Mecca, Before the Prophet

Repercussions of Abrahas Failure

When God turned back the Abyssinians from Mecca, crushed and humbled, and inflicted His punishment upon them, the Arabs, naturally, looked up to the Quraish in great respect. They said: "Verily, these are the people of God: God defeated their enemy—and they did not have even to fight the assailants." The esteem of the people for the Kaba naturally increased strengthening their conviction in its sanctity.1

It was undoubtedly a miracle; a sign of the advent of a Prophet who was to cleanse the Kaba of its contamination of idols. It was an indication that the honour of the Kaba was to rise with the final dispensation to be brought by him. One could say that the incident foretold the advent of the great Prophet.

The Arabians attached too much importance, and rightly too, to this great event. They instituted a new calendar from the date of its occurrence. Accordingly, we find in their writings such references as that a certain event took place in the year of Elephant or that such and such persons were born in that year or that a certain incident came to pass so many years after the Year of Elephant. This year of miracle was 570 A. D.

Footnotes:

1. Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, p. 57.

An Implicit Belief of the Quraish

The Quraish had always held the belief that the Bait ullah or the House of God had a special place of honour in the eyes of the Lord Who was Himself its protector and defender. The trust placed by the Quraish in the inviolability of the K’aba is amply borne out by the conversation between Abraha and ‘Abdul Muttalib. It so happened that Abraha seized two hundred camels belonging to ‘Abdul Muttalib, who then called upon him and sought permission to see Abraha. Abraha treated ‘Adul Muttalib with the greatest respect and got off his throne and made him sit by his side. Asked to tell the purpose of his visit, ‘Abdul Muttalib replied that he wanted the King to return his two hundred camels which the King had taken.

Abraha, taken by surprise, asked ‘Abdul Muttalib, “Do you wish to talk about your two hundred camels taken by me, but you say nothing about the House on which depend your religion and the religion of your forefathers, which I have come to destroy?” ‘Abdul Muttalib boldly replied, “I am the owner of the camels and the House has an Owner Who will Himself defend it.” Abraha said again, “How can it be saved from me?” “This is a matter between you and Him,” replied ‘Abdul Muttalib.1 Who could dare to do harm or cast a blighting glance at the House of God? Its protection was, in truth, the responsibility of God.

The episode, briefly, was that Abraha al Ashram, who was the viceroy of Negus, the King of Abyssinia, in Yemen built an imposing cathedral in San’a and gave it the name of al Qullays. He intended to divert the Arab’s pilgrimage to this cathedral. Being a Christian Abraha had found it intolerably offensive that the K’aba should remain the great national shrine, attracting crowds of pilgrims from almost every Arabian clan. He desired that his cathedral should replace the K’aba as the most sacred chapel of Arabia.

This was, however, something inglorious for the Arabs. Veneration of the K’aba was a settled disposition with the Arabs: they neither equated any other place of worship with the K’aba nor could they have exchanged it with anything howsoever precious. The perturbation caused by the declared intentions of Abraha set them on fire. Some Kinanite daredevils accepted the challenge and one of them defiled the cathedral by defecating in it. Now, this caused a serious tumult. Abraha was enraged and he swore that he would not take rest until he had destroyed the K’aba.

Abraha took the road to Mecca at the head of a strong force which included a large number of elephants. The Arabs had heard awesome stories about elephants. The news made them all confused and bewildered. Some of the Arab tribes even tried to obstruct the progress of Abraha’s army, but they soon realised that it was beyond their power to measure swords with him. Now, hoping against hope, they left the matter to God putting their trust in Him to save the sacred sanctuary.2

The Quraish took to the hills and craggy gorges in order to save themselves from the excesses of Abraha’s soldiers. ‘Abdul Muttalib and a few other persons belonging to the Quraish took hold of the door of the K’aba, praying and imploring God to help them against Abraha. On the other side, Abraha drew up his troops to enter the town and got his elephant Mahmud ready for attack. On his way to the city, the elephant knelt down and did not get up in spite of a severe beating. But when they made it face Yemen, it got up immediately and started off. God then sent upon them flocks of birds, each carrying stones in its claws. Everyone who was hit by these stones died. The Abyssinians thereupon withdrew in fright by the way they had come, continually being hit by the stones and falling dead in their way. Abraha, too, was badly smitten, and when his soldiers tried to take him back, his limbs fell one by one, until he met a miserable end on reaching San’a.3 The incident finds a reference in the Qur’an also:

“Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the owners of the elephant?

Did He not bring their stratagem to naught,

And send against them swarms of flying creatures,

Which pelted them with stones of baked clay,

And made them like green crops devoured (by cattle)” (Qur’an 105:1-5).

Footnotes:

1. Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, pp. 49-50.
2. It is just possible that Abraha might have an objective deeper than the avowed purpose of avenging upon the K’aba a sacrilege committed by an individual. He might have intended to gain control over Mecca so that he might be able to strengthen Christianity in Arabia by opening the road on which depended the contact of Yemen with Syria. The step taken by Abraha was beneficial both for Byzantium and Abyssinia, for both were Christian kingdoms. Whatever might have been the reason, the objective of Abraha could not have been achieved without removing the national temple of the Arabs, which was destined to become the centre of the last Prophethood. And, therefore, God had willed it otherwise. It is also possible that the Byzantines might have urged Abraha to conquer Mecca since this was the only way to weaken the influence of the Sasanids who were the only power the Byzantines had then to face in Arabia.
3. Ibn Hisham, Vol. 1, pp. 43-57

The Elephants

It was during this period that a significant event, unparalleled in the history of Arabia, came to pass which portended something of vital importance likely to take place in the near future. It augured well for the Arabs, in general, and predicted a unique honour for the Kaba, never attained by any place of worship anywhere in the world. The incident afforded hope for expecting a great future for the Kaba—a future on which depended the destiny of religions or rather the entire humanity since it was soon to unfold itself in the shape of an eternal message of righteousness and peace.

Meccan Paganism

The Quraish continued to glorify the Lord of the worlds, from whom all

blessings flow, like their forefathers Ibrahim and Isma’il until Amr b. Luhayy

became the chief of Khuzaites. He was the first to deviate from the religion of

Ismail; he set up idols in Mecca and bade the people to worship and venerate

them, he instituted the custom of sa’iba1 which were to be held in reverence. Amr

b. Luhayy also modified the divine laws of permissible and impermissible. It is

related that once Amr b. Luhayy went from Mecca to Syria on some business where

he found the people worshipping idols. He was so impressed by the ways of the

idol worshippers that he obtained a few idols from them, brought them back to

Mecca and asked the people there to pay divine honours to them.2

It might have been so, or, perhaps, on his way to Syria Amr b. Luhayy had

happened to pass through Betra which was variously known to ancient historians

and geographers as Petraea and Petra. It was the key city on the caravan route

between Saba and the Mediterranean, located on an arid plateau three thousand

feet high, to the south of what is today called Transjordan, as mentioned by the

Greek and Roman historians. The city was founded by the Nabataeans, ethnically

an Arab tribe, in the early part of the sixth century B. C. These people carried

their merchandise to Egypt, Syria, valley of the Euphrates and to Rome. Most

likely, they took the way to the valley of the Euphrates through Hijaz. The

Nabataeans were an idolatrous people who made their deities of graven stones.

Some historians hold the view that al-Lat, the famous deity of the Northern

Hijaz during the pre-Islamic period, had been originally imported from Petra and

was assigned an honoured place among the local gods and goddess.3

The above view finds a confirmation in the History of Syria by Philip K. Hitti

who writes about the religion of Nabataean kingdoms:

"At the head of the pantheon stood Dushara (dhu al-Shara, Dusara), a sun deity

worshipped under the form of anobelisk or an unknown four cornered black

stone.... Associated with Dushara was Allat, chief goddess of Arabia. Other

Nabataean goddesses cited in the inscriptions were Manat and al Uzza, of

Koranic fame, Hubal also figures in the inscriptions.4

It is noteworthy that the above description relates to a period when idolatory

had, in different forms and shapes, engulfed Arabia and the countries around it.

Jesus Christ and his disciples had not v, et appeared on the scene who later on

laboured to restrain its unbridled expansion. Judaism had already proved its

incompetence to the task, since, being essentially a racial religion, it allowed

none save the children of Bani Israel to join his faith to the creed of

monotheism preached by it.

Another writer, De Lacy OLeary, tracing the influences responsible for

introduction of idol worship in the Arabian peninsula sums up his findings in

the "Arabia Before Muhammad" in these words:

"It seems fairly safe therefore to understand that the use of images was an

instance of Syro Hellenistic culture which had come down the trade route; it was

a recent introduction in Mecca in the time of the Prophet and was probably

unknown to the Arab community at large.5 (P. 197)

Worship the idols was thus the popular creed of the people in the valley of the

Euphrates and the lands to the east of Arabia. As the Arabians were bound, since

times immemorial, by the ties of commerce with these countries, it is not

unlikely that their cultural influence was responsible for grafting idolworship

within the Arabian Peninsula. ln his history of Ancient Iraq Georges Roux says

that during the third century 13. C. and loll" thereafter idol worship was very

popular in Mcsopotamia.6 Its every city, old or new, gave shelter to several

foreign gods besides the local deities.6

There are also reports which suggest that idol worship gradually; came into

vogue among the Quraish. In olden times, as some historians relate, when anybody

went out on a long journey from Mecca he took a few stones from the enclosures

of the sanctuary as a mark of grace with him. In due course of time, they

started venerating the monoliths they admired most. The subsequent generations,

not knowing the reason for holding such monoliths in esteem, started worshipping

them like other pagan people of the surrounding countries.7The Quraish, however,

remained attached to some of the older traditions like paying deference to the

holy sanctuary, its circumambulation, Hajj8 and Umra.9 The gradual evolution of

different religions showing substitution of means for the ends and the slow

progression from suppositions to conclusions lend support to the view put forth

by the historians about the beginning of idol worship among the Quraish. The

esteem and reverence in which even certain misguided Muslims sects come to hold

the portraits and sepulchres of the saints and the way they sluggishly adopt

this course possesses an incriminating evidence in support of the gradual

evolution of idol worship. That is why the Islamic Sharia completely stalls all

those tracks and alleys which lead to the undue veneration of personages, places

and relics for they ultimately lead to ascribing partners to God.10

Footnotes:

1. Bulls dedicated to the idols and not used for any other purpose.
2. Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, pp. 76-77. It is related that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) once said: “I saw ‘Amr b. Luhayy dragging his intestines in the Hell as he was the first to institute the custom of dedicating beast to the idols as Sa’iba.” (Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad). Another tradition related by Muhammad b. Is’haq says: “He was the first to change the religion of Ismail, to set up idols and to institute the custom of Sa’iba.”
3. The author happened to visit Petra in 14th August, 1973, as a member of the delegation of Rabita ‘Alam-I-Islami, where he saw a large number of idols hewn in the mountains. The details can be seen in another work of the author Darya’i Kabul Se darya’i Yaruk Tak.
4. Philip K. Hitti, The History of Syria, London, 1951, p. 384-5.
5. De Lacy O’Leary, p. 197.
6. George Roux, Ancient Iraq, Suffolk, 1972, pp. 383-84
7. Ibid., pp. 383-84
8. In order to know the names of the earliest deities of Arabia and how they came to worship graven images see Al-Asnam by Kaabi, vol. II and the Bulugh al-Arab fi Ma’rafate Ahwal-il-‘Arab by Syed Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi.
9. The pilgrimage to Mecca performed in the month of Zul Hijja, the twelfth month of the Islamic year.
10. The lesser pilgrimage to the holy sanctuary performed at any time.
11. The Shari’a as well as authentic tradition of the Prophet contain innumerable injunctions showing disapproval of pagan superstitions savouring of shirk or plurality deities. Some of the well-known Traditions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on the subject say: “Do not make my grave a place of mirth and festivity or hold fairs over it.” “Only with the intention of paying a visit to the three Mosques one is permitted to make a journey.” “Never pay compliments to me in the way Christians extol Jesus, son of Mary.” There are many more similar Traditions prohibiting shirk. And, the same is the reason forbidding the making of portraits of living things.

    In the days of yore, many a people had taken to idol worship through venerating the portraits or the images of their saints. Ibn Kathir writes, on the authority of Muhammad b. Qays, that there were a large number of persons pious and pure in spirit between the period from Adam to Noah who had a large number of followers. After these men of God had departed from the world their followers had the idea of making their portraits by which they thought would keep their memory fresh and help them in concentration during prayers. Those who came after this generation were misled by the devil in thinking that their forefathers paid divine honours to these images which helped to bring rains to them. Thus, they gradually fell into idol worship.

Bani Hashim

The progeny of Hashim, who now filled the stage and assumed a commanding position among the Quraish, was like a stream of light in the darkness of Arabia. The sketches of Bani Hashim preserved by the historians and genealogists, although fewer in number, eloquently speak of the nobility of their character and moderation of their disposition, the reverence they paid to the House of God, their sovereign contempt for the things unjust and uneven, their devotion to fairplay and justice, their willingness to help the poor and the oppressed, their magnanimity of heart, their velour and horsemanship, in short, of every virtue admired by the Arabs of the pagan past. Bani Hashim, however, shared the faith of their contemporaries which had beclouded the light of their soul; but despite this failing, they had to have all this goodness as the forefathers of the great Prophet who was to inherit their ennobling qualities and to, illustrate them by his own shining example for the guidance of the entire human race.

Qusayy B. Kilab

Qusayy 1). Kilab was born in the direct line of Fihr but the hegemony of Mecca had, by that time, passed on from Jurhums clansmen to the hands of the Khuzaites. Qusayy b. Kilab recovered the administration of the Kaba and the town through his organising capacity and superior qualities of head and heart. The Quraish strengthened the hands of Qusayy b. Kilab in dislodging the Khuzaites from the position of leadership usurped by them. Qusayy was now master of the town, loved and respected by all. I le held the keys of the Kaba and the rights to water the pilgrims from the well of Zamzam, to feed the pilgrims1 to preside at assemblies anti to hand out war banners. In his hands lay all the dignities of Mecca and nobody entered the K’aba until he opened it for him. Such was his authority hl Mecca during his lifetime that no affair of the Quraish was decided but by him, and his decisions were followed like a religious law which could not be infringed.

After the death of Qusayy his sons assumed his authority but Abdu Munaf amongst then1 was more illustrious. His eldest son, Hashim b. Abdu Munaf conducted the feeding and watering of the pilgrims, and, after his death? the authority passed on to Abdul Muttalib, the grandfather of the Prophet. His people held him in the highest esteem and such v as the popularity gained by him, so they say. as was never enjoyed by anybody amongst his ancestors.2

Footnotes:

1. A general feast, known as Rifadah, was held every year, to which all the pilgrims, deemed to be the guest of Rahman, were invited. The Quraysh contributed a specified sum for it (Al-Khudri, p. 36).
2. Ibn Hisham, Vol. I (The sons of ‘Adnan)

The Quraish

God answered each and every prayer sent up by Ibrahim and Ismail. The descendants of Ismail multiplied exceedingly, so that the barren valley overflowed with the progeny of Ibrahim. Ismail took for his wife a girl of the tribe of Jurhum,1 a clan belonging to the Arab Aribah. In the lineal descendants of Isma’il, Adnan was born whose lineage was universally recognised as the most worthy and noble among them. Thc Arabs being too particular about the purity of race and blood, have always treasured the genealogy of Adnans progeny in the store house of their memory.

Adnan had many sons of whom Maadd was the most prominent. Among the sons of Maadd, Mudar was more distinguished; then Fihr b. Malik in the lineage of Mudar achieved eminence; and finally the descendants of Fihr b. Malik b. Mudar came to be known as Quraish. Thus came into existence the clan of Quraish, the nobility of Mecca, whose lineage and exalted position among the tribes of Arabia as well as whose virtues of oratory and eloquence, civility, gallantry and high mindedness were unanimously accepted by all. The recognition accorded to the Quraish without a dissentient voice throughout the Peninsula became, in due course of time, a genuine article of faith to the people of Arabia.2

Footnotes:

1. The tribe of Jurhum is supposed to be the first tribe which had settled in the valley of Mecca because of the inexhaustible spring of water existing there. There are others who hold that when Ibrahim left his wife and son in the valley, the tribe of Jurhum was already there.
2. For details see Sirat Ibn Hisham and other works on the genealogy of Arabs.

Ismail in Mecca

The Patriarch Ibrahim (Abraham) came down to the valley of Mecca surrounded

by mountains, naked rocks and bare and rugged crags. Nothing to sustain life,

neither water nor verdure, nor food grains, was to be found there. He had with

him his wife Hajirah (Hagar) and their son Ismai1 (Ishmael). Ibrahim had

wandered through the deserts of Arabia in order to move away from the wide

spread heathen cult of idol worship and to set up a centre for paying homage to

the One and Only God where he could invite others to bow down before the Lord of

the world. He wanted to lay the foundation of a lighthouse of guidance, a

sanctuary of peace which should become the radiating centre of true monotheism,

faith and righteousness.1

God blessed the sincerity of Ibrahim and the dry valley of this wild country.

Ibrahim had left his wife and his infant son in this inhospitable territory.

Here, in the midst of rugged hills, the Master of all the worlds manifested His

grace by causing water to issue forth from the earth which is called the well of

Zamzam to this day. When Ismail was a few years old, Ibrahim went to visit his

family in Mecca. Ibrahim now made up his mind to sacrifice Ismail for the sake

of God, for the Lord had commanded him in a dream: Offer up thy son Ismail.

Obedient to the Lord as he was, Isma’il at once agreed to have his throat cut by

his father. But, God saved Isma’il, and instituted2 the day of great

sacrifice, in order to commemorate the event for all times, since, he was

destined to help Ibrahim in his mission and become the progenitor of the last

Prophet as well as of the nation charged to disseminate the message of God and

to struggle for it to the end of time.

Ibrahim came back to Mecca again3 and assisted by his son Ismail, built the

House of God. While the father and the son occupied themselves in the work, they

also beseeched God to confer His grace; cause them to live as well as die in

Islam; and help their progeny to keep a watch over their patrimony of

monotheism, not only by protecting their mission against every risk or peril but

also by becoming its standard bearers and preachers, braving every danger and

sacrificing everything for its sake until their call reached the farthest corner

of the world. They also supplicated God to raise up a prophet, amongst their

offsprings, who should renovate and revive the summons of Ibrahim and bring to

completion the task initiated by him.

"And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House,

(Abraham prayed); Our Lord! Accept from us (this duty). Lo! Thou, only Thou, art

the Hearer, the Knower. (Qur’an 2:127)

"Our Lord! and make us submissive unto Thee and of our seed a nation submissive

unto Thee, and show us our ways of worship, and relent toward us. Lo! Thou,

only Thou, art the Relenting, the Merciful. (Qur’an 2:128)

"Our Lord! And raise up in their midst a messenger from among them who shall

recite unto them Thy revelations, and shall instruct them in the Scripture and

in wisdom and shall make them grow. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Mighty, the

Wise. (Qur’an 2:129)

The prayer sent up by Ibrahim included the request that the House he was

constructing might become a sanctuary of peace and God might keep his progeny

away from idol worship. Ibrahim held nothing more in abomination than

idolatrousness, nor deemed anything more fraught with danger for his progeny,

for he knew the fate of earlier idolatrous nations. He was aware how the great

prophets of God had earlier struggled and fought this evil throughout their

lives, but in no long time after their departure from the world their people

were again misled into fetishism by devils advocates disguised as promoters of

faith.

Ibrahim had implored the Lord to bless his descendants with his own spirit of

struggle against the evil of pantheism and iconolatry. He wanted his heirs to

carry into their thoughts how he had to strive all his life for the sake of

Truth and Faith; how he had to bid farewell to his hearth and home; realise why

he had incurred the wrath of his idolatrous father; and appreciate the wisdom

behind his making a selection of that valley, unbelievably bare with no scrap of

soil, sheer from top to bottom and jagged and sharp for their habitation. He

wanted them to understand why he had preferred that wilderness, holding no

prospects of progress and civilisation, over verdant lands and flourishing towns

and centres of trade, arts and commerce where one could easily meet ones

wishes.

Ibrahim had invoked the blessings of God on his sons so that they might be

esteemed and adored by all the nations of the world; that the people of e very

nation and country might become attached to his children; that they should come

from every nook and corner of the world to pay homage to his posterity and thus

become a means of satisfying their needs in that barren country

"And when Abraham said: My Lord! Make safe this territory,

and preserve me and my sons from serving idols. (Qur’an 14:35)

"My Lord! Lo! They have led many of mankind astray. But whoso followeth me, he

verily is

of me. And whoso disobeyeth me still Thou art Forgiving, Merciful. (Qur’an

14:36.)

"Our Lord! Lo! I have settled some of my posterity in an uncultivable valley

near unto Thy holy House, our Lord ! that they may establish proper worship; so

incline some hearts of men that they may yearn toward them, and provide Thou

them with fruits in order that they may be thankful. (Qur’an 14:37)

Footnotes:

1. See the Chapters “the Cow” and “Abraham” of the Qur’an.
2. See the Chapter “Those who set the Ranks” of the Qur’an.
3. Jewish legends tell how Abraham would secretly visit Ishamel in the wilderness (cf. D. Sideersky, Les Origines des legendes usulans dans le Corane et dans les vies des prophet, Paris, Geuthner, 1933, pp. 51-53).