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