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

Religious Conditions
The pre-!slamic Arabia had a variety of religions, developing in a different parts of the peninsula, such as idolatry. Judaism, Christianity, Magianism, Sabianisrn and Paganism. The religious conditions of the ,*iaKs oresented a dismal and lamentable picture. There was a small n>j:nber of Jews and Christians scattered

46 Political and Cultural History of Islam
throughout the Arabian peninsula. The most of the Arabs were steeped in idolatry. There were 360 idols in Ka’bah.
There was little prospect of religious reform as there was little chance of political unity. The foundation of idolatry was so deep-rooted that the heathen Arabs were not prepared to give it up.
Before Islam, each kindred group, the tribe had its own divine guardian, protector and benefactor. But above all these separate and even conflicting divinities was the supreme Godhead, Allah, the personification of the divine world in its highest form, creator of the universe and keeper of sworn oaths. In Hijaz5 three goddesses had pride of place as the ’daughters of Allah’. The first of these was Allat, which Herodotus called Alilat, simply meaning ’the godess’ standing for one of the aspects of Venus, the morning star, though the Arabs under Hellenistic influence sometimes associate her with Athens, next came Uzza, the all-powerful and the third was Manat, the goddess of the fate. She held the shears which cut the thread of life. She had shrines aftei her name along the sea-shores. The great god of Makkah was Habal, an idol made of red cornelian.
M.M. Sharif described the religious conditions of the Arabs, ”These Arabian deities, which were of diverse nature, fell into different categories. Some of them were personifications of abstract ideas, such as Jadd (luck), said (Fortunate), rida’ (Favour, goodwill), wadd (friendship), and manaf (Height, High Place). Though originally abstract in character, they were conceived in a thoroughly concrete fashion. Some deities derived their names from the places where they wen* -c/.crated.”20 The deities of heathen Arabia were represented by idols, sacred stones and other objects of worship. Sacred stones served at the same time as altars; the blood of the victims was poured over them or smeared over them. The Arabs sacrificed camels, sheep, goats and less often kine.
Christian ity, as a faith, could not get popularity during the lifetime of its founder, Jesus Christ. Rather his disciples and later on his followers were persecuted both by Jews and by the Romans. Christianity started gaining its ground and gradually it achieved a way into the Roman state affairs. In the heart of Arabia also we find followe-s of Christianity. In their faith, like others, the Christians of Arabia generally believed in Trinity of God, shared by Jesus Christ and the holy Spirit. Christianity existed in demoralized forms and as
M M. Sharif, The History of Muslim Philosophy, Vol. I, Karachi, 1992. P. 128
Arabia Before Islam
47
such the efforts for improving the material and spiritual conditions of the people met with failure. Christianity as a religion couldn’t however, succeed in making a permanent hold in Arabia and could not supersede idolatry
The Jews who fled in great numbers into Arabia from the fearful destruction of their country by the Romans made proselytes of several tribes, those oTKinanah, al-Hariry Ibn Ka’b and Kindah in particular and in time became very powerful and possessed of seveidi towns and fortresses. The Jews of Medina were culturally and intellectually mucu aupen’or to the Arab tribes of Medina. But the Jewish religion was not unknown to the Arabs at least about a century before.
In the Holy Qiir’an, the word Sabi occurs only at three times which signifies that this religion also existed in Arabia. In the basic tenets of this, seems to be a belief in God, the uenial of prophecy etc. The followers of this faith considered the stars as the means to attain proximity to God.
According to Dr Ata Mohyuddin, ”The Arabia of those days suffered morally, socially and spiritually. In the realm of theology, the Arabs had debased themselves by the worship of idols and of the powers of nature like the Sun, Moon and Stone. They attributed false notions to the divine being and had created a system of superstitious ceremonies and beliefs. Makkah, the capital of Arabia, with its timeold as the days of the year and its votaries mocked at all wise and peaceful attempts at reformation.”21
According ;o S.M. Imamuddin, ”The Arabs also worshipped the stars, the sun anJ the moon and believed neither in the day of judgement nor in a life hereafter. They believed in ghosts, devils and evil spirits. Soothsyers and fortune-tellers were the social pests of the Arabs.”22 They were regarded as the masters of Jinn who supplied them with information about the past and future. Their religions could not in any way contribute to the material and spiritual wellbeing of the Arabs as a whole.