|
In the whole world there were nearly one hundred twenty-four thousand
prophets. The three monotheistic religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam originated
from this area. All of these Messengers of God can not be identified but we are aware of
hundreds of them and their lives through traditions passed onto us through their
followers, their kith and their kin. God is Omnipresent, but people of all ages who have wanted to converse
with God, turned their faces towards this land. The Jews look to Canaan, the
Christians to Bayt-al-Muqqadas and the Muslims to the Holy
Kabah. More important than coming to this world is the completion of the mission
bestowed upon a Prophet. Quite a small number out of one hundred and twenty-four thousand
Prophets could complete their missions. Those who did were brought up in these vast
deserts. Arab dwellers, in earlier days, lived in the South of the peninsula. This
area was quite green and fertile. They called it Khozaib. The Greeks named it
Arabia Felix. Endless wars, drought, damaged water dams and wilderness made
the Arabs immigrate northwards. Their migration in search of better pastures earned them
the name of Bedouins or the desert wanderers. These migrations in extreme
weather and heat led to the death of many. Those individuals who were left behind became
hardened into pillars of resolve, strength and determination. Darwin, the proponent of the theory of evolution says that the world is
the survival of the fittest where weaklings, cowards and fools fail to survive. To live in
the desert, where eatables at times were only acacia thorns, demanded strict physical and
spiritual stability. The ability to abide by the discipline and law of a tribal way of
life was very important. Individually even today a human being, with cars and planes
cannot survive for long in the desert. The formation of a tribe or troupe had been and still is vital in the
desert life. It was and indeed still is as difficult to survive individually in the desert
as it is for a bee without its hive. Life in a desert did not guarantee economic stability. Endurance was the
way of life. Thirst and hunger were part of a Bedouins nature. All persons of the
old Arab world wore a tight girdling under their dresses so that they could ignore the
pangs of hunger. If still they felt it, they would place a stone between their bellies and
belt to imagine a full stomach. A famous poet, Sanfara of that period puts it in this way,
"I can deceive my hunger, I can stifle my thirst, if still my hunger soars, I will
twist my stomach a way that none of any cobblers would have twisted his thread". The spring season in Arabia, or as the Arabs will call it, spring harvest,
comes for only three to four weeks. It rains all this time and the areas without sand are
covered with greenery which later turns into acacia thorns in summer. It was only during
spring when the desert wore green that the desert antelopes came for pasture. The Arabs
could hunt them down during this period. There could be no hunting after this season. Whenever Bedouins settled in cities, they retained their tribal qualities.
The only difference was that they lived in city houses instead of tents. In the cities of
Makkah, Madinah and Taif, each tribe, like the Bedouins, selected its own place and
area of dwelling and no two tribes lived together. An Arab would always be on the move. He
had to shift, along with his camels, from one place to another. He could not use heavy
items and his household consisted of very few items though he could own much more and
often did, but that was normally used for trading purposes. In Makkah, the elders of the
Quraysh lived the same way and the quality and number of camels they had would signify
their splendour. This did not imply that material wealth was lacking amongst the Bedouin.
They had a way of life much different from ours. A tent for protection from the sun, a camel for riding and supplying milk
to quench thirst, and a sword for defence was the fundamental asset of an Arab. There was
little of aesthetics in those hot and shifting sands. There were no paintings because
there were no colour pigments available and no sculpture for want of carvable rocks. The
wood for construction and carvings was scarce. The Arabs could not do sculpture and
painting as they lacked the proper tools for such endeavours, yet they were culturally
aware. Their form of expression was verbal in the form of poetry that encompassed their
unique literature. Their culture and history were profusely rich in eloquence. If anyone wanted to know about Arab history and civilisation, his best
source was the works of Arab poets. At other places, poetry is only part of literature but
in the Arabian Peninsula, it was a way of life. A poet was considered, not only a poet but
a savant, a religious guide, a police official and a scholar. A verse was as vital as the
sun and the air for life. The Arab nation had a vast storehouse of verses to suit their
purposes from happiness to misery, death to birth, war to peace and good omens to evil
signs. An Arab would utter baneful verses of Zaheer when sad, of
Habigha when afraid, of Ashi when furious and of
Antara when ensuing a fight. The Arabs though war-like and ferocious when roused were normally well
disciplined. Any fight or brawl was forbidden inside the boundaries of Holy Kabah.
Even when two blood thirsty rivals entered the Haram, they had to leave aside
their enmity, temporarily. The travellers or the caravans, irrespective of their origins
had complete freedom of worshipping their respective gods. Each nation or tribe had its
hermitage, where they could look after their gods. They would not indulge in battles
during four months, which they considered sacred. Even the desert bandits would not attack
the pilgrims of the Holy Kabah and trade caravans. The days of Pilgrimage came in
those four months. A large market Ukaz was held in a small city near Makkah. This
market attracted people from throughout the peninsula to buy and sell their goods. The
market place of Ukaz would conduct a massive gathering of poets annually which
included a sitting for versification. The winner poet was bestowed upon with a prize. His
verses were inscribed in golden words on the silk cloth and were hung by the walls of Holy
Kabah so that other nations on their visit to Holy Kabah would enjoy them.
They were hung for the whole year and were thus called Mualaqaat - the hung
ones. Another peculiarity about the market of Ukaz was that whenever
any sultan or a king would send something precious, such as swords or brocade, to be sold
in the market, only that person had the right, according to the Arab custom, to purchase
them who would be superior in status and respect to them. According to this method only
the select or the deserving persons would step out one by one and while standing at a
particular place would introduce himself and say verses exalting his valour. If anyone
could not versify, he would hire a poet. The judges decided the winner who would have the
right to purchase. The Arab tribes allocated such an importance to eloquence that it was
compulsory for the chieftain to be a poet. The Arabic language denotes chieftain as
Ameer or Sayyed - or the eloquent. Imra-ul-Qays was
one of the famous poets who is well known among the Muslims. He was considered the most
prominent and eloquent of the seven poets whose verses were hung on the walls of Holy
Kabah. Even today some Bedouins remember the verses of the ancient poets. The Arabs though brave, hospitable and eloquent, were deeply entrenched in
social injustice and polytheism. Many of their good qualities could even be explained in
terms of their sense of tribal pride for which they would try to outdo one another in
eloquence, hospitality and bravery. |
Women were treated with aversion in Arabia. It was a practised custom to
bury alive new-born baby girls so the that shameful responsibility of the
upbringing of girls could be avoided. In conformity with the patriarchal system, the birth
of a boy met with great festivity and was a source of eminence and pride. The name of the
sons carried onto the fathers. If the name of the son was Qamar his father was called as
Abu Qamar. Sons were thus more desirable. Women had no legal right to inheritance. Wives
were assumed properties and had no rights. A man could keep as many women for wives as he
wished. On his death they would go to his sons share, who could even legally marry
his step-mothers. Women were thought of as articles of trade and could be bought and sold
at will. There were 360 idols housed in Holy Kabah. There were also numerous
religious sacraments of other tribes and nations placed in Holy Kabah for everyone
to practise his own religious rites. The Holy Kabah was the first House of Allah. It
was built for his worship. Unfortunately, it was in the hands of pagans, who had filled it
with idols and pictures of various deities, including a picture of Jesus Christ and the
Virgin Mary. Every household had its idols. Even stones and trees were worshipped. Each
tribe had its own gods, at the altar of which sometimes they also performed human
sacrifices. There was no central government and various tribes would remain in constant
battles over blood feuds started by their fore-fathers. Slavery was practised in its worst
form. People did not believe in the concept of life after death. Drinking, gambling, and
adulteries were common. Wars saw barbarity in most horrific forms. All forms of cruelty
were inflicted on the losing party by the victors. In the fifth and sixth centuries the civilised world stood on the verge of
chaos. The old cultures that had made civilisation possible had broken down. Civilisation
stood tottering, rotten to the core. It was amongst these people that Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was born,
who was able to unite the whole known world. The Quraysh tribe was the most powerful amongst the Arabs of the Ibrahimic
descent. Four hundred years after the death of the Christ a Quraysh named
Qusay married the daughter of the chief of Khuzaah named Hulayl. It was
agreed that Qusay should rule over Makkah. His close relatives settled, beside the Holy
Kabah and were known as Quraysh of the Hollow. Whereas Qusays more remote
kinsmen settled in the ravines of the surrounding hills and in the countryside and were
known as Quraysh of the outskirts. The keepers of the Holy Kabah had lived round it
in tents. Qusay told them to build themselves houses. He built himself a spacious house
that was known as the House of Assembly. He ruled over Quraysh as King. Amongst Qusays four sons, Abdu Manaf was pre-eminent. Qusay
preferred his first-born Abd-ad-Dar as his successor and not Abdu Manaf. His first born
was not very bright. Shortly before his death he said to him, "My son, I will set
thee level with the others in despite of mens honouring them more than thee. None
shall enter the Holy Kabah except thou open it for him, and no hand but thine shall
knot for Quraysh their ensign of war, nor shall any pilgrim draw water for drink in Makkah
except thou give him the right thereto, nor shall he eat food except it be of thy
providing, nor shall Quraysh resolve upon any matter except it be in thy house,"
Having thus invested him with all his rights and powers, he transferred to him the
ownership of the House of Assembly. Out of filial piety Abdu Manaf accepted without
question his fathers wishes. In the next generation, half of the Quraysh tribe
gathered round Abdu Manafs son Hashim, and demanded that the rights be transferred
from the clan of Abd ad-Dar to his clan. Feeling rose so high that the women of the clan of Abdu Manaf brought a
bowl of rich perfume and placed it beside the Holy Kabah. Hashim and his brothers
and all their allies dipped their hands in perfume and swore a solemn oath that they would
never abandon one another. They made this pact while rubbing their scented hands over the
stones of the Holy Kabah. Violence was strictly forbidden not only in the Sanctuary
itself but also within a wide circle round Makkah, several miles in diameter. The two
sides were about to leave this sacred precinct in order to fight a battle to the death
when a compromise was reached. It was agreed that the sons of Abdu Manaf should have the
rights of levying the tax and providing the pilgrims with food and drink, whereas the sons
of Abd ad-Dar should retain the keys of the Holy Kabah and their other rights, and
that their house should continue to be the House of Assembly. Hashims brothers agreed that he should have the responsibility of
providing for the pilgrims. When the time of Pilgrimage drew near he would rise in the
Assembly and say, "O men of Quraysh, you are Allahs neighbours, the people of
His House and at this feast there come unto you Allahs visitors, the pilgrims to His
House. They are Allahs guests, and no guests have such claim on your generosity as
His guests. If my own wealth could compass it, I would not lay this burden upon you." Hashim was held in much honour, both at home and abroad. It was he who
established the great caravan journeys from Makkah to north-west Arabia, and beyond it to
Palestine and Syria. This area was under Byzantine rule as part of the Roman Empire. These
journeys lay along the ancient incense route. One of the first main halts of the summer
caravans was the oasis of Madinah which was located eleven camel days north of Makkah. This oasis had at one time been chiefly inhabited by Jews but an Arab
tribe from South Arabia was now in control of it. The Jews nonetheless continued to live
there in considerable prosperity, taking part in the general life of the community while
maintaining their religion. The Arabs of Madinah had certain matriarchal traditions and were
collectively known as the children of Qaylah after one of their ancestors. They had now
branched into two tribes that were named Aws and Khazraj after Qaylahs two sons. One of the most influential women of Khazraj was Salma; the daughter of
Amr, of the clan of Najjar. Hashim asked her to marry him. Despite the oasis fever, which
was more of a danger to newcomers than to the inhabitants, the climate of Madinah was
healthier than that of Makkah. Hashim often went to Syria for trade and stayed with Salma
and his son on the way and on his return. Hashims life was not destined to be a long
one, and during one of his journeys he fell ill at Gaza in Palestine and died there. He had two full brothers, named Abdu Shams and Muttalib. Hashims
younger brother Muttalib took over the rights of providing water to the pilgrims and of
levying the tax to feed them. Hashim had three sons by wives other than Salma. None of
Muttalibs own sons - could be compared with Salmas son Shaybah. He showed
great qualities for leadership. Excellent reports of his leadership qualities were brought
to Makkah by travellers who passed through the oasis. Muttalib went to see him and asked
Salma to entrust his nephew to his care. As guardians of the Holy House, Quraysh ranked higher in dignity than any
other Arab tribe. There was a strong likelihood that Shaybah would one day hold the office
that his father had held and so become one of the chief of Quraysh. Muttalib took his
nephew with him on the back of his camel; and as they rode into Makkah he heard some of
the bystanders say as they looked at the young stranger: "Abdul Muttalib"
meaning "al-Muttalibs slave". From that day Shaybah was affectionWately
known as Abd al-Muttalib. When Muttalib died, no one disputed his
nephews qualifications to succeed him to the heavy responsibility of feeding and
providing water to the pilgrims. |