Transcript for:
Pre-Islamic Arabian Society

before Prophet Muhammad peace be upon Him received his first revelation in 610 CE Arabia was in a dark period of History commonly referred to as Jia the age of [Music] ignorance political landscape apart from Yemen No Other region in the Arabian Peninsula maintains an organized system of governance the people only respected the authority of their tribal Chiefs without the presence of a governing body that maintained Law and Order a person's only source of protection against enemies was his own tribe it was the moral obligation of the tribe to Shield its members even if they had committed crimes a tribe that failed to protect its members opened itself up to ridicule lawlessness was the norm as the only law was individual retribution if a person was killed his clan would not rest until they took Revenge if they failed then they were looked at as being weak and pathetic therefore when they were not able to exact revenge on the killer they would resort to attacking his family members on many occasions the killings would escalate on both sides until entire tribes were at war with one another they enjoyed these armed conflicts as it allowed them to demonstrate their prowess in archery swordsmanship and horsemanship additionally it provided an opportunity to showcase their heroism and bring honor and glory to their tribes the Arabian Peninsula had two types of people Nomads and people who settled in cities the majority of people were Nomads lacking in civil and political development yet they instilled a sense of anxiety and fear within the settlers many of them were experts in raiding and highway robbery they used cruel tactics such as covering Wells so that Travelers would die of thirst this would enable them to steal their possessions without any resistance as for the cities the more prominent tribes governed the Affairs of their areas in Makkah the quresh tribe held dominance while in yri Madina it was the Arab tribes of a and kazr alongside the Jewish tribes of Nadia kyuka and kuraza economic conditions Maka and yathrib held particular significance in the Arabian Peninsula the citizens of Maka were mainly Merchants Traders and money lenders their Caravans traveled to Syria in the summer and Yemen in the winter they also ventured to Bahrain in the East and Iraq in the Northeast Caravan trade formed the backbone of maka's economy necessity itating considerable skill experience and expertise in its organization the arrival and departure of Caravans were momentous events in the lives of the meccans nearly every resident of Mecca had some form of investment tied to the fortunes of the thousands of camels and hundreds of men horses and donkeys that embarked on Journeys carrying hides raisins and silver bars and returned with oils perfumes manufactured goods from Syria Egypt and Persia as well as spices and gold from the south in yathrib Arabs primarily earned their livelihood through farming while the Jews engaged in business industry and farming during the early 7th Century hijaz the western region of modern-day Saudi Arabia was the most economically socially and politically important region within Arabia in Maka the practice of Usery was wides spread as participating in the lucrative Caravan trade required substantial funds many mackans with modest incomes had no choice but to turn to Money Lenders despite the exorbitant interest rates they hoped to profit upon the safe return of the Caravans wealthier merchants in Mecca were involved in both trade and usury money lenders typically charged a Dina for a Dina or a deham for a deham essentially demanding a 100 100% interest rate this could even extend to demanding interests of 200% or even 400% the grasps of usury in Mecca ens snared not only fellow citizens and tribesmen but also members of the hijazi beduin tribes engaged in meccan trade similar to ancient Athens money and Usery served as principal means of suppressing people's freedom slavery was an inter integral part of the Arab economic system with male and female slaves treated as Commodities bought and sold like animals they formed the lowest class within Arabian society social conditions pre-islamic Arabia was a society that heavily favored men leaving women with no status Beyond being objectified as sexual beings the number of wives a man could have was not fixed and upon his death his son would inherit all his wives except for his own mother a brutal custom among the Arabs was the practice of burying female infants or children alive they considered daughters to be inferior to sons and took pride in displaying their heartlessness towards them Allah commented on this phenomenon in the Quran whenever one of them is given the good news of a baby girl his face grows gloomy as he suppresses his rage he hides himself from the people because of the bad news he has received should he keep her in disgrace or bury her alive in the ground evil indeed is their judgment drunkenness and gambling were common vices among the Arabs they had an addictive tendency towards both drinking excessively and engaging in compulsive gambling the relationships between the Sexes were extremely loose with many women resorting to selling sex as means of making a living four types of marriages were common in pre-islamic Arabia one the first type was similar to modern-day marriages where a man would ask another for permission to marry his daughter then give her Dowry and then marry her two the second type known as nalist involved a man sending his wife to have relations with another man after her Menses her husband would then abstain from touching her until it was clear that she was pregnant from the other man this was done so that he might have a noble child three in the third type A group of less than 10 men would visit the same woman each having intercourse with her if she became pregnant and gave birth she would request their presence then choose which of them she wanted to be the father the child would be attached to that man and he could not refuse them four the fourth type involved numerous men frequenting a woman and she would have relations with anyone who approached her these women were considered prostitutes and would put flags at their doors as a sign if one of them became pregnant and gave birth they would gather the men together and call upon people who were skilled in recognizing the resemblance of a child to his father to identify the Father the child would become attached to the man perceived as the father and no objection to this Arrangement was possible the state of religion the Arab Society was divided into various religious groups which can be categorized as follows one polytheists the majority of Arabs woried numerous Idols the cabai in Maka which was originally dedicated to the worship of one God by Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismael had been transformed into a center of idolatry there were 36 60 Idols around the cabar Made of Stone and wood two [Music] zoroastrians influenced by the Persian doctrine of dualism they believed in the existence of two Gods representing the forces of good and evil or light and darkness these gods were in constant Conflict for Supremacy three Jews after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE and expelled the Jews from Palestine and Syria many of them found refuge in Arabia particularly in and around yathrib four Christians the ganit were an Arab tribe that converted to Christianity and established a kingdom in the Levant from the 3 to the 7th Century CE in the southern region Yemen had a significant Christian presence brought by Ethiopian Invaders the town of NJ ran was a strong Center of Christianity five monotheists a small group of monotheists existed in Arabia before the rise of Islam they did not worship idols and instead followed the teachings of prophet Ibrahim [Music] conclusion the Arabs lived in a state of immorality and ignorance chained to Corrupt Practices and traditions which kept their societies from flourishing the human Spirit was restrained eagerly awaiting a signal to break free and live a more meaningful existence that signal was given in 610 CE by Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him in the city of meca he proclaimed his mission as a prophet and United his people under the banner of Islam which unfolded on a global scale Islam proved to be the greatest blessing to humanity liberating men and women from all forms of deviation and slavery to the submission to to their creator Muhammad emerged as the ultimate emancipator rescuing the Arabs and the rest of mankind from the depths of [Music] Despair unlock spiritual enrichment with one Islam TV app immerse yourself in a unique experience that is music free fully Halal and continuously updated with fresh content daily enjoy a userfriendly experience with features that allow you to save your favorite videos create personalized playlists and download and watch your content offline download the one Islam TV app now and Embark in a transformative 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