Arabia being a very hot and dry country, one third of it is desert. It is strange that a land surrounded by water on three sides, and with only a narrow strip of land to the north, has practically no river of its own, except for small streams here and there, which soon dry up in the hot desert.
Rain too is scarce. The rains come in torrents in spring, but the water does not stay. It is lost in the sand as quickly as it comes. There being no dependable rainy reason, which is necessary for agriculture, this vast land, about a thousand kilometres wide and about the same in length, is neither fertile nor cultivable.
Yemen, the original home of the Semites, is the only exception, in that it is fertile and enjoys a rainy season. Besides this, the rest of the peninsula consists of barren valleys and deserts. Due to the lack of vegetation, life here can be only that of the desert. The camel, the only means of transportation is indispensable, for a desert life demands continuous movement. The desert dwellers must continually go in search of pastures, which are scarce and thin, and soon cropped bare. The pastures turn green around spring, watered by springs which form in the wake of occasional rainfalls. In such an infertile country where no agriculture has ever been possible, the only produce is dates. In the context of this civilization, Yemen has always been very developed in terms of agriculture. Showing great intelligence the Yemenis invented ways of saving rain water from running down to the sea so that artificial irrigation could be carried out. Moreover, they built the famous dam of Maarib by changing the natural course of the water. This water is gathered in a 400 meter wide valley between two mountains by constructing a dam with gates at the narrowest point in the valley.
Then this water is divided into many streams and spread over a wide area of plains. It is almost like the Nile in the dam area in Upper Egypt. In this way they have contrived to have a controlled distribution of their water. The fertility of their land has gone on increasing and the people of Yemen have become very prosperous.
MAKKAH
When Hajira’s infant son started crying for water she ran desperately between the hills of Safa and Marwah in search of water. She ran seven times when finally she discovered a spring of water gushing from the ground by the side of her son. It was this spring which is known as Zamzam. Makkah is founded at this spring spot of Zamzam.Both Makkah and Madinah were, and still are, islands in a sea of desert. These towns were initially inhabited by the descendants of the nomads, who still retained many of the desert born habits of their ancestors.
Situated in a valley, Makkah is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is a desert, with no vegetation, no date-palms.
There are some fertile spots in the desert, which are called oases. There are also springs of water here and there, although grass and palm trees grow. These springs of water are scattered all over the desert. Large as well as small clans settle around the oases.
Makkah since ancient times was an important centre for the caravans coming from the south with valuable merchandise. They brought gold, precious stones and spices from Africa to Yemen. From here it was taken to the markets of Syria, Egypt and many other places on the backs of camels.
The merchants travelled in caravans for the sake of safety. For in those days caravans were an easy target. Since these caravans passed through vast stretches of uninhabited deserts, it was easy for plunderers to rob them of all their merchandise.
At Makkah agriculture not being possible, the city thrived on commerce. Makkah became an important trading centre because of the Sanctuary – the Kabah, to visit which people came from places far and near. Its geographical position was very good from the point of view of trade, it being situated at the crossroads of the routes from Yemen to Syria and Abyssinia to Arabia. So the nomads came to Makkah from all sides. By the 6th century, Arab traders had become very influential and controlled the trade from Yemen to Syria. Taif was also an important commercial centre but Makkah was more important because of the Kabah.
So Makkah became a religious as well as a financial centre. By the time the Prophet conquered Makkah, we find many influential traders who were adept at doing business with different parts of the world. Although Yemen was the most advanced province in the Arabian Peninsula because of its water resources and sound administration, Makkah being a religious centre wielded greater influence on this account. Makkah, a focal point of pilgrimage dating back to the origin of Arab history, owed its status to the Kabah, which had been built by Ibrahim and Ismail.
Everyone observed its holy months for religious reasons as well as on account of the special position it enjoyed with regard to trade, being the capital of the peninsula.
The Arabs of the North are considered Arab al mustaribah, “Arabized Arabs.” The Qahtanis of the South are considered Arab al Mutaarribah, or tribes resulting from mixing with the Arab al Aribah, original, or true Arabs. From the Qahtanis descend the Arabs of ancient South Arabia, or “Himyarite” Kingdoms. The completely “true Arabs”, descendants of Aram, son of Shem, son of Noah, are called the Arab al baidah, “the lost Arabs”, their identity having been submerged in that of other peoples.
The progeny of Ismail were known as Mustariba, or naturalised Arabs, and they greatly multiplied. They were divided into many tribes and clans. The Quraysh, the largest tribe, descending from the Kinanah and Ismail, had several clans. They were settled in Makkah by an ancestor of renown called Qusayy, who displaced the previous inhabitants, the Khuzaah. The clans who lived in the vicinity of the Kabah were considered most honourable. These were called Quraysh al Bitah (the Quraysh of the Hollow).
The location of Makkah on important caravan routes across the Peninsula, and the prestige of the Kabah in the age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah) gave it great advantages as a trading city. This is why the Quraysh became one of the richest and most powerful tribes. This, together with their descent from the Kinanah and Ismail, gave them claims to an aristocratic pre-eminence.
The Prophet Muhammad was of the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh, who lived in the vicinity of the Kabah and enjoyed great honour and prestige in Arabia. These clans were divided into families. Besides these Arabs there were also Christian and Jews who lived in Arabia. A large number of their population lived in Madinah.
In Arabia there are two different geographical types of soil markedly different from one another – the oasis and the desert. The inhabitants of Arabia naturally fall into two main groups: nomadic and settled people. The city dwellers settled in one place and lived on cultivation because they knew how to till the land and grow corn. They engaged in commerce not only within their own country, but also abroad. But the Bedouins, being nomads, disliked the idea of a settled life and wandered from place to place with their families and belongings. Prof. Hitti in his book the History of the Arabs, writes: “The Bedouin is no gypsy roaming aimlessly for the sake of roaming. He represents the best adaptation of human life to desert conditions.” (p. 23)
They lived in tents and possessed goats, camels and horses. They were continually on the move in search of pastures and when they halted temporarily they lived in tents or camps. They engaged for economic reasons in horse-breeding, hunting, camel raising, etc. They thought that these were the only occupations worthy of a man. They disliked agriculture, trade and commerce. In the desert the basic unit of life is not the state but the tribe. The Bedouins attach the greatest importance to total freedom for the individual as well as the tribe, but this was not the case with the city-dwellers. They attached importance not only to freedom but also to peace, security and prosperity. Another feature of tribal life, is the belief in absolute equality. All the members of the tribe are treated equally. This is because of the influence of the desert, with the freedom of its vast limitless expanses. If they had any injustice forced upon them, which they could not bear or confront, they left behind their pasture and moved on to another place where there would be no injustice—only freedom and equality. In times of conflict, they depended upon the sword. It was considered as a pre-requisite for the individual to be able to defend himself and his tribe.
The nomadic life is based upon stockbreeding, especially the breeding of camels. There is some rain in the winter season and then some vegetation comes up in the low-lying areas. These areas become a paradise for camels, as they provide the best pasture, but with the coming of summer the pasture vanishes. Then the nomads move on in search of other green areas in order to feed themselves as well as their camels. Then there are some wells, which provide water for the camels. The milk of the camels is the diet of the nomads along with dates, which are obtained from the oases. Cereals are not easily available. Only the rich can afford them. The oases that are found in Madinah are near the mountains. So there the date crop is grown. And in Taif, which has very fertile soil, cereals are grown. Madinah has the largest of the oases.
Ibrahim was the first to teach them the worship of one God. The Arabs followed the religion of Ibrahim for some generations, but their later generations tended to deviate from the straight path shown to them by Ibrahim and became idolators. At the time of the birth of the Prophet, the whole of Arabia had taken to idolatry. Some of the tribes worshipped stars and planets, some stone idols, and, thus the Kabah, which had been built for the worship of God became a centre of idolatry. It housed 360 idols, one for each day of the year. Hubal was the most honoured. Carved in red stone, it held seven arrows in its hand. Among the Arabs lots were drawn to decide all important matters.
The Quraysh were the most influential tribe in Makkah. Most of them were engaged in trade, and some of them were great traders. The name Quraysh is derived from a word which means to trade.
Since the Quraysh was the largest and most powerful tribe in Makkah, its chief was the most influential man in Makkah.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ARAB PEOPLE
Islam emerged in a region known as Hijaz, inhabited by the descendants of Ismael and Banu Kinanah. These people had access only to limited resources, limited habitable area, cattle, pasture and oases. Everything was in short supply. So they could afford to lead an extremely simple life.Due to these constraints they often waged war, sometimes to take possession of the limited reservoirs of water and pastures. Nevertheless, these Bedouins had noble human qualities. For they lived very far from the artificial world of civilization. The atmosphere of nature served as a vast school of nature for them. They never led the artificial life of the cities and their life was devoid of all formalities. This extremely simple, austere life made them realists.
All this was responsible for producing in them the qualities which the Arabs call al muruuwah, manliness, which meant to them acknowledging the truth, speaking nothing but the truth, fulfilling promises, honouring obligations, supporting the oppressed, boldness, noble character, patience, generosity and hospitality. When this high level of humanity was combined with the truth of Islam, they were enabled to perform great feats. It was this truth which has been thus expressed in a hadith:
“Those who were good people in the days of ignorance will also be good people during Islam.”
In ancient Arabia despite their battles, wars, conflicts and tensions, their vows of revenge, which went on for generation after generation, their mentality, their thinking, their aptitude for acknowledging the truth were fully preserved.
For instance, once in ancient Makkah two groups: were ready to fight. At this juncture, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb intervened and said to them: “If you waged a war so many people would be killed belonging to both the groups. So should I not tell you something better?” They agreed with him. Then Abu Sufyan said: “What has passed has passed, now you must make peace.” Both the parties accepted his advice there and then and made peace. This was in spite of the fact that there were people who used to go on fighting for as long even as 50 years to avenge a murder or an insult or any injustice done to them.
Due to the paucity of economic resources, there were people who indulged in looting. But even these people were of a noble character. Once a Bedouin wanted to robe a woman who was all alone in her tent decked with jewellery. But he did not enter the tent. He stood at the door and commanded her to take off all her jewellery and hand it over to him.
While the woman was taking off her jewellery, the man stood at the door with his back towards it, so that he did not catch sight of the woman while she was taking off her jewellery.
These Arabs had not been idol worshippers since ancient times. Idolatry was only a later introduction into their lives through foreign influence. The idols were imported into Arabia. So there was no ideology behind this idol worship. It was thus of a superficial nature, having no deep ideological or philosophical root. For instance, once an Arab wanted to take revenge for his father. So he went to an idol called Dhul Khalasa for divining arrows. But the answer that came from the idol was not in the affirmative. This enraged the Arab and, addressing the idol, he uttered these words: O Dhul Khalasa, had your father been killed you would never have uttered this falsehood that the oppressor should not be punished.”
Similarly, another Arab led his camels to his idol Sad in order to seek its blessing. It was a tall idol, and was covered in blood due to the sacrifices made to it. On seeing this sight, the camels were frightened and ran away. When the Arab saw the flight of his camels, he hit the idol with a stone, abusing him:
“May God destroy you. I had come to seek your blessings and you made my camels run away.”
Of these ancient Arabs there were a sizeable number who were known as Hanif. These people were truth seekers and they shunned idolatry. They lived an aloof, social life. They used to say:
“O, God, I do not know how You should be worshipped. Had I known, I would have certainly worshipped you in that manner.”
These circumstances of the ancient Arabs and their moral qualities had a close affinity with Islam. These people true in nature, were as if potential converts of Islam. Therefore when the Prophet of Islam began his preaching in 610, these Hanifs took no time in responding to his call and became his devoted companions, Abu Bakr ibn Abi Qahafa being one of those Hunafa. What distinguished the Arabs from others was that they could not afford to reject a truth when it had become clear to them. That is why in the initial stage of the Prophet’s call, due to some misunderstanding, a number of them turned against the Prophet Muhammad. But when finally they learned that what the Prophet was telling them was nothing but the truth, they took no time in entering the fold of Islam. There are a number of incidents in the books of Seerah to this effect.
Thus the sending of the Final Prophet was not without reason. It was a well-planned decision of God which He in His Own knowledge decreed. These Arabs were the living people who were selected by God to lend full support to His final Prophet, so that he might fulfill the divine mission.
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