Arabia before Islam/Arabian Paganism

 As we all know the Arab world is mostly identified with Islam and nowadays with the horrors perpetrated by the so called "representatives" of a "pure" Islam and for good reason too! Islam was a catalyst of the biggest expansion of Arab people in history which paved the way for arguably the most powerful empire of its time, the Islamic Caliphate, which at its pinnacle ranged from Spain and Northern Africa in the west all the way to Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent in the east.

The Caliphate managed to be one of the most dominant military, political, cultural and scientific centers of the world for several centuries. Even now in modern times we use Arabic numerals, teach the teachings of Arabic mathematicians and Arabic astrologers. 

But what was there before Islam? How did the Arabs live? How did they rule? And most of all what did they believe in?

The religious beliefs of the Arabs often differed from region to region as it was not a collective nation of people but made up by different tribal states (as we still see in Afghanistan for example). Smaller tribal pantheons have been found among the merchants and the Bedouin (Arab gypsies or nomads) of the Hijaz and Najd; with more advanced religious structures thriving in the Yemen. 

In the sparse desert regions inhabited by the Bedouin such as the Nefud desert in the northern part of the Arabian peninsula, religious thought took the form of practical animism principally concerned with pastoralism and tribal life - this is not to say that the pagan Bedouin didn't enjoy a rich spiritual experience: their belief in many gods, angels, spirits, ancestors and sacred sites confirms otherwise. 

While the nomadic Bedouins viewed the sedentary life with contempt and thought of the "town dwellers" (those being different, mainly Jewish, tribes) as a nation of shopkeepers the emergence of cities like Mecca was the primary cause of the dawn of the common Arab identity in the pre-Islamic period. The most important cities of the Arabian peninsula Mecca and Yathrib were situated in Hijaz. Because the region had a sufficient water supply it made it a logical choice for a sedentary lifestyle in the otherwise harsh and dry climate and punishing terrain of the Arabian inland. 

Mecca was an important trade city, a place through which the caravans would flow as well as being the location where the Kabaa is situated which was and still is a important and sacred place in Islam and pagan Arabia where statues of idols and gods of the different Arab tribes were placed.

The ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote about the isolated region describing Kabaa as a "very holy" temple which was greatly reverred by all Arabians. For example the chief deity of the Quraysh tribe and Mecca was Hubal.

Hubal was a warrior god who was believed to have power over victory in battle, fortune and rainfall. The idol of Hubal was a large carnelian sculpture in the form of an old bearded man. Before the beginning of every battle the pagan Quraysh would invoke the god for his blessing of protection and victory by crying "U'lu Hubal" which means "exalted is Hubal".

As the home of the Kabaa Mecca also carried religious significance for the pagan Arabs as once a year Arabs from every tribe all over the country would make a pilgrimage ti Kabaa and drink from the holy well of Zamzam. At this time of the year all the conflicts would cease and a truce would be declared, disputes and debts would be resolved and trade happened among the tribes.

Mecca became the center of a loose alliance of tribes around this city as guests were obliged to follow the rules in Mecca.

But what was the religion of pre-Islamic Arabia exactly? This was a mix of tribal Paganism, Christianity, Judaism and other Iranian (Aryan?) religions. Arab (tribal) Paganism was the most practiced belief system. Each city, tribe or region could have its own god or idol which in a way was the patron deity of that particular community. They also believed in supernatural beings such as the Jinn (or Djinn), amorphous beings who are said to be able to shape shift into any form they like whether it be human or animal. Djinn are believed to be able to interact with the human world as well as lead their own lives in a separate realm from ours. 

Statues of Gods and Goddesses would be placed in Kabaa and some scholars argue that Allah, the supreme deity of Islam as well as other Abrahamic religions also had a statue in Kabaa. There are hadiths, the authenticity of which is disputed, claiming that Kabaa also had an image of the Virgin Mary and and baby Jesus with Abraham looking over them. Overall it is estimated that Kabaa contained up to 360 different statues and images.

Trading and political relations with neighboring empires such as the Byzantine and Persian empire had a role in shaping the religious landscape of Arabia too. As early as the first century AD Arabian traders brought Christianity to Arabia. Others were evangelized by Paul's Ministry in Arabia and by Saint Thomas followed by a strong influence from the Byzantine Empire.

For example, the Ghassanids, which was at the time a vassal kingdom of Rome, converted to Christianity. In the South a strong Christian community emerged in Najran as a result of the Ethiopian Christian kingdom of Aksun. Nestorian Christianity, the belief that human and divine persons such as Jesus Christ are seperate, was strong in parts of the country but the most popular denomination was Monophysitism, a Christian doctrine which emphasizes the one holy, dive aspect and nature of Christ.

Judaism was also a significant part of the religious landscape of early Arabia. As a result of Roman persecution the migration of Jewish people into Arabia started as early as the first century AD. Many of them finding a home in Hijaz and towns like Yathrib, Khayber Fadak and Umm-ul-qura.

May Arabs also converted to Judaism as often it was a condition for wanting to settle in the now Jewish dominated towns and cities. The Yemeni Himyarite kingdom converted to Judaism in the fourth century, and some of the Kindah, a tribe in central Arabia who were the Himyarite's vassals later did so too in the fifth century.

There are sources who also tell of a monotheistic religion centered around the worship of a single god of the Abrahamic religion, but apparently, it was not affiliated with either Christianity or Judaism and was probably centered around the prophethood of Abraham. Folowers of this religion were named the "Hafini people", and they rejected the idolatry and paganism of the majority of the Arabs, sharing some features of the other Abrahamic religions like the prohibition of pork and other swine meat. The scope of expansion of these Hafini people is unclear, but according to some Islamic scholars, the prophet of Islam Muhammad and some of his future companions belonged to this religious group. Arabia also had a small minority following Iran-based religions like Zoroastrianism and Mazdakism (an offshoot of Zoroastrianism) and others spreading under the Persian influence.

Later through political treaties and of course warfare the Abrahamic religions gained more influence in Arabia but I won't get into that now. But none of the kingdoms situated in the Arabian peninsula were powerful and centralized enough to unite Arabia in one state and protect the realm from outside influence and foreign attacks. Most of Arabia was governed by unwritten rules of the Bedouin society causing warfare and despair amidst already harsh living conditions. 

The pre-Islamic Arabs might have shared a similar language and similar traditions, but they were divided by tribal identities, blood revenge and religions. But very soon Arabia and beyond would be transformed by a momentous process of the emergence of Islam and the creation of a united and unified Arabic state.

And that is it! That is the story of Arabia before Islam. It took me a while to write this because it is a hard subject to find decent information on and just life also came in between, as it does.

Let me know what you all thought of it and perhaps ideas for what to write next!