Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

CONDITIONS OF THE ARABS DURING THE JAHILIYAH PERIOD Political Conditions
Arabia during the ore-Islamic days was in a very low state of civilization. Av.’fu! ssiDerr.tltio.” Slic4 if^’atrv i-re^ii-H •f”£ryv»!v:t. The Arabs had no idea of a territorial or nations; state The various tribes were in constant and perpetual warfare. The absence of any During ihis period, the whole ot Arabia except certain portions of the north which were under the subjugation of the Persian and the Roman Empires enjoyed complete independence. There was no systematic law in pre-Islamic Arabia, ”Might is Right” was the law of the land. The whole country was divided into innumerable petty states, each tribe forming a separate and independent political unit. Tribal solidarity was an essential characteristic for survival in desert conditions. Politically, Arabia at the advent of Muhammad (PBUH) was torn into pieces by the rivalries of its own unruly tribes, by the intrigues of its neighbouring states and by the rapacity of its Jewish colonists.
The Arabs were divided into many tribes. Each tribe had its own elder (ash-Shaykh) as its ruler. Nobility of birth, seniority in age and other personal distinctions or accomplishments w«re the qualities for rulership in a clan. The Arabs in general and the Bedouins in particular, were thoroughly democratic in spirit. They would not submit to the arbitrary- rule of the Shaykh. Hence he had to make his decision in a council uf the elcter of the clan or tribe. There was no ’/’abornte machinery of government, no officials, no offices. There were very fev-- civil litigation. ”~i\it disputes vvesc usually

40 Political and Cultural History of Islam

referred to Qazis. In criminal matters, life for life and limb for limb was the recognized principle among the Arabs. There were no state machinery- for the punishment of the crime which was an affair of the aggrieved tribes. A murdered within the tribe was handed over to the heirs of the murdered who could put him to death, or set him free on receipt of blood money, or give him liberty by granting a free pardon. If a murdered, who committed a murder within the clan itself, escaped, lie was declared an outlaw. As between clans or tribe was responsible or tribes, every clan for the conduct of its members. Raiding the enemies’ camp or stealing their property was hailed as an act of lieioism. in the tribe itself there were not many thefts; for the tiiixTl affinity or clan spirit (al-Asabiyya) was so strong that improper behaviour, in the face of possible social ostracism, was rare.
s TC ^ .t - u;;T to ;.-..., --. ^-^..^ vvd and distinct idea ^Tihis Asabiyya as it is called - this deep, limitless, steadfast fidelity of the Arab to his fellow-clansman; the honour and giory of the community wnerein he was born and will Hie. The sentiment is not parallel by patriotism, as we understand that termror that is .-.n emotion which appears to the fiery Bedway but fljkewami- it rs aticive and over-power mg passion and at tne same time the first and most sacred of duties; in c. word, it is the true religion of the desert.”1’
Power within the tribe was invested in the hands of chief. Leadership in traditional Arab society was both hereditary and elective. Leaders were chosen from a ruling kin or lineage within the tribe bc.t among the members of the lineage, power was exercised by the most able and effective, rather than by the eldest son of the previous holder of power. The powers of the chief were very limited and were dependent on his abilities for their maintenance. His functions were to arbitrate in disputes, to find adequate grazing for his followers and to defend their wells and beasts against the depredations of rivals. A reputation for wisdom and generosity brought more power and influence than the accumulation of treasures or animals. The tribal chief had no coercive power.
The ideal of Muruwah played an important part among the Arabs. They respected those who had to some extent realized it, and the families in which there ;was a habit of reaching it. Authority depended largely on the respect in which a man was held and that in
Dozy. Spanish Islam, London, !994, K7.
Arabia Before Islam
41
turn depended on his personal qualities, the degree of his Murwah. There was no rule of succession by primogeniture among the Arabs for obvious reasons; if the eldest son of a chief was inexperienced when his father died, the tribe coald not jeopardize its every existence by having such a man as leader. The chief must be a man of wisdom and sound judgement and so was usually the most respected male in the leading family.
According to Dr. Ata Mohyuddin, ”On the social side the Arabs were split up in to various tribes and were fighting with each other. The death of a tribesman at the hands of another tribesman led to a series of civil war, the sole aim of which was to retaliate with fun/. Such wars lasted months and years and brought the greatest chaos to the country, ever}’ tribe living in a perpetual state of warfare. As there was no orderly government, lawlessness prevailed throughout the peninsula.”12According to Syed Ameer Ali, ”They possessed no civij rights or political privileges. There were the monopoly of the rich and the powerful, or the sacerdotal classes. The law was not the same foi the weak and the strong the rich and the poor, the great and the lowly.”13 According to Encyclopedia of Seerah, ”The Arabs had -no central government and lived, a mainly nomadic life, in their ”respective tribes and were often engaged in tribal feuds among themselves. Thus «i political sense they had practically no influence at all. The Romans and the Persians treated thrt Arabs as their subjects though none of them had ever occupied their land or attacked them.”14 Politically, therefore, Arabia in the sixth century worst possible state that could be imagined. Having no ruler or king of its own, it was torn into pieces by the rivalries of its own unruly tribes and by the intrigues and feuds of its neighbouring foreign states and by the greed and rapacity of its Jewish colonists. Tribal Solidarity
Tribal solidarity is an essential for survival in desert conditions. A man requires the help of the others, both against the forces of nature and against his’huma:: rivals.15 Each main or first class tribe was independent of every other and acknowledged no political juperior. It might therefore conceivably and often in fact did find itself at war with any neighbouring tribe. In this situation in
12 Dr. Ata Mohyuddin, The Arabian Prophet, Lahore. 1975. P.60.
13 Syed Ameer an. The Spirit of Islam, Lahore, 1995, P.268.
14 Encylopaedia of Seerah, London, 1988, Vol. I, P 9.
15 W.M. Watt, Muhammad at Makkah. Karachi. 1994. P. 17.

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Political and Cultural History of Islam

Arabia Before Islam