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"It is He who has sent His Messenger
with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, to make it prevail over
all religion,and Allah is sufficient as a witness."
[Quran 48:28]
A certain Arab would walk
the streets of Makkah at night, lost in thought. He was a member,
no longer wealthy, of the noble clan of Bani Hashim. A strikingly
handsome man of medium height with broad, powerful shoulders, his
hair ended in curls just below his ears. His large, dark eyes, fringed
with long lashes, seemed pensive and sad.
There was much in the way of life of the Arabs
that caused him pain. Everywhere around him he saw signs of decay-in
the injustice done to the poor and helpless, in the unnecessary
bloodshed, in the treatment of women who were considered as no better
than domestic animals. He would be deeply anguished whenever he
heard reports of the live burial of unwanted female children.
Certain clans of the Arabs had made a horrible
ritual of the killing of infant daughters. The father would let
the child grow up normally until she was five or six years old.
He would then tell her that he would take her for a walk and dress
her up as if for a party. He would take her out of the town or settlement
to the site of a grave already dug for her. He would make the child
stand on the edge of this grave and the child, quite unaware of
her fate and believing that her father had brought her out for a
picnic, would look eagerly at him, wondering when the fun would
start. The father would then push her into the grave, and as the
child cried to her father to help her out, he would hurl large stones
at her, crushing the life out of her tender body. When all movement
had ceased in the bruised and broken body of his poor victim, he
would fill the grave with earth and return home. Sometimes he would
brag about what he had done.
This custom was not, of course, very widespread
in Arabia. Among the famous families of Makkah-the Bani Hashim,
the Bani Umayyah and the Bani Makhzum-there is not a single instance
on record of a female child being killed. This happened only among
some desert tribes, and only in some clans. But even the exceptional
occurrence of this revolting practice was sufficient to horrify
and sicken the more intelligent and virtuous Arabs of the time.
Then there were the idols of Makkah. The Kabah
had been built by the Prophet Ibrahim as the House of God, but had
been defiled with gods of wood and stone. The Arabs would propitiate
these gods with sacrificial offerings, believing that they would
harm a man when angered and be bountiful when pleased. In and around
the Kabah there were 360 idols, the most worshipped of whom were
Hubal, Uzza and Lat. Hubal, the pride of the Arab pantheon, was
the largest of these gods and was carved of red agate. When the
inhabitants of Makkah had imported this idol from Syria it was without
a right hand; so they fashioned a new hand of gold and stuck it
on to its arm.
In the religion of the Arabs there was a curious
mixture of polytheism and belief in Allah-the true God. They believed
that Allah was Lord and Creator, but they also believed in the idols,
regarding them as sons and daughters of Allah. The position of the
deity in the Arab mind was like that of a divine council, God being
the President of the council of which these other gods and goddesses
were members, each having supernatural powers, though subservient
to the President. The Arabs would swear by Hubal or by another god
or goddess. They would also swear by Allah. They would name their
sons Abdul Uzza, i.e. the Slave of Uzza. They would also name their
sons Abdullah i.e. the Slave of Allah.
It would not be correct to suggest that everything
was wrong with the Arab culture of the time. There was much in their
way of life which was glorious and chivalrous. There were qualities
in the Arab character which would be enviable today-courage, hospitality
and a sense of personal and tribal honour. There was also an element
of vindictiveness, in the blood feuds which were passed down from
father to son, but this was understandable, and even necessary,
in a tribal society where no central authority existed to enforce
law and order. Violent tribal and personal retaliation was the only
way to keep the peace and prevent lawlessness.
What was wrong with Arab culture lay in the fields
of ethics and religion, and in these fields Arab life had hit an
all-time low. This period became known in history as the Ignorance.
During the Ignorance Arab actions were acts of ignorance; Arab beliefs
were beliefs of ignorance. The Ignorance was thus not only an era
but an entire way of life.
The Arab mentioned at the beginning of this
chapter took to retiring to a cave in a hill not far from Makkah,
for one month every year. In this cave he would spend his time in
meditation and reflection, and he would wait-not knowing just what
he was waiting for. Then one day, while he was meditating in the
cave; he suddenly became conscious of a presence. He could see no
one and there was no sound of movement, but he could feel that someone
was there. Then a voice said, "Read!"
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