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In
the Name of Allah,
Most
Gracious, Most Merciful
ASPECT
OF PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIAN SOCIETY
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam
After
the research we have made into the religious and political life
of Arabia, it is appropriate to speak briefly about the social,
economic and ethical conditions prevalent therein.
The
Arabian Society presented a social medley, with different and
heterogeneous social strata. The status of the woman among the
nobility recorded an advanced degree of esteem. The woman enjoyed
a considerable portion of free will, and her decision would most
often be enforced. She was so highly cherished that blood would
be easily shed in defence of her honour. In fact, she was the
most decisive key to bloody fight or friendly peace. These
privileges notwithstanding, the family system in Arabia was
wholly patriarchal. The marriage contract rested completely in
the hands of the woman’s legal guardian whose words with regard
to her marital status could never be questioned.
On the
other hand, there were other social strata where prostitution and
indecency were rampant and in full operation. Abu Da’ûd, on the
authority of ‘Aishah(May Allah be pleased with her) reported
four kinds of marriage in pre-Islamic Arabia: The first was
similar to present-day marriage procedures, in which case a man
gives his daughter in marriage to another man after a dowry has
been agreed on. In the second, the husband would send his wife –
after the menstruation period – to cohabit with another man in
order to conceive. After conception her husband would, if he
desired, have a sexual intercourse with her. A third kind was
that a group of less than ten men would have sexual intercourse
with a woman. If she conceived and gave birth to a child, she
would send for these men, and nobody could abstain. They would
come together to her house. She would say: ‘You know what you
have done. I have given birth to a child and it is your child’
(pointing to one of them). The man meant would have to accept.
The fourth kind was that a lot of men would have sexual
intercourse with a certain woman (a whore). She would not prevent
anybody. Such women used to put a certain flag at their gates to
invite in anyone who liked. If this whore got pregnant and gave
birth to a child, she would collect those men, and a seeress
would tell whose child it was. The appointed father would take
the child and declare him/her his own. When Prophet Muhammad
(Peace be upon him) declared Islam in Arabia, he cancelled all
these forms of sexual contacts except that of present Islamic
marriage
Women
always accompanied men in their wars. The winners would freely
have sexual intercourse with such women, but disgrace would
follow the children conceived in this way all their lives.
Pre-Islam Arabs had no limited number of wives. They could marry
two sisters at the same time, or even the wives of their fathers
if divorced or widowed. Divorce was to a very great extent in the
power of the husband.
The
obscenity of adultery prevailed almost among all social classes
except few men and women whose self-dignity prevented them from
committing such an act. Free women were in much better conditions
than the female slaves who constituted the greatest calamity. It
seemed that the greatest majority of pre-Islam Arabs did not feel
ashamed of committing this obscenity. Abu Da’ûd reported: A man
stood up in front of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and
said: “O Prophet of Allâh! that boy is my son. I had sexual
intercourse with his mother in the pre-Islamic period.” The
Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: <DIR>
“No
claim in Islam for pre-Islamic affairs. The child is to be
attributed to the one on whose bed it was born, and stoning is
the lot of a fornicator.” </DIR>
With
respect to the pre-Islam Arab’s relation with his offspring, we
see that life in Arabia was paradoxical and presented a gloomy
picture of contrasts. Whilst some Arabs held children dear to
their hearts and cherished them greatly, others buried their
female children alive because an illusory fear of poverty and
shame weighed heavily on them. The practice of infanticide
cannot, however, be seen as irrevocably rampant because of their
dire need for male children to guard themselves against their
enemies.
Another
aspect of the Arabs’ life which deserves mention is the bedouin’s
deep-seated emotional attachment to his clan. Family, or perhaps
tribal-pride, was one of the strongest passions with him. The
doctrine of unity of blood as the principle that bound the Arabs
into a social unity was formed andsupported by tribal-pride.
Their undisputed motto was: “ÇäÕÑ ÃÎÇß ÙÇáãÇ Ãæ ãÙáæãÇ — Support
your brother whether he is an oppressor or oppressed” in its
literal meaning; they disregarded the Islamic amendment which
states that supporting an oppressor brother implies deterring him
from transgression.
Avarice
for leadership, and keen sense of emulation often resulted in
bitter tribal warfare despite descendency from one common
ancestor. In this regard, the continued bloody conflicts of Aws
and Khazraj, ‘Abs and Dhubyan, Bakr and Taghlib, etc. are
striking examples.
Inter-tribal relationships were fragile and weak due to continual
inter-tribal wars of attrition. Deep devotion to religious
superstitions and some customs held in veneration, however, used
to curb their impetuous tendency to quench their thirst for
blood. In other cases, there were the motives of, and respect
for, alliance, loyalty and dependency which could successfully
bring about a spirit of rapport, and abort groundless bases of
dispute. A time-honoured custom of suspending hostilities during
the prohibited months (Muharram, Rajab, Dhul-Qa‘dah, and
Dhul-Hijjah) functioned favourably and provided an opportunity
for them to earn their living and coexist in peace.
We may
sum up the social situation in Arabia by saying that the Arabs of
the pre-Islamic period were groping about in the dark and
ignorance, entangled in a mesh of superstitions paralyzing their
mind and driving them to lead an animal-like life. The woman was
a marketable commodity and regarded as a piece of inanimate
property. Inter-tribal relationships were fragile. Avarice for
wealth and involvement in futile wars were the main objectives
that governed their chiefs’ self-centred policies.
The
economic situation ran in line with the social atmosphere. The
Arabian ways of living would illustrate this phenomenon quite
clearly. Trade was the most common means of providing their needs
of life. The trade journeys could not be fulfilled unless
security of caravan routes and inter-tribal peaceful co-existence
were provided – two imperative exigencies unfortunately lacking
in Arabia except during the prohibited months within which the
Arabs held their assemblies of ‘Ukaz, Dhil-Majaz, Mijannah and
others.
Industry
was alien to the Arabian psychology. Most of available industries
of knitting and tannage in Arabia were done by people coming from
Yemen, Heerah and the borders of Syria. Inside Arabia there was
some sort of farming and stock-breeding. Almost all the Arabian
women worked in yarn spinning but even this practice was
continually threatened by wars. On the whole, poverty, hunger and
insufficient clothing were the prevailing features in Arabia,
economically.
ETHICS:
We
cannot deny that the pre-Islam Arabs had such a large bulk of
evils. Admittedly, vices and evils, utterly rejected by reason,
were rampant amongst the pre-Islam Arabs, but this could never
screen off the surprise-provoking existence of highly
praiseworthy virtues, of which we could adduce the following:
Hospitality: They used to emulate one another at hospitality
and take utmost pride in it. Almost half of their poetry
heritage was dedicated to the merits and nobility attached to
entertaining one’s guest. They were generous and hospitable on
the point of fault. They would sacrifice their private
sustenance to a cold or hungry guest. They would not hesitate
to incur heavy blood-money and relevant burdens just to stop
blood-shed, and consequently merit praise and eulogy.
In the
context of hospitality, there springs up their common habits of
drinking wine which was regarded as a channel branching out of
generosity and showing hospitality. Wine drinking was a genuine
source of pride for the Arabs of the pre-Islamic period. The
great poets of that era never forgot to include their
suspending odes the most ornate lines pregnant with boasting
and praise of drinking orgies. Even the word ‘grapes’ in Arabic
is identical to generosity in both pronunciation and spelling.
Gambling was also another practice of theirs closely associated
with generosity since the proceeds would always go to charity.
Even the Noble Qur’ân does not play down the benefits that
derive from wine drinking and gambling, but also says,
“And
the sin of them is greater than their benefit.” [2:219]
Keeping a covenant: For the Arab, to make a promise was to run
into debt. He would never grudge the death of his children or
destruction of his household just to uphold the deep-rooted
tradition of covenant-keeping. The literature of that period is
rich in stories highlighting this merit.
Sense
of honour and repudiation of injustice: This attribute stemmed
mainly from excess courage, keen sense of self-esteem and
impetuosity. The Arab was always in revolt against the least
allusion to humiliation or slackness. He would never hesitate
to sacrifice himself to maintain his ever alert sense of
self-respect.
Firm
will and determination: An Arab would never desist an avenue
conducive to an object of pride or a standing of honour, even
if it were at the expense of his life.
Forbearance, perseverance and mildness: The Arab regarded these
traits with great admiration, no wonder, his impetuosity and
courage-based life was sadly wanting in them.
Pure
and simple bedouin life, still untarnished with accessories of
deceptive urban appearances, was a driving reason to his nature
of truthfulness and honesty, and detachment from intrigue and
treachery.
Such
priceless ethics coupled with a favourable geographical position
of Arabia were in fact the factors that lay behind selecting the
Arabs to undertake the burden of communicating the Message (of
Islam) and leading mankind down a new course of life.
In this
regard, these ethics per se, though detrimental in some areas,
and in need of rectification in certain aspects, were greatly
invaluable to the ultimate welfare of the human community and
Islam has did it completely.
The most
priceless ethics, next to covenant-keeping, were no doubt their
sense of self-esteem and strong determination, two human traits
indispensable in combatting evil and eliminating moral corruption
on the one hand, and establishing a good and justice-orientated
society, on the other.
Actually, the life of the Arabs in the pre-Islamic period was
rich in other countless virtues we do not need to enumerate for
the time being. May Allah Be Pleased
With all muslims Ameen.
Copyright © Abdul Mateen Khan. All Rights Reserved.