( عفوا المشاركات فى هذا الباب ستحذف اذا حررت بالعربية) Sharing the Message of Islam

15 -04 -2009, 04:28 PM

Thanks for the great topics
Jazaki Allah khairan

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

16 -04 -2009, 11:40 AM

Thx 4 U My Sister Its Is An I mpotant subject
Good Bless islam Thx 4 u A lot

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

21 -04 -2009, 02:27 PM

Allah blesses u my brother Mohammed

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

22 -04 -2009, 04:54 PM

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

اذكار الصباح والمساء

The Morning and Evening ‘Thiker’ Remembrance

=======================

1. بسم الله الذي لا يضر مع اسمه شيء في الأرض ولا في السماء وهو السميع العليم .

“In the name of Allah with whose Name nothing is harmful on Earth nor in the Heavens and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing

=======================
2. أعوذ بكلمات الله التامات من شر ما خلق.

“I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the Evil of what He has created

=======================

3. "أمسينا و أمسى الملك لله و الحمد لله لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له , له الملك و له الحمد وهو على كل شيء قدير, رب أسألك خير ما في هذه الليلة , وخير ما بعدها , و أعوذ بك من شر هذه الليلة و شرما بعدها , رب أعوذ بك من الكسل وسوء الكبر , رب أعوذ بك من عذاب في النار , و عذاب في القبر" و إذا أصبح قال ذلك أيضاً: " أصبحنا و أصبح الملك لله".

“We have reached the evening and at this very time unto Allah belongs all sovereignty, and all praise is for Allah. None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, Alone without any partner, to Him belongs all sovereignty and praise and He is over all things omnipotent. My Lord, I ask You for the good of this night and the good of what follows it and I seek refuge in You from the evil of this night and the evil of what follows it. My Lord, I seek refuge in You from laziness and senility. My Lord, I seek refuge in You from torment in the Hell Fire and torment in the grave.” Likewise, one says in the morning: “We have reached the morning and at this very time unto Allah belongs all sovereignty
=======================

4. " اللهم بك أصبحنا وبك أمسينا , وبك نحيا و بك نموت , و إليك النشور " و إذا أمسى فليقل " اللهم بك أمسينا وبك أصبحنا , وبك نحيا و بك نموت , و إليك المصير"

“O Allah, by your leave we have reached the morning and by Your leave we have reached the evening, and by Your leave we live and by Your leave we die and unto You is our resurrection.” And at night say: “O Allah, by your leave we have reached the evening and by Your leave we have reached the morning, and by Your leave we live and by Your leave we die and unto You is our return
=======================

5. "اللهم عالم الغيب والشهادة فاطر السماوات و الأرض رب كل شيء و مليكه , أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت أعوذ بك من شر نفسي و من شر الشيطان و شركه, وان أقترف على نفسي سوءاً أو أجره إلى مسلم".

“O Allah, Knower of the unseen and the seen, Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, Lord and sovereign of all things, I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except You. I seek in You from the evil of myself and from the evil of Shytan and his call to Shirk(Polytheism), and from committing wrong against myself or bringing such upon another Muslim
=======================

6. "اللهم إني أسألك العفو و العافية في الدنيا و الآخرة , اللهم إني أسألك العفو و العافية في ديني , ودنياي , و أهلي , و مالي , اللهم أستر عوراتي , و آمن روعاتي , اللهم احفظني من بين يدي , و من خلفي , و عن يميني , و عن شمالي , و من فوقي , و أعوذ بعظمتك أن أغتال من تحتي".

“O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in this life and in the Here-After. O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in my religion and worldly affairs, and my family and my wealth. O Allah, veil my ‘Awrah’ (everything privet you do not want anyone to see from your **** and others, or your weakness) and set at ease my dismay. O Allah, preserve me from the front, the back(behind), my right, my left and from above, and I seek refuge in Your Greatness that I may be attacked from below
=======================

7. "لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له , له الملك و له الحمد و هو على كل شيء قدير"

“None has the right to be worshipped except Allah; He is One and has no partner. All the kingdom is for Him, and all the praises are for Hi, and He is Omnipotent
=======================

8. أصبحنا على فطرة الإسلام , و كلمة الإخلاص , و على دين نبينا محمد وعلى ملة أبينا إبراهيم حنيفاً مسلماً و ما كان من المشركين.

“We rise upon the Fitrah(religion of Islam) of Islam, and the word of Sincerity(La illah illa Allah), and upon the religion of our Prophet Muhammad r and on the religion of our Father Abraham Hanif(Islamic Monotheism) and Muslim and he was not of the Mushrikeen Polytheists, idolaters

=======================

9. يا حي يا قيوم برحمتك أستغيث اصلح لي شأني كله و لا تكلني إلى نفسي طرفة عين .

“O Ever Living, O self-Subsisting and supporter of all, by Your Mercy I seek help, rectify for me all of my affairs and do not leave me depend on myself, even for the blink of an eye=======================

10. اللهم أنت ربي لا إله إلا أنت خلقتني و أنا عبدك , وأنا على عهدك و وعدك ما استطعت أعوذ بك من شر ما صنعت , أبوء لك بنعمتك علي و أبوء بذنبي , فاغفر لي فإنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت.

“O Allah, You are my Lord, none has the right to be worshipped except You, You have created me and I am your servant and I abide to Your covenant and promise as best as I can, I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done (wrong), I acknowledge Your favor upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for none forgives sins except You
=======================

11. سبحان الله و بحمده

Subhan Allah Wa behamdih
(How perfect Allah is and I praise Him

=======================

1. بسم الله الذي لا يضر مع اسمه شيء في الأرض ولا في السماء وهو السميع العليم .

“In the name of Allah with whose Name nothing is harmful on Earth nor in the Heavens and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing

=======================

2. أعوذ بكلمات الله التامات من شر ما خلق.

“I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the Evil of what He has created

=======================

3. "أمسينا و أمسى الملك لله و الحمد لله لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له , له الملك و له الحمد وهو على كل شيء قدير, رب أسألك خير ما في هذه الليلة , وخير ما بعدها , و أعوذ بك من شر هذه الليلة و شرما بعدها , رب أعوذ بك من الكسل وسوء الكبر , رب أعوذ بك من عذاب في النار , و عذاب في القبر" و إذا أصبح قال ذلك أيضاً: " أصبحنا و أصبح الملك لله".

“We have reached the evening and at this very time unto Allah belongs all sovereignty, and all praise is for Allah. None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, Alone without any partner, to Him belongs all sovereignty and praise and He is over all things omnipotent. My Lord, I ask You for the good of this night and the good of what follows it and I seek refuge in You from the evil of this night and the evil of what follows it. My Lord, I seek refuge in You from laziness and senility. My Lord, I seek refuge in You from torment in the Hell Fire and torment in the grave.” Likewise, one says in the morning: “We have reached the morning and at this very time unto Allah belongs all sovereignty

=======================

4. " اللهم بك أصبحنا وبك أمسينا , وبك نحيا و بك نموت , و إليك النشور " و إذا أمسى فليقل " اللهم بك أمسينا وبك أصبحنا , وبك نحيا و بك نموت , و إليك المصير"

“O Allah, by your leave we have reached the morning and by Your leave we have reached the evening, and by Your leave we live and by Your leave we die and unto You is our resurrection.” And at night say: “O Allah, by your leave we have reached the evening and by Your leave we have reached the morning, and by Your leave we live and by Your leave we die and unto You is our return

=======================

5. "اللهم عالم الغيب والشهادة فاطر السماوات و الأرض رب كل شيء و مليكه , أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت أعوذ بك من شر نفسي و من شر الشيطان و شركه, وان أقترف على نفسي سوءاً أو أجره إلى مسلم".

“O Allah, Knower of the unseen and the seen, Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, Lord and sovereign of all things, I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except You. I seek in You from the evil of myself and from the evil of Shytan and his call to Shirk(Polytheism), and from committing wrong against myself or bringing such upon another Muslim
=======================

6. "اللهم إني أسألك العفو و العافية في الدنيا و الآخرة , اللهم إني أسألك العفو و العافية في ديني , ودنياي , و أهلي , و مالي , اللهم أستر عوراتي , و آمن روعاتي , اللهم احفظني من بين يدي , و من خلفي , و عن يميني , و عن شمالي , و من فوقي , و أعوذ بعظمتك أن أغتال من تحتي".

“O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in this life and in the Here-After. O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in my religion and worldly affairs, and my family and my wealth. O Allah, veil my ‘Awrah’ (everything privet you do not want anyone to see from your **** and others, or your weakness) and set at ease my dismay. O Allah, preserve me from the front, the back(behind), my right, my left and from above, and I seek refuge in Your Greatness that I may be attacked from below

=======================

7. "لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له , له الملك و له الحمد و هو على كل شيء قدير"

“None has the right to be worshipped except Allah; He is One and has no partner. All the kingdom is for Him, and all the praises are for Hi, and He is Omnipotent
=======================

8. أصبحنا على فطرة الإسلام , و كلمة الإخلاص , و على دين نبينا محمد وعلى ملة أبينا إبراهيم حنيفاً مسلماً و ما كان من المشركين.

“We rise upon the Fitrah(religion of Islam) of Islam, and the word of Sincerity(La illah illa Allah), and upon the religion of our Prophet Muhammad r and on the religion of our Father Abraham Hanif(Islamic Monotheism) and Muslim and he was not of the Mushrikeen Polytheists, idolaters

=======================

9. يا حي يا قيوم برحمتك أستغيث اصلح لي شأني كله و لا تكلني إلى نفسي طرفة عين .

“O Ever Living, O self-Subsisting and supporter of all, by Your Mercy I seek help, rectify for me all of my affairs and do not leave me depend on myself, even for the blink of an eye

=======================

10. اللهم أنت ربي لا إله إلا أنت خلقتني و أنا عبدك , وأنا على عهدك و وعدك ما استطعت أعوذ بك من شر ما صنعت , أبوء لك بنعمتك علي و أبوء بذنبي , فاغفر لي فإنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت.

“O Allah, You are my Lord, none has the right to be worshipped except You, You have created me and I am your servant and I abide to Your covenant and promise as best as I can, I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done (wrong), I acknowledge Your favor upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for none forgives sins except You

=======================
11. سبحان الله و بحمده

Subhan Allah Wa behamdih
(How perfect Allah is and I praise Him
=======================

واتمنى للجميع الاستفاده ...

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

22 -04 -2009, 05:15 PM

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

22 -04 -2009, 09:52 PM

Thank u very much
Allah blesses U

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

28 -04 -2009, 10:06 PM

February 15, 2005

The First Muadhdhin - Bilal ibn Rabah

compiled by Alia Amer

Originally a slave from Ethiopia, Bilal became one of the greatest people in the history of Islam.
Bilal was a black slave belonging to Umayyah ibn Khalaf. He was tall, thin, and slightly hump-backed. Thick grayish hair crowned his head. He moved about silently - speaking only in reply. He was born to two slave parents, making him a slave. He used to travel to ash-Sham for Umayyah's trading caravan, braving the bitter cold of winter and the extreme heat of summer. His only recompense was a handful of dates each day that he ate to strengthen his body. At his master's house he would serve the guests while going hungry. He was overworked and mistreated as were Umayyah's other slaves.
Bilal would often hear about Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and Islam, through the alarming discussions between his master and guests. Soon he felt drawn to this religion. He would listen to Abu Bakr calling to Islam, and slowly his heart was filled with eeman. He went with Abu Bakr to the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and declared his submission to Islam.
This was a daring move from a slave who belonged to a staunch enemy of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. He was the seventh person to accept Islam. Abu Bakr and others of the same tribal status, were spared from harm by the Quraysh. However, the wrath of the disbelievers fell upon the Muslims who had no tribe to defend them. Umayyah ibn Khalaf used to force Bilal to go outside during the hottest part of the day wearing a suit of armor where he would then throw him face down in the sand and leave him to bake in the sun. He would not return except to turn him on his back.
He would have a gigantic rock placed on his chest and then say: "You will stay here until you die or deny Muhammad and worship Al-Laat and al-Uzzah." Bilal used endure this only by saying: "One, One."
Abu Bakr passed by one day while they were torturing him. He said to Umayyah: "Have you no fear of Allah that you treat this poor man like this?"
Umayyah replied: "You are the one who corrupted him, so you save him from his plight!"
Abu Bakr replied: "Then sell him to me, you can state your price."
Umayyah who was not to let a good deal pass by, sold Bilal at a good price. Just to belittle Bilal, he added: "I would have sold him to you even if you had offered me but an ounce of gold."
Abu Bakr answered: "I would have bought him even if you had asked a hundred ounces." Abu Bakr and Bilal went to the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, with the good news. There he announced: "I am setting Bilal free, O Messenger of Allah." This greatly pleased the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, not to mention Bilal himself.
When the Muslims were settled in Madinah, Islam became firmly established - salah, zakat and fasting were instituted. In the beginning, Muslims gathered for salah at the appointed times without being summoned. Later the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, thought about using a trumpet like that the Jews used to summon to salah. He disliked that idea and ordered a clapper to be made to be beaten at salah times.
Then Abdullah ibn Zayd came to him and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I had a dream last night: A man wearing two green garments came to me holding a bell, so I offered to buy it. When he asked me what I wanted it for, I told him that it was to summon people to salah, whereupon he offered to show me a better way. It was to say four times: 'Allahu Akbar', then to say twice: Ash-hadu allaa ilaaha ilia Allah, then twice: ash-hadu anna Muhammadar rasoolullah, then twice: hayya 'alas-salah, then twice: hayya 'alal-falah, then "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar laa ilaaha ilia Allah." "It is a true vision insha Allah," said the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, adding, "Go and teach it to Bilal for he has a more beautiful and far reaching voice."
For the first time Madinah resonated with the adhan as Bilal was saying it. It was only fitting that, the one who uttered the word of tawheed under the harshest of torture should utter it during the adhan. When Umar heard the adhan he rushed to the Prophet and said; "By the One Who has sent you with the Truth I had the same dream about it!" "Revelation has already preceded you," replied the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Badr was a day etched in Bilal's memory. Quraysh was inflicted a heavy defeat and many were taken prisoners. Among them was Umayyah. When Bilal saw him, the memories of what he, and other Muslims, had endured in Makkah came rushing back to him. He exclaimed: "The arch-enemy of Allah - Umayyah ibn Khalaf! May I not live if he lives!" Now Umayyah was Abdur-Rahman ibn Auf's prisoner, and this fact dissuaded Bilal from attacking Umayyah himself. But, because Bilal kept crying these words, one of the sahabah killed Umayyah with his sword.
The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, entered the conquest of Makkah, not as a proud conqueror, but as a humble servant of Allah. He bowed his head so low that it almost touched his mount. After he ordered that all idols be destroyed, he stood at the door of the Ka'bah and said: "There is no god but Allah alone. He has no associate... O Quraysh, Allah has taken from you the haughtiness of jahillyiah and its veneration of ancestors. Man springs from Adam and Adam sprang from dust," then he recited verses from the Qur'an until he said "Verily, the most noble of you in Allah's sight is the most pious." [49:13].
He ordered Bilal to make the adhan on the rooftop of the Ka'bah. Hearing his voice, a disbeliever exclaimed: "Look at this black man!" His friend replied: "When Allah hates someone he turns him to the worst."
History however attests that Bilal occupied a distinguished position among the Prophet's companions. Umar would often say: "Abu Bakr is our master and he freed our master," meaning Bilal. But Bilal would say: "I am only a man who used to be a slave."
Bilal was the muadhin (the caller to salah) during the time of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. After he would make the adhan, he would stand at the Prophet's door and say: "Hayya alas-salah, hayya 'alal-falaah, the salah O Messenger of Allah."
The sweet days with the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, soon came to an end. Everyone in Madinah wept over the death of the dearest man ever on Earth. Bilal was asked to make adhan before the burial of the Prophet. He started the call: "Allahu Akbar...", but when he came to the name of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he was sobbing so heavily, he could not continue. He said: "By Allah I will not say the adhan anymore."
Bilal asked the Khalifah, Abu Bakr, to allow him to go to ash-Sham for Jihad, he spent the rest of his life there. He made adhan only twice since then. The first was when Umar came to ash-Sham. The second was when he visited the tomb of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in Madinah. Upon hearing his voice, people started to cry for it reminded them of the days of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
On his death bed, Bilal's last words were: "Tomorrow you will meet your loved ones, Muhammad and his companions." He died in Alippo at the age of sixty four. His memory is still alive with us today whenever we hear adhan.

Taken from Al-Jumuah Magazine

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

02 -05 -2009, 08:39 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

The Life of the Prophet: Introduction

All praises and thanks be to Allah, the creator of mankind, jinns and all that exists. The greatest thing that God had offered humanity is that he provided them messengers chosen from among the best of their kind.
He disclosed and conferred upon man the Revelation to guide everyone towards the truth, the straight path, as well as warn and deliver people from falsehood and evil, such that they would seek alone His pleasure and satisfaction in pursuit of Paradise. Since time immemorial, God sent prophets after prophets, messages after messages - dating from Noah to Abraham, Moses, Jesus ('alayhimus salaam) and culminating with the seal of them all, Muhammad (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam), who came to confirm not only the previous messengers but especially that of the universal message which calls people to worship the Creator alone.
The authentic biography of the noble prophet Muhammad (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) is distinctly clear, realistic and complete, in fact, fundamentally transparent. It is so explicitly chronicled that every minute detail of his life is commented upon to such an extent that after reading it, one seems to entertain the idea of having met and lived with the prophet himself. Likewise, it is so thoroughly dynamic that almost every available aspect of human life possible has been covered.
Most of all, it is so veritably recounted that every human being from all walks of life can relate and identify with it. His sorrows and joys, successes and failures are so real, inspiring and uplifting that they find semblance in our very own lives, too. Through it all, you can see his relationship with God, his dealings with his fellowmen, his own private and personal life - whether being a husband, father, brother, friend, neighbor, leader, etc. In whichever aspect of his life, he is every inch the epitome of a complete human model or example, a distinction which can be concluded from his entire life story and one that is definitely resolved, bolstered and galvanized by the Revelation of God itself.
We invite one and all to browse upon our homepage and find out, discover, assess and judge for yourselves the following ....

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

02 -05 -2009, 08:42 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

Religious Conditions

Great religions of the world had spread the light of faith, morality and learning in the ages past, but everyone of these had been rendered a disgrace to its name by the sixth century of the Christian era. Crafty innovators, unscrupulous dissemblers and impious priests and preachers had, with the passage of time, so completely distorted the scriptures(1) and disfigured the teachings and commandments of their own religions that it was almost impossible to recall their original shape and content. Had the founder or the prophet of any one of them returned to earth, he would unquestionably have refused his own religion and denounced its followers as apostates and idolaters.

Judaism had, by then, been reduced to an amalgam of dead rituals and sacraments without any spark of life left in it. Also, being a religion upholding racial snobbery, it has never had any message for other nations or the good of the humanity at large.

It had not even remained firmly wedded to its belief in the unity of God (which had once been its distinguishing feature and had raised its adherents to a level higher than that of the followers of ancient polytheistic cults), as commended by the Prophet Abraham to his sons and grandson Jacob (Peace Be Upon Him). The Jews had, under the influence of their powerful neighbors and conquerors, adopted numerous idolatrous beliefs and practices as acknowledged by modern Jewish authorities:

"The thunderings of the Prophets against idolatry show, however, that the cults of the deities were deeply rooted in the heart of the Israelites people, and they do not appear to have been thoroughly suppressed until after the return from the Babylonian exile."

Through mysticism and magic many polytheistic ideas and customs again found their way among the people, and the Talmud confirms the fact that idolatrous worship is seductive.(2) The Babylonian Gemara(3) (popular during the sixth century and often even preferred to Torah by the orthodox Jews) typically illustrates the crudeness of the sixth century Jews' intellectual and religious understanding. This is by virtue of its jocular and imprudent remarks about God and many an absurd and outrageous beliefs and ideas, which lack not only sensibility but also inconsistency with the Jewish faith in monotheism.(4)

Christianity had fallen prey, in its very infancy, to the misguided fervor of its overzealous evangelists, unwarranted interpretation of its tenets by ignorant church fathers and iconolatry of its gentile converts to Christianity. The doctrine of Trinity, which came to have the first claim to the Christian dogma by the close of the fourth century, has been thus described in the New Catholic Encyclopedia.

"It is difficult, in the second half of the 20th century to offer a clear, objective, and straightforward account of the revelation, doctrinal evolution, and theological elaboration of the mystery of the Trinity. Trinitarian discussion, as envisioned by Roman Catholics as well as other sectors, presents a somewhat unsteady silhouette. Two things have happened. There is an arrangement on the part of the exegetes and Biblical theologians, including a constantly growing number of Roman Catholics that one should not speak of Trinitarianism in the New Testament without serious qualification. There is also the closely parallel agreement on the part of the historians of the Trinitarian dogma and systematic theologians that when one does speak of an unqualified Trinitarianism, one has moved from the period of Christian origins to, say, the last quadrant of the 4th century. It was only then that what might be called the definitive Trinitarian dogma 'one God in three persons' became thoroughly assimilated into Christian life and thought."(5)

Tracing the origin of pagan customs, rites, festivals and religious services of the pagans in Christianity, another historian of the Christian church gives a graphic account of the persistent endeavor of early Christians to ape the idolatrous nations. Rev. James Houston Baxter, Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the University of St. Andrews writes in The History of Christianity in the Light of Modern Knowledge:

"If paganism had been destroyed, it was less through annihilation than through absorption. Almost all that was pagan was carried over to survive under a Christian name. Deprived of demi-gods and heroes, men easily and half-consciously invested a local martyr with their attributes and labeled the local statue with his name, transferring to him the cult and mythology associated with the pagan deity. Before the century was over, the martyr cult was universal, and a beginning had been made of that imposition of a deified human being between God and man which, on the one hand, had been the consequence of Arianism, and was, on the other, the origin of so much that is typical of medieval piety and practice. Pagan festivals were adopted and renamed: by 400, Christmas Day, the ancient festival of the sun, was transformed into the birthday of Jesus."(6)

By the time sixth century reared its head, the antagonism between Christians of Syria, Iraq and Egypt on the question of human and divine natures of Christ had set them at one another's throat. The conflict had virtually turned every Christian seminary, church and home into a hostile camp, each condemning and berating the other and thirsting after its adversary's blood. Men debated with fury upon shadows or shades of belief and staked their lives on the most immaterial issues,(7) as if these differences meant a confrontation between two antagonistic religions or nations. The Christians were, thus, neither inclined nor had time to settle matters in proper their perspective and smother the ever-increasing viciousness in the world for the salvation of humanity.

In Iran, from the earliest times, the Magi worshipped four elements(8) (of which fire was the chief object of devotion) in the oratories or fire temples for which they had evolved a whole mass of intricate rituals and commandments. In actual practice, the popular religion included nothing save the worship of fire and adoration of Huare-Kishaeta or the Shining Sun. Certain rituals performed in a place of worship were all that their religion demanded, for, after which they are free to live as they desired. There was nothing to distinguish a Magi from an unconscientious, perfidious fellow!(9)

ARTHUR CHRISTENSEN WRITES IN L'IRAN LES SASSANIDES
"It was incumbent on the civil servants to offer prayers four times a day to the sun besides fire and water. Separate hymns were prescribed for rising and going to sleep, taking a bath, putting on the sacred cord, eating and drinking, sniffing, hair dressing, cutting of the nails, excrement and lighting the candle which were to be recited on each occasion with the greatest care. It was the duty of the priests to compound, purify and tend the sacred fire, which was never to be extinguished, nor water was ever allowed to touch fire. No metal was allowed to rust, for metals, too, were revered by their religion."(10)

All prayers were performed facing the sacred fire. The last Iranian Emperor, Yazdagird III, once took an oath, saying: "I swear by the sun, which is the greatest of all gods". He had ordered those who had renounced Christianity to reenter their original faith and should publicly worship the sun in order to prove their sincerity.(11) The principle of dualism, the two rival spirits of good and evil, had been upheld by the Iranians for such a long time that it had become a mark and symbol of their national creed. They believed that Ormuzd creates everything good, and Ahriman creates all that is bad. These two are perpetually at war and the one or the other gains the upper hand alternately.(12) The Zoroastrian legends described by the historians of religion bear remarkable resemblance to the hierarchy of gods and goddesses and the fabulousness of Hindu and Greek mythology.(13)

Buddhism, extending from India to Central Asia, had been converted into an idolatrous faith. Wherever the Buddhists went they took the idols (of the Buddha with them) and installed them there.(14) Although the entire religious and cultural life of the Buddhists is overshadowed by idolatry, the students of religion have grave doubts whether Buddha was a nihilist or a believed in the existence of God. They are surprised how this religion could at all sustain itself in the absence of any faith or conviction in the primal being.

In the sixth century A.D., Hinduism had shot ahead of every other religion in the number of gods and goddesses. During this period, 33 million gods were worshipped by the Hindus. The tendency to regard everything which could do harm or good as an object of personal devotion was at its height and this had given a great encouragement to stone sculpture with novel motifs of decorative ornamentation.(15)

Describing the religious condition of India during the reign of Harsha (606-648), a little before the time when Islam made its debut in Arabia, a Hindu historian, C. V. Vaidya, writes in his History of Mediaeval Hindu India.

"Both Hinduism and Buddhism were equally idolatrous at this time. If anything, Buddhism perhaps beat the former in its intense idolatry. That religion started, indeed, with the denial of God, but concluded by making Buddha himself as the Supreme God. Later developments of Buddhism conceptualized other gods like the Bodhisatvas and the idolatry of Buddhism, especially in the Mahayana school was firmly established. It flourished in and out of India so much that the word for an idol in the Arabic(16) has come to be Buddha itself."(17)

C. V. VAIDYA FURTHER SAYS
"No doubt idolatry was at this time rampant all over the world. From the Atlantic to the Pacific the world was immersed in idolatry; Christianity, Semitism, Hinduism and Buddhism vying, so to speak, one with another in their adoration of idols." (History of Ancient India,Vol. I, p.101)

Another historian of Hinduism expresses the same opinion about the great passion for multiplicity of deities among the Hindus in the sixth century. He writes:

"The process of deification did not stop here. Lesser gods and goddesses were added in the ever-increasing numbers till there was a crowd of deities, many of them adopted from the more primitive peoples who were admitted to Hinduism with the gods whom they worshipped. The total number of deities is said to be 33 crores, i.e., 330 million, which, like the phrase "Thy name is legion", merely implies an innumerable host. In many parts of the country the minor gods receive as much or even more veneration than the major gods."(18)

The Arabs had been the followers of Abrahamic religion in the olden times and had the distinction of having the first House of God in their land. But the distance of time from the great patriarchs and prophets of yore and their isolation in the arid deserts of the peninsula had given rise to an abominable idolatry. Such adoration closely approximated to the Hindu's zeal for idol-worship in the sixth century A. D. In associating partners to God they were not behind any other polytheistic people. Having faith in the companionship of lesser gods with the Supreme Being in the direction and governance of the universe, they held the belief that their deities possessed the power to do them good or harm, or give them life or death. Idolatry in Arabia had reached its lowest ebb, where every region and every clan or rather every house had a separate deity of its own.(19)

Three hundred and sixty idols had been installed within the Ka'ba and its courtyard(20) - the house built by Abraham ('alaihi salaam) for the worship of the One and only God. The Arabs actually paid divine honors not merely to sculptured idols but venerated all types of stones and fetish - angels, jinn and stars were all their deities. They believed that the angels were daughters of God and the jinn His partners in divinity(21) and thus both enjoyed supernatural powers whose mollification was essential for their well-being.

Footnotes
[1] The manner in which the scriptures of all the great religions had been deformed and mutilated, and, in most cases, given an entirely false colouring, has been treated in some detail, quoting the authorities belonging to each of them, under the caption 'Qur'an and the Earlier Scriptures' (pp. 171-183) in my earlier work entitled 'Islamic Concept of Prophethood'.

[2] Ludwig Blan, Ph. D. of Jewish Theological Seminary, Budapest, Hungary, in the article on 'Worship' in Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. XII, pp. 568-69.

[3] Talmud is the body of Jewish law and legend comprising the Mishnah (precepts of the elders codified c. 200 A.D.) and the Gemara is a commentary on the Mishnah (in recensions, at Jerusalem c. 400 and at Babylon c. 500).

[4] For details see Dr. Rohling's Jews in the Light of Talmud. Arabic version al-Kans al-Marsud fi Qawa'id fi al-Talmud by Dr. Yusuf Hina.

[5] The New Catholic Encyclopaedia (1967) art. "The Holy Trinity", Vol. 14, p. 295.

[6] The History of Christianity in the Light of Modern Knowledge, Glasgo, 1929, Chap. Church, 312-800 A.D., p. 407.

[7] Alfred J. Butler, The Arab conquest of Egypt and the last Thirty Years of Roman Dominion, Oxford (1902) pp. 44-45.

[8] These elements were light, water, earth and wind.

[9] A. Christensen, L'Iran Sous Les Sassanides, Paris, 1936, (Urdu Translation by Prof. Muhammad Iqbal, Iran ba-'Ahd-I-Sasaniyan) p. 155.

[10] A. Christensen, L'Iran Sous Les Sassanides, Paris, 1936, (Urdu Translation by Prof. Muhammad Iqbal, Iran ba-'Ahd-I-Sasaniyan) p. 186-7.

[11] A. Christensen, L'Iran Sous Les Sassanides, Paris, 1936, (Urdu Translation by Prof. Muhammad Iqbal, Iran ba-'Ahd-I-Sasaniyan) p. 186-7.

[12] A. Christensen, L'Iran Sous Les Sassanides, Paris, 1936, (Urdu Translation by Prof. Muhammad Iqbal, Iran ba-'Ahd-I-Sasaniyan) pp. 183-233.

[13] A. Christensen, L'Iran Sous Les Sassanides, Paris, 1936, (Urdu Translation by Prof. Muhammad Iqbal, Iran ba-'Ahd-I-Sasaniyan) pp. 204-209.

[14] Ishwar Topa, Hindustani Tammaddun, Hydrebad (N.D.) p. 209 and Jawahar Lal Nehru, Discovery of India, pp. 201-2.

[15] See R.C. Dutt, Ancient India, Vol. III, p. 276.

[16] But, however, stands for idol in Persian and Urdu and not Arabic language.

[17] C.V. Vaidya, History of Mediaval Hindu India, Vol. I, Poona (1924), p. 101.

[18] L.S.S. O'Malley, Popular Hinduism – The Religion of the Masses, Cambridge (1935) pp. 6-7.

[19] Kitabul-As-nam by Ibn al-Kalabi, p. 33.

[20] Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Maghazi, Chap. Conquest of Mecca.

[21] Kitabil -ul-Asnam, p. 44

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

02 -05 -2009, 08:46 PM

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

07 -05 -2009, 02:26 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

Social and Moral Conditions

This was the plight of the great religions sent by God, from time to time, for the guidance of humanity. In the civilized countries, there were powerful governments and great centers of arts and culture and learning but their religions had been garbled so completely that nothing of their original spirit and content was left in them. Nor were there any reformers or divinely inspired guides of humanity to be found anywhere.

BYZANTINE EMPIRE

Crushed under vexatious and burdensome taxes levied by the Byzantine Empire(22), the allegiance to any alien ruler was considered by the populace as less oppressive than the rule of Byzantium. Insurrections and revolts had become such a common feature that in 532 A.D., the public voiced its discontent most dramatically in Constantinople by the Nika (win or conquer) revolt which took a toll of 30,000 lives.(23) The only diversion of the chiefs and nobles was to squeeze wealth, on different pretexts, from the harassed peasantry, and squander it on their pleasure and amusement. Their craze for merriment and revelry very often reached the depths of hideous savagery.
The authors of the Civilization, Past and Present have painted a lurid picture of the contradictory passions of the Byzantine society for religious experience as well as its love for sports and recreation marked by moral corruption.
"Byzantine social life was marked by tremendous contrasts. The religious attitude was deeply ingrained in the popular mind. Asceticism and monasticism were widespread throughout the empire, and to an extraordinary degree even the most commonplace individual seemed to take a vital interest in the deepest theological discussions, while all the people were much affected by a religious mysticism in their daily life. But, in contrast, the same people were exceptionally fond of all types of amusements. The great Hippodrome, accommodating 80,000 wide eyed spectators, was the scene of hotly disputed chariot races which split the entire populace into rival factions of 'Blue' and ‘Green.' The Byzantine people possessed both a love of beauty and a streak of cruelty and viciousness. Their sports were often bloody and sadistic, their tortures horrible, and their aristocratic lives were a mixture of luxury, intrigue, and studied vices.(24)
Egypt had vast resources of corn and shipping on which Constantinople largely depended for its prosperity, but the whole machinery of the imperial government in that province was directed to the sole purpose of squeezing profits from the ruled for the benefit of the rulers. In religious matters, too, the policy of suppressing the Jacobite heresy was pursued relentlessly.(25) In short, Egypt was like a milking cow whose masters were only interested in sucking her milk without providing any fodder to her.
Syria, another fair dominion of the Byzantine Empire, was always treated as a hunting ground for the imperiousness and expansionist policy of the imperial government. Syrians were treated as slaves, at the mercy of their master, for they could never pretend to have any claim to a kind or considerate behavior upon their rulers. The taxes levied upon them were so excessive in amount and so unjust in incidence that the Syrians had very often to sell their children for clearing the government dues. Unwarranted persecution, confiscation of property, enslavement and impressed labor were some of the common features of the Byzantine rule. (Kurd 'Ali, Khutat Sham, Vol. i, p.101)

THE PERSIAN EMPIRE

Zoroastrianism is the oldest religion of Iran. Zarathushtra,the founder of Zoroastrianism, lived probably about 600-650 B.C. The Persian empire, after it had shaken off the Hellenistic influence, was larger in size and greater in wealth and splendor than the Eastern Roman or Byzantine empire. Ardashir I, the architect of Sasanian dynasty, laid the foundation of his kingdom by defeating Artabanus V in 224 A. D. In its heyday of glory the Sasanid Empire extended over Assyria, Khozistan, Media, Fars (Persia), Azarbaijan Tabaristan (Mazandaran), Saraksh, Marjan, Marv, Balkh (Bactria), Saghd (Sagdonia), Sijistan (Seastene), Hirat, Khurasan, Khwarizm (Khiva), Iraq and Yemen, and, for a time, had under its control the areas lying near the delta of the river Sind, Cutch, Kathiawar, Malwa and few other districts.
Ctesiphon (Mada'in), the capital of the Sasanids, combined a number of cities on either banks of the Tigris. During the fifth century and thereafter the Sasanid empire was known for its magnificence and splendor, cultural refinement and the life of ease and rounds of pleasure enjoyed by its nobility.
Zoroastrianism was founded, from the earliest times, on the concept of universal struggle between the ahuras and the daevas, the forces of the good and the evil. In the third century Mani appeared on the scene as a reformer of Zoroastrianism. Sapor I (240-271) at first embraced the precepts uttered by the innovator, remained faithful to them for ten years and then returned to Mazdaism. The Manichaeism was based on a most thorough going dualism of the two conflicting souls in man, one good and the other bad. In order, therefore, to get rid of the latter, preached Mani, one should practice strict asceticism and abstain from women. Mani spent a number of years in exile and returned to Iran after the accession of Bahram I to the throne, but was arrested, convicted of heresy, and beheaded. His converts must have remained faithful to his teachings, for we know that Manichaeism continued to influence Iranian thought and society for a long time even after the death of Mani. (Iran ba 'Ahd-i-Sasaniyan, pp.233-269)
Mazdak, the son of Baudad, was born at Nishapur in the fifth century. He also believed in the twin principle of light and darkness but in order to put down the vile emanating from darkness, he preached community of women and goods, which all men should share equally, as they do water, fire and wind. Mazdakites soon gained enough influence, thanks to the support of Emperor Kavadh, to cause a communistic upheaval in the country. The rowdy element got liberty to take forcible possession of wives and property of other citizens. In an ancient manuscript known as Namah Tinsar the ravages done to the Iranian society by the application of the communistic version of Mazdaeism have been graphically depicted as under:
"Chastity and manners were cast to the dogs. They came to the fore who had neither nobility nor character, nor acted uprightly, nor had any ancestral property; utterly indifferent to their families and the nation, they had no trade or calling; and being completely heartless they were ever willing to get into mischief, to mince the truth, vilify and malign others; for this was the only profession they knew for achieving wealth and fame."(26)
Arthur Christensen concludes in Iran under the Sasanids:
"The result was that the peasants rose into revolt in many places, bandits started breaking into the houses of nobles to prey upon their property and to abduct their womenfolk. Gangsters took over the possession of landed estates and gradually the agricultural holdings became depopulated since the new owners knew nothing about the cultivation of land." (Iran ba 'Ahd-i-Sasaniyan, p.477)
Ancient Iran had always had a strange proclivity to subscribe to the extremist calls and radical movements, since, it has ever been under the influence of irreconcilable political and religious concepts. It has often been swinging as if by action and reaction, between epicureanism and strict celibacy; and at others, either yielded passively to despotic feudalism and kingship and preposterous priesthood, or drifted to the other extreme of unruly and licentious communism; but has always missed that moderate, poised and even temper which is so vital for a healthy and wholesome society.
Towards the end of the Sasaniyan Empire during the sixth century, all civil and military power was concentrated in the hands of the Emperors who were alienated from the people by an impassable barrier. They regarded themselves as the descendants of celestial gods; Khosrau Parviz or Chosroes II had lavished upon himself this grandiose surname: "The Immortal soul among the gods and Peerless God among human beings; Glorious is whose name; Dawning with the sunrise and Light of the dark eyed night." (Iran ba 'Ahd-i-Sasaniyan, p.604)
The entire wealth of the country and its resources belonged to the Emperor. The kings, grandees and nobles were obsessed with amassing wealth and treasure, costly gems and curios; were interested only in raising their own standard of living and luxuriating in mirth and merriment to an extent that it is now difficult for us to understand their craze for fun and festivity. He can alone visualize their dizzy rounds of riotous living who has studied the history, literature and poetry of the ancient Iran and is also well informed about the splendor of Ctesiphon, Aiwan-i-Kisra(27) and Bahar-i-Kisra,(28) tiara of the emperors, the awe striking court ceremonials, the number of queens and concubines, slaves, cooks and bearers, pet birds and beasts owned by the emperors and their trainers and all.(29) The life of ease and comfort led by the kings and nobles of Persia can be judged from the way Yazdagird III fled from Ctesiphon after its capture by the Arabs. He had with him, during his flight, one thousand cooks, one thousand singers and musicians, and one thousand trainers of leopards and a thousand attendants of eagles besides innumerable parasites and hangers on but the Emperor still felt miserable for of having enough of them to enliven his drooping spirits.(30)
The common people were, on the other hand, extremely poor and in great distress. The uncertainty of the tariff on which each man had to pay various taxes gave a pretext to the collectors of taxes for exorbitant exactions. Impressed labor, burdensome levies and conscription in the army as footman, without the inducement of pay or any other reward, had compelled a large number of peasants to give up their fields and take refuge in the service of temples or monasteries.(31) In their bloody wars with the Byzantines, which seemed to be never ending and without any interest or profit to the common man, the Persian kings had been plying their subjects as a cannon fodder.(32)

INDIA

The remarkable achievement of the ancient India in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, medicine and philosophy had earned her a lasting fame, but the historians are agreed that the era of her social, moral and religious degradation commenced from the opening decades of the sixth century.(33) For shameless and revolting acts of sexual wantonness were consecrated by religion, even the temples had degenerated into cesspools of corruption.(34) Woman had lost her honor and respect in the society and so had the values attached to her chastity. It was not unusual that the husband losing in a game of chance dealt out even his wife.(35) The honor of the family, especially in higher classes claiming a noble descent, demanded that the widow should burn herself alive with the funeral pyre of her dead husband. The custom, upheld by society as the supreme act of fealty on the part of a widow to her late husband,(36) was so deep-rooted that it could be completely suppressed only after the establishment of the British rule in India.
India left behind her neighbors, or, rather every other country of the world, in evolving an inflexible and callously inhuman stratification of its society based on social inequality. This system which excluded the original inhabitants of the country as exteriors or outcasts, was formulated to ensure the superiority of conquering Aryans and was invested with an aura of divine origin by the Brahmins. It canalized every aspect of the people's daily life according to heredity and occupation of different classes and was backed by religious and social laws set forth by the religious teachers and legislators. Its comprehensive code of life was applicable to the entire society, dividing it into four distinct classes:
(1) The Brahmins or priests enjoying the monopoly of performing religious rites;
(2) The Kshatriyas of nobles and warriors supposed to govern the country; and,
(3) The Vaisyas or merchants, peasants and artisans;
(4) The Sudras or the non Aryan serfs meant to serve the first three castes.
The Sudras or the dasas meaning slaves (forming a majority in the population), believed to have been born from the feet of Brahma, formed the most degraded class which had sunk socially to the lowest level. Nothing was more honorable for a Sudra, according to, the Manu Shastra, that to serve the Brahmins and other higher castes.
The social laws accorded the Brahmin class distinctive privileges and an honored place in society. "A Brahmin who remembers the Rig Veda", says the Manu Shastra, "is absolutely sinless, even if he debases all the three worlds." Neither any tax could be imposed On a Brahmin, nor he could be executed for any crime. The Sudras, on the contrary, could never acquire any property, nor retain any assets. Not allowed to sit near a 1Brahmin or touch him, the Sudras were not permitted to read the sacred scriptures!(37)
India was drying up and losing, her vitality. Divided into numerous petty states, struggling for supremacy amongst them, the whole country had been given to lawlessness, mal-administration and tyranny. The country had, furthermore, severed itself from the rest of the world and retired into her shell. Her fixed beliefs and the growing rigidity of her iniquitous social structure, norms, rites and customs had made her mind rigid and static. Its parochial outlook and prejudices of blood, race and color carried within it the seeds of destruction. Vidya Dhar Mahajan, formerly Professor of History in the Punjab University College, writes about the state of affairs in India on the eve of Muslim conquest:
"The people of India were living in isolation from the rest of the world. They were so much contented with themselves that they did not bother about what was happening outside their frontiers. Their ignorance of the developments outside their country put them in a very weak position. It also created a sense of stagnation among them. There was decay on all sides. There was not much life in the literature of the period. Architecture, painting and fine arts were also adversely affected. Indian society had become static and caste system had become very rigid. There was no remarriage of widows and restrictions with regard to food and drink became very rigid. The untouchables were forced to live outside the towns."(38)

ARABIA

The idea of virtue, of morals, was unknown to the ancient Bedouin. Extremely fond of wine and gambling, he was hardhearted enough to bury alive his own daughter. Pillage of caravans and cold blooded murder for paltry gains were the typical methods to still the demands of the nomad. The Bedouin maiden, enjoyed no social status, could be bartered away like other exchangeable goods or cattle or be inherited by the deceased's heir. There were certain foods reserved for men which could not be taken by women. A man could have as many wives as he liked and could dispose of his children if he had not enough means to provide for their sustenance.(39)
The Bedouin was bound by unbreakable bonds of fidelity to his family, blood relations and, finally, to the tribe. Fights and forays were his sport and murder a trifling affair. A minor incident sometimes gave rise to a sanguine and long drawn warfare between two powerful tribes. Oftentimes these wars were prolonged to as many as forty years in which thousands of tribesmen came to a violent end.(40)

EUROPE

At the beginning of the Middle Ages the torch of knowledge flickered dimly and all the literary and artistic achievements of the classical past seemed destined to he lost for ever under the young and vigorous Germanic races which had risen to political power in the northern and western parts of Europe.(41) The new rulers found neither pleasure nor honor in the philosophy, literature and arts of the nations outside their frontiers and appeared to be as filthy as their minds were filled with superstition. Their monks and clergymen, passing their lives in a long routine of useless and atrocious self-torture, and quailing before the ghastly phantoms of their delirious brains,(42) were abhorrent to the company of human beings. They still debated the point whether a woman had the soul of a human being or of a beast, or was she blest with a finite or infinite spirit. She could neither acquire nor inherit any property nor had the right to sell or transfer the same.
Robert Briffault writes in the Making of Humanity:
"From the fifth to the tenth century Europe lay sunk in a night of barbarism which grew darker and darker. It was a barbarism far more awful and horrible than that of the primitive savage, for it was the decomposing body of what had once been a great civilization. The features and impress of that civilization were all but completely effaced. Where its development had been fullest, e. g. in Italy and Gaul, all was ruin, squalor and dissolution."(43)

The Era of Darkness and Depression:

The sixth century in which the Prophet of Islam (Peace Be Upon Him) was born was, to be brief, the darkest era of history: it was the most depressing period in which the crestfallen humanity had abandoned all hopes of its revival and renaissance. This is the conclusion drawn by noted historian, H. G. Wells, who recapitulates the condition of the world at the time when Sasanid and Byzantine Empires had worn themselves out to a death like weariness:
"Science and Political Philosophy seemed dead now in both these warring and decaying Empires. The last philosophers of Athens, until their suppression, preserved the texts of the great literature of the past with an infinite reverence and want of understanding. But there remained no class of men in the world, no free gentlemen with bold and independent habits of thought, to carry on the tradition of frank statement and inquiry embodied in these writings. The social and political chaos accounts largely for the disappearance of this class, but there was also another reason why the human intelligence was sterile and feverish during this age. In both Persia and Byzantium it was an age of intolerance. Both Empires were religious empires in a new way, in a way that greatly hampered the free activities of the human mind."(44)
The same writer, after describing the events leading to the onslaught of the Sasanids on Byzantium and eventual victory of the latter, throws light on the depth of social and moral degradation to which both these great nations had fallen. In these words:
"A prophetic amateur of history surveying the world in the opening of the seventh century might have concluded very reasonably that it was only a question of a few centuries before the whole of Europe and Asia fell under Mongolian domination. There were no signs of order or union in Western Europe, and the Byzantine and Pe rsian Empires were manifestly bent upon a mutual destruction. India also was divided and wasted."(45)

WORLDWIDE CHAOS

To be brief, the entire human race seemed to have betaken itself to the steep and shortest route to self destruction. Man had forgotten his Master, and had thus become oblivious of his own self, his future and his destiny. He had lost the sense to draw a distinction between vice and virtue, good and bad; it seemed as if something had slipped through his mind and heart, but he did not know what it was. He had neither any interest nor time to apply his mind to the questions like faith and hereafter. He had his hands too full to spare even a moment for what constituted the nourishment of his inner self and the Spirit, ultimate redemption or deliverance from sin, service to humanity and restoration of his own moral health. This was the time when not a single man could be found in a whole country who seemed to be anxious about his faith, who worshipped the One and only Lord of the world without. associating partners to Him or who appeared to be sincerely worried about the darkening future of humanity. This was the situation then obtaining in the world, so graphically depicted by God in the Qur'an:
"Corruption doth appear on land and sea because of (the evil) which men's hands have done, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return." [Qur'an 30:41]

Footnotes

[22] The eastern Roman or Byzantine empire, which was known to the Arabs as Rum, held, with its capital at Constantinopole, Greece, Bulgarian, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, all Island in the Mediterrenean Sea, Egypt, all the coastlands in North Africa during the period. It came into existence in 395 A.D. and ended with the capture of Constatinopole by the Turks in 1453.
[23] Historians History of the World, Vol. VII, p. 73.
[24] T. Walter Wallbank and Alstair M. Taylor, Civilization, past and Present (Scott, Foresman & Co. 1954), pp. 261-62.
[25] The Arab Conquest of Egypt, pp. 32, 42 and 46
[26] Namah Tinsar, Tab'e Maynwi, p. 13 (Quoted from Iran ba ‘Ahd-I-Sasaniyan, p. 477).
[27] White palace of Chosroes. For details see Iran ba ‘Ah-I-Sasaniyan.
[28] Carpet of Silk, sixty cubits in length and as many in breath; a paradise or garden was depicted on it, the flowers, fruits, and shrubs were imitated by the figures of golden embroidery and the colours of the precious stone; and the ample square was enriched by a variegated and verdant border.
[29] Shahin Mikarios, Tarikh Iran, (1898), p. 98.
[30] Iran ba 'Ahd-I-Sasaniyan, pp. 681 and 685.
[31] Shahin Mikarios, Tarikh Iran, p. 98.
[32] Iran ba 'Ahd-i-Sasaniyan, Chap. V
[33] R.C. Dutt, Ancient India, Vol. III
[34] Dayanand Sarswati, Satyarth Prakash, p. 344.
[35] Bernier, F, Travels. Edited by Constable, 2 Vols. Ed. 1914
[36] For details see the Manu Shastra, Chap. 1, 2, 8 & 11
[37] Vidya Dhar Mahajan: Muslim Rule in India, Delhi, 1970, p. 33.
[38] See the Qur'an, the books of Hadith and the poetical collections on Ash'ar ‘Arab like Hamasah, Sab'a Mu'allaqat, etc.
[39] Details can be seen in the poetical collection of pre-Islamic era and the books on Akhbar-I-Arab.
[40] Frank Thilly, History of Philosphy, New York, 1945, pp. 155-58.
[41] Leckey, W.E.H., History of European Morals, London, 1930, Part II, p. 46.
[42] Robert Briffault, The Making of Humanity, p. 164.
[43] H.G. Wells, A Short History of the World, London, 1924, p. 140
[44] H.G. Wells, A short History of the World, London, 1924, p. 144.
[45] Lit. "the helpers" is the name of given to the Medinian followers of the Prophet used in contradiction to those earliest Muslims who migrated to that city with the Prophet.

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

07 -05 -2009, 02:36 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

The Advent of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

It was the will of God that the glorious sun of humanity's guidance, which was to illuminate the world without end, should rise from the orb of Arabia. For it was the darkest corner of this terrestrial globe, it needed the most radiant daystar to dispel the gloom setting on it.
God had chosen the Arabs as the standard bearers of Islam for propagating its message to the four corners of the world, since these guileless people were simple hearted, nothing was inscribed on the tablets of their mind and heart, nothing so deep engraver as to present any difficulty in sweeping the slate clean of every impression. The Romans and the Iranians and the Indians, instinctually thrilled by the glory of their ancient arts and literatures, philosophies, cultures and civilizations were all crushed by the heavy burden of the past, that is, a conditioned reflex of 'touch not-ism' had got itself indelibly etched in their minds. The imprints in the memory of the Arabs were lightly impressed merely because of their rawness and ignorance or rather their nomadic life, and thus these were liable to he obliterated easily and replaced by new inscriptions. They were, in modern phraseology, suffering from unpreceptiveness which could readily be remedied while other civilized nations, having vivid pictures of the past filled in their minds, were haunted by an obsessive irrationality which could never be dismissed from their thoughts.
The Arabs, simple minded and straightforward, possessed the will of iron. If they failed to entertain a belief, they had no hesitation in taking up the sword to fight against it; but if they were convinced of the truth of an idea, they stayed with it through fire and water and were ever prepared to lay down their lives for it.
It was this psyche of the Arab mind which had found expression through Suhayl b. 'Am, while the armistice of Hudaybia was being written. The document began with the words: "This is what MUHAMMED, the Messenger of God has agreed". Suhayl promptly raised the objection, "By God, If I witnessed that you were God's Messenger I would not have excluded you from the House of God and fought you". Again, it was the same Arab turn of mind which is reflected in the summons of 'Ikrama b. Abu Jahl. Pressed hard by the assailing charge of the Byzantine forces he cried out, "What a dolt you are! I have wielded the sword against the Messenger of God. Will I turn my back upon you ?" Thereafter he called out to his comrades, "Is there anyone to take the pledge of death on my hands?" Several persons immediately offered themselves and fought valiantly until they were all maimed and came to a heroic end. (Tabari, Vol. IV, p.36)
The Arabs were frank and unassuming, practical and sober, industrious, venturesome and plain spoken. They were neither double dealers nor liked to be caught in a trap. Like a people true soured, they were always out spoken and remained firm once they had taken a decision. An incident, occurring before the Hijrah of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam), on the occasion of the second pledge of 'Aqaba, typically illustrates the character of the Arabs.
Ibn Is'haq relates that when Aus and Khazraj plighted their faith to the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) at 'Aqaba , 'Abbaas b. 'Ubada of Khazraj said to his people, "O men of Khazraj, do you realize to what you are committing yourselves in pledging your support to the Prophet? It is to war against one and all. If you think that in case you lose your property and your nobles are killed you will give him up to his enemies, then do so now; for, by God, it would bring you shame in this world and the next. But if you have decided that you will be true to your words if your property is destroyed and your nobles are killed, then pledge yourselves; for, by God, it would bring you profit and success both in this world and the next." The Khazraj replied: "We will pledge our support even if we lose our property and our leaders are killed; but, O Messenger of Allah, what will we get in return for redeeming our pledge"' "Paradise", said the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) in reply. Thereupon they said, "Stretch forth your hand"; and when the Prophet did so, they took their oath." (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, p. 446)
And in truth and reality, the Ansaar(46) lived up to their word of honor. The reply given to the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) on a subsequent occasion by S'ad b. Mu'adh perfectly expressed their feelings. S'ad had said to the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam), "By God, if you continue your march and get as far as Bark al Ghimad,(47) we would accompany you and if you were to cross this sea, we would plunge into it with you."(48)
"My Lord, this ocean has interrupted my march although I wanted to go ahead and proclaim the name in all the lands and seas"(49) These were the words uttered despairingly by 'Uqba b. Nafi' on reaching the shore of the Atlantic ocean. What 'Uqba said on finding his victorious advance blocked by the ocean speaks volumes of the seriousness, absolute trust and iron will of the Arabs in accomplishing the task considered truthful by them.
The Greeks, the Byzantines and the Iranians were peoples of a different mettle. Accustomed to improving the shining hour as a godsend opportunity, they lacked the grit to fight against injustice and brutality. No ideal, no principle was attractive enough for them: no conviction or call was sufficiently potent to tug at their heartstrings in a way that they could imperil their comfort and pleasure.
Unspoiled by the nicety, polish and ostentatiousness usually produced by the display of wealth and luxury of an advanced culture, the Arabs had not developed that fastidiousness which hardens the heart and ossifies the brain, allows no emotion to catch the flame and always acts as an inhibition when one's faith or conviction demands stirring of the blood. This is the listless apathy which is hardly ever erased from one's heart.
Candidly honest and true souled, the Arabs had no taste for intrigue and duplicity. They were courageous, intrepid fighters accustomed to a simple and hard life filled with dangers and spent most of their time riding on horse backs across the waterless desert. These were the rules of iron essential for a nation required to accomplish a great task, especially, in an age when adventure and enterprise were the laws of Medes and Persians.
The common ignorance of the Arabs, exempted from the shame or reproach it involves, had helped to conserve the natural briskness and intellectual energy of these people. Being strangers to philosophies and sophistry, ratiocination and lame and impotent quibbling, they had preserved their soundness of mind, dispatch, resoluteness and fervidness of spirit.
The perpetual independence of Arabia from the yoke of invaders had made the Arabs free as birds; they enjoyed the benefits of human equality and beauty of living nature; and were not acquainted with the pomp or majesty or haughty demeanor of the emperors. The servile temper of the ancient Persia had, contrarily, exalted the Sasanian monarchs to supernatural beings. If any king took a medicine or was given phlebotomy, a proclamation was made in the capital that all and sundry should suspend their trades and business on that day.(50) If the king sneezed, nobody dared raise his voice to say grace, nor was anybody expected to say 'Amen' when the king sent up a prayer. The day any king paid a visit to any noble or chief was regarded an event so memorable that the elated family of the fortunate grandee instituted a new calendar from that day. It was an honor so singular that the grandee was exempted from payment of taxes for a fixed period besides enjoying other rewards, fiefs and robes of honor.(51)
We can imagine what a state audience of the king must have been like for those who were allowed to appear before him. By etiquette, all the courtiers, even the highest nobles and dignitaries, were required to stand silently with their hands folded on the navel, and their heads bowed in reverence.(52) Actually, this was the ceremonial etiquette prescribed for State audience during the reign of Chosroes I (531-579), known as Anushirvan (of the Immortal Soul) and 'Adil (the Just). One can very well visualize the pompous ceremonials in vogue during the reign of Sasanid kings justly reputed as tyrants and despots.
Freedom of speech and expression (and not censure or criticism, in the least) was a luxury never indulged in by anyone in the vast kingdom of the Sasanids. Christensen has related, on the authority of At-Tabari, a story about Chosroes I, passing under the name of 'The dust' among the Sasanid kings, which demonstrates the freedom of allowed by the Iranian kings and the price paid for the imprudence of speaking out the truth.
"He assembled his council and ordered the secretary for taxes to read aloud the new rates of collection. When the secretary had announced the rates, Chosroes I asked twice whether anyone had any objection to the new arrangement. Everybody remained silent but on the third time of asking, a man stood up and asked respectfully whether the king had meant to establish a tax for perpetuity on things perishable, which, as time went on, would lead to injustice. "Accursed and rash !" cried the King, "To what class do you belong?" "I am one of the secretaries", replied the mall "Then', ordered the king, "Beat him to death with pen cases". Thereupon every secretary started beating him with his pen case until the poor man died, and the beholders exclaimed: "O King, we find, all the taxes you have levied upon us, just and fair!' (Iran ba 'Ahad Sasaniyan, p.511)
The horrible condition of the depressed classes in the then India, who were condemned as untouchables by the social and religious laws promulgated by the Aryans, baffles all human understanding. Subjected to it gruesome indignity, this unfortunate class of human being was treated pretty much the same way as pet animals except that they resembled the species of man. According to this law, a Sudra who assaulted a Brahmin or attempted to do so, was to lose the limb with which the assault was made. The Sudra was forced to drink boiling oil if he made the pretentious claim of teaching somebody. (Manil Shahtra, 10 Chapter) The penalty for killing dogs, cats, frogs, chameleons, crows and owls was the same as that for killing the Sudras. (R.C. Dutt, Ancient India, Vol. III, pp. 324 qnd 343)
Unworthy treatment of their subjects by the Sasanian Emperors had not been the lot of the common man in Byzantium, but in their pride and policy to display the titles and attributes of their omnipotence, the Caesars of Rome had all the signs of their oriental counterparts.
Victor Chopart writes about the arbitrary rule and majesty of the Roman Emperors. "The Caesars were gods, but not by heredity, and one who rose to power would become divine in his turn, and there was no mark by which he could be recognized in advance. The transmission of the title of Augustus was governed by no regular constitutional law; it was acquired by victory over rivals, and the Senate did no more than ratify the decision of arms. This ominous fact became apparent in the first century of the Principate, which was merely a continuance of the military dictatorship."(53)
If we compare the servile submission of the common man of Byzantium and Persia with the spirit of freedom and pride, as well as the temperament and social conduct of the pre-Islamic Arabs, we would see the difference between the social life and natural propensities of the Arabs and other nations of the world.
"May you be safe from frailty", and "Wish you a happy morning", were some of the salutations very often used by the Arabs to hail their kings. So solicitous were they of preserving their dignity and pride, honor and freedom that many a time they even refused to satisfy the demands of their chiefs and rulers. A story preserved by Arab historians admirably describes the rudimentary Arab virtues of courage and outspokenness. An Arab king demanded a mare known as Sikab from its owner belonging to Bani Tamim. The man flatly refused the request and instantly indited a poem of which the opening lines were:
Sikab is a nice mare, good as gold,
Too precious it is to be gifted or sold.
And, in the concluding verse he said:
To grab it from me, make no effort,
For I am competent to balk your attempt.(54)
The virtues common to all Arabs, men and women, were their overweening pride, loftiness of ambition, chivalrous bearing, magnanimous generosity and a wild, invigorating spirit of freedom. We find all these features of Arab character depicted in the affair leading to the murder of 'Amr b. Hind, the King of Hira. It is related that 'Amr b. Hind once sent to 'Amr b. Kulthum, the proud cavalier and noted poet of Banu Taghlib, inviting him to pay a visit to himself, and also to bring his mother, Layla bint Muhalhil, to visit his own mother. 'Amr came to Hira from Jazira with some of his friends, and Layla came attended by a number of her women. Pavilions were erected between Hira and the Euphrates. In one of these pavilions 'Amr b. Hind entertained 'Amr b. Kulthum, while Layla found quarters with Hind in an adjoining tent. Now, 'Amr b. Hind had already instructed his mother to dismiss the servants before calling for dessert, and thus cause Layla. to wait upon her. Accordingly, Hind sent off her servants at the appointed moment and asked her guest, "O Layla, hand me that dish." Layla felt insulted and exclaimed in shame, "Let those who want anything, fetch it for themselves". Hind insisted on her demand despite Layla's refusal. At last Layla cried, "O shame! Help Taghlib, help !" 'Amr b. Kulthum got his blood up on hearing his mother's cry and seizing a sword hanging on the wall, smote the King dead with a single blow. At the same time, the tribesmen of Banu Taghlib ransacked the tents and made rapid strides back of Jazira. 'Amr b. Kulthum has narrated this story in an ode which is a fine illustration of the pre-Islamic

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

07 -05 -2009, 02:41 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

Arabia's Era Of Depression

For their manly qualities of head and heart, the Arabs deserved, or, were rather the only people entitled to the honor of the advent of the last Prophet of God (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) amongst them and to be made responsible for propagation of the message of Islam. But, in no part of the Peninsula was there any indication of an awakening or a vexation of spirit showing the sign of life left in the Arabs. There were scarcely a few Hanif,(62) who could be counted on one's fingers, feeling their way towards monotheism but they were no more than the glowworms in a dark and chilly rainy night incapable of showing the path of righteousness to anybody or providing warmth to one being frozen to death.
This was an era of darkness and depression in the history of Arabia—a period of darkest gloom when the country had reached the rock-bottom of its putrefied decadence, leaving no hope of any reform or improvement. The shape of things in Arabia presented a task far more formidable and baffling than ever faced by any messenger of God.
Sir William Muir, a biographer of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam), who is ever willing to find fault with the prophet and cast derision upon him, has vividly depicted the state of affairs in Arabia before the birth of MUHAMMED (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) which discredits the view held by certain European orientalists that Arabia was fermenting for a change and looking forward to a man of genius who could respond to it better than any other. Says Sir William Muir: "During the youth of Mahomet, this aspect of the Peninsula was strongly conservative; perhaps it was never at any period more hopeless."(63)
Reviewing the feeble stir created by Christianity and Judaism in the dark and deep ocean of Arabian paganism, Sir William Muir remarks, "In fine, viewed thus in a religious aspect the surface of Arabia had been now and then gently rippled by the feeble efforts of Christianity; the sterner influence of Judaism had been occasionally visible in the deeper and more troubled currents; but the tide of indigenous idolatry and of Ishmaelite superstition, setting from every quarter with an unbroken and unebbing surge towards the Ka’ba, gave ample evidence that the faith and worship of Makkah held the Arab mind in a thralldom, rigorous and undisputed."(64)
R. Bosworth Smith is another European biographer of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) who has also reached the same conclusion.
"One of the most philosophical of historians has remarked that of all the revolutions which have had a permanent influence upon the civil history of mankind, none could so little be anticipated by human prudence as that effected by the religion of Arabia. And at frist sight it must be confessed that the sicence of History, if indeed there be such a science, is at a loss to find the sequence of cause and effect which it is the object and the test of all history, which is worthy of the name, to trace it."(65)

Footnotes
[62] Ibn Is’haq mentions four men and Ibn Qutaybaah gives the names of half a dozen other persons of the generation before Muhammad (peace be on him), who had abandoned pagan practices to seek the Hanifiyah, the true religion of Abraham. `
[63] Sir William Muir, The life of Mahomet, Vol. I, London 1858, p. ccxxxviii.
[64] Sir William Muir, The life of Mahomet, Vol. I, London 1858, p. ccxxxix.
[65] R. Boswarth Smith, Mohammad and Mohammadanism, London, 1876, p. 105

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

11 -05 -2009, 12:41 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

Need of a New Prophet

The old world was completely disarranged by the middle of the sixth century and man had fallen to such a depth of depravity that no reformer, revivalist or religious preacher could have hoped to put a new life in the humanity worn to its bones. The problem was not to fight any particular heresy or to its reshape a given mode of divine service, nor the question was how to curb the social evils of any society; for, there has never been any dearth of social reformers and religious preachers in any age of place. How to clear the contaminating debris of idolatry and fetishism, superstition and paganism, piling up from generation to generation during the past hundreds of years over the true teachings of the prophets sent by God, was indeed a task, exceedingly toilsome and unwieldy. It was a Herculean task to make a clean sweep of this wreckage and then raise a new edifice on the foundations of piety and godliness. In short, the question was how to remake man who could think and feel differently from his predecessors as a changed an, re-born or brought back to life again.
"Is he who was dead and we have raised him unto life, and set for him a light wherein he walketh among men, as him whose similitude is in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge?" [Qur'an 6:123]
In order to solve the problem of man once for all, it was necessary to root out paganism so completely that no trace of it was left in his heart, and to plant the sapling if monotheism so deeply that it should be difficult to conceive of a more secure foundation.
It meant to create a penchant for seeking the pleasure of God and humbling oneself before Him, to bring into existence the longing to serve humanity, to generate the will to keep always to the right path and to sow the seeds of that moral courage which restrains all evil passions and desires. The whole problem, in a nutshell, was how to rescue the humanity, then too willing to commit suicide, from the misery of this world as well as of the next. It was an endeavor which makes a beginning in the form of a virtuous life, like that of an elect and godly soul, and then leads on to the paradise promised by God to those who are God fearing and just.
Advent of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) was thus the greatest Divine blessing on mankind; that is why it has been so elegantly clothed in words by the Writ of God.
"And remember Allah's favor unto you: how ye were enemies and He made friendship between your hearts so that ye became as brothers by His grace; and (how) ye were upon the brink of an abyss of fire, and He did save you, from it." [Qur'an 3:103]
No task more delicate and baffling and no charge more onerous and gigantic than that entrusted to MUHAMMED the Messenger of God (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam), was imposed on any man since birth of man on this planet. And never has a man accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution as the Last Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) for he has guided millions of men of many nationalities to the path of justice, truth and virtue by putting a new life in the humanity at the throes of death in the sixth century. It was the greatest marvel of human history, the greatest miracle the world has ever witnessed. The well-known French poet and litterateur, Lamartine, bears witness to the grand accomplishment of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) in a language of incomparable elegance and facility.
"Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a more sublime aim, since this aim was superhuman; to subvert superstitions which had been interposed between man and his Creator, to render God unto men end men unto God; to restore the rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the chaos of the material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing. Never has a man undertaken a work so far beyond human power with so feeble means, for he had in the conception as well as in the execution of such a great design no other instrument than himself, and no other aid, except a handful of men living in a corner of the desert."(66)
Lamartine goes on further to enumerate the achievements of the Great Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam): "...And more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls. On the basis of a Book, every letter of which has become Law, he created a spiritual nationality which blended together peoples of every tongue and of every race. He has left us as the indelible characteristic of this Muslim nationality, the hatred of false gods and the passion for the One and Immaterial God. This avenging patriotism against the profanation of Heaven formed the virtue of the followers of Muhammad ; the conquest of one-third of the earth to his dogma was his miracle; or rather it was not the miracle of a man but that of reason. The idea of the Unity of God, proclaimed amidst the exhaustion of fabulous theogonies, was in itself such a miracle that upon its utterance from his lips it destroyed all the ancient temples of idols and set on fire one-third of the world."(67)
This universal and enduring revolution whose objective was rejuvenation of humanity or rebuilding of the world anew, demanded deaf' a new prophethood surpassing the Messengership of the old, for the new Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) had to hold aloft the banner of Divine guidance and righteousness for all times to come. God has Himself explained the reason for it.
"Those who disbelieve among the People of the Scripture and the idolaters could not have left off (erring) till the clear proof came unto them."
"A Messenger from Allah, reading purified pages containing correct scriptures." [Qur'an 98:1-3]

Footnotes
[66] Lamartine, Historie de la Turquie, Vol. II, Paris11, 1854, p. 276 (Quoted from 'Islam in the World' by Dr. Zaki Ali, Lahore, 1974).
[67] Lamartine, Historie de la Turquie, Vol. II, Paris11, 1854, p. 276 (Quoted from 'Islam in the World' by Dr. Zaki Ali, Lahore, 276-7).

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

17 -05 -2009, 07:59 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

The Arabian Peninsula
Arabia is the largest peninsula on the map of the world. The Arabs call it 'Jaziratul-Arab'(68) which means the "Island of Arabia", although it is not an island, being surrounded by water on three sides only. Lying in the south-west of Asia, the Arabian Gulf is to its east, which was known to the Greeks as Persian Gulf; Indian Ocean marks the southern limits; and to its west is Red Sea which was called Sinus Arabicus or Arabian Gulf by the Greeks and Latins and Bahr Qulzum by the ancient Arabs. The northern boundry is not well-defined, but may be considered an imaginary line drawn due east from the head of the Gulf of al-'Aqabah in the Red Sea to the mouth of the Euphrates.

The Muslim geographers have divided the country into five regions:

(1) Hijaz extends from Aila (al-'Aqabah) to Yemen and has been so named because the range of mountains running parallel to the western coast separates the low coastal belt of Tihama from Najd

(2) Tihama inside the inkier range is a plateau extending to the foothills

(3) Yemen, south of Hijaz, occupies the south-west corner of Arabia

(4) Najd, the north central plateau, extends from the mountain ranges of Hijaz in the west to the deserts of Bahrain in the east and encompasses a number of deserts and mountain ranges

(5) 'Aruz which is bounded by Bahrain to its east and Hijaz to its west. Lying between Yemen and Najd it was also known as Yamamah.(69)

The Land & Its People
One of the driest and hottest countries of the world, nineteenth of Arabia is made up of barren desert. The geological and physical features of the land along with its climatic conditions have kept its population, in the days gone by and also in the present time, to the minimum and hindered the flowering of civilized communities and empires. The nomadic life of the desert tribes, rugged individualism of the people and unrestrained tribal warfare have tended to limit the settled population to the areas where there is abundance of rainfall or water is available on the surface of land in the shape of springs or ponds or is found nearer the surface of the earth. The Bedouins dig deep wells in the ground. The way of life in Arabia is, so to say, dictated by the availability of water; nomadic tribes continually move about in the desert in search of water. Wherever verdant land is found, the tribes go seeking pastures but they are never bound to the land like the tillers of the soil. They stay over a pasture or oasis so long as they can graze their flocks of sheep, goats and camels and then break up their camps to search out new pastures.

Life in the desert was hard and filled with danger. The bedouin felt bound to the family and to the clan, on which depended his existence in the arid desert; loyalty to the tribe meant for him the same life-long alliance as others feel for the nation and state. His life was unstable and vagrant; like the desert, he knew not ease nor comfort; and understood only the language of power, of might. The bedouin knew no moral code - no legal or religious sanction - nothing save the traditional sentiment of his own and the tribe's honour. In short, it was a life that always brought about hardship and trouble for him and sowed the seeds of danger for the neighbouring sedentary populations.

The desert tribes of Arabia were continually engaged in an endless strife amongst themselves or made incursions into the settled lands around them. At the same time, the Arabs displayed a boundless loyalty to their tribes and traditions, were magnanimously hospitable, honoured the treaties, were faithful friends and dutifully met the obligations of tribal customs. All these traits of the Arab character are amply illustrated by their forceful and elegant literature, both in prose and poetry, proverbs, metaphors, simile and fables.

The Arab was thus a born democrat, individualistic and freedom-loving, practical-minded and realist, active and straight thinking and hated to do anything deemed vulgar or indecent by him. Not only was he content with his nomadic life and the frugal demands it made upon him but he also felt satisfied with or was rather proud of his migratory existence for it fulfilled his passionate urge for freedom. To spiritual impulses he was lukewarm although he was absolutely loyal to the ancient traditions of his tribe. The fundamental virtues of an Arab, consisting of courage, loyalty and generosity, were derived from the concept of murauwah (manliness); and he was never tired of singing its praises in his odes and orations.

Cultural Centers
In places where there were sufficient periodic rains or water was available in wells or springs settlements used to spring up or the nomads came together during seasonal fairs and festivals. While such get-togethers exerted a civilizing influence on the life of the bedouins, the agricultural settlements reflected their specific characteristics depending on climatic conditions and economic and occupational features of the sedentary populations. Accordingly, Makkah had a peculiar cultural development as had other settlements like Yathrib and Hira their own distinguishing cultural features. Yemen was culturally the most developed region in the country owing to its long history and political developments in the recent past. Because of its suitable climate, Yemen had made rapid strides in cultivation of cereals, animal husbandry, quarry of minerals and construction of forts and palaces. It had commercial relations with Iraq, Syria and Africa and imported different commodities needed by it.

Ethnic Divisions
Arab historians as well as old traditions of the land hold that the people of Arabia can be categorised in three broad divisions. The first of these were the 'Arab Ba'idah (extinct Arabs) who populated the country but ceased to exist before the advent of Islam. The next were the 'Arab 'Ar’ibah (Arabian Arabs) or Banu Qahtan who replaced the 'Arab Ba'idah and the third were the 'Arab Must'arabah (Arabicized Arabs) or the progeny of Ishmael which settled in Hijaz. The line of demarcation drawn according to racial division of the Arab stock makes a distinction between those descending from Qahtan(70) and 'Adnan; the former are held to be Yemenites or southern Arabs while the latter had settled in Hijaz. Arab genealogists further divide the 'Adnan into two sub-groups which they term as Rabi'a and Mudar. There had been a marked rivalry from the distant past between the Qahtan and the 'Adnan just as the Rabi'a and the Mudar had been hostile to each other. However, the historians trace the origin of the Qahtan to a remoter past from which the 'Adnan branched off at a later time(71) and learnt Arabic vernacular from the former. It is held that the 'Adnan were the offspring of Ishmael (Isma'il) who settled in Hijaz after naturalisation.

Arab genealogists give great weight to these racial classifications which also find a confirmation in the attitude of Iranians in the olden times. The Iranian General Rustam had admonished his courtiers who had derided Mughira b. Shu'ba and looked down upon him for having presented himself as the envoy of Muslims in tattered clothes, Rustam had then said to his counselors: "You are all fools....The Arabs give little importance to their dress and food but are vigilant about their lineage and family."(72)

Linguistic Unity
Multiplicity of dialects and languages should not have been at all surprising in a country so big as Arabia (actually, equal to a sub-continent), divided into north and south, not only by the trackless desert, but also by the rivalry of kindred races and clanish patriotism of a passionate, chauvinistic type, affording but little opportunity for intermixing and unification of the country's population. The tribes living in the frontier regions close to Iranian and Byzantine empires were, quite naturally, open to influences of alien elements. All these factors have given birth to numerous languages in Europe and the Indian subcontinent. In India alone, fifteen languages have been officially recognised by the Constitution of India while there are still people who have to speak in an official language other than their own mother tongor take recourse to English for being understood by others.

But, the Arabian peninsula has had, despite its vastness and proliferation of tribes, a common language ever since the rise of Islam. Arabic has been the common lingua franca of the bedouins living in the deserts as well as of the sedentary and cultured populations like the Qahtan and 'Adnan. Some local variations in the dialects of various regions arising from differences of tones and accents, wide distances and diversity of physical and geographical conditions could not be helped, yet there has always been a linguistic uniformity which has made the Qur'an intelligible to all. It has also been helpful in the rapid diffusion of Islam to the far-flung tribes of Arabia.

Footnotes
[68] The word has been commonly used since the ancient times because no distinction was made in the days of yore between a peninsula and an Island nor there were separate words to denote the two. Certain scholars have tried to prove that Arabia is an Island in the Modern geographical sense, as, for instance, in the Tarikh al-Umam al-Islamia of 'Allama Khudhari, but it requires to stretch the sense of the term and takes the boudaries of the Peninsula too far away from its present limits.

[69] This geographical division of the couis attributed to 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas.

[70] The Joktan of the Old Testament.

[71] Some experts of the modern times hold the view that the 'Adnan are really the 'Arab 'Aribah and form the original stock. Others who disagree with this view, plead that the division made by earlier historians is based or the Yemenite stock after the advent of Islam and not prior to it.

[72] Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah Wan-Nihayah, Vol. VIII, p. 40

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

20 -05 -2009, 05:06 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

Arabia In Ancient History

Archaeological excavations show existence of human habitation in Arabia during the earliest period of Stone Age. These earliest remains pertain to Chellean period of palaeolithic epoch. The people of Arabia mentioned in the Old Testament throw light on the relations between the Arabs and ancient Hebrews between 750 to 200 B.C. Similarly, Talmud also refers to the Arabs. Josephus (37 - 100 BC) gives some valuable historical and geographical details about the Arabs and Nabataeans.(73) There are many more Greek and Latin writings of pre-Islamic era, enumerating the tribes living in the Peninsula and giving their geographical locations and historical details, which, notwithstanding the mistakes and inconsistencies in them, are inestimable sources of information about ancient Arabia. Alexandria was also one of those important commercial centers of antiquity which had taken a keen interest in collecting data about Arabia, its people and the commodities produced in that country for commercial purposes.
The classical writers first to mention the Arabians in the Greek literature were Aeschylus (525 - 465 BC) and Herodotus (484 - 425 BC). Several other writers of the classical period have left an account of Arabia and its inhabitants, of these, Claudius Ptolemaeus of Alexandria was an eminent geographer of the second century, whose Almagest occupied an important place in the curriculum of Arabic schools. Christian sources also contain considerable details about Arabia during the pre-Islamic and early Islamic era although these were primarily written to describe Christianity and its missionary activities in that country.
The numerous references made to the 'Ereb'(74) in the Old Testament are synonymous with the nomadic tribes of Arabia since the word means desert in Semitic and the characteristics of the people described therein apply to the Bedouins. Similarly, the Arabs mentioned in the writings of the Greeks and Romans as well as in the New Testament were Bedouins who used to make plundering raids on the frontier towns of Roman and Byzantine empires, despoiled the caravans and imposed extortionate charges on the traders and wayfarers passing through their territories. Diodorus Siculus, a classical writer of Sicily in the second half of the first century B.C., affirms that the Arabians are "Self reliant and independence-loving, like to live in the open desert and highly prize and value their liberty."(75) The Greek historian Herodotus (484 - 425 B. C.) also makes a similar remark about them. "They revolt against every power," he says, "which seeks to control their freedom or demean them."(76) The passionate attachment of the Arabs to their personal freedom had been admired by almost all the Greek and Latin writers.
The acquaintance of the Arabs with the Indians and their commercial and cultural relations which India began in the days much before the advent of Islam and their conquest of India. Modern researches on the subject show that of all the Asiatic countries, India was closest to, Arabia and well-acquainted with it.(77)

Footnotes
[73] Especially in the Jewish Antiquities ed. S.A. Naber ,Leipzig, 1888
[74] Is. 21: 13, 13:20 and Jer. 3:2
[75] Bibliotheca Historica, Book II, Chapt. 1, & 5.
[76] Heordus, History, Book III, Chap. 88.
[77] For details see Arab our Hind ke T'aluqat by S. Sulaiman Nadwi.

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

20 -05 -2009, 05:09 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

Earlier Revealed Religions of Arabia

Arabia had been the birth-place of several prophets of God in the bygone times. The Qur'an says: "And make mention (O Muhammad) of the brother of A'ad when he warned his folk among the wind-curved sandhills - and verily warners came and went before and after him - saying: Serve none but Allah. Lo! I fear for you the doom of a tremendous Day." [Qur'an 46:21]

Prophet Hud(78) ('alayhis salaam) was sent to the A'ad; a people, according to historians, belonging to the 'Arab Ba'idah who lived in a tract of white or reddish sand blown into hill banks or dunes and covering a vast area to the south-west of al-Rub'e al-Khali (the vacant quarter) near Hadramaut. This region has no habitation and is void of the breath of life, but it was a verdant land in the ancient times, with flourishing towns inhabited by a people of gigantic strength and stature. The whole area was consumed by a fearful and roaring wind which covered it with sand dunes.(79)

The Quranic verse quoted above shows that the Prophet Hud ('alayhis salaam) was not the only messenger of God sent to the ancient Arabs of this area as many more 'warners came and went before him'.

Salih(80) ('alayhis salaam) was another Arabian Prophet sent to the people called Thamud who lived in al-Hijr situated between Tabuk and Hijaz. Prophet Isma'il ('alayhis salaam) was brought up in Makkah, and he died in the same city. If we extend the frontiers of the Arabian peninsula northwards to include Midian on the borders of Syria, Prophet Shu'yeb(81) ('alayhis salaam) would also be reckoned as an Arabian prophet. The historian Abul Fida says that Midianites were Arabs, living in Midian near Ma'an, which is adjacent to the Sea of Lut (Dead Sea) in Syria on the frontier of Hijaz. The Midianites flourished after the downfall of the people of Lut.

Ancient Arabia had been the cradle of many a civilised and flourishing people to whom God had sent His Prophets. But all of them were either destroyed because of their evil ways or became strangers in their own homeland, or were forced to seek new homes. The prophets of God born in the lands far away had sometimes to seek refuge in Arabia from the despotic kings of their lands. Ibrahim (Abraham) ('alayhis salaam) had migrated to Makkah and Moses ('alayhis salaam) had to flee to Midian. Followers of other religions, too, had to seek shelter in Arabia. The Jews, when persecuted by the Romans, had settled in Yemen and Yathrib while several Christian sects harassed by the Byzantine Emperors had migrated to Najran.(82)

Footnotes
[78] Recognised by some as Heber of the Bible (Judges iv-l).

[79] For details see the Chapter “The Reality” of the Qur’an.

[80] Identified by some as Salah of Genesis xi-13.

[81] Identified with Jethro

[82] For further details see Vol. I of Kathim-un-Nabiyin by Shekh Muhammad Abu Zuhra.

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

20 -05 -2009, 05:11 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

Isma'il in Makkah

The patriarch Ibrahim (Abraham) 'alayhis salaam, came down to the valley of Makkah 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 Hajar (Hagar) and their son Isma'il (Ishmael) 'alaihimus salaam. Ibrahim ('alayhis salaam) 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!(83)
God blessed the sincerity of Ibrahim ('alayhis salaam) and the dry valley of this wild country. Ibrahim ('alayhis salaam) 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 Isma'il ('alayhis salaam) was a few years old, Ibrahim (Peace Be Upon Him) went to visit his family in Makkah. Ibrahim ('alayhis salaam) now made up his mind to sacrifice Isma'il for the sake of God, for the Lord had commanded him in a dream: 'Offer up thy son Isma'il'. 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 ('alayhis salaam), and instituted(84) the 'day of great sacrifice', in order to commemorate the event for all times, since, he was destined to help Ibrahim ('alayhis salaam) in his mission and become the progenitor of the last prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) as well as of the nation charged to disseminate the message of God and to struggle for it to the end of time.
Ibrahim ('alayhis salaam) came back to Makkah again(85) and assisted by his son Isma'il, 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 ('alayhis salaam) and bring to completion the task initiated by him.
"And when Ibrahim and Ismael 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.
"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.
"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 2:127-29]
The prayer sent up by Ibrahim ('alayhis salaam) 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 ('alayhis salaam) 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 (Peace Be Upon Him) 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 devil's advocates disguised as promoters of faith.
Ibrahim ('alayhis salaam) 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 one's wishes.
Ibrahim ('alayhis salaam) 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 every 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 Ibrahim said: My Lord! Make safe this territory, and preserve me and my sons from serving idols.
"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.
"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 14:35-37]

Footnotes
[83] See the Chapters "The Cow" and "Abraham" of the Qur’an.
[84] See the Chapter "Those who set the Ranks" of the Qur’an.
[85] Jewish legends tell how Abraham went 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.

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

20 -05 -2009, 05:14 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

The Quraysh

God answered each and every prayer sent up by Ibrahim ('alayhis salaam) and Isma'il ('alayhis salaam). The descendants of Isma'il multiplied exceedingly, so that the barren valley overflowed with the progeny of Ibrahim. Isma'il ('alayhis salaam) took for his wife a girl of the tribe of Jurhum,(86) 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. The Arabs being too particular about the purity of race and blood, have always treasured the genealogy of 'Adnan's progeny in the store house of their memory.
'Adnan had many sons of whom Ma'add was the most prominent. Among the sons of Ma'add, 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 Quraysh. Thus came into existence the clan of Quraysh, the nobility of Makkah, 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 Quraysh without a dissentient voice throughout the Peninsula became, in due course of time, a genuine article of faith to the people of Arabia.(87)

Qusayy Bin Kilab
Qusayy Bin Kilab was born in the direct line of Fihr but the hegemony of Makkah had, by that time, passed on from Jurhum's clansmen to the hands of the Khuza'ites. Qusayy b. Kilab recovered the administration of the K'aba and the town through his organising capacity and superior qualities of head and heart. The Quraysh strengthened the hands of Qusayy b. Kilab in dislodging the Khuza'ites from the position of leadership usurped by them. Qusayy was now master of the town, loved and respected by all. He held the keys of the K'aba and the rights to water the pilgrims from the well of Zamzam, to feed the pilgrims,(88) to preside at assemblies and to hand out war banners. In his hands lay all the dignities of Makkah and nobody entered the K’aba until he opened it for him. Such was his authority his Makkah during his lifetime that no affair of the Quraysh 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 them 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 (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam). His people held him in the highest esteem and such was the popularity gained by him, so they say. as was never enjoyed by anybody amongst his ancestors.(89)
The progeny of Hashim, who now filled the stage and assumed a commanding position among the Quraysh, 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 (Peace Be Upon Him) who was to inherit their ennobling qualities and to, illustrate them by his own shining example for the guidance of the entire human race.

Makkah in Paganism
The Quraysh continued to glorify the Lord of the worlds, from whom all blessings flow, like their forefathers Ibrahim (alayhis salaam) and Isma'il ('alayhis salaam) until 'Amr b. Luhayy became the chief of Khuza'ites. He was the first to deviate from the religion of Isma'il ('alayhis salaam); he set up idols in Makkah and bade the people to worship and venerate them, he instituted the custom of sa’iba(90) 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 Makkah 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 Makkah and asked the people there to pay divine honours to them.(91)
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 BC. 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.(92)
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."(93)
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 ('alayhis salaam) and his disciples had not yet 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 O'Leary, 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 Makkah in the time of the Prophet and was probably unknown to the Arab community at large." (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 B.C. and long thereafter idol-worship was very popular in Mesopotamia.(94) Its every city, old or new, gave shelter to several foreign gods besides the local deities."(95)
There are also reports which suggest that idol worship gradually; came into vogue among the Quraysh. In olden times, as some historians relate, when anybody went out on a long journey from Makkah 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.(96) The Quraysh, however, remained attached to some of the older traditions like paying deference to the holy sanctuary, its circumambulation, Hajj(97) and 'Umra.(98) 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 Quraysh. The esteem and reverence in which even certain misguided Muslim 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 Shari'a 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.(99)

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 K'aba, never attained by any place of worship anywhere in the world. The incident afforded hope for expecting a great future for the K'aba - 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.

An Implicit Belief of the Quraysh
The Quraysh 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 b, the Quraysh 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. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, pp.49-50)
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 Abrah 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 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 they could have exchanged it with anything howsoever precious. The perturbation caused by the declared intentions of Abraha set them on fire. Some Kinanite dare-devils 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 Makkah 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.(100)
The Quraysh 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 Quraysh 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 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(101). The incident finds a reference in the Qur'an also.
"Hast thou not seen how thy 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]

Repercussions of Abraha's Failure
When God turned back the Abyssinians from Makkah, crushed and humbled, and inflicted His punishment upon them, the Arabs, naturally, looked up to the Quraysh 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 K'aba naturally increased strengthening their conviction in its sanctity.(Ibn Hisham, Vol. 1, p.57)
It was undoubtedly a miracle; a sign of the advent of a Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) who was to cleanse the K'aba of its contamination of idols. It was an indication that the honour of the K'aba 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 (Peace Be Upon Him).
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
[87] For details see Sirat Ibn Hisham and other works on the genealogy of Arabs.
[88] A general feast, known as Rifaadah, was held every year, to which all the pilgrims, deemed to be the guest of Rahman, were invited. The Quraysh contributed a specifed sum for it (Al-Khudri, p. 36.
[89] Ibn Hisham, Vol. I (The sons of 'Adnan)
[90] Bulls dedicated to the idols and not used for any other purpose.
[91] Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, pp. 76-77. It is related that the Prophet 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, usli, 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 customm of Sa’iba.
[92] The author happened to visit Perta 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.
[93] Philip K. Hitti, History of Syria, London, 1951, p. 384-5.
[94] George Roux, Ancient Iraq, Suffolk, 1972, pp. 383-84
[95]George Roux, Ancient Iraq, Suffolk, 1972, pp. 383-84.
[96] In order to know the names of the earliest deities of Arabia and how they came to worship graven images see Al-Asnam lil-Kalabi’ and Vol. II and the Bulugh al-Arab fi Ma’rafate Ahwal-il-'Arab by Syed Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi.
[97] The pilgrimage to Mecca performed in the month of Zul Hijja, the twelfth month of the Islamic year.
[98] The Lesser pilgrimage to the holy sanctuary performed at any tie other than the occasion of Haj.
[99] The Shari’a as well as authentic tradition of the Prophet contain innumerable injunctions showing disapproval of paganish superstition savouring of Shirk or plurality deities. Some of the well-known Traditions of the Prophet on the subject say: 'Do not make my grave a place of mirth and festivity nor should you hold fairs over it”. “Only with the intention of paying a visit to the three Mosques one is permitted to make journey”. “Never pay compliments to me in the way Christian extol Jesus, son of Mary”. There are many more similar Traditions prohibited shirk. And, 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 which they though 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 to idol worship.
[100] 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 of the 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 Arabians, 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 Sasanids who were the only power the Byzantines had then to face in Arabia.
[101] Ibn Hisham, Vol. 1, pp.43-57.

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

20 -05 -2009, 05:16 PM

Biography of the Final Messenger of Allah

The Metropolis

Those not conversant with the conditions in Makkah at the time of the Prophet's (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) birth nor familiar with the social life, history, legends, literature and poetry of Arabia during the pre-Islamic times picture Makkah in their mind's eye as a hamlet with a few tents of goat's hair scattered hither and thither, surrounded by sheep, horses and camels and half-clad women and children, within a narrow valley flanked by sharp, jagged hill-tops. They view the people as ignoble and beggarly, passing through a stage of cultural and intellectual infancy, having no aesthetic sense, polish and refinement; a people who took stale bread and half-baked mutton and wore clothes made of camel's hair.
Such a poor and miserable picturization of Makkah is inconsistent with the unmistaken landscape of the city emerging from historical records, collections of pre-Islamic poetry, habits and customs, norms and traditions of the Arabians. The people of Makkah had already been drawn into the stream of urban culture from the earlier rural, nomadic existence.
To tell the truth, such a vile and mean view of Makkah is not in keeping with the Quranic description of the city which gives it the name of 'the Mother of towns'.
"And thus we have inspired in thee a Lecture in Arabic, that thou mayest warn the mother-town and those around it, and mayest warn of a day of assembling whereof there is no doubt. A host will be in the Garden and a host of them in the Flame." [Qur'an 42:7]
At another place Makkah is designated as the 'land made safe'.
"By the fig and the olive, by Mount Sinai, and by this land made safe." [Qur'an 95:1-3]
The Qur'an also calls it a city.
"Nay I swear by this city - And thou art an indeweller of this city." [Qur'an 90:1-2]
Makkah had, as a matter of fact, already passed from nomadic barbarism to the stage of urban civilisation by the middle of the fifth century. The city was ruled by a confederacy based on mutual cooperation, unity of purpose and a general consensus on the division of administrative and civil functions between self governing clans, and this system had already been brought into existence by Qusayy b. Kilab. Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) being fifth in the line of succession(102) to Qusayy b. Kilab, the latter can be placed in the middle of the fifth century.
Makkah, thinly populated in the beginning, was locatecl between the two hills called Jabl Abu Qubays (adjacent to Mount Safa) and Jabl Ahmar, known as 'Araf during the pre-lslamic days, opposite the valley of Quaqiq'an. The population of the town increased gradually owing partly to the reverence paid to the K'aba and the regardful position of its priests and attendants, and partly because of the peace prevailing in the vicinity of the sanctuary. The tents and shacks had given place to houses made of mud and stones and the habitation had spread over the hillocks and low-lying valleys around the K'aba. At the outset the people living in Makkah abstained from constructing even their housetops in a rectangular shape like the K'aba since they considered it to be a sign of disrespect to the House of God, but gradually the ideas changed; still, they kept the height of their houses lower than that of tht K'aba. As related by certain persons, the houses were initially made in a circular shape as a mark of respect to the K'aba. The first rectangular house, reported to have been built by Humaid Bin Zuhair, was looked upon with disfavour by the Quraysh.
The chiefs and other well-to-do persons among the Quraysh usually built their houses of stones and had many rooms in them, with two doors on the opposite sides, so that the womenfolk did not feel inconvenience in the presence of guests.

Reconstruction of Makkah
Qusayy b. Kilab had played a leading role in the reconstruction and expansion of Makkah. The Quraysh who had been dispersed over a wide area, were brought together by him in the valley of Makkah. He allocated areas for settlement of different families and encouraged them to construct their houses in the specified localities. The successors of Qusayy continued to consolidate the living quarters and to allocate spare lands to new families coming into Makkah. The process continued peacefully for a long time with the result that the habitations of the Quraysh and their confederate clans grew up making Makkah a flourishing city.

The City State
Qusayy b. Kilab and his had assumed a commanding position over the city and its inhabitants. They were the janitors of the K'aba, had the privilege of Saqayah(103) or watering the pilgrims and arranging the annual feast, presided over the meetings of the House of Assembly (Dar-al-Nadwa) and handed out war banners.
Qusayy b. Kilab had built the House of Assembly close to the K'aba with one of its doors leading to the sanctuary. It was used both as a living quarter by Qusayy and the rendezvous for discussing all matters of common weal by the Quraysh. No man or woman got married, no discussion on any important matter was held, no declaration of war was made and no sheet of cloth was cast on the head(104) of any girl reaching marriageable age except in this house. Qusayy's authority during his life and after his death was deemed sacrosanct like religious injunctions which could not be violated by anybody. The meetings of the House of Assembly could be attended only by the Quraysh and their confederate tribesmen, that is, those helonging to Hashim, Umayya, Makhzum, Jomah, Sahm, Taym, 'Adiy, Asad, Naufal and Zuhra, whatever be their age, while people of other tribes not below the age of forty years were allowed to participate in its meetings.
After the death of Qusayy, the offices held by him were divided between different families. Banu Hashim were given the right of watering the pilgrims; the standard of Quraysh called 'Aqab (Lit. Eagle) went to Banu Umayya; Bani Naufal were allocated Rifada;(105) Banu 'Abdul-Dar were assigned priesthood, wardenship of the K'aba and the standard of war; and Banu Asad held the charge of the House of Assembly. These families of the Quraysh used to entrust these responsibilities to the notable persons helonging to their families. Thus, Abu Bakr (radhiallahu 'anhu), who came from Banu Taym, was responsible for realising bloodmoney, fines and gratuity; Khalid (radhiallahu 'anhu) of Banu Makhzum held charge of the apparatus of war kept in a tent during the peace-time and on the horseback during battles; 'Umar b. al-Khattab (radhiallahu 'anhu) was sent as the envoy of Quraysh to other tribes with whom they intended to measure swords or where a tribe bragging of its superiority wanted the issue to be decided by a duel; Safwan b. Umaayah of Bani Jomah played at the dice(106) which was deemed essential before undertaking any important task; and, Harith b. Qays was liable to perform all administrative business besides being the custodian of offerings to the idols kept in the K'aba. The duties allocated to these persons were hereditary offices held earlier by their forefathers.

Commercial Operations
The Quraysh of Makkah used to fit out two commercial Caravans, one to Syria during the summer and the other to Yemen during the winter season. The four months of Hajj, that is, Rajab, Dhul Q'ada, Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram, were deemed sacred when it was not lawful to engage in hostilities. During these months the precincts of the Holy Temple and the open place besides it were utilised as a trade centre to which people from distant places came for transacting business. All the necessaries required by the Arabs were easily available in this market of Makkah. Thc stores for the sale of various commodities, located in different lanes and byways, mentioned by the historians, tend to show the economic and cultural growth of Makkah. The vendors of attars had their stalls in a separate bylane and so were the shops of fruit-sellers, barbers, grocers, fresh dates and other wares and trades localized in different alleys. A number of these markets were spacious enough, as, for example, the market set apart for foodgrains was well-stocked with wheat, ghee (clarified butter), honey and similar other commodities. All these articles were brought by trading caravans. To cite an instance, wheat was brought to Makkah from Yamama(107). Similarly cloth and shoe stores had separate quarters allocated to them in the market.
Makkah had also a few meeting places where carefree youngmen used to come together for diversion and pastime. Those who were prosperous and accustomed to live high, spent the winter in Makkah and the summer in Ta'if. There were even some smart youngmen known for their costly and trim dresses costing several hundred dirhams.
Makkah was the centre of a lucrative trade transacting business on a large scale. Its merchants convoyed caravans to different countries in Asia and Africa and imported almost everything of necessity and costly wares marketable in Arabia. They usually brought resin, ivory, gold and ebony from Africa; hide, incense, frankincense, spices, sandal-wood and saffron from Yemen; different oils and foodgrains, armour, silk and wines fiom Egypt and Syria; cloth from Iraq: and gold, tin, precious stones and ivory from India. The wealthy merchants of Makkah sometimes presented the products of their city, of which the most valued were leather products, to the kings and nobles of other countries. When the Quraysh sent 'Abdullah b. Abu Rabl'a and 'Amr b. al-'As to Abyssinia to bring back the Muslim fugitives, they sent with them leather goods of Makkah as gifts to Negus and his generals.
Women also took part in commercial undertakings and fitted out their own caravans bound for Syria and other countries. Khadlja bint Khuwaylid and Hanzaliya, mother of Abu Jahl, were two merchant women of dignity and wealth. The following verse of the Qur'an attests the freedom of women to ply a trade.
"Unto men a fortune from that which they have earned, and unto women a fortune from that which they have earned." [Qur'an 4:32]
Like other advanced nations of the then world, the commercially minded citizens of Makkah had based their economy on commerce for which they sent out caravans in different directions, organised stock markets and created favourable conditions in the home market for the visiting tourists and traders. This helped to increase fame and dignity of Makkah as a religious centre and contributed in no mean measure to the prosperity of the city. Everything required by the people of Makkah , whether a necessity or a luxury, reached their hands because of the city's commercial importance. This fact finds a reference in these verses of the Qur'an:
"So let them worship the Lord of this House, Who hath fed them against hunger, And hath made them safe from fear." [Qur'an 106:3-5]

Economic Conditions, Weights & Measures
Makkah was thus the chief centre of business in Arabia and its citizens were prosperous and wealthy. The caravan of the Quraysh, involved in the battle of Badr while returning from Syria, consisted of a thousand camels and carried merchandise worth 50,000 dinaars.(108)
Both Byzantine and Sasanian currencies, known as dirham and dinar, were in general use in Makkah and other parts of the Peninsula. Dirham was of two kinds: one of it was an Iranian coin known to the Arabs bagliyah and sauda'-I-damiyah, and the other was a Byzantine coin (Greek-drachme) which was called tabriyah and bazantiniyah. These were silver coins and therefore instead of using them as units of coinage, the Arabs reckoned their values according to their weights. The standard weight of dirham, according to the doctors of lslamic shari'ah, is equal to fifty-five grains of barley and ten dirhartls are equivalent in weight to seven mithqals of gold. One mithqal of pure gold is, however, according to Ibn Khaldun, equal to the weight of seventy-two grains of barley. Doctors of law unanimously agree with the weight given by Ibn Khaldun.
The coins in current use during the time of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) were generally silver coins. 'Ata states that the coins in general use during the period were not gold but silver coins. (Ibn Abi Sha'iba, Vol. 3, p.222)
Dinar was a gold coin familiar to the Arabs as the Roman (Byzantine) coin in circulation in Syria and Hijaz during the pre-Islamic and early Islamic period. It was minted in Byzantium with the image and name of the Emperor impressed on it as stated by Ibn 'Abd-ul-Bar in the Al-Tamhid. Old Arabic manuscripts mention the Latin denarius aureus as the Byzantine coin (synonymous with the post-Constantine sol dus) which is stated to be the name of a coin still a unit of currency in Yugoslavia. New Testament, too, mentions denarius at several places. Dinar was considered to have the average weight of one mithqal, which, as stated above, was equivalent to seventy-two grains of barley. It is generally believed that the weight standard of the dinar was maintained from the pre-Islamic days down to the 4th century of the Hijrah. Da'iratul Ma'arif Islamiyah says that the Byzantine denarius weighed 425 grams and hence, according to the Orientalist Zambawar, the mithqal of Makkah was also of 425 grams.(109) The ratio of weight between dirham and dinar was 7:10 and the former weighed seven-tenths of a mithqal.
The par value of the dinar, deduced from the hadeeth, fiqah(110) and historical literature, was equivalent to ten dirhams. 'Amr b. Shuyeb, as quoted in the Sunan Abu Dawud, relates: "The bloodmoney during the time of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) was 800 dinars or 8,000 dirhams, which was followed by the companions of the Prophet, until the entire Muslim community unanimously agreed to retain it." The authentic ahadeeth fix the nisab or the amount of property upon which zakat is due, in terms of dirham, at 20 dinars. This rule upheld by a consensus of the doctors of law goes to show that during the earlier period of Islamic era and even before it, a dinar was deemed to have a par value of ten dirhams or other coins equivalent to them.
Imam Malik says in the Muwatta that 'the accepted rule, without any difference of opinion, is that zakat(111) is due on 20 dinars or 200 dirhams'.(112) The weights and measures in general use in those days were S'a, mudd, ratal, auqiyah and mithqal to which a few more were added latter on. The Arabs also possessed knowledge of arithmatic, for, it is evident, that the Qur'an had relied on their ability to compute the shares of the legatees in promulgating the Islamic law of inheritance.

Prosperous Families of Quraysh
Bani Umayya and Banl Makhzum were the two prominent families of the Quraysh favored by the stroke of luck. Walld b. al-Mughira, 'Abdul 'Uzza (Abu Lahab), Abu Uhayha b. Sa'eed b. al-'As b. Umayya (who had a share of 30,000 di,nars in the caravan of Abu Sufyan) and 'Abd b. Abl Rabi'a al. Makhzum had made good fortunes. 'Ahdullah b. Jad'an of Banu Taym was also one of the wealthiest persons of Makkah who used to drink water in a cup of gold and maintained a public kitchen for providing food to every poor and beggar. 'Abbaas Ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib was another man abounding in riches who spent lavishly on the indigent and the needy and lent money at interest in Makkah. During his farewell Pilgrimage when the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) abolished usurious transactions, he declared: "The first usury I abolish today is that of 'Abbaas b. 'Abdul Muttalib".
Makkah had also men rolling in riches whose well-furnished drawing rooms were the rendezvous of the elite of the Quraysh who rejoiced in the pleasures of wine, love and romance.
The chiefs of the Quraysh usually had their sittings in front of the K'aba in which prominent poets of pre-Islamic days, such as, Labid, recited their poems. It was here that 'Abdul Muttalib used to have his gatherings and, as they say, his sons dared not take their seats around him until their father had arrived.

Culture & Arts
Industrial arts and crafts were looked down on by the Quraysh; they considered it beneath their dignity to have their hands in a handiwork. Manual occupations were regarded as occupation meant exclusively for the slaves or non-Arabs. Yet, notwithstanding this proclivity of the Quraysh, certain crafts were a dire necessity and were practiced by some of them. Khabhab b. al-Aratt is reported to have been engaged in manufacturing swords. Constructional activities were also indispensable but Iranian and Byzantine workmen were employed to do the job for the Quraysh.
A few men in Makkah knew the art of reading and writing but the Arabs, as whole, were ignorant of the way by which learning is imparted. The Qur'an also calls them Ummi(113) or an unlettered people:
"He it is Who hath sent among the unlettered ones a messenger of their own."(114)
The people of Makkah were however, not ignorant of the arts of civilisation. Their refined taste, polish and culture excelled them in the whole of Arabia in the same was as the townsmen of any metropolis occupy a distinctive place in their country.
The language spoken at Makkah was regard as a model of unapproachable excellence: the Makkan dialect set the standard which the desert bedouins as well as the Arabs of outlying areas strived to imitate. By virtue of their elegant expression and eloquence, the inhabitants of MAKKAH were considered to possess the finest tongue, uncorrupted by the grossness of the languages of non-Arabs. In their physical features, shapeliness and good looks, the people of Makkah were considered to be the best representatives of the Arabian race. They were also endowed with the virtues of courage and magnanimity of heart, acclaimed by the Arabs as Al-Futuh and al-Murauwah, which were the two oft-repeated themes of Arabian poetry. These traits of their character admirably describe their recklessness which savoured troth of a devil and a saint.
The matters that attracted their attention most were genealogy, legends of Arabia, poetry, astrology and planetary mansions, ominous flight of the birds and a little of medication. As expert horsemen, they possessed an intimate knowledge of the horse and preserved the memory of the purest breed; and as dwellers of the desert they were well-versed in the delicate art of physiognomy. Their therapy based partly on their own experience and partly on the traditional methods handed down to them from their forefathers, consisted of branding, phlebotomy, removal of diseased limbs and use of certain herbs.

Military Powers
The Quraysh were by nature or nurture, a peace-loving people, amiable in disposition; for, unlike all other peoples inside and outside the Peninsula, their prosperity depended on t the development of free trade, continual movement of caravans, improvement of marketing facilities in their own city and maintenance of conditions peaceful enough to encourage merchants and pilgrims to bend their steps to Makkah. They were sufficiently farsighted to recognise that their merchantile business was their life: trade was the source of their livelihood as well as the means to increase their prestige as servants of the sanctuary. The Qur'an has also referred to the fact in the Surah Quraysh:
"So let them worship the Lord of this House, who hath fed them against hunger hath made safe from fear." [Qur'an 106:3-5]
In other words, they were inclined to avoid a scramble unless their tribal or religious honour was in peril. They were thus committed to the principle of peaceful coexistence; nevertheless, they possessed considerable military prowess. Their courage and intrepidity was as axiomatic throughout Arabia as was their skill in horsemanship. "Al-Ghadbata al-Mudriyah" or anger of the Mudar, which can be described as a tormenting thirst quenched by nothing save blood, was a well known adage of Arabic language frequently used by the poets and orators of pre-Islamic Arabia.
The military prowess of Quraysh was not restricted to their own tribal reserves alone. They utilised the services of ahabeesh or the desert Arabs living around Makkah, some of which traced their descent to Kinana and Khuzayma b. Mudrika the distant relation of Quraysh. The Khuza'a were also confederates of the Quraysh. In addition, Makkah had always had slaves in considerable numbers who were ever willing to fight for their masters. They could thus draft, at any time, several thousand warriors under their banner. The strongest force numbering 10,000 combatants, ever mustered in the pre-lslamic era, was enlisted by the Quraysh in the battle of Ahzab.

Makkah, The Heart of Arabia
By virtue of its being the seat of the national shrine and the most flourishing commercial centre whose inhabitants were culurally and intellectually in Arabia. It was considered a rival of Sana' in Yernen, but with the Abyssinians and Iranians gaining control over Sana, one after another, and the decline of the earlier glamour of Hira and Ghassan, Makkah had attained a place of undisputed supremacy in Arabia.

The Moral Life
A moral ideal was what the Makkans lacked most of all, or one can say, except for the binding force of some stale customs and traditional sentiments of Arab chivalry, they had no code of ethics to guide their conduct. Gambling was a favourite pastime in which they took pride, unrestrained drunkenness sent them into rapturous delight and immoderate dissipation satisfied their perverted sense of honor. Their gatherings were the scenes of drinking bouts and wanton debauchery. Without any idea of sin or crime, they never took any aversion to wickedness, iniquity, callousness and brigandage.
The moral atmosphere of Arabia in general, and of Makkah in particticular, was faithfully depicted by J'afar b. Abu Talib, a prominent member of the Quraysh, in the court of Negus, when he said to him;
"O King we were an unenlightened people plunged in ignorance: we worshipped idols, we ate dead animals, and we committed abominations; we broke natural ties, we ill-treated our neighbors and our strong devoured the weak." (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, p.336)

Religious Life
The religious practices and beliefs of the Arabs were, beyond doubt, even more despicable, particularly, by reason of the influence they exerted on the social and moral life of the people. Having lost all but little touch with the salubrious teachings of the prophets of old, they had been completely submerged in the crude and materialistic form of fetishism like that prevailing in the countries surrounding them. So fond had they become of idol worship that no less than three hundred and sixty deities adorned, or defiled, the holy sanctuary. The greatest amongst these gods was Hubal whom Abu Sufyan had extolled at the battle of Uhud when he had cried out: "Glory be to Hubal". The idol occupied a central place in the K'aba, by the side of a well in which the offerings were stored. Sculptured in the shape of a man, it was made of a huge cornelian rock. As its right hand was missing when the Quraysh had discovered it, they had replaced it by a hand made of solid gold. Two idols had been placed in front of the K'aba, one was called Isaf and the other as Na'ila; the former had been installed close to the K'aba and the latter by the place of Zamzam. After sometime the Quraysh had shifted the first one near the other, where they offered up sacrifices besides them. On the mounts of Safa and Marwah, there were two more idols called Nahik Mujawid al-Rih and Mut'im at-Tayr.
Every household in Makkah had an idol which was worshipped by the inmates of the house. Al-'Uzza had been installed near 'Arafat within a temple constructed for it. Quraysh venerated al-'Uzza as the chief or the noblest of all deities. The Arabs used to cast lots with the help of divining arrows placed before these idols for taking a decision to commence any affair. There were also other idols, one of which named as al-Khalsa, had been set up in the depression of Makkah's valley. The idol was garlanded, presented an offering of barley and wheat and bathed with milk. The Arabs used to make sacrifices and hang the eggs of ostrich over it. Being a popular deity its replicas were sold by vendors to the villagers and pilgrims visiting Makkah.
The Arabs possessed the virtues of courage, loyalty and generosity, but during the long night of superstition and ignorance, worship of images and idols had stolen into their hearts, perhaps, more firmly than any other nation; and they had wandered far away from the simple faith of their ancestors Ibrahim ('alayhis salaam) and Isma'il ('alayhis salaam) which had once taught them the true meaning of religious piety, purity of morals and seemliness of conduct.
So, this was the city of Makkah, The by the middle of the sixth century of Christian era, before the birth of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam), whence we see Islam rising on a horizon shrouded in obscure darkness.
In very truth the Lord has said: "That thou mayst warn a folk whose fathers were not warned, so they are heedless." [Qur'an 36:6]

Footnotes
[102] Akhbar Makkah by ‘Abi al-Walid al-Azraqi (d. 223. A.H.) has given all the necessary details about the matter.
[103] Water supplied to the pilgrim was stored in tanks especially constructed for the purpose and the water was sweetened by mixing dates and raisins.
[104] A large piece of cloth with an opening cut through it, in which the girl could put through her head, was placed over her head to signify her betrothal.
[105] A tax paid by the Quraysh from their property at the tie of Hajj for providing food to pilgris Al-Hadrai, p. 36.
[106] Dices marked ‘Yes' and ‘No' on either side were thrown to decided whether any important task was to be undertaken or not. It was known as Aysar-o-Azlam.
[107] When Thumama b. Athal (the Chief of Banu Hanifa) embraced Islam, he put a ban on the export of wheat to Mecca. This was found so irk-some by the Quraysh that they had to make a request to the Prophet, on whose intervention, Thumama lifted the ban.
[108] Strabo once saw an Arabia caravan arriving at Petra and compared it with an army. (Arabia before Muhammad, p. 185).
[109] Vol. IX, p. 270, art. Dinar
[110] Dogmatic theology or the science of law covering devotional rituals, private conduct and dealing as well as civil and criminal law of Islam.
[111] Lit. "Purification", hence a specified portion of property one is obliged to give more either privately or to the state as Alms, for sanctification of the remainder.
[112] Bulugh-ul-Adab fi a'rafata Ahwal-ul-‘Arab by Alusi, Altarbi ud-Dariyah by Abdul Ha'I Al-Katani, Fiqah-uz-Zakat by Yusuf al-Qurzawi and Tafsir Majidi by Abdul Amjid Daryabadi.
[113] Lit. "The Unlettered", also a title of the Prophet. For a detailed discussion of the subject see article ‘Was Muhammad Literate?' by Mohaiddun Ahmad in the Islam and the Modern Age, Vol. VIII, No. 2 (May 1977).
[114] Baladuri gives the name of 17 individuals who alone knew how to read and wrote in Mecca. (Futuh al-Buldan, Leydan, pp. 471-2).

__________________

البحث عن مواضيع لنفس العضو

المواضيع المتشابهة
الموضوع	كاتب الموضوع	المنتدى	مشاركات	المشاركة الأخيرة
The three fundamentals of Islam.	علاءعباد	المنتدى الإسلامي العام	2	10 -10 -2008 02:34 PM
Fundamentals of Islam	علاءعباد	المنتدى الإسلامي العام	0	08 -09 -2008 03:58 PM
Islam in Texas/الإسلام في ول اية تكساس	3oday1986	منتدى الفديو والمرئيات	4	07 -05 -2008 01:56 AM

يشاهد الموضوع حالياً: 1 (0 عضو و 1 ضيف)

أدوات الموضوع
مشاهدة صفحة طباعة الموضوع أرسل هذا الموضوع إلى صديق

( عفوا المشاركات فى هذا الباب ستحذف اذا حررت بالعربية) Sharing the Message of Islam

للمواضيع العامة والتي لا تنتمي لأي قسم من أقسام المنتدى