Pre-Islamic Arab Religion in Islam: Difference between revisions

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Pre-Islamic Arab Religion in Islam (view source)

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According to the [[hadith]], the [[Ka'bah]] in Mecca was a center of idol-worship, housing 360 idols:
According to the [[hadith]], the [[Ka'bah]] in Mecca was a center of idol-worship, housing 360 idols:


{{Quote| {{Bukhari|3|43|658}}|Narrated 'Abdullah bin Masud:  
{{Quote| {{Bukhari|||2478|darussalam}}|Narrated 'Abdullah bin Masud:  
The Prophet entered Mecca and (at that time) there were three hundred-and-sixty idols around the Ka’aba. He started stabbing the idols with a stick he had in his hand and reciting: "Truth (Islam) has come and Falsehood (disbelief) has vanished."}}
The Prophet entered Mecca and (at that time) there were three hundred-and-sixty idols around the Ka’aba. He started stabbing the idols with a stick he had in his hand and reciting: "Truth (Islam) has come and Falsehood (disbelief) has vanished."}}


In one hadith Muhammad said it was built 40 years prior to the Temple at Jerusalem:
In one hadith Muhammad said it was built 40 years prior to the Temple at Jerusalem:


{{Quote| {{Bukhari|4|55|636}}|Narrated Abu Dhaar: I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which mosque was built first?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Haram." I asked, "Which (was built) next?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Aqs-a (i.e. Jerusalem)." I asked, "What was the period in between them? He replied, forty years.}}
{{Quote| {{Bukhari|||3425|darussalam}}|Narrated Abu Dhaar: I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which mosque was built first?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Haram." I asked, "Which (was built) next?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Aqs-a (i.e. Jerusalem)." I asked, "What was the period in between them? He replied, forty years.}}
   
   
The Temple at Jerusalem was built by Solomon around 958-951 BC, whereas Abraham is alleged to have lived around 2000 BC so both Abraham and Ishmael would have been dead by then.  
The Temple at Jerusalem was built by Solomon around 958-951 BC, whereas Abraham is alleged to have lived around 2000 BC so both Abraham and Ishmael would have been dead by then.  
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According to another hadith Muhammad even considered dismantling it:
According to another hadith Muhammad even considered dismantling it:


{{Quote| {{Bukhari|1|3|128}}|Narrated Aswad: Ibn Az-Zubair said to me, "Aisha used to tell you secretly a number of things. What did she tell you about the Ka'ba?" I replied, "She told me that once the Prophet said, 'O 'Aisha! Had not your people been still close to the pre-Islamic period of ignorance (infidelity)! I would have dismantled the Ka'ba and would have made two doors in it; one for entrance and the other for exit." Later on Ibn Az-Zubair did the same.}}
{{Quote| {{Bukhari|||126|darussalam}}|Narrated Aswad: Ibn Az-Zubair said to me, "Aisha used to tell you secretly a number of things. What did she tell you about the Ka'ba?" I replied, "She told me that once the Prophet said, 'O 'Aisha! Had not your people been still close to the pre-Islamic period of ignorance (infidelity)! I would have dismantled the Ka'ba and would have made two doors in it; one for entrance and the other for exit." Later on Ibn Az-Zubair did the same.}}


== Ḥajj (pilgrimage) ==
== Ḥajj (pilgrimage) ==
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=== Shaving hair ===
=== Shaving hair ===
The shaving hair ritual during Ḥajj, found in hadith such as:{{Quote|{{Bukhari|2|26|704}}|Ibn `Umar intended to perform Hajj in the year when Al-Hajjaj attacked Ibn Az-Zubair. Somebody said to Ibn `Umar, "There is a danger of an impending war between them." Ibn `Umar said, "Verily, in Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) you have a good example. (And if it happened as you say) then I would do the same as Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had done. I make you witness that I have decided to perform `Umra." Then he set out and when he reached Al-Baida', he said, "The ceremonies of both Hajj and `Umra are similar. I make you witness that I have made Hajj compulsory for me along with `Umra." He drove (to Mecca) a Hadi which he had bought from (a place called) Qudaid and did not do more than that. He did not slaughter the Hadi or finish his Ihram, or shave or cut short his hair till the day of slaughtering the sacrifices (10th Dhul-Hijja). Then he slaughtered his Hadi and shaved his head and considered the first Tawaf (of Safa and Marwa) as sufficient for Hajj and `Umra. Ibn `Umar said, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) did the same."}}And for example {{Bukhari|2|26|786}}, {{Muslim|7|2992}} and {{Ibn Majah|2=4|3=25|4=3044}}, has been found in pre-Islamic poetry as part of the pilgrimage, where Webb (2023) notes:{{Quote|Webb, Peter. 2023. [https://doi.org/10.1515/mill-2023-0004 The Hajj Before Muhammad: The Early Evidence in Poetry and Hadith] pp. 41|However, the reference to the sacred House and the circumambulation by its resident tribes, Jurhum and Quraysh, is reported consistently in the poem’s recensions and stands as a pre-Islamic indicator that the Quraysh were known before Muhammad as custodians of a sacred House, and, as in the case of al-Nābighah’s poem above, the ritual was worthy of being the subject of an oath. In the second poem, Zuhayr makes another oath:<sup>27</sup>  
The shaving hair ritual during Ḥajj, found in hadith such as:{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||1640|darussalam}}|Ibn `Umar intended to perform Hajj in the year when Al-Hajjaj attacked Ibn Az-Zubair. Somebody said to Ibn `Umar, "There is a danger of an impending war between them." Ibn `Umar said, "Verily, in Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) you have a good example. (And if it happened as you say) then I would do the same as Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had done. I make you witness that I have decided to perform `Umra." Then he set out and when he reached Al-Baida', he said, "The ceremonies of both Hajj and `Umra are similar. I make you witness that I have made Hajj compulsory for me along with `Umra." He drove (to Mecca) a Hadi which he had bought from (a place called) Qudaid and did not do more than that. He did not slaughter the Hadi or finish his Ihram, or shave or cut short his hair till the day of slaughtering the sacrifices (10th Dhul-Hijja). Then he slaughtered his Hadi and shaved his head and considered the first Tawaf (of Safa and Marwa) as sufficient for Hajj and `Umra. Ibn `Umar said, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) did the same."}}And for example {{Bukhari|||1728|darussalam}}, {{Muslim||1305b|reference}} and {{Ibn Majah|2=4|3=25|4=3044}}, has been found in pre-Islamic poetry as part of the pilgrimage, where Webb (2023) notes:{{Quote|Webb, Peter. 2023. [https://doi.org/10.1515/mill-2023-0004 The Hajj Before Muhammad: The Early Evidence in Poetry and Hadith] pp. 41|However, the reference to the sacred House and the circumambulation by its resident tribes, Jurhum and Quraysh, is reported consistently in the poem’s recensions and stands as a pre-Islamic indicator that the Quraysh were known before Muhammad as custodians of a sacred House, and, as in the case of al-Nābighah’s poem above, the ritual was worthy of being the subject of an oath. In the second poem, Zuhayr makes another oath:<sup>27</sup>  


<i>I swore solemnly by the campsites of Minā,
<i>I swore solemnly by the campsites of Minā,
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According to a hadith in Bukhari, this was originally a pre-Islamic practice, which may explain the phrase "there is no blame upon him" in the above quoted verse.
According to a hadith in Bukhari, this was originally a pre-Islamic practice, which may explain the phrase "there is no blame upon him" in the above quoted verse.


{{Quote| {{Bukhari|2|26|710}}|Narrated 'Asim:  
{{Quote| {{Bukhari|||1648|darussalam}}|Narrated 'Asim:  


I asked Anas bin Malik: "Did you use to dislike to perform Tawaf between Safa and Marwa?" He said, "Yes, as it was of the ceremonies of the days of the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance, till Allah revealed: 'Verily! (The two mountains) As-Safa and Al-Marwa are among the symbols of Allah. It is therefore no sin for him who performs the pilgrimage to the Ka'ba, or performs 'Umra, to perform Tawaf between them.' " (2.158)}}
I asked Anas bin Malik: "Did you use to dislike to perform Tawaf between Safa and Marwa?" He said, "Yes, as it was of the ceremonies of the days of the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance, till Allah revealed: 'Verily! (The two mountains) As-Safa and Al-Marwa are among the symbols of Allah. It is therefore no sin for him who performs the pilgrimage to the Ka'ba, or performs 'Umra, to perform Tawaf between them.' " (2.158)}}
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Ihram was according to hadith in Sahih Bukhari originally a pagan requirement for worshiping idols during pre-Islamic times. Muhammad retained this practice for Islam. Muslims assume Ihram to perform the Hajj or Umrah.  
Ihram was according to hadith in Sahih Bukhari originally a pagan requirement for worshiping idols during pre-Islamic times. Muhammad retained this practice for Islam. Muslims assume Ihram to perform the Hajj or Umrah.  
   
   
{{Quote| {{Bukhari|2|26|706}}|Narrated 'Urwa: I asked 'Aisha : ...But in fact, this divine inspiration was revealed concerning the Ansar who used to assume “Ihram” for worshipping an idol called “Manat” which they used to worship at a place called Al-Mushallal before they embraced Islam, and whoever assumed Ihram (for the idol), would consider it not right to perform Tawaf between Safa and Marwa.}}
{{Quote| {{Bukhari|||1643|darussalam}}|Narrated 'Urwa: I asked 'Aisha : ...But in fact, this divine inspiration was revealed concerning the Ansar who used to assume “Ihram” for worshipping an idol called “Manat” which they used to worship at a place called Al-Mushallal before they embraced Islam, and whoever assumed Ihram (for the idol), would consider it not right to perform Tawaf between Safa and Marwa.}}


=== Circumambulation 7 Times ===
=== Circumambulation 7 Times ===
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{{Quote|[https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14059-stone-and-stone-worship Stone and stone worship] - Emil G. Hirsch and Immanuel Benzinger, The Jewish Encyclopedia|The worship of sacred stones constituted one of the most general and ancient forms of religion; but among no other people was this worship so important as among the Semites. The religion of the nomads of Syria and Arabia was summarized by Clement of Alexandria in the single statement, "The Arabs worship the stone," and all the data afforded by Arabian authors regarding the pre-Islamitic faith confirm his words. The sacred stone ("nuṣb"; plural, "anṣab") is a characteristic and indispensable feature in an ancient Arabian place of worship.}}
{{Quote|[https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14059-stone-and-stone-worship Stone and stone worship] - Emil G. Hirsch and Immanuel Benzinger, The Jewish Encyclopedia|The worship of sacred stones constituted one of the most general and ancient forms of religion; but among no other people was this worship so important as among the Semites. The religion of the nomads of Syria and Arabia was summarized by Clement of Alexandria in the single statement, "The Arabs worship the stone," and all the data afforded by Arabian authors regarding the pre-Islamitic faith confirm his words. The sacred stone ("nuṣb"; plural, "anṣab") is a characteristic and indispensable feature in an ancient Arabian place of worship.}}


Touching the black stone seemed uncomfortably close to idolatry for some early Islamic scholars, though the tradition was accepted based on the practice of the earliest Caliphs.<ref>Adam Bursi (2022) [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17458927.2021.2020604 You were not commanded to stroke it, but to pray nearby it], debating touch within early Islamic pilgrimage, The Senses and Society, 17:1, 8-21, DOI: 10.1080/17458927.2021.2020604</ref><ref>{{Quote|{{Bukhari|2|26|667}}|Narrated `Abis bin Rabi`a:
Touching the black stone seemed uncomfortably close to idolatry for some early Islamic scholars, though the tradition was accepted based on the practice of the earliest Caliphs.<ref>Adam Bursi (2022) [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17458927.2021.2020604 You were not commanded to stroke it, but to pray nearby it], debating touch within early Islamic pilgrimage, The Senses and Society, 17:1, 8-21, DOI: 10.1080/17458927.2021.2020604</ref><ref>{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||1597|darussalam}}|Narrated `Abis bin Rabi`a:


`Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said "No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) kissing you I would not have kissed you."}}</ref>
`Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said "No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) kissing you I would not have kissed you."}}</ref>
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Fasting on the day of Ashura (i.e. 10<sup>th</sup> of Muharram) is an optional fast observed annually by Sunni Muslims and to a lesser extent in Shia Islam. There were two conflicting hadith traditions as to its origin.<ref>See this [https://twitter.com/abhistoria/status/1556640249073238016 Twitter.com thread] by Dr Ahab Bdaiwi - 8 August 2022</ref> In one tradition, it is connected with the Jews of Medina, while the other attributes it to the Quraysh. One version of the first narrative has it that Muhammad observed this fast until it was abrogated by the obligation to fast in Ramadan. This is also found in the alternative narrative tracing it to the pagan Arabs which is shown below.
Fasting on the day of Ashura (i.e. 10<sup>th</sup> of Muharram) is an optional fast observed annually by Sunni Muslims and to a lesser extent in Shia Islam. There were two conflicting hadith traditions as to its origin.<ref>See this [https://twitter.com/abhistoria/status/1556640249073238016 Twitter.com thread] by Dr Ahab Bdaiwi - 8 August 2022</ref> In one tradition, it is connected with the Jews of Medina, while the other attributes it to the Quraysh. One version of the first narrative has it that Muhammad observed this fast until it was abrogated by the obligation to fast in Ramadan. This is also found in the alternative narrative tracing it to the pagan Arabs which is shown below.


{{Quote| {{Bukhari|5|58|172}}|Narrated 'Aisha:  
{{Quote| {{Bukhari|||3831|darussalam}}|Narrated 'Aisha:  
'Ashura' (i.e. the tenth of Muharram) was a day on which the tribe of Quraish used to fast in the pre-lslamic period of ignorance. The Prophet also used to fast on this day. So when he migrated to Medina, he fasted on it and ordered (the Muslims) to fast on it. When the fasting of Ramadan was enjoined, it became optional for the people to fast or not to fast on the day of Ashura.}}
'Ashura' (i.e. the tenth of Muharram) was a day on which the tribe of Quraish used to fast in the pre-lslamic period of ignorance. The Prophet also used to fast on this day. So when he migrated to Medina, he fasted on it and ordered (the Muslims) to fast on it. When the fasting of Ramadan was enjoined, it became optional for the people to fast or not to fast on the day of Ashura.}}


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{{Quote||An arrow showed that it was 'Abdullah to be sacrificed. 'Abdul-Muttalib then took the boy to Al-Ka'bah with a razor to slaughter the boy. Quraish, his uncles from Makhzum tribe and his brother Abu Talib, however, tried to dissuade him. They suggested that he summon a she-diviner. She ordered that the divination arrows should be drawn with respect to 'Abdullah as well as ten camels. … the number of the camels (finally) amounted to one hundred. … They were all slaughtered to the satisfaction of Hubal.<ref>Ibn Hisham 1/151-155; Rahmat-ul-lil'alameen 2/89,90</ref>}}
{{Quote||An arrow showed that it was 'Abdullah to be sacrificed. 'Abdul-Muttalib then took the boy to Al-Ka'bah with a razor to slaughter the boy. Quraish, his uncles from Makhzum tribe and his brother Abu Talib, however, tried to dissuade him. They suggested that he summon a she-diviner. She ordered that the divination arrows should be drawn with respect to 'Abdullah as well as ten camels. … the number of the camels (finally) amounted to one hundred. … They were all slaughtered to the satisfaction of Hubal.<ref>Ibn Hisham 1/151-155; Rahmat-ul-lil'alameen 2/89,90</ref>}}


According to tradition, the Ka’bah, Islam's holiest shrine, had been a place where such pagan human sacrifices and slaughters have taken place for Hubal. When Muhammad founded Islam, according to Islamic sources he discarded Hubal and all the other pagan gods. At the Battle of Badr, his enemy Abu Sufyan praised the high position of moon god Hubal, saying "O Hubal, be high". Muhammad asked his followers to yell back, "Allah is higher".<ref>"...''After that he started reciting cheerfully, "O Hubal, be high! (1) On that the Prophet said (to his companions), "Why don't you answer him back?" They said, "O Allah's Apostle What shall we say?" He said, "Say, Allah is Higher and more Sublime."''..." - ({{Bukhari|4|52|276}})</ref> This is supposed to be the origin of the commonly uttered phrase "Allahu Akbar" in Arabic.
According to tradition, the Ka’bah, Islam's holiest shrine, had been a place where such pagan human sacrifices and slaughters have taken place for Hubal. When Muhammad founded Islam, according to Islamic sources he discarded Hubal and all the other pagan gods. At the Battle of Badr, his enemy Abu Sufyan praised the high position of moon god Hubal, saying "O Hubal, be high". Muhammad asked his followers to yell back, "Allah is higher".<ref>"...''After that he started reciting cheerfully, "O Hubal, be high! (1) On that the Prophet said (to his companions), "Why don't you answer him back?" They said, "O Allah's Apostle What shall we say?" He said, "Say, Allah is Higher and more Sublime."''..." - ({{Bukhari|||3039|darussalam}})</ref> This is supposed to be the origin of the commonly uttered phrase "Allahu Akbar" in Arabic.


==See Also==
==See Also==
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