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[[File:Pre-Islamic Basmala in South Arabian Script.jpg|thumb|A Pre-Islamic basmala found in Yemen in 2018 and written in South Arabian Script. Right-to-left, the top line reads "bsmlh rḥmn rḥmn rb smwt", which has been interpreted as "In the name of Allāh, the Raḥmān have mercy upon us, O lord of the heavens"<ref>Ahmad al-Jallad [https://www.academia.edu/43388891 (draft) The pre-Islamic basmala: Reflections on its first epigraphic attestation and its original significance], pp. 3, 6</ref>|alt=|296x296px]]This article discusses the [[monotheism|monotheistic]] religion of [[Islam]] and its pre-Islamic Arab heritage. While the Quran was composed in extensive dialogue with the theology and [[Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature|Judeo-Christian legends of the late antique period]], the legacy of its more immediate surroundings continue to this day in terms of names, rituals and some specific beliefs. | [[File:Pre-Islamic Basmala in South Arabian Script.jpg|thumb|A Pre-Islamic basmala found in Yemen in 2018 and written in South Arabian Script. Right-to-left, the top line reads "bsmlh rḥmn rḥmn rb smwt", which has been interpreted by Ahmad al-Jallad as "In the name of Allāh, the Raḥmān, have mercy upon us, O lord of the heavens" (with the second rḥmn interpreted as rḥm-n)<ref>Ahmad al-Jallad [https://www.academia.edu/43388891 (draft) The pre-Islamic basmala: Reflections on its first epigraphic attestation and its original significance], pp. 3, 6</ref>|alt=|296x296px]]This article discusses the [[monotheism|monotheistic]] religion of [[Islam]] and its pre-Islamic Arab heritage. While the Quran was composed in extensive dialogue with the theology and [[Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature|Judeo-Christian legends of the late antique period]], the legacy of its more immediate surroundings continue to this day in terms of names, rituals and some specific beliefs. | ||
==History of the name Allah and the Basmala== | ==History of the name Allah and the Basmala== | ||
The Book of Idols by Hisham ibn al-Kalbi (d. 819 CE) is a series of distantly remembered folk tales describing the outright idolatry of the pre-Islamic Arabs, with an overall narrative that this came to an end with the rise of Islam. Academic scholarship today recognises this as a false narrative, serving to bring the immediately pre-Islamic period into a sharper contrast with Islam.<ref>See the introduction of the open access chapter: Ahmad Al-Jallad (2022), [https://www.academia.edu/45498003/Al_Jallad_Pre_Print_Draft_The_Religion_and_Rituals_of_the_Nomads_of_Pre_Islamic_Arabia_A_Reconstruction_based_on_the_Safaitic_Inscriptions The Religion and Rituals of the Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia: A Reconstruction based on the Safaitic Inscriptions] in (ed. Zhi Chen et al.), Ancient Languages and Civilizations, Volume: 1, Leiden: Brill</ref><ref>Patricia Crone' [https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/hs/Crone_Articles/Crone_Quranic_Deities.pdf The Religion of the Quranic Pagans: God and the Lesser Deities], Arabica 57 (2010) p. 171 ff.</ref> Our understanding of the religious landscape in pre-Islamic Arabia is being transformed by the study of epigraphic evidence (inscriptions on rocks, rock art, and their archaeological contexts), complemented with careful study of Quranic internal evidence and early Islamic sources, independent of later histographic works. | The Book of Idols by Hisham ibn al-Kalbi (d. 819 CE) is a series of distantly remembered folk tales describing the outright idolatry of the pre-Islamic Arabs, with an overall narrative that this came to an end with the rise of Islam. Academic scholarship today recognises this as a false narrative, serving to bring the immediately pre-Islamic period into a sharper contrast with Islam.<ref>See the introduction of the open access chapter: Ahmad Al-Jallad (2022), [https://www.academia.edu/45498003/Al_Jallad_Pre_Print_Draft_The_Religion_and_Rituals_of_the_Nomads_of_Pre_Islamic_Arabia_A_Reconstruction_based_on_the_Safaitic_Inscriptions The Religion and Rituals of the Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia: A Reconstruction based on the Safaitic Inscriptions] in (ed. Zhi Chen et al.), Ancient Languages and Civilizations, Volume: 1, Leiden: Brill</ref><ref>Patricia Crone' [https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/hs/Crone_Articles/Crone_Quranic_Deities.pdf The Religion of the Quranic Pagans: God and the Lesser Deities], Arabica 57 (2010) p. 171 ff.</ref> Our understanding of the religious landscape in pre-Islamic Arabia is being transformed in the 21st century by the study of epigraphic evidence (inscriptions on rocks, rock art, and their archaeological contexts), complemented with careful study of Quranic internal evidence and early Islamic sources, independent of later histographic works. | ||
From the fourth century CE when Himyar began to embrace Judaism, pagan deities almost completely disappear from the epigraphic record of the South Arabian script family, commencing what is known as the monotheistic period in that part of Arabia. In their place, a single god, ''Rḥmnn'' (literally, The merciful) starts to appear, which eventually | From the fourth century CE when Himyar began to embrace Judaism, pagan deities almost completely disappear from the epigraphic record of the South Arabian script family, commencing what is known as the monotheistic period in that part of Arabia. In their place, a single god, ''Rḥmnn'' (literally, The merciful) starts to appear, which eventually becomes the Quranic epithet al-Rahman (more on this below).<ref>See p. 122 in Ahmad al-Jallad (2020) [https://www.academia.edu/43141064 Chapter 7: The Linguistic Landscape of pre-Islamic Arabia - Context for the Qur’an] in Mustafa Shah (ed.), Muhammad Abdel Haleem (ed.), "The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies", Oxford: Oxford University Press</ref> Ahmad al-Jallad, who is renowned for his work on the languages and writing systems of pre-Islamic Arabia, notes that the name raḥmān appears in a number of south Arabian pre-Islamic inscriptions and is derived from Jewish Aramaic raḥmānā.<ref>"He further writes "In South Arabia, the divine name rḥmnn/raḥmān-ān/ ‘the Raḥmān’ refers to the deity of the monotheistic period, which was heavily influenced by, or even derived from, Judaism and, thus, is likely a loan translation of rḥmnʾ.<BR />Ahmad al-Jallad [https://www.academia.edu/43388891 (draft) The pre-Islamic basmala: Reflections on its first epigraphic attestation and its original significance], pp. 7-8</ref> Sigrid Kjær observes that the use of Rahman (or Rahman-an) becomes truely monotheistic only in the sixth century CE, previously used in a monolatric context (the sole object of worship, even while other deities are acknowledged). The Quran has a chronological progression in the use of theonyms, with Rabb (lord) in the earliest phase, then al-Rahman, and later an almost exclusive use of the name Allah.<ref>Kjær, Sigrid (2022). [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/rahman-before-muhammad-a-prehistory-of-the-first-peace-sulh-in-islam/280B60BFF68749648057202B29C7C8F0 ‘Rahman’ before Muhammad: A pre-history of the First Peace (Sulh) in Islaw], Modern Asian Studies, 56(3), 776-795. doi:10.1017/S0026749X21000305<BR /> | ||
"It is salient to point out that, based on an approximate chronological dating of the Quranic suras, theonyms in the Islamic scripture seem to have evolved in three phases. In the earliest phase, the Quran uses rabb, shifting to al-Rahman, and finally culminating in an almost exclusive use of Allah in the later suras. Rabb simply meant ‘Lord’ and was used for immanent betylic divinities. Its use in the earliest parts of the Quran also corresponds to a monolatric and immanentist usage. By contrast, al-Rahman was clearly associated with Moses in the Quran and the rejection of image-worship, which appears in later Meccan verses. Eventually, however, Allah became the universal theonym, subsuming both Rabb and al-Rahman, in the service of an Abrahamic and fully biblicized monotheism that took shape in Medina."<BR /> | "It is salient to point out that, based on an approximate chronological dating of the Quranic suras, theonyms in the Islamic scripture seem to have evolved in three phases. In the earliest phase, the Quran uses rabb, shifting to al-Rahman, and finally culminating in an almost exclusive use of Allah in the later suras. Rabb simply meant ‘Lord’ and was used for immanent betylic divinities. Its use in the earliest parts of the Quran also corresponds to a monolatric and immanentist usage. By contrast, al-Rahman was clearly associated with Moses in the Quran and the rejection of image-worship, which appears in later Meccan verses. Eventually, however, Allah became the universal theonym, subsuming both Rabb and al-Rahman, in the service of an Abrahamic and fully biblicized monotheism that took shape in Medina."<BR /> | ||
In a footnote Kjær adds: "The initial reluctance to use the theonym Allah might have been due to its polytheistic origins.", citing Böwering, Gerhard, ‘Chronology and the Qur’ān’, in Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān (Leiden: Brill, 2001), p. 329</ref> | In a footnote Kjær adds: "The initial reluctance to use the theonym Allah might have been due to its polytheistic origins.", citing Böwering, Gerhard, ‘Chronology and the Qur’ān’, in Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān (Leiden: Brill, 2001), p. 329</ref> | ||
The word Allah first appears in the epigraphic record as the name of one of many Nabataean deities in 1st century BCE or 1st century CE northern Arabia.<ref name="alJallad2022">See the start of Appendix one in the open access chapter: Ahmad Al-Jallad (2022), [https://www.academia.edu/45498003/Al_Jallad_Pre_Print_Draft_The_Religion_and_Rituals_of_the_Nomads_of_Pre_Islamic_Arabia_A_Reconstruction_based_on_the_Safaitic_Inscriptions The Religion and Rituals of the Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia: A Reconstruction based on the Safaitic Inscriptions] in (ed. Zhi Chen et al.), Ancient Languages and Civilizations, Volume: 1, Leiden: Brill</ref> The word possibly might have come from a contraction of al-ʾilāh (the god), though there are some linguistic difficulties with this idea. In any case it was the name of a deity at that time and there is no indication that it was associated with the monotheistic Judeo-Christian god. The name Abd Allah (like the name of Muhammad's father) first appears in a Nabataean pagan context (they used the same construct also for other gods, for example ʿAbdu Manōti, "servant of Manāt"). In Safaitic inscriptions (a script used in the north Arabian desert), the name Allah is occasionally invoked, though other deities much more so. By the sixth century CE the name Allah is applied in a monotheistic context around the Hijaz and at some point merges with the Christian al-ʾilāh (the god). Allah appears equated with al-Rahman (who in the south was associated with the Judeo-Christian God) in a pre-Islamic basmala inscription discovered in Yemen, as discussed in the next section below.<ref>See this [https://twitter.com/PhDniX/status/1450418538418745355 twitter thread] by leading linguist in the history of Arabic, Dr Marijn van Putten - 19 October 2021 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20211027185522/https://twitter.com/PhDniX/status/1450418538418745355 archive])</ref> | The word Allah first appears in the epigraphic record as the name of one of many Nabataean deities in 1st century BCE or 1st century CE northern Arabia.<ref name="alJallad2022">See the start of Appendix one in the open access chapter: Ahmad Al-Jallad (2022), [https://www.academia.edu/45498003/Al_Jallad_Pre_Print_Draft_The_Religion_and_Rituals_of_the_Nomads_of_Pre_Islamic_Arabia_A_Reconstruction_based_on_the_Safaitic_Inscriptions The Religion and Rituals of the Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia: A Reconstruction based on the Safaitic Inscriptions] in (ed. Zhi Chen et al.), Ancient Languages and Civilizations, Volume: 1, Leiden: Brill</ref> The word possibly might have come from a contraction of al-ʾilāh (the god), though there are some linguistic difficulties with this idea. In any case it was the name of a deity at that time and there is no indication that it was associated with the monotheistic Judeo-Christian god. The name Abd Allah (like the name of Muhammad's father) first appears in a Nabataean pagan context (they used the same construct also for other gods, for example ʿAbdu Manōti, "servant of Manāt"). In Safaitic inscriptions (a script used in the north Arabian desert), the name Allah is occasionally invoked, though other deities much more so. By the sixth century CE the name Allah is applied in a monotheistic context around the Hijaz and at some point merges with the Christian al-ʾilāh (the god). Allah appears equated with al-Rahman (who in the south was associated with the Judeo-Christian God) in a pre-Islamic basmala inscription discovered in Yemen, as discussed in the next section below.<ref>See this [https://twitter.com/PhDniX/status/1450418538418745355 twitter thread] by leading linguist in the history of Arabic, Dr Marijn van Putten - 19 October 2021 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20211027185522/https://twitter.com/PhDniX/status/1450418538418745355 archive])</ref> Al-Jallad writes, "In contrast to South Arabia, the North Arabian monotheistic traditions of the 5th and 6th c. CE invoked al-ʾilāh/allāh. While al-ʾilāh is attested in clear Christian contexts, allāh is rarer and found in confessionally ambiguous contexts. It is impossible at this moment to decide whether the distinction between the two was simply regional or whether it betokened a confessional split. What is clear, however, is that “Raḥmān” was not used in pre-Islamic times in North Arabia."<ref>Ahmad al-Jallad [https://www.academia.edu/43388891 (draft) The pre-Islamic basmala: Reflections on its first epigraphic attestation and its original significance], page 14</ref> | ||
===The Basmala=== | ===The Basmala=== | ||
The Islamic bismillah, "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful" (Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem), is recited before the start of each surah and begins the al-Fatiha prayer. Within the surahs themselves, it occurs once only, in {{Quran|27|30}}. | The Islamic bismillah, "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful" (Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem), is recited before the start of each surah and begins the al-Fatiha prayer. Within the surahs themselves, it occurs once only, in {{Quran|27|30}}. | ||
In 2018 the first known pre-Islamic Basmala inscription was found on the side of a cliff in Yemen, reading "In the name of Allah, Rahman; Rahman lord of the heavens". Writing about the discovery, Ahmad al-Jallad, | In 2018 the first known pre-Islamic Basmala inscription was found on the side of a cliff in Yemen, reading in South Arabian Script, "In the name of Allah, Rahman; Rahman lord of the heavens" (bsmlh rḥmn rḥmn rb smwt). Writing about the discovery, Ahmad al-Jallad dates the inscription to the late 6th or early 7th century CE and observes that overall the inscription has a psalm like quality, likely impacted by Jewish or Christian liturgy. He interprets the second rḥmn as rḥm-n ("have mercy on us")<ref>Ahmad al-Jallad [https://www.academia.edu/43388891 (draft) The pre-Islamic basmala: Reflections on its first epigraphic attestation and its original significance], pp. 6-7</ref> He also notes that al-Rahman was originally a distinct deity to Allah, and not a mere descriptor of him seen in the Islamic basmalah. Maslamah, a Yemenite rival prophet to Muhammad, worshipped al-Rahman, the deity of ancient Himyar. Al-Jallad proposes that the basmala was used to synchronize the two monotheistic poles of Arabia, Allah in the north (where other deities completely disappear from the epigraphic record by the sixth century CE) with al-Rahman in the South. This equivalence was probably introduced during the Himyarite northward excursions in the sixth century. This regional difference is echoed in {{Quran|17|110}}. Ar-Raheem (the merciful) would then be an Islamic innovation appended to al-Rahman of the pre-Islamic Basmala which by then had come to represent an adjective describing Allah. | ||
<ref>Ahmad al-Jallad [https://www.academia.edu/43388891 (draft) The pre-Islamic basmala: Reflections on its first epigraphic attestation and its original significance], page 13 ff </ref> This pre-Islamic basmala and many other pre-Islamic inscriptions bear similarities with phrases and terminology found in the Quran.<ref>Ahmad al-Jallad (2020) [https://www.academia.edu/43141064 Chapter 7: The Linguistic Landscape of pre-Islamic Arabia - Context for the Qur’an] in Mustafa Shah (ed.), Muhammad Abdel Haleem (ed.), "The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies", Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 121 ff</ref> | <ref>Ahmad al-Jallad [https://www.academia.edu/43388891 (draft) The pre-Islamic basmala: Reflections on its first epigraphic attestation and its original significance], page 13 ff </ref> This pre-Islamic basmala and many other pre-Islamic inscriptions bear similarities with phrases and terminology found in the Quran.<ref>Ahmad al-Jallad (2020) [https://www.academia.edu/43141064 Chapter 7: The Linguistic Landscape of pre-Islamic Arabia - Context for the Qur’an] in Mustafa Shah (ed.), Muhammad Abdel Haleem (ed.), "The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies", Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 121 ff</ref> Rb smwt in the inscription ("Lord of the heavens") is similar to South Arabian inscriptions in the Sabaic language (mrʾ smyn w-ʾrḍn) a phrase which appears also in verses such as {{Quran|19|65}} ("Lord of the heavens and the earth"; rabbu l-samāwāti wal-arḍi).<ref>Ahmad al-Jallad [https://www.academia.edu/43388891 (draft) The pre-Islamic basmala: Reflections on its first epigraphic attestation and its original significance], page 8</ref> | ||
===Beliefs of the Quranic Mushrikeen=== | ===Beliefs of the Quranic Mushrikeen=== | ||
Historian Patricia Crone in a detailed article on the Quranic mushrikeen pointed out that they believed in Allah as the Judeo-Christian creator god, but associated with him one or more lesser partners, usually described as gods but sometimes his offspring, and that he took female angels for himself. Sometimes these gods are named, most of which have also been found in rock inscriptions. The mushrikeen also believed in jinns and demons, and some worshipped heavenly bodies. Ahab Bdaiwi adds that only rarely is outright paganism found of the kind described in later sources (like Ibn al-Kalbi).<ref>Patricia Crone' [https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/hs/Crone_Articles/Crone_Quranic_Deities.pdf The Religion of the Quranic Pagans: God and the Lesser Deities], Arabica 57 (2010) 151-200</ref><ref>See this [https://twitter.com/abhistoria/status/1293641557531414528 Twitter.com thread] by Dr Ahab Bdaiwi - 12 August 2020 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20220816120902/https://twitter.com/abhistoria/status/1293641557531414528 archive]) [https://twitter.com/abhistoria/status/1397609517052006404 and this one] - 26 May 2021 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20220814092519/https://twitter.com/abhistoria/status/1397609517052006404 archive])</ref> | Historian Patricia Crone in a detailed article on the Quranic mushrikeen pointed out that they believed in Allah as the Judeo-Christian creator god, but associated with him one or more lesser partners, usually described as gods but sometimes his offspring, and that he took female angels for himself. Sometimes these gods are named, most of which have also been found in rock inscriptions. The mushrikeen also believed in jinns and demons, and some worshipped heavenly bodies. Ahab Bdaiwi adds that only rarely is outright paganism found of the kind described in later sources (like Ibn al-Kalbi).<ref>Patricia Crone' [https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/hs/Crone_Articles/Crone_Quranic_Deities.pdf The Religion of the Quranic Pagans: God and the Lesser Deities], Arabica 57 (2010) 151-200</ref><ref>See Dr Ahab Bdaiwi's blog post summarizing his findings [https://drahabbdaiwi.com/2021/10/26/arabian-monotheism-before-islam-some-notes-on-the-mushrikun-of-the-qur%ca%bean/ Arabian Monotheism before Islam: Some Notes on the Mushrikūn of the Qurʾan] - 26 October 2021</ref><ref>See also this earlier [https://twitter.com/abhistoria/status/1293641557531414528 Twitter.com thread] by Dr Ahab Bdaiwi - 12 August 2020 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20220816120902/https://twitter.com/abhistoria/status/1293641557531414528 archive]) [https://twitter.com/abhistoria/status/1397609517052006404 and this one] - 26 May 2021 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20220814092519/https://twitter.com/abhistoria/status/1397609517052006404 archive])</ref> | ||
==Worship at the Ka’bah== | ==Worship at the Ka’bah== | ||