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Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar) By Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri CONTENTS Location and nature of Arab Tribes Location of the Arabs Arab Tribes Rulership and Princeship among the Arabs Rulership in Yemen Rulership in Heerah Rulership in Geographical Syria Rulership in Hijaz T he Reasons of this war have been illustrated in three versions Rulership in Pan-Arabia The political situation Religions of the Arabs The Religious situation Aspects of Pre-Islamic Arabian Society Social life of the Arabs The Economic Situation The Lineage and Family of Muhammad (Peace be upon him)The prophetic Family Muhammad’s Birth and Forty years prior Prophethood His Birth B abyhood B ack to his passionate Mother To His compassionate Grandfather Bahira, the Monk The Sacrilegious wars Al-Fudoul confederacy Muhammad’s Early Job His Marriage to Khadijah Rebuilding Al-Ka‘bah and the Arbitration Issue A Rapid Review of Muhammad’s Biography before commissioning of the Prophethood In the Shade of the Message and Prophethood In the Cave of Hira’ Gabriel brings down the Revelation Interruption of Revelation Once more, Gabriel brings Allah’s RevelationS ome details pertinent to the successive stages of Revelation Proclaiming Allah, the All-High; and the Immediate Constituents Phases and stages of the call The First Stage Strife in the Way of the Call Three years of Secret Call The Early Converts As-Salat (the Prayer) T he Quraishites learn about the Call The Second Phase, Open Preaching First Revelation regarding the Preaching Calling the Closest Kinspeople On Mount As -Safa Shouting the Truth and the Polytheists’ Reaction An Advisory Council to debar Pilgrims from Muhammad’s Call Attempts made to check the Onward March of Islam Persecutions The House of Al-Arqum The First Migration to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) Quraish’s Machination against the Emigrants Once more Quraish approaches Abu Talib The Tyrants’ Decision to kill th e Prophet (Peace be upon him) The Conversion of Hamzah bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib The Conversion of ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab Q uraish’s Representative negotiates with the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) Abu Talib assmbles Bani Hashim and Bani Al-Muttalib General Social Boycott A Pact of Injustice and Aggression The Final Phase of the Diplomacy of Negotiation The Year of Grief Abu Talib’s DeathK hadijah passes away to the Mercy of Allah H is Marriage to Sawdah (May be please with her) in Shawwal, the tenth year of Prophethood Factors inspiring patience and perserverance The Third Phase Calling unto Is lam beyond Makkah Islam being introduced to Arabian Tribes and Individuals Hope inspiring Breezes from the Madinese Marriage of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) to Aisha (May Allah be please with her) Al-Isra’ and Al-Mir‘raj The First ‘Aqabah Pledge The Muslim Envoy in Madinah T he Second ‘Aqabah Pledge The Vanguard of Migration (in the Caus e of Allah) In An-Nadwah (Council) HouseThe Parliament of Quraish Migration of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) Life in Madinah The First Phase †¦ The Status Quo in Madinah at the Time of Emigration A New Society being built A Charter of Islamic Alliance A Cooperation and Non-Aggression P act with the Jews The Prophet on the Battlefield Pre-Badr Missions and Invasions The Battle of Badr – The First Decisive Battle in the History of Islam Reason of the Battle Some Significant Instances of Devotion Reaction in Makkah Madinah receives the News of Victory The Battle of Badr in its Qur’anic Context The Military Activities between Badr and UhudAl-Kudr Invasion An Attempt on the Life of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) Invasion of Bani Qainuqa‘ T he Qainuqa‘ Jews breach the Covenant As-Sawiq Invasion Dhi Amr Invasion Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf, killed 3 The Invasion of Buhran Z aid bin Harithah leads a Compaign on the Trade Routes of Quraish The Battle of Uhud A Consultation Assembly for a Defence Plan Dividing the Islamic Army into phalanxes and Departure to the Battlefield Para ding the Army P assing the Night between Uhud and Madinah The Rebellion of ‘Abdullah bin Ubai and his Followers The Remainder of the Islamic Army are on the Move to UhudThe Defence Plan The Messenger of Allah (Peace b e upon him) implants the Spirit of Bravery among his Armed Forces Recruitment of the Makkan Army Political Manoeuvres of Quraish T he effort of Quraishite women at waging the Zeal of Men T he Combat A ssassination of Asadullah (the Lion of Allah) Hamzah bin ‘Abdul Muttalib Bringing the Situation under Control From his wife’s lap to Sword -fights and Sorrows The Contribution of the Archers squad to the Battle. The Archers’s Fatal Mistake The Most Awkward Hour in the Messenger’s Life Multilation of the Martyrs Burial of the Martyrs Hamra’ Al-Asad InvasionT he Observations of the Noble Qur’an on the Battle o f Uhud L essons and Moralities Military Platoons and Missions between the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of the Confederates Abi Salamah Mission An Errand led by ‘Abdullah bin Unais The Event of Ar-Raji‘ The Tragedy of Ma‘una Well Bani An-Nadeer Invasion The Invasion of Najd The Invasion of Badr, the Second The Invasion of Doumat Al-Jaudal Al-Ahzab (the Confederates) Invasion Invading Banu Quraiza Military Activities continued Bani Lihyan Invasion E xpeditions and Delegations continued Bani Al-Mustaliq (Muraisi‘) Ghazwah Sha‘ban 6 Hijri The treacherous Role of the HypocritesP rior to the Bani Al-Mustaliq Ghazwah T he wicked Role they played in the Course of the Ghazwah of Bani Al-Mustaliq The Slander Affair Delegations and Expeditions following Al-Muraisi‘ Ghazwah Al-Hudaibiyah Treaty (Dhul Qu‘dah 6 A. H. ) Al-Hudaibiya Treaty: Socio Political Impact The Second Stage A N ew Phase of Islamic Action T he Prophet’s Plans to spread the Mes sage of Islam to beyond Arabia A Deputation to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) L etter to the Vicegerent of Egypt, called Muqawqas A Letter to chosroes, Emperor of Persia The Envoy to Caesar, King of Rome 4 A Letter to Mundhir bin Sawa, Governor of BahrainA Letter to Haudha bin ‘Ali, Governor of Yamama A Letter to Harith bin Abi Shamir Al-Ghassani, King of Damascus A Letter to the King of ‘Oman, Jaifer, and his Bother ‘Abd Al-Jalandi P ost-Hudaibiyah Hostilities Dhu Qarad Invasion The Conquest of Khaibar (in Moharram, 7 A. H. ) The Actual operation begins T he Second Part of Khaibar Conquered N egotiations Distribution of Spoils Sporadic Invasions The Expedition called Dhat-ur-Riqa‘ (in the year 7 A. H. ) T he Compensatory ‘Umrah (Lesser Pilgrimage) The Battle of Mu’tah Dhat As-Salasil Compaign Khadrah Campaign T he Conquest of Makkah Pre-conquest EventsP reparations for the Attach on Makkah, and the Prophet’s Attempt at imposing a News Black-out The Third Stage Hunain Ghazwah The Enemy’s march and their Encampment at Awtas T he war-experienced Man wongs the Leader’s Judgement R econnoitering the Weapons of the Messenger of Allah(Peace be upon him) R econnoitering the Enemy’s Weapons The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) leaves Makkah for Hunain The Islamic Army stunned the Archers and the Attackers Muslims’ return to the Battlefield, and the fierceness of the Fight R everse of Fortunes and the Enemy’s utter Defeat Hot pursuit of the Enemy Ta’if CompaignThe Distribution of the Booty at al-Ji‘ranah The Helpers (Al-Ansar) are furious at the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) Arrival of the Hawazin Delegation Lesser Pilgrimage (Al-‘Umrah ) to Makkah and leaving for Madinah M issions and Platoons After the Conquest T he Platoons The Invasion of Tabuk in Rajab, in the year 9 A. H. The underlying Reasons G eneral News about the Byzantines and Ghassanide Preparations for W ar P articular News about the Byzantine and Ghassanide preparations for War The Muslim Army is leaving for Tabuk The Army of Islam at Tabuk Returning to Madinah T he People Who lagged BehindThe Invasion of Tabuk and its Far-Reaching Ramifications The Qur’anic Verses Relating to this Invasion Some Important Events that featured that Year Abu Bakr performs the Pilgrimage A Meditation on the Ghazawat People embrace the Religion of Allah in Large Crowds T he Delegations The Success and Impact of the Call The Farewell Pilgrimage 5 The Last Expeditions The Journey to Allah, the Sublime Symptoms of Farewell T he Start of the Disease T he Last Week F ive days before death F our days before his death A Day or Two prior to Death A Day before his Death The Last day Alive T he Prophet (Peace be upon him) breathes his LastThe companions’ concern over the Prophet’s Death Umar’s Attitude Abu Bakr’s Attitude B urial and Farewell Preparations to his Honourable Body The Prophetic Household The Prophet (Peace be upon him), Attributes and Manners Beauty of creation The perfection of Soul and Nobility 6 Location and Nature of Arab Tribes Beyond a shadow of doubt, the biography of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) manifestedly represents an exhaustive embodiment of the sublime Divine Message that he communicated in order to deliver the human race from the swamp of darkness and polytheism to the paradise of light and monotheism.An image, authentic as well as comprehensive, of this Message is therefore only attainable through careful study and profound analysis of both backgrounds and issues of such a biography. In view of this, a whole chapter is here introduced about the nature and development of Arab tribes prior to Islam as well as the circumstantial environment that enwrapped the Prophet’s mission. LOCATION OF THE ARABS: L inguistically, the word â€Å"Arab† means deserts and waste barren land well-nigh waterless and treeless.E ver since the dawn of history, the Arabian Peninsula and its people have been called as such. The Arabian Peninsula is enclosed in the west by the Red Sea and Sinai, in the east by the Arabian Gulf, in the south by the Arabian Sea, which is an extension of the Indian Ocean, and in the north by old Syria and part of Iraq. The area is estimated between a million and a million and a quarter square miles. Thanks to its geographical position, the peninsula has always maintained great importance..Considering its internal setting, it is mostly deserts and sandy places, which has rendered it inaccessible to foreigners and invaders, and allowed its people complete liberty and independence through the ages, despite the presence of two neighbouring great empires. Its external setting, on the other hand, caused it to be the centre of the old world and provided it with sea and land links with most nations at the time. Thanks to this strategic position the Arabian Peninsula had become the centre for trade, culture, religion and art. ARAB TRIBES:Arab kinfolks have been divided according to lineage into three groups: Perishing Arabs: The ancient Arabs, of whose history little is known, and of whom were ‘Ad, Thamud, Tasam, Jadis, Emlaq, and others. Pure Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ya‘rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan. They were also called Qahtanian Arabs. Arabized Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ishmael. They were also called ‘Adnanian Arabs. The pure Arabs – the people of Qahtan – originally lived in Yemen and comprised many tribes, two of which were very famous: 1. Himyar: The most famous of whose septs were Zaid Al-Jamhur, Quda‘a and Sakasic. . Kahlan: The most famous of whose septs were Hamdan, Anmar, Tai’, Mudhhij, Kinda, Lakhm, Judham, Azd, Aws, Khazraj and the descendants of Jafna — the kings of old Syria. Kahlan septs emigrated from Yemen to dwell in the different parts of the Arabian Peninsula prior to the Great Flood (Sail Al-‘Arim of Ma’rib Dam), due to the failure of trade under the Roman pressure and domain on both sea and land trade routes following Roman occupation of Egypt and Syria. Naturally enough, the competition between Kahlan and Himyar led to the evacuation of the first and the settlement of the second in Yemen.THE EMIGRATING SEPTS OF KAHLAN CAN BE INTO FOUR GROUPS: 1 . Azd: Who, under the leadership of ‘Imran bin ‘Amr Muzaiqba’, wandered in Yemen, sent pioneers and finally headed northwards. Details of their emigration can be summed up as follows: 7 2. Tha‘labah bin ‘Amr left his tribe Al-Azd for Hijaz and dwelt between Tha‘labiyah and Dhi Qar. When he gained strength, he headed for Madinah where he stayed. Of his seed are Aws and Khazraj, sons of Haritha bin Tha‘labah. Haritha bin ‘Amr, known as Khuza‘a, wandered with his folks in Hijaz until they came to Mar Az-Zahran.Later, they conquered the Haram, and settled in Makkah after having driven away its people, the tribe of Jurhum. ‘Imran bin ‘Amr and his folks went to ‘Oman where they established the tribe of Azd whose children inhabited Tihama and were known as Azd-of-Shanu’a. Jafna bin ‘Amr and his family, headed for Syria where he settled and initiated the kingdom of Ghassan who was so named after a spring of water, in Hijaz, where they s topped on their way to Syria. 2. Lakhm and Judham: Of whom was Nasr bin Rabi‘a, father of Manadhira, Kings of Heerah. 3.Banu Tai’: Who also emigrated northwards to settle by the so- called Aja and Salma Mountains which were consequently named as Tai’ Mountain s. 4. Kinda: Who dwelt in Bahrain but were expelled to Hadramout and Najd where they instituted a powerful government but not for long , for the whole tribe soon faded away. †¢ Another tribe of Himyar, known as Quda‘a, also left Yemen and dwelt in Samawa semidesert on t he borders of Iraq. The Arabized Arabs go back in ancestry to their great grandfather Abraham (Peace be upon him) from a town called â€Å"Ar† near Kufa on the west bank of the Euphrates in Iraq.Excavations brought to light great details of the town, Abraham’s family, and the prevalent religions and social circumstances. It is known that Abrahaml (Peace be upon him) eft Ar for Harran and then for Palestine, which he made headquarters for his Message. He wandered all over the area. When he went to E gypt, the Pharaoh tried to do evil to his wife Sarah, but Allah saved her and the Pharaoh’s wicked scheme recoiled on him. He thus came to realize her strong attachment to Allah, and, in acknowledgment of her grace, the Pharaoh rendered his daughter Hagar at Sarah’s service, but Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham as a wife.Abraham returned to Palestine where Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. Sarah became so jealous of Hagar that she forced Abraham to send Hagar and her bab y away to a plantless valley on a small hill in Hijaz, by the Sacred House, exposed to the wearing of floods coming right and left. He chose for them a place under a lofty tree above Zamzam near the upper side of the Mosque in Makkah where neither people nor water was available, and went back to Pale stine leaving with his wife and baby a leather case with some dates and a pot of water.Not before long, they ran out of both food and water, but thanks to Allah’s favour water gushed forth to sustain them for sometime. The whole story of Zamzam spring is already known to everybody. Another Yemeni tribe – Jurhum the Second – came and lived in Makkah upon Hagar’s permission, after being said to have lived in the valleys around Makkah. It is mentioned in the Sahih Al-Bukhari that this tribe came to Makkah before Ishmael was a young man while they had passed through that valley long before this event. Abraham used to go to Makkah every now and then to see his wif e and son.The number of these journeys is still unknown, but authentic historical resources spoke of four ones. Allah, the Sublime, stated in the Noble Qur’an that He had Abraham see, in his dream, that he slaughtered his son Ishmael, and therefore Abraham stood up to fulfill His Order: †¢ â€Å"Then, when they had both submitted themselves (to the Will of Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (or on the side of his forehead for slaughtering); and We called out to him: â€Å"O Abraham! You have fulfilled the dream (vision)! † Verily!Thus do we reward the Muhsinun (good-doers, who perform good deeds totally for Allah’s sake only, without any show off or to gain praise or fame, etc. and do them in accordance to Allah’s Orders). Verily, that indeed was a manifest trial — and We ransomed him with a great sacrifice (i. e. a ram)† [37:103-107] 8 It is mentioned in the Genesis that Ishmael was thirteen years older than his brot her Ishaq. The sequence of the story of the sacrifice of Ishmael shows that it really happened before Ishaq’s birth, and that Allah’s Promise to give Abraham another son, Ishaq, came a fter narration of the whole story.This story spoke of one journey – at least – before Ishmael became a young man. Al-Bukhari, on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, reported the other three journeys; a summary of which goes as follows: When Ishmael became a yo ung man, he learned Arabic at the hand of the tribe of Jurhum, who loved him with great admiration and gave him one of their women as a wife, soon after his mother died. Having wanted to see his wife and son again, Abraham came to Makkah, Ishmael’s marriage, but he didn’t find him at home. He asked Ishmael’s wife about her husband and how they were doing.She complained of poverty, so he asked her to tell Ishmael to change his doorstep. Ishmael understood the message, divorced his wife and got marri ed to the daughter of Mudad bin ‘Amr, chief of the tribe of Jurhum. Once more, Abraham came to see his son, but again didn’t find him at home. He asked his new wife the same previous question, to which she thanked Allah. Abraham asked her to tell Ishmael to keep his doorstep (i. e. to keep her as wife) and went back to Palestine. A third time, Abraham came to Makkah to find Ishmael sharpening an arrow under a lofty tree near Zamzam.The meeting, after a very long journey of separation, was very touching for a father so affectionate and a so dutiful and righteous son. This time, father and son built Al-Ka‘bah and raised its pillars, and Abraham, in compliance with Allah’s Commandment, called unto people to make pilgrimage to it. By the grace of Allah, Ishmael had twelve sons from the daughter of Mudad, whose names were Nabet, Qidar, Edbael, Mebsham, Mishma’, Duma, Micha, Hudud, Yetma, Yetour, Nafis and Qidman, and who ultimately formed twelve tribes in habiting Makkah and trading between Yemen, geographical Syria and Egypt.Later on, these tribes spread all over, and even outside, the peninsula. All their tidings went into oblivion except for the descendants of Nabet and Qidar. The Nabeteans – sons of Nabet – established a flourishing civilization in the north of Hijaz, they instituted a powerful government which spread out its domain over all neighbouring tribes, and made Petra their capital. Nobody dared challenge their authority until the Romans came and managed to eliminate their kingdom. After extensive research and painstaking investigation, Mr.Sulaiman An-Nadwi came to the conclusion that the Ghassanide kings, along with the Aws and Khazraj were not likely to be Qahtanians but rather Nabeteans. Descendants of Qidar, the son of Ishmael, lived long in Makkah increasing in number, of them issued ‘Adnan and son Ma‘ad, to whom ‘Adnanian Arabs traced back their ancestry. ‘Adnan is the twenty-f irst grandfather in the series of the Prophetic ancestry. It was said that whenever Prophet Muhammad Oai Caaa Uaia ? Oaa spoke of his ancestry he would stop at ‘Adnan and say: â€Å"Genealogists tell lies† and did not go farther than him.A group of scholars, however, favoured the probability of going beyond ‘Adnan attaching no significance to the aforementioned Prophetic Hadith. They went on to say that there were exactly forty fathers between ‘Adnan and Abraham (Peace be upon them). Nizar, Ma‘ad’s only son , had four sons who branched out into four great tribes; Eyad, Anmar, Rabi‘a and Mudar. These last two sub-branched into several septs. Rabi‘a fathered Asad, ‘Anazah, ‘Abdul Qais, and Wa’il’s two sons (Bakr and Taghlib), Hanifa and many others. Mudar tribes branched out into two great divisions: Qais ‘Ailan bin Mudar and septs of Elias bin Mudar.Of Qais ‘Ailan were the Banu Saleem, Banu Hawazi n, and Banu Ghatafan of whom descended ‘Abs, Zubyan, Ashja‘ and Ghani bin A‘sur. Of Elias bin Mudar were Tamim bin Murra, Hudhail bin Mudrika, Banu Asad bin Khuzaimah and septs of Kinana bin Khuzaimah, of whom came Quraish, the descendants of Fahr bin Malik bin An-Nadr bin Kinana. Quraish branched out into various tribes, the most famous of whom were Jumah, Sahm, ‘Adi, Makhzum, Tayim, Zahra and the three septs of Qusai bin Kilab: ‘Abdud-Dar bin Qusai, Asad bin ‘Abdul ‘Uzza bin Qusai and ‘Abd Manaf bin Qusai. Abd Manaf branched out into four tribes: ‘Abd Shams, Nawfal, Muttalib and Hashim. It is, however, from the family of Hashim that Allah selected Prophet Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib bin Hashim (Peace be upon him). Prophet Mu hammad (Peace be upon him) said: †¢ â€Å"Allah selected Ishmael from the sons of Abraham, Kinana from the sons of Ishmael, Quraish from the sons of Kinana, Hashim from the sons of Quraish and He selected me from the sons of Hashim. † Al-‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib quoted the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) as saying: 9 †¢ Allah created mankind and chose me from the best whereof, He chose the tribes and selected me from the best whereof; and He chose families and selected me from the best whereof. I am the very best in person and family. † Having increased in number, children of ‘Adnan, in pursuit of pastures and water, spread out over various parts of Arabia. The tribe of ‘Abdul Qais, together with some septs of Bakr bin Wa’il and Tamim, emigrated to Bahrain where they dwelt. Banu Hanifa bin Sa‘b bin Ali bin Bakr went to settle in Hijr, the capital of Yamama. All the tribes of Bakr bin Wa’il lived in an area of land which ncluded Yamama, Bahrain, Saif Kazima, the sea shore, the outer borders of Iraq, Ablah and Hait. Most of the tribe of Taghlib lived in the Euphrates area while some of them lived with Bakr. Banu Tamim lived in Basra semi-desert. Banu Saleem lived in the vicinity of Madinah on the land stretching from Wadi Al-Qura to Khaibar onwards to the eastern mountains to Harrah. Thaqif dwelt in Ta’if and Hawazin east of Makkah near Autas on the road from Makkah to Basra. Banu Asad lived on the land east of Taima’ and west of Kufa, while family of Tai’ lived between Banu Asad and Taima’. They were five -day-walk far from Kufa.Zubyan inhabited the plot of and between Taima’ and Hawran. Some septs of Kinana lived in Tihama, while septs of Quraish dwelt in Makkah and its suburbs. Quraish remained completely disunited until Qusai bin Kilab managed to rally their ranks on honourable terms attaching major prominence to their status and importance. 10 RULERSHIP AND PRINCESHIPAMONG THE ARABS W hen talking about the Arabs before Islam,we deem it necessary to draw a mini-picture of the history of rulership, princeship, sectarianism an d the religious dominations of the Arabs, so as to facilitate the understanding of emergent circumstances when Islam appeared.When the sun of Islam rose, rulers of Arabia were of two kinds: crowned kings, who were in fact not independent; and heads of tribes and clans, who enjoyed the same authorities and privileges possessed by crowned kings and were mostly independent, though some of whom could have shown some kind of submission to a crowned king. The crowned kings were only those of Yemen, Heerah and Ghassan. All other rulers of Arabia were non-crowned. RULERSHIP IN YEMEN: T he folks of Sheba were one of the oldest nations of the pure Arabs, who lived in Yemen. Excavations at â€Å"Or† brought to light their existence twenty ive centuries B. C. Their civilization flourished, and their domain spread eleven centuries B. C. It is possible to divide their ages according to the following estimation: 1. The centuries before 650 B. C. , during which their kings were called  "Makrib Sheba†. Their capital was â€Å"Sarwah†, also known as â€Å"Khriba†, whose ruins lie in a spot, a day’s walk from the western side of â€Å"Ma’rib†. During this period, they started building the â€Å"Dam of Ma’rib† which had great importance in the history of Yemen. Sheba was also said to have h ad so great a domain that they had colonies inside and outside Arabia. . From 650 B. C. until 115 B. C. During this era, they gave up the name â€Å"Makrib† and assumed the designation of â€Å"Kings of Sheba†. They also made Ma’rib their capital instead of Sarwah. The ruins of Ma’rib lie at a distance of sixty miles east of San‘a. 3. From 115 B. C. until 300 A. D. During this period, the tribe of Himyar conquered the kingdom of Sheba and took Redan for capital instead of Ma’rib. Later on, Redan was called â€Å"Zifar†. Its ruins still lie on Mudawwar Mountain near the town of â⠂¬Å"Yarim†. During this period, they began to decline and fall.Their trade failed to a very great extent, firstly, because of the Nabetean domain over the north of Hijaz; secondly, because of the Roman superiority over the naval trade routes after the Roman conquest of Egypt, Syria and the north of Hijaz; and thirdly, because of the inter-tribal warfare. Thanks to the three above -mentioned factors, families of Qahtan were disunited and scatteredout. 4. From 300 A. D. until Islam dawned on Yemen. This period witnessed a lot of disorder and turmoil. The great many and civil wars rendered the people of Yemen liable to foreign subjection and hence loss of independence.During this era, the Romans conquered ‘Adn and even helped the Abyssinians (Ethiopians) to occupy Yemen for the first time in 340 A. D. , making use of the constant intra -tribal conflict of Hamdan and Himyar. The Abyssinian (Ethiopian) occupation of Yemen lasted until 378 A. D. , whereafter Yemen regained it s independence. Later on, cracks began to show in Ma’rib Dam which led to the Great Flood (450 or 451 A. D. ) mentioned in the Noble Qur’an. This was a great event which caused the fall of the entire Yemeni civilization and the dispersal of the nations livin g therein. In 523, DhuNawas, a Jew, despatched a great campaign against the Christians of Najran in order to force them to convert into Judaism. Having refused to do so, they were thrown alive into a big ditch where a great fire had been set. The Qur’an referred to this event: †¢ â€Å"Cursed were the people of the ditch. † [85:4] This aroused great wrath among the Christians, and especially the Roman emperors, who not only instigated the Abyssinians (Ethiopians) against Arabs but also assembled a large fleet which helped the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) army, of seventy thousand warriors, to effect a second conquest of Yemen in 525 A. D. under the leadership of Eriat, who was granted rulership over Ye men, a position he held until he was assassinated by one of his army leaders, Abraha, who, after reconciliation with the king of Abyssinia, took rulership over Yemen and, later on, deployed his soldiers to demolish AlKa‘bah, and , hence, he and his soldiers came to be known as the â€Å"Men of the Elephant†. 11 After the â€Å"Elephant† incident, the people of Yemen, under the leadership of Ma‘dikarib bin Saif Dhu Yazin Al-Himyari, and through Persian assistance, revolted against the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) invaders, restored independence and appointed Ma‘dikarib as their king.However, Ma‘dikarib was assassinated by an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) he used to have him around for service and protection. The family of Dhu Yazin was thus deprived of royalty forever. Kisra, the Persian king, appointed a Persian ruler over San‘a and thus made Yeme n a Persian colony. Persian rulers maintained rulership of Yemen until Badhan, the last of them, embraced Islam in 638 A. D. , thus terminating the Persian domain over Yemen. RULERSHIP IN HEERAH: Ever since Korosh the Great (557-529 B. C. ) united the Persians, they ruledIraq and its neighbourhood. Nobody could shake off their authority until Alexander the Great vanquished their king Dara I and thus subdued the Persians in 326 B. C. Persian lands were thenceforth divided and ruled by kings known as â€Å"the Kings of Sects†, an era which lasted until 230 A. D. Meanwhile, the Qahtanians occupied some Iraqi territories, and were later followed by some ‘Adnanians who managed to share some parts of Mesopotamia with them. The Persians, under the leadership of Ardashir, who had established the Sasanian state in 226 A.D, regained enough unity and power to subdue the Arabs living in the vicinity of their kingdom, and force Quda‘a to leave for Syria , leaving the people of Heerah and Anbar under the Persian domain. During the time of Ardashir, Juzaima Alwaddah exercised rulers hip over Heerah, Rabi‘a and Mudar, and Mesopotamia. Ardashir had reckoned that it was impossible for him to rule the Arabs directly and prevent them from attacking his borders unless he appointed as king one of them who enjoyed support and power of his tribe. He had also seen that he could make use of them against the Byzantine kings who always used to harass him.At the same time, the Arabs of Iraq could face the Arabs of Syria who were in the hold of Byzantine kings. However, he deemed it fit to keep a Persian battalion under command of the king of Heerah to be used against those Arabs who might rebel against him. After the death of Juzaima around 268 A. D. , ‘Amr bin ‘Adi bin Nasr Al-Lakhmi was appointed as king by the Persian King Sabour bin Ardashir. ‘Amr was the first of the Lakhmi kings who ruled Heerah until the Persians appointed Qabaz bin Fairuz in whose reign appeared someone called Mazdak, who called for dissoluteness in social life.Qabaz, and many of his subjects, embraced Mazdak’s religion and even called upon the king of Heerah, Al-Munzir bin Ma’ As-Sama’, to follow after. When the latter, because of his pride and self-respect, rejected their orders, Qabaz discharged him and nominated Harith bin ‘Amr bin Hajar Al-Kindi, who had accepted the Mazdaki doctrine. No sooner did Kisra Anu Shairwan succeed Qabaz than he, due to hatred of Mazdak’s philosophy, killed Mazdak and many of his followers, restored Munzir to the throne of Heerah and gave orders to summon under arrest Harith ho sought refuge with Al-Kalb tribe where he spent the rest of his life. Sons of Al-Munzir bin Ma’ As-Sama’ maintained kingship a long time until An-Nu‘man bin Al-Munzir took over. Because of a calumny borne by Zaid bin ‘Adi Al-‘Abbadi, the Persian king got angry with An-Nu‘man and summoned him to his palace. An -Nu‘man went secretly to Hani bin Mas‘ud, chief of Shaiban tribe, and left his wealth and family under the latter’s protection, and then presented himself before the Persian king, who immediately threw him into prison where he perished.Kisra, then, appointed Eyas bin Qubaisa At-Ta’i as king of Heerah. Eyas was ordered to tell Hani bin Mas‘ud to deliver An-Nu‘man’s charge up to Kisra. No sooner than had the Persian king received the fanatically motivated rejection on the part of the Arab chief, he declared war against the tribe of Shaiban and mobilized his troops and warriors under the leadership of King Eyas to a place called Dhee Qar which witnessed a most furious battle wherein the Persians were severely routed by the Arabs for the first time in history.That was very soon after the birth of Prophet Muhammad Oai Caaa Uaia ? Oaa eight months after Eyas bin Qubaisah’s rise to power over Heerah. After Eyas, a Persian ruler was appointed over Heerah, but in 632 A. D. the authority there returned to the family of Lukhm when Al-Munzir Al-Ma‘rur took over. Hardly had the latter’s reign lasted for eight months when Khalid bin Al-Waleed fell upon him with Muslim soldiers. RULERSHIP IN GEOGRAPHICAL SYRIA:I n the process of the tribal emigrations, some septs of Quda‘a reached the borders of Syria where they settled down. They belonged to the family of Sulaih bin Halwan, of whose offspring were the sons of Duj‘am bin Sulaih known as Ad -Duja‘ima. Such septs of Quda‘a were used by the Byzantines in the defence of the Byzantine borders against both Arab Bedouin raiders and the Persians, and enjoyed autonomy for a considerable phase of time which is said to have lasted for the whole second century A. D. One of their most famous kings was Zyiad bin Al-Habula.Their authority however came to an end upon defeat by the Ghassanides who were consequently granted the proxy rulership over the Arabs of Syria and had Dumat Al-Jandal as their headquarters, which last ed until 12 the battle of Yarmuk in the year 13 A. H. Their last king Jabala bin Al-Aihum embraced Islam during the reign of the Chief of Believers, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him). RULERSHIP IN HIJAZ: Ishmael (Peace be upon him) administered authority over Makkah as well as custodianship of the Holy Sanctuary throughout his lifetime.Upon his death, at the age of 137, two of his sons, Nabet and Qidar, succeeded him. Later on, their maternal grandfather, Mudad bin ‘Amr Al-Jurhumi took over, thus transferring rulership over Makkah to the tribe of Jurhum, preserving a venerable position, though very little authority for Ishmael’s sons due to their father’s exploits in building the Holy Sanctuary, a position they held until the decline of the tribe of Jurhum shortly before the rise of Bukhtanassar.The political role of the ‘Adnanides had begun to gain firmer grounds in Makkah, which could be clearly attested by the fact that upon Bukh tanassar’s first invasion of the Arabs in ‘Dhati ‘Irq’, the leader of the Arabs was not from Jurhum. Upon Bukhtanassar’s second invasion in 587 B. C. , however, the ‘Adnanides were frightened out to Yemen, while Burmia An-Nabi fled to Syria with Ma‘ad, but when Bukhtanassar’s pressure lessened, Ma‘ad returned to Makkah to find none of the tribe of Jurhum except Jursham bin Jalhamah, whose daughter, Mu‘ana, was given to Ma‘ad as wife who, later, had a son by him named Nizar.On account of difficult living conditions and destitution prevalent in Makkah, the tribe of Jurhum began to ill-treat visitors of the Holy Sanctuary and extort its funds, which aroused resentment and hatred of the ‘Adnanides (sons of Bakr bin ‘Abd Munaf bin Kinana) who, with the help of the tribe of Khuza‘a that had come to settle in a neighbouring area called Marr Az -Zahran, invaded Jurhum and frightened them out of Makkah le aving rulership to Quda‘a in the middle of the second century A. D. Upon leaving Makkah, Jurhum filled up the well of Zamzam, levelled its place and buried a great many things in it. Amr bin Al-Harith bin Mudad Al-Jurhumi was reported by Ibn Ishaq, the wellknown historian, to have buried the two gold deer together with the Black Stone as well as a lot of jewelry and swords in Zamzam, prior to their sorrowful escape to Yemen. Ishmael’s epoch is estimated to have lasted for twenty centuries B. C. , which means that Jurhum stayed in Makkah for twenty-one centuries and held rulership there for about twenty centuries. Upon defeat of Jurhum, the tribe of Khuza‘a monopolized rulership over Makkah. Mudar tribes, however, enjoyed three privileges: The First: Leading pilgrims from ‘Arafat to Muzdalifah and then from Mina to the ‘Aqabah Stoning Pillar. This was the authority of the family of Al-Ghawth bin Murra, one of the septs of Elias bin Mudar, who were calle d ‘Sofa’. This privilege meant that the pilgrims were not allowed to throw stones at Al-‘Aqabah until one of the ‘Sofa’ men did that. When they had finished stoning and wanted to leave the valley of Mina, ‘Sofa’ men stood on the two sides of Al-‘Aqabah and nobody would pass that position until the men of ‘Sofa’ passed and cleared the way for the pilgrims.When Sofa perished, the family of Sa‘d bin Zaid Manat from Tamim tribe took over. The Second: Al-Ifadah (leaving for Mina after Muzdalifah) on sacrifice morning, and this was the responsibility of the family of Adwan. The Third: Deferment of the sacred months, and this was the responsibility of the family of Tamim bin ‘Adi from Bani Kinana. Khuza‘a’s reign in Makkah lasted for three hundred years, during which, the ‘Adnanides spread all over Najd and the sides of Bahrain and Iraq, while small septs of Quraish remained on the sides of Makka h; they were Haloul, Harum and some families of Kinana.They enjoyed no privileges in Makkah or in the Sacred House until the appearance of Qusai bin Kila b, whose father is said to have died when he was still a baby, and whose mother was subsequently married to Rabi‘a bin Haram, from the tribe of Bani ‘Udhra. Rabi‘a took his wife and her baby to his homeland on the borders of Syria. When Qusai became a young man, he returned to Makkah, which was ruled by Halil bin Habsha from Khuza‘a, who gave Qusai his daughter, Hobba, as wife. After Halil’s death, a war between Khuza‘a and Quraish broke out and resulted in Qusai’s taking hold of Makkah and the Sacred House.THE REASONS OF THIS WAR HAVE BEEN ILLUSTRATED IN THREE VERSIONS: †¢ The First: Having noticed the spread of his offspring, increase of his property and exalt of his honour after Halil’s death, Qusai found himself more entitled to shoulder responsibility of rulership over Ma kkah and custodianship of the Sacred House than the tribes of Khuza‘a and Bani Bakr. He also advocated that Quraish were the chiefs of Ishmael’s descendants. Therefore he consulted some men from Quraish and Kinana concerning his desire to evacuate Khuza‘a and Bani Bakr from Makkah. They took a liking to his opinion and supported him. 13The Second: Khuza‘a claimed that Halil requested Qusai to hold custodianship of Al-Ka‘bah and rulership over Makkah after his death. The Third: Halil g ave the right of Al-Ka‘bah service to his daughter Hobba and appointed Abu Ghabshan Al-Khuza‘i to function as her agent whereof. Upon Halil’s death, Qusai bought this right for a leather bag of wine, which aroused dissatisfaction among the men of Khuza‘a a nd they tried to keep the custodianship of the Sacred House away from Qusai. The latter, however, with the help of Quraish and Kinana, managed to take over and even to expel Khuza‘a comple tely from Makkah.Whatever the truth might have been, the whole affair resulted in the deprivation of Sofa of their privileges, previously mentioned, evacuation of Khuza‘a and Bakr from Makkah and transfer of rulership over Makkah and custodianship of the Holy Sanctuary to Qusai, after fierce wars between Qusai and Khuza‘a inflicting heavy casualties on both sides, reconciliation and then arbitration of Ya‘mur bin ‘Awf, from the tribe of Bakr, whose judgement entailed eligibility of Qusai’s rulership over Makkah and custodianship of the Sacred House, Qusai’s irresponsibility for Khuza‘a’s blood shed, and imposition of blood money on Khuza‘a.Qusai’s reign over Makkah and the Sacred House began in 440 A. D. and allowed him, and Quraish afterwards, absolute rulership over Makkah and undisputed custodianship of the Sacred House to which Arabs from all over Arabia came to pay homage. Qusai brought his kinspeople to Makkah and allocated it to them, allowing Quraish some dwellings there. An-Nus’a, the families of Safwan, Adwan, Murra bin ‘Awf preserved the same rights they used to enjoy before his arrival.A significant achievement credited to Qusai was the establishment of An -Nadwa House (an assembly house) on the northern side of Al-Ka‘bah Mosque, to serve as a meeting place for Quraish. This very house had benefited Quraish a lot because it secured unity of opinions amongst them and cordial solution to their problem. QUSAI HOWEVER ENJOYED THE FOLLONG PRIVILEGED OF LEADERSHIP AND HONOUR: 1 .Presiding over An -Nadwa House meetings where consultations relating to serious issues were conducted, and marriage contracts were announced. 2. The Standard: He monopolized in his hand issues relevant to war launching. 3. Doorkeeping of Al-Ka‘bah: He was the only one eligible to open its gate, and was responsible for its service and protection. 4. Providing water for the Pilgrims: This means that he used to fill basins sweetened by dates and raisins for the pilgrims to drink. . Feeding Pilgrims: This means making food for pilgrims who could not afford it. Qusai even imposed on Quraish annual land tax, paid at the season of pilgrimage, for food. It is noteworthy however that Qusai singled out ‘Abd Manaf, a son of his, for honour and prestige though he was not his elder son (‘Abd Ad -Dar was), and entrusted him with such responsibilities as chairing of An-Nadwa House, the standard, the doorkeeping of Al-Ka‘bah, providing water and food for pilgrims.Due to the fact that Qusai’s deeds were regarded as unquestionable and his orders inviolable, his death gave no rise to conflicts among his sons, but it later did among his grand children, for no sooner than ‘Abd Munaf had died, his sons began to have rows with their cousins — sons of ‘Abd Ad -Dar, which would have given rise to dissension and fighting among the whole tribe of Qurais h, had it not been for a peace treaty whereby posts were reallocated so as to preserve feeding and providing water for pilgrims for the sons of ‘Abd Munaf; while An -Nadwa House, the flag and the doorkeeping of Al-Ka‘bah were maintained for the sons of ‘Abd Ad -Dar. The sons of ‘Abd Munaf, however, cast the lot for their charge, and consequently left the charge of food and water giving toHashim bin ‘Abd Munaf, upon whose death, the charge was taken over by a brother of his called Al-Muttalib bin ‘Abd Manaf and afterwards by ‘Abd Al-Muttalib bin Hashim, the Prophet’s grandfather, whose sons assumed this position until the rise of Islam, during which ‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib was in charge. Many other posts were distriamong people of Quraish for establishing the pillars of a new democratic petite state with government offices and councils similar to those of today. Enlisted as follows are some of these posts. 1. Casting the lots for the idols was allocated to Bani Jumah. 2. Noting of offers and sacrifices, settlement of disputes and relevant is sues were to lie in the hands of Bani Sahm. 3.Consultation was to go to Bani Asad. 4. Organization of blood-money and fines was with Bani Tayim. 14 5. Bearing the national banner was with Bani Omaiyah. 6. The military institute, footmen and cavalry would be Bani Makhzum’s responsibility. 7. Bani ‘Adi would function as foreign mediators. RULERSHIP IN PAN-ARABIA: We have previously mentioned the Qahtanide and ‘Adnanide emigrations, and division of Arabia between these two tribes. Those tribes dwelling near Heerah were subordinate to the Arabian king of Heerah, while those dwelling in the Syrian semi-desert were under domain of the Arabian Ghassanide king, a sort of dependency that was in reality formal rather than actual.However, those living in the hinder deserts enjo yed full autonomy. These tribes in fact had heads chosen by the whole tribe which was a demi-government based on tribal solidarity and collective interests in defence of land and property. Heads of tribes enjoyed dictatorial privileges similar to those of kings, and were rendered full obedience and subordination in both war and peace. Rivalry among cousins for rulership, however, often drove them to outdo one another in entertaining guests, affecting generosity, wisdom and chivalry for the sole purpose of outranking their rivals, and gaining fame among people especially poets who were the official spokesmen at the time.Heads of tribes and masters had special claims to spoils of war such as the quarter of the spoils, whatever he chose for himself, or found on his way back or even the remaining indivisible spoils. THE POLITICAL SITUATION: T he three Arab regions adjacent to foreigners suffered great weakness and inferiority. The people there were either masters or slaves, rulers or subordinates. Masters, especially the foreigners, had claim to every advantage ; slaves had nothing but responsibilities to shoulder. In other words, arbitrary autocratic rulership brought about encroachment on the rights of subordinates, ignorance, oppression, iniquity, injustice and hardship, and turning them into people groping in darkness and ignorance, viz. fertile land which rendered its fruits to the rulers and men of power to extravagantly dissipate on their pleasures and enjoyments, whims and desires, tyranny and aggression. The tribes living near these regions were fluctuating between Syria and Iraq, whereas those living inside Arabia were disunited and governed by tribal conflicts and racial and religious disputes. They had neither a king to sustain their independence nor a supporter to seek advice from, or depend upon, in hardships. The rulers of Hijaz, however, were greatly esteemed and respected by the Arabs, and were considered as rulers and servants of the religious centre. Rulership of Hijaz was, in fact, a mixture of secular and official prec edence as well as religious leadership.They ruled among the Arabs in the name of religious leadership and always monopolized the custodianship of the Holy Sanctuary and its neighbourhood. They looked after the interests of A l-Ka‘bah visitors and were in charge of putting Abraham’s code into effect. They even had such offices and departments like those of the parliaments of today. However, they were too weak to carry the heavy burden, as this evidently came to light during the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) invasion. 15 RELIGIONS OF THE ARABS Most of the Arabs had complied with the call of Ishmael (Peace be upon him) , and professed the religion of his father Abraham (Peace be upon him) They had worshipped Allah, professed His Oneness a nd followed His religion a long time until they forgot part of what they had been reminded of.However, they still maintained such fundamental beliefs such as monotheism as well as various other aspects of Abraham’s religion, until the tim e when a chief of Khuza‘a, namely ‘Amr bin Luhai, who was renowned for righteousness, charity, reverence and care for religion, and was granted unreserved love and obedience by his tribesmen, came back from a trip to Syria where he saw people worship idols, a phenomenon he approved of and believed it to be righteous since Syria was the locus of Messengers and Scriptures, he brought with him an idol (Hubal) which he placed in the middle of Al-Ka‘bah and summoned people to worship it. Readily enough, paganism spread all over Makkah and, thence, to Hijaz, people of Makkah being custodians of not only the Sacred House but the whole Haram as well. A great many idols, bearing different names, were introduced into the area. An idol called ‘Manat’, for instance, was worshipped in a place known as Al-Mushallal near Qadid on the Red Sea. Another, ‘Al-Lat’ in Ta’if, a third, ‘Al-‘Uzza’ in the valley of Nakhlah, and so on and so forth. Polytheism prevailed and the number of idols increased everywhere in Hijaz.It was even mentioned that ‘Amr bin Luhai, with the help of a jinn companion who told him that the idols of Noah’s folk – Wadd, Suwa‘, Yaguth, Ya‘uk and Nasr – were buried in Jeddah, dug them out and took them to Tihama. Upon pilgrimage time, the idols were distributed among the tribes to take back home. Every tribe, and house, had their own idols, and the Sacred House was also overcrowded with them. On the Prophet’s conquest of Makkah, 360 idols were found around Al-Ka‘bah. He broke them down and had them removed and burned up. Polytheism and worship of idols became the most prominent feature of the religion of pre -Islam Arabs despite alleged profession of Abraham’s religion. Traditions and ceremonies of the worship of their idols had been mostly created by ‘Amr bin Luhai, and were deemed as good innovations rather than deviations f rom Abraham’s religion.Some features of their worship of idols were: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Self-devotion to the idols, seeking refuge with them, acclamation of their names, calling for their help in hardship, and supplication to them for fulfillment of wishes, hopefully that the idols (i. e. , heathen gods) would mediate with Allah for the fulfillment of people’s wishes. Performing pilgrimage to the idols, circumrotation round them, self-abasement and even prostrating themselves before them. Seeking favour of idols through various kinds of sacrifices and immolations, which is mentioned in the Qur’anic verses: â€Å"And that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An -Nusub (stone-altars)† [5:3] Allah also says: â€Å"Eat not (O believers) of that (meat) on which Allah’s Name has not been pronounced (at the time of the slaughtering of the animal). † [6:121] †¢ Consecration of certain portions of food, drink, cattle, and crops to i dols. Surprisingly enough, portions were also consecrated to Allah Himself, but people often found reasons to transfer parts of Allah’s portion to idols, but never did the opposite. To this effect, the Qur’anic verses go: †¢ â€Å"And they assign to Allah a share of the tilth and cattle which He has created, and they say: ‘This is for Allah according to their pretending, and this is for our (Allah’s so-called) partners. ’ But the share of their (Allah’s so-called) ‘partners’, reaches not Allah, while the share of Allah reaches their (Allah’s so-called) ‘partners’.Evil is the way they judge. † [6:136] 16 †¢ Currying favours with these idols through votive offerings of crops and cattle, to which effect, the Qur’an goes: †¢ â€Å"And according to their pretending, they say that such and such cattle and crops are forbidden, and none should eat of them except those whom we allow. And ( they say) there are cattle forbidden to be used for burden or any other work, and cattle on which (at slaughtering) the Name of Allah is not pronounced; lying against Him (Allah). † [6:138] †¢ Dedication of certain animals (such as Bahira, Sa’iba, Wasila and Hami) to idols, which meant sparing such animals from useful work for the sake of these heathen gods.Bahira, as reported by the well-known historian, Ibn Ish, was daughter of Sa’iba which was a female camel that gave birth to ten successive female animals, but no male ones, was set free and forbidden to yoke, burden or being sheared off its wool, or milked (but for guests to drink from); and so was done to all her female offspring which were given the name ‘Bahira’, after having their ears slit. The Wasila was a female sheep which had ten successive female daughters in five pregnancies. Any new births from this Wasila were assigned only for male people. The Hami was a male camel which produc ed ten progressive females, and was thus similarly forbidden. In mention of this, the Qur’anic verses go: †¢ â€Å"Allah has not instituted things like Bahira ( a she-camel whose milk was spared for the idols and nobody was allowed to milk it) or a Sa’iba (a she camel let loose for free pasture for their false gods, e. g. idols, etc. , and othing was allowed to be c arried on it), or a Wasila (a she-camel set free for idols because it has given birth to a she-camel at its first delivery and then again gives birth to a she-camel at its second delivery) or a Ham (a stallion-camel freed from work for their idols, after it had finished a number of copulations assigned for it, all these animals were liberated in honour of idols as practised by pagan Arabs in the pre Islamic period). But those who disbelieve, invent lies against Allah, and most of them have no understanding. † [5:103] Allah also says: †¢ â€Å"And they say: What is in the bellies of such an d such cattle (milk or foetus) is for our males alone, and forbidden to our females (girls and women), but if it is born dead, then all have shares therein. † [6:139] It has been authentically reported that such superstitions were first invented by ‘Amr bin Luhai.The Arabs believed that such idols, or heathen gods, would bring them nearer to Allah, lead them to Him, and mediate with Him for their sake, to which effect, the Qur’an goes: †¢ â€Å"We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah. † [39:3], and â€Å"And they worship besides Allah things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah. † [10:18] Another divinatory tradition among the Arabs was casting of Azlam (i. e. featherless arrows which were of three kinds: one showing ‘yes’, another ‘no’ and a third was blank) which they used to do in case of serious matters like travel, marriage and the like. If the l ot showed ‘yes’, they would do, if ‘no’, they would delay for the next year.Other kinds of Azlam were cast for water, blood-money or showed ‘from you’, ‘not from you’, or ‘Mulsaq’ (consociated). In cases of doubt in filiation they would resort to the idol of Hubal, with a hundred-came l gift, for the arrow caster. Only the arrows would then decide the sort of relationship. If the arrow showed (from you), then it was decided that the child belonged to the tribe; if it showed (from others), he would then be regarded as an ally, but if (consociated) appeared, the person would retain his position but with no lineage or alliance contract. This was very much like gambling and arrow-shafting whereby they used to divide the meat of the camels they slaughtered according to this tradition.Moreover, they used to have a deep conviction in the tidings of soothsayers, diviners and astrologers. A soothsayer used to traffic in the bus iness of foretelling future events and claim knowledge of private secrets and having jinn subordinates who would communicate the news to him. Some soothsayers claimed that they could uncover the unknown by means of a granted power, while other diviners boasted they could divulge the secrets through a cause-and-effect-inductive process that would lead to detecting a stolen c ommodity, location of a theft, a stray animal, and the like. The astrologer belonged to a third category who used to observe the stars and calculate their movements and orbits whereby he would foretell the future.Lending credence to this news constituted a clue to their conviction that attached special significance to the movements of particular stars with regard to rainfall. The belief in signs as betokening future events, was, of course common among the Arabians. Some days and months and particular animals were regarded as ominous. They also believed that the soul of a murdered person would fly in the wildernes s and would never rest at rest until revenge was 17 taken. Superstition was rampant. Should a deer or bird, when released, turn right then what they embarked on would be regarded auspicious, otherwise they would get pessimistic and withhold from pursuing it.People of pre -Islamic period, whilst believing in superstition, they still retained some of the Abrahamic traditions such as devotion to the Holy Sanctuary, circumambulation, observance of pilgrimage, the vigil on ‘Arafah and offering sacrifices, all of these were observed fully despite some innovations that adulterated these holy rituals. Quraish, for example, out of arrogance, feeling of superiority to other tribes and pride in their custodianship of the Sacred House, would refrain from going to ‘Arafah with the crowd, instead they would stop short at Muzdalifah. The Noble Qur’an rebuked and told them: †¢ â€Å"Then depart from the place whence all the people depart. [2:199] Another heresy, deeply esta blished in their social tradition, dictated that they would not eat dried yoghurt or cooked fat, nor would they enter a tent made of camel hair or seek shade unless in a house of adobe bricks, so long as they were committed to the intention of pilgrimage. They also, out of a deeply-rooted misconception, denied pilgrims, other than Makkans, access to the food they had brought when they wanted to make pilgrimage or lesser pilgrimage. They ordered pilgrims coming from outside Makkah to circumambulate Al-Ka‘bah in Quraish uniform clothes, but if they could not afford them, men were to do so in a state of nudity, and women with only some piece of cloth to hide their groins. Allah says in this concern: †¢ â€Å"O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes), while praying [and going round (the Tawaf of) the Ka‘bah†. [7:31]If men or women were generous enough to go round Al-Ka‘bah in their clothes, they had to discard them after circum ambulation for good. When the Makkans were in a pilgrimage consecration state, they would not enter their houses through the doors but through holes they used to dig in the back walls. They used to regard such behaviour as deeds of piety and god-fearing. This practice was prohibited by the Qur’an: †¢ â€Å"It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc. ) that you enter the houses from the back but Al-Birr (is the quality of the one) who fears Allah. So enter houses through their proper doors, and fear Allah that you may be successful. † [2:189] Such was the religious life in Arabia, polytheism, idolatry, and superstition.Judaism, Christianity, Magianism and Sabianism, however, could find their ways easily into Arabia. The migration of the Jews from Palestine to Arabia passed through two phases: first, as a result of the pressure to which they were exposed, the destruction of the their temple, and taking most of them as captives to Babylon, at the hand of the King B ukhtanassar. In the year B. C. 587 some Jews left Palestine for Hijaz and settled in the northern areas whereof. The second phase started with the Roman occupation of Palestine under the leadership of Roman Buts in 70 A. D. This resulted in a tidal wave of Jewish migration into Hijaz, and Yathrib, Khaibar and Taima’, in particular.Here, they made proselytes of several tribes, built forts and castles, and lived in villages. Judaism managed to play an important role in the pre -Islam political life. When Islam dawned on that land, there had already been several famous Jewish tribes — Khabeer, Al-Musta liq, An-Nadeer, Quraizah and Qainuqa‘. In some versions, the Jewish tribes counted as many as twenty. Judaism was introduced into Yemen by someone called As‘ad Abi Karb. He had gone to fight in Yathrib and there he embraced Judaism and then went back taking with him two rabbis from Bani Quraizah to instruct thpeople of Yemen in this new religion. Judaism found a fertile soil there to propagate and gain adherents.After his death, his son Yusuf Dhu Nawas rose to power, attacked the Christian community in Najran and ordered them to embrace Judaism. When they refused, he ordered that a pit of fire be dug and all the Christians indiscriminately be dropped to burn therein. Estimates say that between 20-40 thousand Christians were killed in that human massacre. The Qur’an related part of that story in Al-Buruj (zodiacal signs) Chapter. Christianity had first made its appearance in Arabia following the entry of the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) and Roman colonists into that country. The Abyssinian (Ethiopian) colonizatio n forces in league with Christian missions entered Yemen as a retaliatory reaction for the iniquities of Dhu Nawas, and started vehemently to propagate their faith ardently.They even built a church and called it Yemeni Al-Ka‘bah with the aim of directing the Arab pilgrimage caravans towards Yemen, and then made an attempt to demolish the Sacred House in Makkah. Allah, the Almighty, however did punish them and made an example of them – here and hereafter. A Christian missionary called Fimion, and known for his ascetic behaviour and working miracles, had likewise infiltrated into Najran. There he called people to Christianity, and by virtue of his honesty and truthful devotion, he managed to persuade them to respond positively to his invitation and embrace Christianity. The principal tribes that embraced Christianity were Ghassan, Taghlib, Tai’ and some Himyarite kings as well as other tribes living on the borders of the Roman Empire. 18Magianism was also popular among the Arabs living in the neighbourhood of Persia, Iraq, Bahrain, Al-Ahsa’ and some areas on the Arabian Gulf coast. Some Yemenis are also reported to have professed Magianism during the Persian occupation. As for Sabianism, excavations in Iraq revealed that it had been popular amongst Kaldanian folks, the Syrians and Ye menis. With the advent of Judaism and Christianity, however, Sabianism began to give way to the new religions, although it retained some followers mixed or adjacent to the Magians in Iraq and the Arabian Gulf. THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION: Such was the religious life of the Arabians before the advent of Islam.The role that the religions prevalent played was so marginal, in fact it was next to nothing. The polytheists, who faked Abrahamism, were so far detached from its precepts, and totally oblivious of its immanent good manners. They plunged into disobedience and ungodliness, and developed certain peculiar religious superstitions that managed to leave a serious impact on the religious and socio -political life in the whole of Arabia. Judaism turned into abominable hypocrisy in league with hegemony. Rabbis turned into lords to the exclusion of the Lord. They got involved in the practice of dictatorial subjection of people and calling their subordinates to account for the least word or id ea.Their sole target turned into acquisition of wealth and power even if it were at the risk of losing their religion, or the emergence of atheism and disbelief. Christianity likewise opened its doors wide to polytheism, and got too difficult to compre hend as a heavenly religion. As a religious practice, it developed a sort of peculiar medley of man and God. It exercised no bearing whatsoever on the souls of the Arabs who professed it simply because it was alien to their style of life and did not have the least relationship with their p