Moral Features of the Arabs

Opposing Traits

Despite the savage nature and plundering inclinations, the nomadic Arab possessed some good traits such as generosity, hospitality and bravery. He strongly stuck to his promises and kept his word so much so that at times he even endangered his wellbeing to keep his promises; and this loyalty to his promises was his most distinguishing feature. The presence of such differing traits in the nomadic Arabs makes us wonder.

If the Arabs had not lived in such a hostile land, it would have been difficult for us to know the reason for such contrasts. The same Arab who desired for plundering and did not hesitate to commit the most vicious crimes showed sympathy, emotions and hospitality inside his tent. If a needy person referred to him for help, he would assist him generously and at times would endanger his own life for their wellbeing.[1] A nomadic Arab considered it the highest point of honor and dignity to show bravery on the battlefield, to be extremely generous, to be loyal to his tribal interests, and to be harsh in taking revenge against those who have wronged him or his relatives or tribe.[2]

The Roots for the Arab's Good Manners:

Despite the fact that Arabs were most often engaged in bloody fights over the possession of pastures, they had come to understand this truism that they should engage in the highest form of hospitality towards others since they lived in a hostile land in which resting-places or hotels were not available to provide travelers with shelters. Poets at the Ignorance Era, who acted like journalists of our time, used to emphasize the notion of hospitality and admire this human trait more than other human traits.[3]

It should be however noted that the roots of most of their good traits, such as bravery, hospitality, generosity, and protecting the needy, did not rest in their human and spiritual values; rather, these traits had their roots in the culture of the Ignorance Era. They performed these human traits out of their rivalry and competition with other members of society. This is because that harsh environment called for bravery and audacity. Love for a good name and leadership and fear of poets' criticism and wish to avoid being called misers and mean persons led Arabs to show great signs of generosity and protection towards those in trouble.[4]

Ignorance and Superstition

The nomadic Arab of °ij¡z who lived mostly in the desert lacked true civilization; he was dominated by extreme fanatics and incapable of comprehending the relations of nature. He could not analyze the phenomena in nature critically and was unable to understand cause and effect relations. When a sick man received some drugs, he was incapable of analyzing critically the relationship between pain and disease. The only thing he knew was the fact that his clan-mates used to take this medicine under similar conditions. For instance, he naively accepted that the tribal chief's blood would remedy the disease of rabies, which was the result of a dog's bite. In the same way, he was under the illusion that the cause of sickness was a malicious spirit which entered the sick man's body. For this reason, attempts were made to expel this intruder from the sick man's body. In the case of mental sickness, they used to put the dead men's stones over the ill person’s body so that illness might be cured. They strongly believed in spirits; they believed these creatures loomed in deserted places at night or they trouble travelers at night. When cows were taken to the river to drink water and a cow refused to drink, they thought the reason for her refusal was the presence of a devil inside the bull’s horns. In order to drive the devil away, they used to strike the head of the bull.[5] Such funny events were very common among them.

The Arabs would not show any sign of doubt regarding these superstitious acts so far as they were carried out by others, because the source of doubt and skepticism lies in one's critical thinking. They lacked such sophistications in those days. Of course, at times some bright signs of clear thinking and bright ideas could be observed in their poems, proverbs and tales. However, even these lacked deep thought or analytic aspects. This inability of analysis of phenomena was the root of all sorts of superstitions in which they strongly believed and books of the history of the Arabs contain a lot of them.[6]

Arab Sciences and Arts

Some scholars have tried to prove that the nomadic Arabs were in command of such sciences as medicine, astronomy and physiognomy.[7] However, this is an exaggeration. The Arab's knowledge in these domains was sporadic, unorganized and mostly based on lucky guesses. This sort of knowledge came down to them through elderly women and men of the tribe. It could not be termed science. For instance, the Arabs’ knowledge of astronomy was limited to the recognition of some stars and the time of their rising and setting. This kind of knowledge was necessary for the navigation of their camels on the vast expanses of the deserts or the recognition of the time for prayers. Ibn Khald£n states,

Their knowledge of medicine was based, most often, on short-lived and narrow experiences. This sort of medicine was inherited from elderly men and women from one generation to another. Some sick people might haphazardly be cured, but these treatments were not based on any laws.[8]

The medical treatment of some physicians such as °¡rith ibn Kildah was of this sort.

An illiterate nation

In the interpretation of the Holy Qur'¡n, people of °ij¡z were illiterate. They had remained as illiterate as when they were born. They could neither write nor read. Al-Bul¡dhar¢ states:

At the advent of Islam, only seventeen persons in Quraysh and Yathrib and eleven others from the tribes of Aws and Khazraj could read or write.[9]

This situation existed in spite of the fact that people of Quraysh were affluent in Mecca and business and trade naturally asked for a trader to be literate. Thus, how is it possible for such an advanced stage of science?

Poetry

At the Ignorance Era, the only privilege the nomadic Arabs possessed was their skill in poetry and rhetoric. Poetry, in particular, had reached its climax. Poets played the roles of historians, genealogists, satirists, moralists, journalists, fortune-tellers and war-announcers.[10] In those days, the great Arab poets used to present their poems at season-bazaars, such as the bazaar of `Uk¡¨, Dh¢’l-Maj¡z, and al-Majannah,[11] which were held in the form of trade, literary and general exhibitions. The selection of any poem as a masterpiece was a great sign for the poet and his tribe and his poem was hung on the Kaaba's walls.[12] For this reason, they were called al-Mu`allaq¡t (the suspensions). Arab poems, despite their superficial eloquence, lacked sublime thoughts and richness due to the fact that this nation lacked proper culture and civilization. The contents of this poetry relied heavily on the topics of love, wine, women, epics, and tribal issues and their beauty lay in the superficial glamour of language and literary subtleties.

Arabs and the Neighboring Civilizations

When we study Arab sciences and arts, we may ask the following question: Did the Arabs of the Ignorance Era benefit from the two civilized nations of those days: namely, Iran and Rome? Did their trade transactions with these two states change their way of life in any way? To answer these questions, we should be reminded that people of °ij¡z, due to their geopolitical status, were not only away from the political domination of the neighboring lands but also stayed away from their cultural influences. Arabs could have the influences of the neighboring civilizations and cultures only in three ways: trade, the Iranians, and the Jews and Christians.

We should however see to what degree this influence was active. Some remarks made by certain historians considering this topic have been exaggerative. For instance, some say:

The relations of the Arab tribes with both Iran and Rome to a certain degree made them familiar with these two civilizations: Those Arabs who traveled between Iran and Rome for trade purposes observed the manifestations of civilization in these two centers. These influences could be vividly observed in the poems left from the Ignorance Era. Furthermore, many travelers and traders took with them many words and stories from Iran and Rome to the Arabian Peninsula; in this way, some of the ideologies of Iranians and Romans entered Arab culture.[13]

However, it should be noted that these trade transactions between traders of °ij¡z and the Iranian or Roman merchants did not have any significant influence over the cultural or intellectual advancement of these people. This is because information was hard to pass through mental sieves of these nomads. Most often, what they passed on to others contained a lot of distortions. This is shown in many Arab axioms whose sources are either Solomon's tales or Iranian stories. In general, the Arabs in those days did not receive science from others systematically. The obstacles in the way of such receptions were the following:

(1) Natural barriers, such as mountains, seas, and deserts; these barriers created problems for Arab's connection with the outside world.

(2) Huge mental, intellectual and social differences between the Romans and Iranians on one hand and the Arabs on the other hand.

(3) Illiteracy among the Arabs had caused those who came in contact with both Iranians and Romans to memorize and narrate the axioms or the tales in such a way as to be comprehensible to ordinary people.

Thus, it could be concluded that the Arab's relationships with the neighboring lands had effects only on their financial, material and literary life.[14]

On the Jews' influences too, it is said that they emigrated to °ij¡z since the time of Prophet Moses due to the Romans' aggressions after the destruction of Jerusalem.[15] The arrival of Jews in °ij¡z had a tremendous effect on the social life of the whole region and the stories of the Old Testament and Talmud became known to the Arabs of °ij¡z.[16]

Of course, the influence of Jewish culture on the people of the Arabian Peninsula cannot be denied and there are documents revealing the fact that the Jews were superior to the Arabs in the intellectual and religious domains. Even after the advent of Islam, many Muslims used to ask them religious questions.[17] Since Judaism, like Christianity, had been severely distorted, the thoughts that the Arabs received from the Jews were extremely disturbed and distorted. Not only were Jewish instructions unhelpful but also they added to the Arabs’ confusion.