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The Arabian
Peninsula - or, simply, Arabia - is a rectangular piece of land surrounded by
the Red Sea on the west, the Persian Gulf on the east, and the Arabian Sea to
the south. To the north lie Syria and Mesopotamia, lands which saw the birth of
both Judaism and Christianity. Many Jewish and Christian influences had
penetrated Arabia before the coming of Islam in the 7th century, but the
inhabitants of the Peninsula - the Arabs - did not follow either of those
religions. Islam, as taught by the Prophet Muhammad, himself an Arab, was the
religion that would convert the Arabs en masse to monotheism, or the belief in
only one God.
The people who
inhabited the Arabian Peninsula - which they called Jazirat al-Arab, or "Island
of the Arabs" - were nomads, who survived the harsh desert environment by
adhering to a seasonal migration cycle. For four months from June to September,
the Arabs waited out the summer heat, until the rains came in October. The eight
months until the following summer were then spent travelling between grazing
grounds on the desert's fringes. Their travel was eased by the domestication of
the camel, which allowed the Arabs access to the harsh Arabian desert.
By about the 5th
century, some Arabs (a word which seems to mean "desert dweller") established
settlements in the desert and abandoned their nomadic ways. After that, the
remaining Arab nomads became known as the Bedouins, while settled Arabs assumed
a different identity and refused to acknowledge their shared ancestry with the
Bedouins. One settlement that grew in Arabia was Mecca, which later became the
birth place of Muhammad, and later still, the holiest city of the Islamic faith.
The nomadic Bedouin
population would prove difficult to convert to Islam in the 7th century, not
only under Muhammad, but under his successors as well. Much of the Bedouins'
reluctance to embrace Islam as quickly as the settled Arabs was due to their
strong adherence to traditional religions. The Arabs were polytheistic, meaning
they believed in and worshipped more than one god. Different regions of the
Arabian Peninsula often had their own patron deity, which usually had its own
shrine. Arabs often embarked on pilgrimages to different shrines throughout
Arabia. Above their various gods, however, the Arabs also believed in a supreme
God, who they called al-ilah, or "the God." The word, contracted as Allah, was
later used in Islam as the name of the one and only God. In pre-Islamic Arabia,
however, Allah was believed to be not the only God, but simply the highest among
many gods.
The Arabs, like the
ancient Greeks, were not only polytheists, but they were also humanists. They
valued human life for the duration of its time on earth, and they did not
subscribe to a belief in any sort of afterlife. Many Arabs rejected Christianity
for that reason - the belief in Christ's resurrection was inconceivable, even
ridiculous. They believed only in the human world, and the prayers they offered
to their gods pertained to that world, not to salvation or redemption in heaven.
Monotheistic
religions - those that accept and worship only one God - were present in the
Arabian Peninsula before Islam. Judaism and Christianity existed among the
populations of southern Arabia, and Judaism was particularly influential in the
city of Yathrib, which became known as Medina in Islamic times. Nestorian
Christians, driven from the Byzantine Empire in the 5th century over differing
opinions of doctrine, settled in Persia and in the northern Arabian Peninsula
and converted some Arabs there. Zoroastrian traders from Persia passed through
Mecca and other trading centres often enough to exert a small religious
influence. Trade also linked the Arab world with Christian Abyssinia
(present-day Ethiopia) across the Red Sea, which intermittently controlled parts
of Yemen and southern Arabia. For the most part, however, the Arabs retained
their traditional faith until the emergence of Islam in the 7th century CE.
The Arabian
Peninsula - or, simply, Arabia - is a rectangular piece of land surrounded by
the Red Sea on the west, the Persian Gulf on the east, and the Arabian Sea to
the south. To the north lie Syria and Mesopotamia, lands which saw the birth of
both Judaism and Christianity. Many Jewish and Christian influences had
penetrated Arabia before the coming of Islam in the 7th century, but the
inhabitants of the Peninsula - the Arabs - did not follow either of those
religions. Islam, as taught by the Prophet Muhammad, himself an Arab, was the
religion that would convert the Arabs en masse to monotheism, or the belief in
only one God.
| |  | A Note On Muhammad's Name |
The people who
inhabited the Arabian Peninsula - which they called Jazirat al-Arab, or "Island
of the Arabs" - were nomads, who survived the harsh desert environment by
adhering to a seasonal migration cycle. For four months from June to September,
the Arabs waited out the summer heat, until the rains came in October. The eight
months until the following summer were then spent travelling between grazing
grounds on the desert's fringes. Their travel was eased by the domestication of
the camel, which allowed the Arabs access to the harsh Arabian desert.
| | | Camels |
By about the 5th
century, some Arabs (a word which seems to mean "desert dweller") established
settlements in the desert and abandoned their nomadic ways. After that, the
remaining Arab nomads became known as the Bedouins, while settled Arabs assumed
a different identity and refused to acknowledge their shared ancestry with the
Bedouins. One settlement that grew in Arabia was Mecca, which later became the
birth place of Muhammad, and later still, the holiest city of the Islamic faith.
| | | Mecca |
The nomadic Bedouin
population would prove difficult to convert to Islam in the 7th century, not
only under Muhammad, but under his successors as well. Much of the Bedouins'
reluctance to embrace Islam as quickly as the settled Arabs was due to their
strong adherence to traditional religions. The Arabs were polytheistic, meaning
they believed in and worshipped more than one god. Different regions of the
Arabian Peninsula often had their own patron deity, which usually had its own
shrine. Arabs often embarked on pilgrimages to different shrines throughout
Arabia. Above their various gods, however, the Arabs also believed in a supreme
God, who they called al-ilah, or "the God." The word, contracted as Allah, was
later used in Islam as the name of the one and only God. In pre-Islamic Arabia,
however, Allah was believed to be not the only God, but simply the highest among
many gods.
The Arabs, like the
ancient Greeks, were not only polytheists, but they were also humanists. They
valued human life for the duration of its time on earth, and they did not
subscribe to a belief in any sort of afterlife. Many Arabs rejected Christianity
for that reason - the belief in Christ's resurrection was inconceivable, even
ridiculous. They believed only in the human world, and the prayers they offered
to their gods pertained to that world, not to salvation or redemption in heaven.
Monotheistic
religions - those that accept and worship only one God - were present in the
Arabian Peninsula before Islam. Judaism and Christianity existed among the
populations of southern Arabia, and Judaism was particularly influential in the
city of Yathrib, which became known as Medina in Islamic times. Nestorian
Christians, driven from the Byzantine Empire in the 5th century over differing
opinions of doctrine, settled in Persia and in the northern Arabian Peninsula
and converted some Arabs there. Zoroastrian traders from Persia passed through
Mecca and other trading centres often enough to exert a small religious
influence. Trade also linked the Arab world with Christian Abyssinia
(present-day Ethiopia) across the Red Sea, which intermittently controlled parts
of Yemen and southern Arabia. For the most part, however, the Arabs retained
their traditional faith until the emergence of Islam in the 7th century CE.
