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Pre-Islamic Arab Religion in Islam: Difference between revisions
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Monotheist inscriptions, most likely Christian, have further been found in NorthWest of Arabia, in the localities of alʿArniyyāt and Umm Jadhāyidh, in Saudi Arabia, northwest from Madāʾin Ṣāliḥ (ancient Hegra) and Al-Jawf - the localities lie a bit over 500km via road from Medina, which as Lindstedt notes, is a similar distance of the 450km from Mecca to Medina.<ref>Ibid. pp. 108-109</ref> Jewish presence was also recorded as being established across the Hijaz centuries before Islam, with inscriptions from 230ce in Tayma stating a Jew was the 'headman' of the town, and similarly from Hegra and Dedan, including in Nabatean Arabic, and similar one's dated to 356–367ce; of which Hoyland remarks, the two inscriptions “are very important texts for north Arabian Jewry, for they imply that some of them at least were members of the elite of this society. Since the texts are separated by more than 150 years, we can also assume some stability for this office."<ref>Ibid. pp. 60</ref> | Monotheist inscriptions, most likely Christian, have further been found in NorthWest of Arabia, in the localities of alʿArniyyāt and Umm Jadhāyidh, in Saudi Arabia, northwest from Madāʾin Ṣāliḥ (ancient Hegra) and Al-Jawf - the localities lie a bit over 500km via road from Medina, which as Lindstedt notes, is a similar distance of the 450km from Mecca to Medina.<ref>Ibid. pp. 108-109</ref> Jewish presence was also recorded as being established across the Hijaz centuries before Islam, with inscriptions from 230ce in Tayma stating a Jew was the 'headman' of the town, and similarly from Hegra and Dedan, including in Nabatean Arabic, and similar one's dated to 356–367ce; of which Hoyland remarks, the two inscriptions “are very important texts for north Arabian Jewry, for they imply that some of them at least were members of the elite of this society. Since the texts are separated by more than 150 years, we can also assume some stability for this office."<ref>Ibid. pp. 60</ref> | ||
Lindstedt (2023) notes that in all probability the majority of inhabitants of Arabia were Jews/Christians,<ref>Ibid. pp. 322</ref> with the majority in the north Christians, and the majority in the south Jewish.<ref>Ibid. pp. 323.</ref> It should also be noted that some later, Islamic-era writers (such as historians, commentators and poets) also identified a number of place names in and around Mecca that suggest that there were Christians living in or visiting Mecca such as for pilgrimage.<ref>Ibid. pp. 114-115</ref> For example, al-Azraqī (d. 837 ce) notes that there was a maqbarat al-naṣārā, “graveyard of the Christians,” in Mecca (without qualifying it further); Establishing the date and existence of this graveyard is difficult, but it is difficult to know what motivation the Muslim authors might have had for forging such information (as it goes so against Muslim traditions that paint Mecca as a pagan city).<ref>Ibid. pp. 114-115</ref> | |||
It should also be noted that some later, Islamic-era writers (such as historians, commentators and poets) also identified a number of place names in and around Mecca that suggest that there were Christians living in or visiting Mecca such as for pilgrimage.<ref>Ibid. pp. 114-115</ref> For example, al-Azraqī (d. 837 ce) notes that there was a maqbarat al-naṣārā, “graveyard of the Christians,” in Mecca (without qualifying it further); Establishing the date and existence of this graveyard is difficult, but it is difficult to know what motivation the Muslim authors might have had for forging such information (as it goes so against Muslim traditions that paint Mecca as a pagan city).<ref>Ibid. pp. 114-115</ref> | |||
To the South lay the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himyarite_Kingdom Himyarite Kingdom] (centered in modern-day Yemen), in which Christianity and Judaism gained large footholds since the 4th century,<ref>''[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Himyar Himyar Britannica Entry]''. People. People's of Asia. Geography & Travel. Britannica. </ref> with rulers converting.<ref>Christian Julien Robin, "Arabia and Ethiopia," in Scott Johnson (ed.) ''[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA289&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity]'', Oxford University Press 2012 pp.247–333, p.279 | To the South lay the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himyarite_Kingdom Himyarite Kingdom] (centered in modern-day Yemen), in which Christianity and Judaism gained large footholds since the 4th century,<ref>''[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Himyar Himyar Britannica Entry]''. People. People's of Asia. Geography & Travel. Britannica. </ref> with rulers converting.<ref>Christian Julien Robin, "Arabia and Ethiopia," in Scott Johnson (ed.) ''[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA289&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity]'', Oxford University Press 2012 pp.247–333, p.279 | ||
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Fisher, Greg. Arabs and Empires before Islam (p. 129-130). OUP Oxford. | Fisher, Greg. Arabs and Empires before Islam (p. 129-130). OUP Oxford. | ||
''If one takes into account that no known inscription contemporary to this period displays an orientation favourable to Christianity, one can conclude that the H ˙ imyarite rulers had founded a new religion inspired from Judaism, called ‘Rah˙mānism’ by A. F. L. Beeston, although the term ‘Judaeo-Monotheism’ is preferable. This new religion formalized a type of belief in Judaism seen elsewhere in the Mediterranean world, whose followers might be called ‘fearers of God’ (metuentes and theosebeis).7 It is relevant to note that one H ˙ imyarite inscription clearly reflects this notion, asking that ‘God, Lord of the Sky and the Earth, grants | fear (s ˙ bs¹, probably a borrowing from Greek sebas) of His Name’ (see 3.5).'' </ref> Which was later conquered by the Christian Kingdom of Aksum | ''If one takes into account that no known inscription contemporary to this period displays an orientation favourable to Christianity, one can conclude that the H ˙ imyarite rulers had founded a new religion inspired from Judaism, called ‘Rah˙mānism’ by A. F. L. Beeston, although the term ‘Judaeo-Monotheism’ is preferable. This new religion formalized a type of belief in Judaism seen elsewhere in the Mediterranean world, whose followers might be called ‘fearers of God’ (metuentes and theosebeis).7 It is relevant to note that one H ˙ imyarite inscription clearly reflects this notion, asking that ‘God, Lord of the Sky and the Earth, grants | fear (s ˙ bs¹, probably a borrowing from Greek sebas) of His Name’ (see 3.5).'' </ref> Which was later conquered by the Christian Kingdom of Aksum/Axum (based in modern-day Ethiopian, Eritrean, Djiboutian and Sudanese Kingdom, which lay to the West of Arabia across the red sea and also exerted imperial force into the Arabian peninsula in the centuries preceding Islam)<ref>Bowersock, G.W.. ''The Throne of Adulis: Red Sea Wars on the Eve of Islam (Emblems of Antiquity)''. Oxford University Press.</ref> in the 6th century, spreading their influence until the Persians invaded in the latter half of the century.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksum-ancient-kingdom-Africa Aksum] | ancient kingdom, Africa | Historical Places | Geography & Travel. Britannica Entry</ref> Furthermore, as El-Badawi (2024) records "there is evidence from the Talmud, possibly dating to ca. 400 CE, that priests expelled by Josiah’s purging of the temple fled Jerusalem for Arabia. They reportedly settled among the Ishmaelites and reached as far as Hadramaut in South Arabia."<ref>El-Badawi, Emran. ''Female Divinity in the Qur’an: In Conversation with the Bible and the Ancient Near East (p. 185).'' Springer Nature Switzerland. Kindle Edition.</ref> | ||
As alluded to, regardless of tracing exact terms, academic scholarship has long recognised the penetration of Judeo-Christian Monotheism into the Arabian peninsula and among Arab tribes long before Islam. These would have provided both the stories and general concepts to the Hijaz, whether through Christian and Jewish tribes living side-by-side with the Quran's initial community, or simply through travellers telling stories and/or proselytizing, the movement of slaves who knew them, trade and commerce, pilgrimage etc. | As alluded to, regardless of tracing exact terms, academic scholarship has long recognised the penetration of Judeo-Christian Monotheism into the Arabian peninsula and among Arab tribes long before Islam. These would have provided both the stories and general concepts to the Hijaz, whether through Christian and Jewish tribes living side-by-side with the Quran's initial community, or simply through travellers telling stories and/or proselytizing, the movement of slaves who knew them, trade and commerce, pilgrimage etc. | ||
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=== Islamic Prophet Narratives === | === Islamic Prophet Narratives === | ||
As many Islamic scholars with a variety of views on the religions' origins, for example | As many Islamic scholars with a variety of views on the religions' origins, for example Nicolai Sinai,<ref>Sinai, Nicolai. Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Introduction (The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys) (p. 105) (Kindle Edition). Edinburgh University Press. | ||
'' | ''Such an allusive invocation of Biblical figures and narratives characterises the Qur’an throughout: familiarity with a broad body of Biblical and Biblically inspired lore is simply taken for granted.<sup>27</sup>'' | ||
'' | Footnote 27 (pp124): ''Thus, Griffith (The Bible in Arabic, p. 57) speaks of ‘the Islamic scripture’s unspoken and pervasive confidence that its audience is thoroughly familiar with the stories of the biblical patriarchs and prophets, so familiar in fact that there is no need for even the most rudimentary form of introduction’.''</ref> Angelika Neuwirth,<ref>The catalogue of punishment legends that is here presented only in a list form is the first of its kind in the Qur’an. ''It evokes events apparently already known to the hearers,'' wherein the local and Arab (ʿĀd, Thamūd, here mentioned for the first time) are brought together with the biblical (Firʿawn, likewise for the first time in this passage) without differentiation. | ||
''Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 1: Early Meccan Suras: Poetic Prophecy (p. 117) (Kindle Edition). Yale University Press.''</ref> Robert G. Hoyland,<ref>Hoyland, Robert G.. ''[https://archive.org/details/ARABIAANDTHEARABSFromTheBronzeAgeToTheComingOfIslamRobertG.Hoyland/page/n235/mode/2up Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam]'' (Peoples of the Ancient World) (p. 222-223). Taylor & Francis.</ref> Andrew Bannister<ref>''The Qur’an frequently mentions biblical characters and episodes in a manner which suggests that the reader is clearly expected to be familiar with them.'' | |||
Bannister, Andrew G.. An Oral-Formulaic Study of the Qur'an (pp. 12-13) (Kindle Edition). Lexington Books. 2014. </ref> and Stephen Shoemaker,<ref>At the most general level, the Qurʾān reveals a monotheist religious movement grounded in the biblical and extra-biblical traditions of Judaism and Christianity, to which certain uniquely “Arab” traditions have been added. ''These traditions, however, are often related in an allusive style, which seems to presuppose knowledge of the larger narrative on the part of its audience.'' | Bannister, Andrew G.. An Oral-Formulaic Study of the Qur'an (pp. 12-13) (Kindle Edition). Lexington Books. 2014. </ref> and Stephen Shoemaker,<ref>At the most general level, the Qurʾān reveals a monotheist religious movement grounded in the biblical and extra-biblical traditions of Judaism and Christianity, to which certain uniquely “Arab” traditions have been added. ''These traditions, however, are often related in an allusive style, which seems to presuppose knowledge of the larger narrative on the part of its audience.'' | ||
Shoemaker, Stephen J.. ''The Death of a Prophet (Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion) (Kindle Locations 2691-2694).'' University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.. Kindle Edition. </ref> have noted, that the Qur'an appears to recall Biblical and Arabian stories in | Shoemaker, Stephen J.. ''The Death of a Prophet (Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion) (Kindle Locations 2691-2694).'' University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.. Kindle Edition. </ref> have noted, that the Qur'an appears to recall Biblical and Arabian stories in an allusive way that pre-supposes the audience is already familiar with the wider more detailed story and characters. This suggests that these were commonly known in the environment that it was originally preached in, and we see further evidence of this alongside the proximity of Judeo-Christian monotheists, with examples have been found in pre-Islamic poetry.<ref>Sinai, Nicolai. “Religious Poetry from the Quranic Milieu: Umayya b. Abī l-Ṣalt on the Fate of the Thamūd.” ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'' 74, no. 3 (2011): 397–416. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X11000309</nowiki>.</ref> | ||
==Worship at the Ka’bah== | ==Worship at the Ka’bah== | ||
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=== Religious language === | === Religious language === | ||
Islamic scholar Peter Webb (2023) notes that Qur'anic religious language is found in pre-Islamic poetry such as ''muʿtamir'', formed from the same root as the Muslim ''ʿumrah'', to describe a pilgrim, and several pre-Islamic poets invoke the word ''ḥijaj'' (lit. ‘pilgrimages’, a plural of ''ḥijjah'') to express the concept of ‘years’, especially ‘years gone by’.''ʿUmrah/muʿtamir'', to Webb's knowledge, do not appear as terms for reckoning time in poetry, whereas that metaphorical aspect attaches to ''ḥijaj'' alone, suggesting that ''ḥajj'' likely did connote an annually-occurring pilgrimage (while ''ʿumrah'' did not), and that a regular pattern of annual pilgrimages known as hajjes was sufficiently well-established to enable the term ‘pilgrimage’ to serve as a metaphor for the passage of time itself.<ref>Webb, Peter. "''The Hajj Before Muhammad: The Early Evidence in Poetry and Hadith"'' Millennium, vol. 20, no. 1, 2023, pp. 33-63. https://doi.org/10.1515/mill-2023-0004. ''pp. 37 - 38''</ref> Several pre-Islamic poets refer to the Hajj sacrifice animals in precisely the same term as the Qur’an’s ''hady'', which suggests more continuity than change.<ref>Ibid. pp. 47</ref> | Islamic scholar Peter Webb (2023) notes that Qur'anic religious language is found in pre-Islamic poetry such as ''muʿtamir'', formed from the same root as the Muslim ''ʿumrah'', to describe a pilgrim, and several pre-Islamic poets invoke the word ''ḥijaj'' (lit. ‘pilgrimages’, a plural of ''ḥijjah'') to express the concept of ‘years’, especially ‘years gone by’.''ʿUmrah/muʿtamir'', to Webb's knowledge, do not appear as terms for reckoning time in poetry, whereas that metaphorical aspect attaches to ''ḥijaj'' alone, suggesting that ''ḥajj'' likely did connote an annually-occurring pilgrimage (while ''ʿumrah'' did not), and that a regular pattern of annual pilgrimages known as hajjes was sufficiently well-established to enable the term ‘pilgrimage’ to serve as a metaphor for the passage of time itself.<ref>Webb, Peter. "''The Hajj Before Muhammad: The Early Evidence in Poetry and Hadith"'' Millennium, vol. 20, no. 1, 2023, pp. 33-63. https://doi.org/10.1515/mill-2023-0004. ''pp. 37 - 38''</ref> Several pre-Islamic poets refer to the Hajj sacrifice animals in precisely the same term as the Qur’an’s ''hady'', which suggests more continuity than change.<ref>Ibid. pp. 47</ref> | ||
=== Shaving hair === | |||
The shaving hair ritual during Ḥajj, found in hadith such as:{{Quote|{{Bukhari|2|26|704}}|Ibn `Umar intended to perform Hajj in the year when Al-Hajjaj attacked Ibn Az-Zubair. Somebody said to Ibn `Umar, "There is a danger of an impending war between them." Ibn `Umar said, "Verily, in Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) you have a good example. (And if it happened as you say) then I would do the same as Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had done. I make you witness that I have decided to perform `Umra." Then he set out and when he reached Al-Baida', he said, "The ceremonies of both Hajj and `Umra are similar. I make you witness that I have made Hajj compulsory for me along with `Umra." He drove (to Mecca) a Hadi which he had bought from (a place called) Qudaid and did not do more than that. He did not slaughter the Hadi or finish his Ihram, or shave or cut short his hair till the day of slaughtering the sacrifices (10th Dhul-Hijja). Then he slaughtered his Hadi and shaved his head and considered the first Tawaf (of Safa and Marwa) as sufficient for Hajj and `Umra. Ibn `Umar said, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) did the same."}}And for example {{Bukhari|2|26|786}}, {{Muslim|7|2992}} and {{Ibn Majah|2=4|3=25|4=3044}}, has been found in pre-Islamic poetry as part of the pilgrimage, where Webb (2023) notes:{{Quote|Webb, Peter. 2023. [https://doi.org/10.1515/mill-2023-0004 The Hajj Before Muhammad: The Early Evidence in Poetry and Hadith] pp. 41|However, the reference to the sacred House and the circumambulation by its resident tribes, Jurhum and Quraysh, is reported consistently in the poem’s recensions and stands as a pre-Islamic indicator that the Quraysh were known before Muhammad as custodians of a sacred House, and, as in the case of al-Nābighah’s poem above, the ritual was worthy of being the subject of an oath. In the second poem, Zuhayr makes another oath:<sup>27</sup> | |||
<i>I swore solemnly by the campsites of Minā, | |||
and by the shaven forelocks and lice-laden hair.</i> | |||
Minā is the Hajj pilgrims’ campground, and shaving hair remains one of the mandatory Hajj rituals for men; Zuhayr’s poem provides pre-Islamic testimony for both, as well as their reputed sanctity in pre-Islam, inasmuch as he employs both in an oath.}}As well in the Abū Dhuʾyab al-Hudhalī (a roughly contemporary of Muhammad) corpus.<ref>Ibid. pp. 45</ref> | |||
=== Tawaf between Safa and Marwa === | === Tawaf between Safa and Marwa === | ||
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== The Four Sacred Months == | == The Four Sacred Months == | ||
The Quran contains a mention of four scared months, and gives an admonishment against those who alter them year by year. | The Quran contains a mention of four scared months, and gives an admonishment against those who alter them year by year. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|9|36-37}}|Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah since the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four months are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them. And fight against the disbelievers collectively as they fight against you collectively. And know that Allah is with the righteous [who fear Him]. Indeed, the postponing [sacred months] is an increase in disbelief by which those who have disbelieved are led [further] astray. They make it lawful one year and unlawful another year to correspond to the number made unlawful by Allah and [thus] make lawful what Allah has made unlawful.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|9|36-37}}|Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah since the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four months are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them. And fight against the disbelievers collectively as they fight against you collectively. And know that Allah is with the righteous [who fear Him]. Indeed, the postponing [sacred months] is an increase in disbelief by which those who have disbelieved are led [further] astray. They make it lawful one year and unlawful another year to correspond to the number made unlawful by Allah and [thus] make lawful what Allah has made unlawful.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|9|5}}|And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.}} | ||
In extra-Qur'anic material such as the [https://sunnah.com/search?q=Dhul+Qadha+Dhul+Hijjah+Muharram+Rajab hadith] and commentaries we learn that these months are called Dhul Qadha, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab, which the pre-Islamic pagan Arabs used to consider sacred during the time of Jahiliyyah, where tribal fighting would be agreed to stop and pilgrimage could be performed safely.<ref>Tafsir Ibn Kathir on ''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/9.36 verse 9:36.]'' Ibn Kathir (d. 1373)</ref> Sinning in these months is considered greater than others.<ref>Talmon-Heller, Daniella. “Introduction.” ''Sacred Place and Sacred Time in the Medieval Islamic Middle East: A Historical Perspective'', Edinburgh University Press, 2020, pp. 127–33. ''(pp. 29)'' ''JSTOR'', <nowiki>http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctv10kmddp.22</nowiki>. Accessed 1 Sept. 2024.</ref> | In extra-Qur'anic material such as the [https://sunnah.com/search?q=Dhul+Qadha+Dhul+Hijjah+Muharram+Rajab hadith] and commentaries we learn that these months are called Dhul Qadha, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab, which the pre-Islamic pagan Arabs used to consider sacred during the time of Jahiliyyah, where tribal fighting would be agreed to stop and pilgrimage could be performed safely.<ref>Tafsir Ibn Kathir on ''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/9.36 verse 9:36.]'' Ibn Kathir (d. 1373)</ref> Sinning in these months is considered greater than others.<ref>Talmon-Heller, Daniella. “Introduction.” ''Sacred Place and Sacred Time in the Medieval Islamic Middle East: A Historical Perspective'', Edinburgh University Press, 2020, pp. 127–33. ''(pp. 29)'' ''JSTOR'', <nowiki>http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctv10kmddp.22</nowiki>. Accessed 1 Sept. 2024.</ref> | ||