Part 5

Magianism was also widespread at the beginning of the sixth century. Magians were known to have worshipped the elements - mainly fire. Houses of fire worship had been built in various places. Inside those houses, people would pray and follow a strict

set of guidelines and etiquettes; outside, they were free to do as they pleased, so that, in essence, there was no real difference between Magians and people who did not adhere to any religion.

The duties of Magian priests involved worshipping the sun four times a day; they also worshipped the moon, fire, and water. As priests, they followed a strict code of hygiene; it was their task to make sure that the fires in houses of worship never became extinguished and never came in contact with water.

The Magians of Iran turned towards fire when they prayed. And the last of their kings, Yazdgard, once swore by the sun and said, “I swear by the sun, which is the greatest god.” Although Magianism is clouded by a great deal of mystery, it seems that one unifying belief among Magians of all centuries is belief in two gods, one being the god of light or goodness, and the other being the god of darkness or evil.

Buddhism was practiced in India and middle Asia. Adherents of Buddhism carried idols wherever they went, and they were known for having built many temples. Anywhere that Buddha traveled, statues were erected in his honour. The original religion of India was Brahmanism, which was an ancient form of Hinduism. Without a doubt, both Hinduism and Buddhism were, and are, polytheistic religions.

Around the time when the Prophet #2 was about to be sent to mankind as a warner and bearer of glad tidings, the people of the world were drowning in the mires of polytheism. It was as if members of each religion - Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and Brahmans ~ were competing with one another to see who could best glorify false deities.

The Prophet #% alluded to that widespread state of ignorance during one of his sermons:

“Lo, verily, my Lord commanded me to teach you what you are ignorant of, from that which He has taught me on this day of mine: ‘All of the wealth that I have bestowed upon a slave (of Mine) is lawful. And I have indeed created My slaves Hunafaa

(ie, as Muslims, as people who are inherently inclined towards Tawheed and away from polytheism). Devils indeed came to them; have taken them away from their religion, and have made forbidden upon them that which I have made lawful for them; and have ordered them to associate as partner to Me that with which I have not sent down any authority.’ And indeed, Allah looked at the inhabitants of earth and despised them, both the Arabs and foreigners among them, except for some remnants from the People of the Book (i.e., those who still believed in Islamic Monotheism).”!)

{I Saheeh Muslim, “The Book of Paradise,” chapter, “The Qualities by which the People of Paradise and the People of the Hellfire are Distinguished in this World.” Hadeeth Number: 2865.

The Early Arabs And Their Civilizations

Based on the different descendants of today’s Arabs, historians have classified early Arabs into three categories:

1) The Al-Baaidah Arabs

They are from the tribes of ‘Aad, Thamood, Al-’Amaaliqah, Tasm, Jadees, Umaim, Jurhum, Hadramoot, and those that are closely linked with them. Prior to the advent of Islam, the Al-Baaidah Arabs were wiped off of the face of the earth, leaving no descendents behind. But while they did roam the earth, they had kings whose dominions extended to Ash-Sham (Syria and surrounding regions) and Egypt.

2) The Al-‘Aaribah Arabs

These are the Arabs who are descended from the line of Ya’rob ibn Yashjub ibn Qahtaan; they are called the Al-Qahtaaniyyah Arabs, and they are also known as the Southern Arabs. The kings of Yemen were Al-‘Aaribah Arabs, as were the people from the kingdoms of Ma’een, Saba, and Himyar.

3) The ‘Adnaaniyyah Arabs They are called the ‘Adnaaniyyah because they are descended from

‘Adnaan, who in turn was descended from the line of Ismaa’eel ibn Ibraaheem 3. They are known as the Arabized Arabs, which alludes to the fact that non-Arab blood entered into their lineage. When that first happened, Arabic became the language of the new racial mix.

The ‘Adnaaniyyah Arabs are the Arabs of the north. Their original homeland was Makkah, and they are descended from Ismaa’eel 3%, his children, and the Jurhum tribe, for after Tbraaheem #% left Haajar #% and Ismaa’eel #2 in Makkah, Isma’eel %% was raised among the Jurhum, learned Arabic from them, and married one of their women. Thus his children were raised as Arabs.

The most noteworthy of Ismaa’eel’s early descendants was ‘Adnaan, who was a direct forebear of the Prophet #x. It is to ‘Adnaan that the major Arab tribes and subtribes ascribe themselves. After ‘Adnaan came his son Ma’ad, and then Nizaar, and then his two children, Mudar and Rabee’ah.

As for Rabee’ah, the son of Nizaar, his descendants settled in the east: ‘Abdul-Qais settled in Bahrain; Haneefah, in Yamaamah; the children of Bakr ibn Waail, somewhere between Bahrain and Yamaamah; Tameem, in the Baadiyah of Basrah; and Taghlab, in the land of the (Arabian) Peninsula, between the Dijlah and the Euphrates, after having first crossed the latter river.

And as for the descendants of Mudar, Saleem settled near AlMadeenah; Thageef, in Taaif; the rest of the Hawaazin, east of Makkah; (the children of) Asad, from Eastern Taimaa until Western Kufah; (the children of) Dhubyaan and ‘Abs, from Taimaa until Hawaraan. Most genealogists and other scholars classify Arabs into two categories: Qahtaaniyyah and ‘Adnaaniyyah; however, there are some scholars who maintain that all Arabs are ‘Adnaaniyyah, for the Qahtaaniyyah, they say, are also from the descendants of Ismaa’eel ¥%%. Al-Bukhaaree titled a chapter of his Saheeh based on this latter opinion: “Chapter: The Relation Of (The People Of) Yemen (ie., the Qahtaaniyyah) To Ismaa’eel #2.’ In that chapter, he related a

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Hadeeth from Salamah %, who said, “The Messenger of Allah 2% went to a people who, at the time, were competing against one another in archery. The Prophet #% said, ‘Fire (your arrows), O children of Ismaa’eel; and I am with the children of - such and such person.’ One of the two groups restrained their hands (i.e., they didn’t fire any arrows). The Prophet #% said, ‘What is the matter with you?’ They said, ‘How can we fire, when you are with the children of - such and such person.’ The Pro pret is a said, “Fire (your arrows), for I am with you all.’””! according to some of the narrations of this Hadeeth, the Prophet i said, “Fire (your arrows), O children of Ismaa’eel, for your father was an archer.”

Bukhaaree said, “Aslam ibn Afsaa ibn Haarithah ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Aamir was from the Khuzaa’ah.” What this means is that the Khuzaa’ah is one of the groups who was separated from the tribes of Saba when Allah $ sent upon them the flood of Al-’Arim.

The Messenger of Allah #z is from the descendants of Mudar. Bukhaaree related that Kaleeb ibn Waail once asked Zainab bint Abu Salamah %, “Do you think that the Prophet #% was from (the descendants of) Mudar?” She answered, “Who was he from if not from Mudar (i.e., he #% was definitely descended from Mudar)? (He was) from the children of An-Nadr ibn Kinaanah.”7}

The Quraish were the descendants of Kinaanah, through one of his great-grandsons, Faihr ibn (son of) Maalik ibn An-Nadr ibn Kinaanah. The Quraish tribe was divided into various subtribes, the most famous of them being as follows: Jumh, Sahm, ‘Adee (so for example, the members of this sub-tribe were called Banu “Adee, the children of ‘Adee), Makhzoom, Taim, and Zuhrah; and more importantly, there were the subtribes of Qusai ibn Kilaab: ‘Abdud-Daar ibn Qusai, Asad ibn ‘Abdul-’Uzzah ibn Qusai, and ‘“Abd-Manaaf ibn Qusai. ‘Abd-Manaaf was then divided into four subgroups, which were respectively ascribed to ‘Abd-Shams,

"I Saheeh Bukhaaree, “The Book of Virtues”; chapter, “Yemen Being Ascribed to Ismaa’eel 33%.” Hadeeth number: 3507

"I Saheeh Bukhaaree, “The Book of Virtues.” Hadeeth number: 3491.

Naufal, Al-Muttalib, and Haashim. It was from the household of Al-Muttalib that Allah 8% chose our beloved Prophet, Muhammad. ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib ibn Haashim. The Prophet # said, “Indeed, Allah chose Kinaanah from the children of Ismaa’eel; He chose Quraish from Kinaanah; He chose the children of Haashim from Quraish; and He chose me from the children of Haashim.’”"!

The Civilizations Of The Early Arabs

1) The civilization of Saba (Sheeba) in Yemen

It was in Yemen that the people of this civilization lived and prospered, benefiting greatly from the copious rainfall that Allah % blessed them with. Using great engineering skill, they built dams, the most famous of them being the Ma’rib dam. They used the water that was held up to irrigate their fields; they had gardens in which grew all kinds of trees, vegetation, and luscious fruits. But they were ungrateful to Allah 3%, Who then punished them with a great flood. Allah % said:

ate Ab ee ee 2 ae Bee ree ee oy oe 333 ot WE Js ue oF oS Ae ng 3 fd oF ap fer 0 44 Cer het bret 4 1 BE Bee St Bene obeys Kale COB USO 3hb Sy eb ah a Sa Pa a2 Pa ane Se Saag eZ eaedt

“Indeed there was for Saba’ (Sheba) a sign in their dwellingplace, - two gardens on the right hand and on the left (and it was said to them) “Eat of the provision of your Lord, and be grateful to Him, a fair land and an Oft-Forgiving Lord. But they turned away (from the obedience of Allah), so We sent against them Sail Al-‘Arim (flood released from the dam), and We converted their two gardens into gardens producing bitter bad fruit, and

"I Saheeh Muslim, “The Book of Virtues’; chapter, “The Superiority of the Prophet's Lineage.” Hadeeth number: 2276.

The early Arabs and their civilizations 33

tamarisks, and some few lote trees. Like this We requited them because they were ungrateful disbelievers. And never do We requite in such a way except those who are ungrateful, (disbelievers).”’ (Qur’an 34: 15-17)

It is indicated in the Qur'an that, in past times, there were a series of inhabited cities or villages that extended from Yemen to the lands of Al-Hijaaz (Makkah, Al-Madeenah, Taa’if, etc.), and then continued further northwards to the lands of Ash-Sham (Syria and surrounding regions). Consequently, trading caravans that traveled from Yemen to the lands of Ash-Sham always had plentiful supplies of shade, water, and food along the way. Allah $& said: eo eee Be PR ee re he oR eee ye tere