*AR-RAHĪQ AL-MAKHTOUM (The Pure Nectar). A Treaties On Prophet Muhammad's Biography.*
*Part 15*
*FORMS OF THE ARAB PAGAN SOCIETY*
Having talked about the policy and religions of the Arabian Peninsula, it is better to shed light on its social, economic and moral conditions. We will tackle them in brief as follows:
SOCIAL CONDITIONS
There were various social classes whose conditions differed from each other in Arab society. The aristocratic man's relationship with his family was civilised and honourable. The man belonging to an aristocratic family had the last word on all matters they dealt with. His decision was highly revered or even upheld by swords and fighting. Whenever the man wanted to laud himself and boast of his good attributes such as generosity and bravery, he chose none but the woman to address her in most cases. More to the point, the woman could bring tribes together to make Peace or fuel wars among them. For all that the man was regarded as the head of the who was responsible for everything. Also, the man's engagement with the woman was through the contract of marriage and under the supermarket of the woman's family. But she was not allowed to act on her own judgement.
As for the other social classes, there was a lot of boundless and immoral association between men and women. As it was tainted with promiscuity, dissipation and corruption. This can be summarised in the hadīth narrated by Al-Bukhāry on the authority of 'Ā'ishah (may Allāh be pleased with her) that she said: "Wedlock was in four forms in the pre-islamic period: one of these forms was that a man should propose to a woman, give her dowry and conclude a marriage contract under the supervision of her guardian (or family);aa another form in which man used to say to his wife the time when her menstruation stopped, "Go to such and such a man and have intercourse with him." Then the husband would desert his wife and have no sexual intercourse with her till she became pregnant, he (the husband) used to copulate with her as he liked. The man did so with the aim of having male child. This form was called 'the marriage of Istibdā'a (unlawful coitus); another form was that a group of nearly ten men had sex with one woman. And after conception and labour, she sent for them all to meet at her house. Then she said to them, "It was certain that you knew what you did. I gave birth to a child and it was your son, such and such (calling the man she liked by his name). Thereupon the child's paternity was referred to such a man who was unable to deny this. The forth form was that a large number of men who gathered at the house of so-called 'prostitutes' who put signs on their doors as flags. One who liked to have sex with them was given access to such houses. When one of such prostitutes conceived and gave birth, people gather some men and summoned Qafis (skilled people who had the ability to determine the paternity of a child through his features) and referred the paternity of the child to one whom they liked. Thus the child was regarded as the son of such a man. So when Allāh (Sub-haanahu wata'aala) sent prophet Muhammad (Blessings and Peace be upon him) with the truth, He abolished all the forms of wedlock of jāhiliyyah except for the marriage of Islam that is now in effect."
At the time of wars that broke out vanquishing tribes used to captivate and subjugate the women of the defeated tribes. While the children of these women (in case they were mothers) were destined to suffer from the disgrace all their lives.
A common phenomenon in the Arab community was limitless polygamy. But when Islam came, it fixed it at only four wives. Men, before Islam, used to marry women and their sisters at the same time as well as the divorcee or widows of their fathers. But the Glorious Qur'an proscribed all unacceptable matters absolutely. Divorce and raj'ah (return to one's wife after divorce) were in the hands of man alone. They had no specified number. But Islam determined and organised it.
Among the bad traditions that were prevalent in pre-islamic society was adultery. It was an incurable disease that afflicted almost all classes. To be fair we can say that there were some men and women whose disposition disdained this abomination. Free women were less involved in such shameful acts that bondmaids. The overwhelming majority of Pagans Arabs seemed to have not sensed the disgrace of being afflicted with such an abomination. Abu Dāwud related that 'Amr Ibn Shu'ayb reported on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather that a man stood up and said: "O Allāh's Messenger! So and so is my son. As I have committed adultery with his mother in pre-islamic period." The Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) replied: "There is no allegation of filiation in Islam. The traditions of jāhiliyyah have been rendered valueless and abolished. The child goes to the owner of the bed and the adulterer gets nothing but the stones (despair i.e to be stoned to death). (Narrated by Abu Dāwud)
The father's relation with his children was diverse. There were fathers who used to say:
"Our children are like our livers which walk on the ground."
There were also some men who buried their female babies alive for fear of disgrace and maintenance. While there were others who used to kill their children, females or males, for fear of poverty and destitution. The Glorious Qur'an talks about all these social ills in the chapters of Al-An'am: 151, An-Nahl: 58-59, Al-Israa: 31, At-Takwir: 8.
But killing male children was not prevalent among all pagan Arabs. This was because they were more badly in need for males to protect them against the attacks of enemies.
As for the man's treatment with his brother, cousin and clan, it was strong and firm. Pagan Arabs were entirely ready for sacrificing themselves for tribalism. Party spirit was common in the members of the single tribe, coupled with clannishness that was characteristics of them. The foundation of the social system was racial discrimination. They followed indiscriminately the common proverb reading: "Back your brother whether he is wrong or oppressed." They put it into practice without understanding the true meaning of such an adage. But Islam modified it and confirmed that supporting the oppressor is to prevent him oppressing others.
Rivalry for power and leadership very often drove tribes which resulted from a single origin to wars. We note this through the wars that broke out between Al-aws and Al-khazrajj, 'Abs and Dhubyān, Bakr and Taghlib and others.
Relations among heterogeneous tribes were completely dismantled and shakable. Their abilities were wholeheartedly dedicated at wartime. Allegiance and alliances used to unite these heterogeneous tribes. The Sacred months were a mercy and means of sustenance for them all. During these months they enjoyed entire security because they respected them so highly. Abu Rajāa Al-'Utāridy said: "We used to set aside arrows and spears and remove their pointed blades during the month of Rajab and the remaining Sacred months."
To sum up, social conditions were so bad and decadent. Benightedness prevailed everywhere. Superstitions were terribly common. People lived as if they were livestock. Woman was a commodity that could be sold or bought. Relations between people were fragile and weak. Governments were exclusively interested in filling their treasuries through their subjects or dragging them into unjustifiable wars.
*(...To be continued In-sha-Allah!)*
*"And keep reminding, because reminding benefits the believers."* (Qur'an 51:55)
*Part 15*
*FORMS OF THE ARAB PAGAN SOCIETY*
Having talked about the policy and religions of the Arabian Peninsula, it is better to shed light on its social, economic and moral conditions. We will tackle them in brief as follows:
SOCIAL CONDITIONS
There were various social classes whose conditions differed from each other in Arab society. The aristocratic man's relationship with his family was civilised and honourable. The man belonging to an aristocratic family had the last word on all matters they dealt with. His decision was highly revered or even upheld by swords and fighting. Whenever the man wanted to laud himself and boast of his good attributes such as generosity and bravery, he chose none but the woman to address her in most cases. More to the point, the woman could bring tribes together to make Peace or fuel wars among them. For all that the man was regarded as the head of the who was responsible for everything. Also, the man's engagement with the woman was through the contract of marriage and under the supermarket of the woman's family. But she was not allowed to act on her own judgement.
As for the other social classes, there was a lot of boundless and immoral association between men and women. As it was tainted with promiscuity, dissipation and corruption. This can be summarised in the hadīth narrated by Al-Bukhāry on the authority of 'Ā'ishah (may Allāh be pleased with her) that she said: "Wedlock was in four forms in the pre-islamic period: one of these forms was that a man should propose to a woman, give her dowry and conclude a marriage contract under the supervision of her guardian (or family);aa another form in which man used to say to his wife the time when her menstruation stopped, "Go to such and such a man and have intercourse with him." Then the husband would desert his wife and have no sexual intercourse with her till she became pregnant, he (the husband) used to copulate with her as he liked. The man did so with the aim of having male child. This form was called 'the marriage of Istibdā'a (unlawful coitus); another form was that a group of nearly ten men had sex with one woman. And after conception and labour, she sent for them all to meet at her house. Then she said to them, "It was certain that you knew what you did. I gave birth to a child and it was your son, such and such (calling the man she liked by his name). Thereupon the child's paternity was referred to such a man who was unable to deny this. The forth form was that a large number of men who gathered at the house of so-called 'prostitutes' who put signs on their doors as flags. One who liked to have sex with them was given access to such houses. When one of such prostitutes conceived and gave birth, people gather some men and summoned Qafis (skilled people who had the ability to determine the paternity of a child through his features) and referred the paternity of the child to one whom they liked. Thus the child was regarded as the son of such a man. So when Allāh (Sub-haanahu wata'aala) sent prophet Muhammad (Blessings and Peace be upon him) with the truth, He abolished all the forms of wedlock of jāhiliyyah except for the marriage of Islam that is now in effect."
At the time of wars that broke out vanquishing tribes used to captivate and subjugate the women of the defeated tribes. While the children of these women (in case they were mothers) were destined to suffer from the disgrace all their lives.
A common phenomenon in the Arab community was limitless polygamy. But when Islam came, it fixed it at only four wives. Men, before Islam, used to marry women and their sisters at the same time as well as the divorcee or widows of their fathers. But the Glorious Qur'an proscribed all unacceptable matters absolutely. Divorce and raj'ah (return to one's wife after divorce) were in the hands of man alone. They had no specified number. But Islam determined and organised it.
Among the bad traditions that were prevalent in pre-islamic society was adultery. It was an incurable disease that afflicted almost all classes. To be fair we can say that there were some men and women whose disposition disdained this abomination. Free women were less involved in such shameful acts that bondmaids. The overwhelming majority of Pagans Arabs seemed to have not sensed the disgrace of being afflicted with such an abomination. Abu Dāwud related that 'Amr Ibn Shu'ayb reported on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather that a man stood up and said: "O Allāh's Messenger! So and so is my son. As I have committed adultery with his mother in pre-islamic period." The Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) replied: "There is no allegation of filiation in Islam. The traditions of jāhiliyyah have been rendered valueless and abolished. The child goes to the owner of the bed and the adulterer gets nothing but the stones (despair i.e to be stoned to death). (Narrated by Abu Dāwud)
The father's relation with his children was diverse. There were fathers who used to say:
"Our children are like our livers which walk on the ground."
There were also some men who buried their female babies alive for fear of disgrace and maintenance. While there were others who used to kill their children, females or males, for fear of poverty and destitution. The Glorious Qur'an talks about all these social ills in the chapters of Al-An'am: 151, An-Nahl: 58-59, Al-Israa: 31, At-Takwir: 8.
But killing male children was not prevalent among all pagan Arabs. This was because they were more badly in need for males to protect them against the attacks of enemies.
As for the man's treatment with his brother, cousin and clan, it was strong and firm. Pagan Arabs were entirely ready for sacrificing themselves for tribalism. Party spirit was common in the members of the single tribe, coupled with clannishness that was characteristics of them. The foundation of the social system was racial discrimination. They followed indiscriminately the common proverb reading: "Back your brother whether he is wrong or oppressed." They put it into practice without understanding the true meaning of such an adage. But Islam modified it and confirmed that supporting the oppressor is to prevent him oppressing others.
Rivalry for power and leadership very often drove tribes which resulted from a single origin to wars. We note this through the wars that broke out between Al-aws and Al-khazrajj, 'Abs and Dhubyān, Bakr and Taghlib and others.
Relations among heterogeneous tribes were completely dismantled and shakable. Their abilities were wholeheartedly dedicated at wartime. Allegiance and alliances used to unite these heterogeneous tribes. The Sacred months were a mercy and means of sustenance for them all. During these months they enjoyed entire security because they respected them so highly. Abu Rajāa Al-'Utāridy said: "We used to set aside arrows and spears and remove their pointed blades during the month of Rajab and the remaining Sacred months."
To sum up, social conditions were so bad and decadent. Benightedness prevailed everywhere. Superstitions were terribly common. People lived as if they were livestock. Woman was a commodity that could be sold or bought. Relations between people were fragile and weak. Governments were exclusively interested in filling their treasuries through their subjects or dragging them into unjustifiable wars.
*(...To be continued In-sha-Allah!)*
*"And keep reminding, because reminding benefits the believers."* (Qur'an 51:55)
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