mazdak, the Iranians'
religion, in the south and in a part of Yathrib the Jews, and in other
parts were idolaters and Sabeans and followers of numerous other
religions.
Judaism in Arabia
The author of the 'History of
Judaism' has recorded that the Arabs treated the Jews kindly and
associated with them treaty resulting in frequent intermarriages among
them. On the whole the Jews exerted a great influence upon the Arabs
since, firstly, they were well versed in economics and could hence
manage the economy of those regions and, secondly, compared to the Arabs
lettered and a people of the Book and consequently possessed higher
learning than the Arabs who were quite illiterate. They could narrate
tales and talk about many topics with the Arabs and hence gained
considerable respect. While the Arabs could neither read nor write, most
of the Jews were familiar with reading and even writing to some extent.
Judaism exerted such a strong influence that a group of the Quraish
tribe, namely Banu Kunanah had embraced Judaism.
Christianity in Arabia
The position of Christianity
was a special one in Hejaz and in the Arabian peninsula. This religion
had not made any inroads into Arabia till about the time of the Prophet
of Islam, that is to say about a century and a half before the birth of
Islam. Just as today the Christian missionaries go to African and South
American lands and penetrate into the forests to propagate their faith,
at that time, too, they went to the dry deserts of Arabia with the
object of spreading their religion. The first group of Christian
missionaries went to the Najran area.
They so greatly influenced
the people there that the first Christian sector took shape in Arabia.
The Christians of Najran commenced their missionary work, and along with
other missionaries who arrived from outside, founded a center of
propagation in the interior of Arabia. At this time, as it has already
been stated, Dhunuvas, the King of Yemen had embraced Judaism. Then
there occurred a collision between this Jewish king who applied much
pressure to spread Judaism in Arabia and the Christians of Najran. This
clash had a political background in that the Emperor of Abyssinia
coveted Yemen, the neighbor across the sea.
To retaliate this clash,
Dhunuvas came to Najran to wipe out the Christians of Najran. This
episode has been narrated in the holy Qur'an under the title of "the
story of Ukhdood"[12] where this deed has been condemned. Dhunuvas
killed many of the Najran Christians and burnt a number of them alive.
This roused the Christian Emperor of Abyssinia as well as the Roman
Emperor to come to the aid of the Najran Christians. But as the Emperor
of Rome was too far from Yemen he asked the Emperor of Abyssinia for
help and asked him to take the revenge of this massacre from Dhunuvas
and the people of Yemen. That is how the episode of Abraha and the
Abyssinian campaign to Yemen occurred. Abyssinian troops reached Yemen
and captured it. Dhunuvas and a large number of Yemenese were killed,
and thus Christianity replaced Judaism in Yemen By the order of the
Abyssinian governor officially churches were built there, eventually
resulting in the story of Abraha and 'Amul-Feel.'
In this way, in Arabia at the
time of the rise of Islam, Judaism took the first place, Christianity
the second, Zoroastrianism third, Sabeans, who followed a kind of idol
worship reaching as far back as the creeds of the time of the Prophet
Abraham (a.s.) came fourth and some local faiths followed fifth in place
as mentioned in the holy Qur'an.[13] Thus from the viewpoint of
religion, the Arabian peninsula of that time was under of influence of
multiple faiths.
To get better acquainted with
the peculiar conditions prevailing in Mecca, Medina and Ta'if, the three
cities closest to the birthplace of Islam, further explanations are in
order As already stated, in the second and third centuries A.D. the
Qahtani Arabs migrated to various parts of Arabia, and a group of them
named Banu Khuza'ah went to Mecca and seized the reins of affairs there
however, before the arrival of Banu Khuza'ah group, various Isma'ili
tribes of the 'Adnani Arabs had dominated that region, the most
important of whom were the Quraish tribe.
Till that time however, this
tribe had not assumed the importance it gained later on. When Banu
Khuza'ah gained predominance in Mecca and secured control over the
affairs of the Ka'aba, a child was born in the house of Quraish named
Qussi bin-kalab, whose mother was of Banu Khuza'ah and father from
belonged a branch of the Quraish tribe. As Qussi grew up, he decided to
take back from the non-Quraish all the positions which had been taken
away from the Quraish family at whatever the cost. This included the
custody of the keys and coverings of the holy Ka'aba, positions that
were highly esteemed and which position should have been inhabited by
his uncle on the mother's side. Qussi's uncle was a drunkard and a
libertine.[14] Qussi as it happened, bought this position from his own
uncle for a wine skin and one camel to barbecue and this idiotic deal
became proverbial in the history of Arabia,[15] thus the phrase 'Qussi
Deal' implying an infamous and a stupid deal.
Qussi was a competent youth
who gradually came to dominate Mecca completely and took control over
all its affairs. From the time of Qussi bin Kalab onward, although no
government had been formed, however a set up in Mecca takes shape as a
result of his policies and ideas. According to his views the various
tribes of Mecca, especially the branches of the Quraish tribe were
involved into creating a central organization and establishing a
relative order in the society.
Situation of the Heading Tribes of the Quraish
The Quraish tribe had many
sub-tribes, however the leading ones were: The Hashemis, Umavis, Nufelis,
Abduddaris, Asadis, Timis, Makhzumis, 'Adavis, Jamhis and the Sahmis.
There were the prominent
sub-tribes' branches, but there were also others, less significant
clans. At that time there existed only two or three positions in
connection with the Ka'aba. To make these clans to co-operate with one
another, Qussi bin Kalab created a number of new positions, giving each
of the clans a position to be content with, and so abstain from
internecine fighting. Thus it would appeal that the creation of
designations had a long precedent! Concurrent with the birth of the
Prophet of Islam there existed about 15 positions in Mecca, each of
which pertained to one of the prominent clans of the Quraish as follows:
1. Position of the Keeper and
custodian of the Ka'aba was the top most in first-rate precedence
2. Position of the provider of water to the pilgrims. During the
pre-Islamic pilgrimage those who visited Mecca were not familiar with
the water wells, and as they all needed water, the task of bringing
water from the neighboring wells and offering it to pilgrims was
assigned to a branch of the Quraish to act as wardens over water Georgie
Zeydan narrates that they devised open tanks of hides and filled them
with water for the pilgrims to take.
3. Position of reception and hospitality. To attract more visitors to
Mecca and make their market brisk, as well as to preserve the Arab
custom of acting as lordly hosts, they laid out feasts for the pilgrims
as their guests, and this task was assigned to a particular branch of
the Quraish tribe For this purpose they collected contributions to
provide free meals to the pilgrims.
4. Position of flag-bearer. Mecca had a flag called the Eagle banner
which was used in the time of war. This flag was kept in the family
whose chief would bring it out in the event of war. In the time of the
Prophet this banner was in the hands of the Bani Umayya.
5. Position of Dar-un-Nadwa or Dar-u-Showra. One of Qussi's initiatives
was to build a house near the Ka'aba, called Dar-en-Nadwa.[16] Dar-ul-Nadwa
means a meeting place or assembly for consultation. Whenever an issue of
importance rose for the Quraish in general, their chiefs and elders who
were truly the people's representative assembled in that place,
discussed the matter and came to a decision about it and whatever the
majority's decision carried it out. What is noteworthy however is that
according to the laws of elections of Qussi bin kalab, one of the
pre-conditions was that the tribes and clans representatives should not
be less than forty years of age. Today young people could well protest
against such a law on the plea that it meant favoring the old people as
they accepted only over forty years old. In those days, however, they
wished to have well tried and experienced peoples' representatives,
though at the same time we read in the biography of the holy Prophet of
Islam that Abdul-Mutallib took Muhammad (a s.) as a child along with him
to Dar-un-Nadwa, even though the admission of a person below the age of
forty was forbidden. The first time Muhammad (a.s.) was taken there,
they were displeased, but after that they agreed that he could enter -
but that is another story.
6. The charge and leadership of trade caravans was held by the Bani-Umayya.
7. The institution for the payment of blood-money and compensation.
Sometimes when a member of a tribe was killed by someone from another
tribe, in the first place was a demand for compensation and indemnity or
a fight would ensue. Thus the fine had to be collected, and one of these
families was responsible for this task of determining the share,
collecting them, and handing them over to the claimants. This was in
fact a kind of office for public funds related of course to blood-money
and reparations.
8. Administration of the arsenal. This was a large tent where arms and
weapons were collected in the event of war and distributed judicially
among the soldiers.
9. Management of army stables: a task given to a branch of Quraish tribe
to take care of the remounts such as horses and camels necessary far the
war effort.
10. Assigning of envoys or ambassadors: Sometimes it became necessary to
dispatch envoys abroad. As we shall see later, envoys were required to
travel to Abyssinia to pursue the question of Muslim emigrants to that
country.
11. Position of administering justice was given to a special committee
of Arabs.
12. Position of the Key Bearer of the Ka'aba, as distinct from the
position of the custodian. As you may be aware, pilgrims to the holy
shrines often made offerings of gold coins in the holy shrines. The
pilgrims who visited the Ka'aba often brought vowed offering for
dropping them within the sacred grille. Once a year or every six months
the custodian would open the door of the Ka'aba, collect whatever had
been offered and then divide that amongst the various clans.
13. Position of the repairs and maintenance of the holy Ka'aba and other
buildings of Mecca which were entrusted to one particular clan
14. Position of "Ansab and Azlam", which could be called the office of
lottery. There was a custom among the Arabs called "Isar" (from "Yusr"
meaning ease and plenty) incidentally the Arabic word is also related to
'gambling and lottery' At present, too, in winter there comes a time
when a villager has consumed whatever he has in store, is left with
nothing, and is in dire need Such conditions often occurred in Arabia
during winters particularly when rainfall was scanty in spring and
summer Such a custom also exists in remote parts of Iran near the annual
spring festival. So to provide relief the Arabs resorted to a measure by
which a part of the wealth of the rich would be contributed to help the
needy. Such practices are common among people who have not developed a
secure economic system and are faced with straitened circumstances.
The Arabs invented a lottery
as a game of chance This game of luck was played as follows: They took
ten wooden shafts, on seven of which they wrote a number of shares from
one to seven serially and the remaining three were left blank. These
shafts were then handed over to a trustworthy man. Then a camel was
bought, and the price of it was paid by drawing lots with these wooden
beams which determined the share of the money to be paid by the
participants.
With this money the camel was
bought and slaughtered, and the meat was distributed on the basis of
lottery members again. These wooden shafts were called 'Ansab' which in
from 'Naseeb' meaning destiny. They also had another form of lottery
called 'Azlam' which served for divining whether a step should be taken
in a matter or not.
Here they prepared seven
small wooden shafts on each of which either a positive load as 'do it',
or negative indication such as 'don't do it' or 'to your advantage' or
'to the advantage of the other side' etc. were written and one of them
was left blank. Whenever a person was undecided about what he should do
in a matter, he would go to a diviner who employed these shafts for
fortune-telling, and drew a lot from under a cloth, and that shaft
indicated to him what he should do.
The above systems of 'Ansab'
and 'Azlam' were entrusted to another clan of the Quraish tribe. Thus
the allocation of the said positions was intended to prevent disputes
and war, but clashes nonetheless occurred from time to time. However,
sometimes disputes would rise and through the application of this
organization, albeit defective, they managed to prevent wars.
After Qussi bin-kalab no armed clashes occurred between the branches of
the Quraish tribe, except an old one and that too a minor one. The
period following Qussi in Mecca was a period of transition between the
tribal and control government's establishment. For, as you can see, in
this period discussions regarding types of organization, positions,
division of responsibilities and political order were taking place in
Mecca. That was the situation as it prevailed in Mecca.
Ta'if, on the other hand, was
more or less under the influence of a single tribe named Bani Thaqif It
was a small but a flourishing city controlled by that tribe. However
Medina offered an interesting perspective. As already stated, it has
been predicted at the beginning of the second century A.D. that the
Mareb Dam would collapse, consequently a large number of the Qahtani
Arabs of Yemen migrated to the north and north-east. Two of these clans
namely the Aus and Khazraj having reached Yathrib, found it to be a
suitable place and decided to settle down there. But before the arrival
of the Arabs, the Jews had chosen it to be their home, and thus they
were its original residents. The new-comers, namely the Aus and the
Khazraj were delighted at the beginning to pay tribute to the Jews
because they were weak, alien and emigre guests. Meanwhile the Jews,
too, were politically astute and for a long time coexisted with the
newcomers.
After a time the Jews found a
rather powerful and despotic ruler who encroached upon the Aus and
Khazraj, giving rise to continued fighting between the Jews and the Aus
and Khazraj tribes. The latter, owing to their relations with the
neighboring Arabs who had a common race and spoke the same language,
grow in numbers and enhanced their influence, as well as received
assistance from their Arab allies in their conflicts with the Jews.
Gradually therefore the power of the Arabs went on the increase while
that of the Jews diminished in Medina. So long as the Aus and Khazraj
remained united, everything was in their favor. But an incident occurred
that caused a rift between them resulting in a war. The sly Jews made
the utmost use of this difference, and did their best to intensify this
dispute.
Close to the time of the
Prophet's ordainment, this dispute between the Khazraj who were the
larger tribe and the Aus who were the smaller, carried on. The Khmazraj
who were sub-divided into several clans, decided to choose a king for
themselves. As you are aware, Mecca was then passing through a
transition phase between the tribal and centralized governmental
systems, and Medina, too, was passing through a similar process trying
to pass from the tribal phase to a governmental stage.
Thus for the first time in
the history of the Arabs in Medina, this became the common topic and
ground was prepared that all should swear allegiance to Abdullah bin
Abi, a respected man among the Khazraj tribe, and make him the king and
make ready a throne and crown for him This matter had a lasting effect
from various aspects on the future history of Islam. This subject which
might appear small and trifling, was really quite consequential and will
be discussed further. It was under such socio-economic and political
conditions and the state of religious beliefs that the Prophet of Islam
declared his mission in Mecca inviting people to the new faith.
This was the brief situation
in Arabia concurrent with the rise of Islam with reference to its
historical background which bears relation with our subsequent
discussions. |