Early History of Islam

Pre-Islamic Arabia

1. The Geo-Political Condition

Arabia. Situated near the crossroads of three continents, at the heart of the World, the Arabian Peninsula juts out into one of the most recognizable features on the globe. Bordered by the Red Sea to its west, the Persian Gulf to its east, the Indian Ocean to the south, and Syria and Mesopotamia to the north, it is famously arid but for the vegetation of the Sarawat Mountains, which anchor the western coastline. Despite the scarcity of liquid, there are a few sources of underground water available, and these have produced oases that have long served as the backbone for human settlements and caravans.

The Arabian Peninsula has been populated since the earliest days of recorded history, the inhabitants of the Persian Gulf establishing city-states before the third millennium C.E. 1 Many scholars consider this region to be the cradle of all Semitic races, though there is by no means a full consensus. Theories on this cradle include: Babylonia (the opinion of Von Kremer, Guide, and Hommelg/ the Arabian Peninsula (Sprenger, Sayee, DeGoeje, Brockelmann, and others); “Africa (Noldeke and others); “Amuru (A.T. Clay);” Armenia (John Peaters);” the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula (John Philby);? and Europe (Ungnand).” Phillip Hitti, in his work, History of the Arabs, says: “Though the term ‘Semitic’ has of late come to be used in West Arabia who, more than any other group of people, have retained the Semitic characteristics in their physical features, manners, customs, the habit of thought and language. The people of Arabia have remained virtually the same throughout all the recorded ages.?? Most hypotheses regarding racial origins emanate from linguistic research (and occasionally the information supplied by the OT),l0 and much of this is neither scientific nor historically accurate. For example, the OT includes among nations of Semitic stock many who are not Semites, such as the Elamite and Ludim, whilst discarding many which are Semitic, such as the Phoenicians and Canaanites.!’ Given the myriad viewpoints, I subscribe to the notion that the Semitic races emerged from within Arabia. As to the question of who is or is not Semitic, Arabs, and Israelites share a common ancestry through Abraham.

2. Ibrahim and Makkah

As he began the trek home, Hajar gazed at the emptiness around her in bewilderment and asked him thrice whether he was deserting them. He made no reply. Then she asked whether this was the command of Allah, and he replied: yes. Hearing this she said, “Then He will not abandon us.” And indeed He did not abandon them, causing the waters of Zamzam to eventually gush out of the sand at the infant Isma’Il’s feet; this spring made possible the first settlements in the area, with Jurhum being the earliest tribe to settle there.” more generally about the Jews because of their concentration in America, it is more appropriately applicable to the inhabitants of  Several years later Ibrahim, on a visit to his son, informed him of a vision: “Then, when (the son) reached (the age if serious) work with him, (Ibrahim) said: ‘0 my son! I see in a dream that I qJftryou in sacrifice: now see what is your view!’ (The son) said: ‘0 my father! Do as you are commanded:you willfind me, if Allah so wills, one practicing Patience and constancy! … And fVe ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice.”16 On the heels of this incident, Ibrahim and Ismail received a divine commission to establish the first sanctuary on earth dedicated to the sole worship of Allah Thefirst House (if worship) appointed for people was thatatBakka;ftll if blessing and if guidance for all kinds of beings” Bakka is another name for Makkah, and in that rocky vale both father and son concerted their efforts towards the construction of the sacred Ka’ba, with the piety of one whose grueling ordeal had just been resolved by the Almighty Himsel£ Upon its completion Ibrahun made the following supplication:

“0 our Lord! I have made some if to dwell in a valley without cultivation, l! J ‘Your Sacred House; in order, 0 our Lord, that they may establish regular Prayer: Sofill the hearts if some among men with love toward them, and. feed them with fruits: So that they may give thanks.” Soon the roots of this supplication had visibly blossomed and Makkah was no longer desolate, gaining life in the presence of Allah’s noble sanctuary, the waters of Zamzam, and a burgeoning population. It eventually became a central junction on the trade routes to Syria, Yemen, Ta’if, and Nejd. l? which is why “from the time of Aellius Gallus down to Nero all the emperors cherished the desire of extending their influence to the important station of Mecca and made tentative efforts in this direction.”20 There were naturally other population movements within the Arabian Peninsula. Of note were the Jewish refugees who, many centuries later, introduced Judaism to Arabia during the Babylonian Exile, settling in Yathrib (present-day Madinah), Khaibar, Taima’ and Fadak in 587 B.C.E. and 70 C.E.21Nomadic Arab tribes were also in flux. Banu Tha’liba (the tribe of Tha’Iiba) from the Qahtanite stock also settled in Madinah; among their

descendants were the tribes of Aws and Khazraj, later dually known as al-Ansar” (Supporters of the Prophet). Banu Haritha, later known as Banu Khuza’a, settled in Hejaz and displaced earlier inhabitants, BanuJurhum,23 becoming the custodians of the House in Makkah. They were subsequently responsible for introducing idol worship/” Banu Lakhm, another clan of Qahtanite origin, settled in Hira (present-day Kufa in Iraq) where they founded a buffer state between Arabia and Persia (c. 200-602 C.E.).25 Banu Ghassan settled in lower Syria and founded the Ghassanid Kingdom, a buffer state between Byzantine and Arabia, which lasted till 614 C.E.26 Banu Tayy occupied the Tayy Mountains while Banu Kinda settled in central Arabia.’? The common feature of all these tribes was their lineage to Ibrahim through Isrna ‘il. 28 This section is not meant to serve as a history of Makkah prior to Islam but as a starting point for the closest ancestral family member of the Prophet who had a direct bearing on his life. For the sake of brevity, I will pass over numerous details and pick up the trail with Qu~ayy, the great-great-great grandfather of the Prophet.