The Chaotic State of Religion

The Chaotic State of Religion

When Islam appeared, idolatry had distorted and transformed the °an¢fiyyah through its widespread customs and ceremonies. The disbelievers were in a state of chaos regarding religion. They severely adhered to their idolatry and carried out its customs. They carried out Prophet Abraham’s ceremonies, such as °ajj and sacrifice in a defective, distorted way, and mingled it with superstitions. For instance, besides bowing to and worshipping the Kaaba, they had built other temples around which they performed their ceremonies. They even took sacrifices to those temples, slaughtering them on the spot.[1] Their prayers beside the Kaaba were nothing more than whistling and hand-clapping. During °ajj time and at the time of uttering the expression at Thy service, they used to call the names of their idols besides Allah's name.[2] In this way, they mingled the °ajj of Prophet Abraham, which is one of the most sublime manifestations of monotheism, with polytheism. The two tribes, Aws and Khazraj, instead of head-shaving at the land of Min¡, carried out this ceremony on their way back to Medina at the foot of Man¡t (an idol), which was at the seashore[3] on the route between Mecca and Yathrib.[4]

The disbelievers, both men and women, used to circumambulate the Kaaba naked;[5] it is apparent what a horrible scene could be seen around the Kaaba!

People of Quraysh used to put musk and ambergris on their idols next to the Kaaba and bow to them; they used to gather around them uttering at Thy service.[6] Although they believed in the reverence of those four sacred months not to be involved in wars, they used to change the names of the month and postpone the sacred months so that they could be involved in wars.[7]

Drastic Changes in the Light of the Appearance of Islam

The advent of Islam brought forth drastic changes in the lifestyle of the people of °ij¡z; a complete revolution took place the effects of which could be observed in the entirety of the Arabian Peninsula. With a resolute and strong struggle against idolatry, the Holy Prophet rooted out idolatry, replacing it with the principle of monotheism. Islam demolished the system of tribal life and its wrong and hazardous customs. It annulled the tribal prejudices and established a zeal for justice in society. Islam changed vengeance, plunder and homicide into peace and tranquility. It called all Muslims brethren of one another. It rescued women from misery and gave them sublime human dignity. Islam turned an ignorant nation into a knowing one. It established the systems of ummah (community) and imamate to replace tribal systems. It made a unified nation out of the scattered tribes. Islam prepared them for a universal government transcending the limited tribal life. Due to Islam, the Arab nation became so powerful that it could overthrow the great empires of those days, namely Iran and Rome. This point is so obvious that even non-Muslim scholars have witnessed to its authenticity. As some examples, we will present the views of three of them.

Dr. Eustan Le Bon, a French author, says:

“It was the great miracle of the Prophet of Islam to unite all the wandering Arabs into a nation prior to his demise. He made every Muslim obedient to one leader. Without doubt, Prophet Mu¦ammad had some tangible results that none of the previous religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, could have achieved. For this, the Arab nation owes him a lot. If we desire to evaluate people with their feats and deeds, definitely Mu¦ammad is the greatest man in the history of mankind. We consider the religion which he brought for mankind as a great Divine asset.”[8]

Thomas Carlyle, an English author, writes:

“Through Islam, God led the Arabs from darkness into light. Islam enlivened the dead and silenced Arabs. From the very beginning of man's life, Arabs were nothing but wandering desert-dwelling groups of people. They had nothing to present to the world. Through the prophethood of a great Prophet, God changed the unknown Arab people into a well-known nation, a wandering nation into a settled one, a miserable nation into a prosperous one, a weak nation into a powerful one, and a spark into a great fire. The Prophet's rays spread everywhere; his light scattered at every corner of the earth, the south, the east and the west so much so that only one century after its advent, the Islamic government could establish its power from India to Andalusia.”[9]

Will Durant writes:

“In those days, nobody could dream and believe that wandering desert-dwelling people could, after only one century, capture half of the Roman territories in Asia, the whole territory of Iran and Egypt and most of the northern territories of Africa, and be on its way towards Spain. This historic event which started from Arabia and through which the Arabs could capture half of the Mediterranean territories and could establish Islam is no doubt the strangest historical event in the Middle Ages.”[10]

The Development and Significance of Mecca

The majority of the Arabian Peninsula people during the Ignorance Era were desert-dwellers living in tents. Civil life did not exist in the territory of °ij¡z. What is referred to as a city was in fact minor villages with small populations. Some historians have estimated that only one-sixth of the population was city-dwellers; some have estimated that seventeen percent of the whole population was living in cities.[11] The basis for these estimations is not clear. The percentage of city dwellers was small. Being located eighty-three kilometers away from the Red Sea, the city of Mecca, in the south of °ij¡z, was the most important in the region; it had attracted a lot of settlers some decades prior to the advent of Islam. There were two reasons for the development of Mecca:

The commercial position

Located in a rough and dry territory, the city of Mecca lacked agricultural or other productive means of life. In order to survive, its people had to engage in trades, yet extremely limited.[12] Non-Arab merchants used to carry their merchandise to either buy or sell inside the city or in the seasonal markets of the Arabian Peninsula. This continued until the reign of H¡shim, the Holy Prophet's great grandfather, who entered into a treaty with the Roman Empire, according to which the Meccan traders could freely enter this country.[13]

He had a contract with the tribes on the way to Damascus to protect the Meccan merchants on their journey.[14] In return, he had to carry their merchandise to Damascus free of charge.[15] His brothers, `Abd Shams, Nawfal, and al-Mu§§alib, had similar contracts with the governor of Ethiopia and the kings of Iran[16] and Yemen.[17]

Upon achieving the security of routes, H¡shim established the trade route between Yemen and Damascus[18] passing through Mecca which was between these two trade-centers.[19] In this way, the trade of Quraysh outside the country was established.[20] Since then, Meccan merchants, besides partaking in seasonal markets, such as `Uk¡¨, Dhu’l-Maj¡z, and al-Majannah, made their journey to Yemen and Ethiopia in winter and to Damascus and Gaza in summer. In this way, they could buy silky cloths, hides and other merchandise which had come from India or China into Yemen and take them to Mecca through the Arabian lands parallel to the Red Sea[21] to take them again to Gaza, Jerusalem, Damascus and the ports on the Mediterranean. They could then buy wheat, oil, olives, wood and other produce from Damascus. They could also enter Ethiopia, through the Red Sea and Jeddah Port, which is located eight hundred kilometers away from Mecca. In this way, they could take their local merchandise from one place to another.[22]

The establishment of such a merchant route changed the city of Mecca into a lucrative center for trade and had a tremendous effect on the life of its people. God mentions this route as a means for prosperity for the people of Quraysh:

For the protection of the Quraysh—their protection during their trading caravans in the winter and the summer; so, let them serve the Lord to this house, Who feeds them against hunger and gives them security against fear. (106:1-4)