Jahiliyya
Relevant Qur’anic verses:
Do they seek the judgement of [pagan] ignorance? But who is
better than Allah in judgement for a people who have certainty? (5:50)
When the faithless nourished bigotry in their hearts, the
bigotry of pagan ignorance, Allah sent down His composure upon His Apostle and
upon the faithful, and made them abide by the word of God wariness, for they
were the worthiest of it and deserved it, and Allah has knowledge of all
things. (48:26)
(Practice of burying female infants) When one of them
[pagans] is brought the news of a female [newborn], his face becomes darkened
and he chokes with suppressed agony. He hides from the people out of distress
at the news he has been brought: shall he retain it in humiliation, or bury it
alive in the ground! Look! Evil is the judgement that they make. (16:58-9)
(In description of the Day of Judgment) When the sun is
wound up, when the stars scatter, when the mountains are set moving …when the
girl buried-alive will be asked, for what sin she was killed. (81:1-9)
(Practice of marrying-inheritance of- one’s step-mothers) Do
not marry any of the women whom your fathers had married, excluding what is
already past. That is indeed an indecency, an outrage and an evil course. (4:22)
Names and Terms
Jahiliyya; The year of the Elephant; Abraha; Yemen; Hijaz;
Mecca; Yathrib;
Relevant chapters
The Arabs in History;
Chapter: Arabia before Islam, pp.15-31
The Message pp.3-39
Excerpts
The Arabs in History
P25: The religion of the
nomads was a form of polydaemonism related to the paganism of the ancient
Semites. The beings it adored were in origin the inhabitants and patrons of single
places, living in trees, fountains, and especially in sacred stones. There were
some gods in the conventional sense, transcending in their authority the
boundaries of
purely tribal cults. The three most important were Manat, 'Uzza, and Allat, the
last of whom was mentioned by Herodotus. These three were themselves
subordinate to a higher deity, whose name was Allah. The religion of the tribes
had no real priesthood; the migratory nomads carried their gods with them in a
red tent forming a kind of ark of the covenant, which accompanied them to
battle.
p27: Despite the regression of this period Arabia was still not wholly isolated
from the civilized world but lay rather on its fringes. Persian and Byzantine
culture, both material and moral, permeated through several channels, most of them
connected with the trans-Arabian trade-routes. Of some importance was the
settlement of foreign colonies in the peninsula itself. Jewish and Christian
settlements were established in different parts of Arabia, both spreading
Aramaic and Hellenistic culture. The chief southern Arabian Christian centre
was in Najran, where a relatively advanced political life was developed. Jews
or Judaized Arabs were in several places, notably in Yathrib, later renamed
Medina. They were mainly agriculturists and artisans. Their origin is uncertain
and many different theories have been advanced.
P30: Some time before
the rise of Islam Mecca was occupied by the north Arabian tribe of Quraysh,
which rapidly developed into an important trading community. The merchants of
Quraysh had trading agreements with the Byzantine, Ethiopian, and Persian
border authorities and conducted an extensive trade. Twice a year they despatched
great caravans to the north and the south.
The Message
Pp.29-30: Amongst
the Arabs, woman was just like merchandise which could be bought and sold and
did not possess
any individual or social
rights - not even the right of inheritance. The enlightened persons among them put woman under the
category of animals and for this
very reason considered her to be one
of the chattels and necessities of
life. On account of this belief the proverb: 'Mothers are only as good as
vessels and have been created to serve as receptacles for sperm' was fully current amongst them. Usually on account of fear of famine and occasionally dreading embarrassment they beheaded their daughters on the very first day of their birth or
hurled them down from a high mountain into a deep valley or, at times, drowned them in water.
Most deplorable of all things was their marriage system which was not based on
any law in vogue in the world of that time.
For example, they did not believe in
any limit in the number of wives. To avoid payment of dowry they maltreated
women and in case a woman ceased to be chaste she lost the dowry in total. At times
they took undue advantage of this rule and calumniated their wives to be able
to refuse the payment of dowry. In the event of the death of a person or his
divorcing his wife it was treated to be lawful for his son to marry her and the
story of Ummayyah bin Shams in this regard is preserved in the pages of
history.
When a woman obtained
divorce from her husband her right of second marriage was dependent on the permission
by the first husband and such permission was usually accorded on her
surrendering her dowry! In the event of the death of a person his successors
took possession of the woman like other household chattels and declared
themselves to be her owners by throwing a head-dress on her head
Webpage links:
http://en.wikishia.net/view/Jahiliyya
http://en.wikishia.net/view/Army_of_the_Elephant
Books
Islam and its past : Jahiliyya, late antiquity, and the Qur'an. Author(s): Bakhos, Carol; Cook, Michael
