Here we will explore the life story of the most beautiful person in the world, Prophet Muhammad. At the beginning of the Seerah series, we will discuss the condition of Arab society at that time. What was their lifestyle like? What were their beliefs and culture? There’s a saying that one who preaches Islam should understand the mentality of the people based on their environment and culture. Otherwise, they will not be able to invite people to Islam with wisdom.
Today, a significant problem in the Muslim world is that many Muslims view Islam as a backward way of life and instead accept the Western lifestyle as the standard. They embrace everything offered to them without critical understanding, including Western financial systems, secularism, liberal culture, and religious values, considering these as the path to progress. Whether in cities or villages, among the poor or the rich, Western culture has influenced every level of Muslim society. Meanwhile, a large portion of the Muslim community is busy fighting amongst themselves, ignoring the Western ideological, social, and cultural aggression. Muslims are not even arguing over fundamental religious issues, but rather over secondary or optional matters. The more Muslims should try to refute secularism or atheism, rather mostly they become entangled in secondary issues of faith. However, many Muslims are unaware of whether they should even be concerned about these secondary matters.
In a society where Islam is not the main focus, addressing minor issues will not lead to success in that society. Our priority should be to understand the main problem of the Ummah. Why is the Ummah not embracing Islam as a complete way of life? What are the obstacles? To understand these issues, we must first understand the condition of our society. If we remain isolated within our own circles, the Ummah will fall behind and will not be revitalized. To preach Islam in an ignorant society, it is crucial to understand that society. As we begin our study of the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), we will first discuss the condition of Arab society during that time.
When we preach Islam in our own society, we must understand its weaknesses from both an individual and societal perspective. Let’s start by examining religious and ideological beliefs. The first defining aspect of any nation is its faith, not its nationality, skin colour, or geographical location. Faith shapes the nature, morals, values, and practices of that nation.
The reason for saying this is that many people in our country think our first identity is being Bengali. But this idea is meaningless. Being Bengali does not shape a person’s beliefs, purpose, ethics, or morality. Whether a person goes to heaven or hell has nothing to do with being Bengali or Pakistani.
How does a person differentiate between good and bad? Bengali identity does not provide any guidance on this. A person’s true identity is based on their religious beliefs. I have already mentioned that the people of Mecca at that time believed in multiple gods. They inherited this belief from their forefathers, just as we Muslims believe in what is in the Quran. This means that our belief as Muslims is based on revelation and religious scriptures, whereas their belief was based on culture. It can be said that they followed traditions from six hundred thousand years ago, with no scriptures or proof behind their beliefs. They simply followed what everyone else was doing.
In our country, many secular-minded Bengalis think similarly. They follow some cultural practices, claiming these traditions have been around for thousands of years, but in reality, they often stem from shirk (associating partners with Allah) or anti-Islamic practices.
Now, you can see that this is not a new issue. Materialistic or secular societies often turn ancient practices into cultural traditions, claiming they are thousands of years old.
Although these Arab pagans worshipped multiple gods, they did not disbelieve in Allah. Allah said in the Quran
“And if you asked them who created them, they would surely say, “Allah.” So how are they deluded?”
(Quran 43:87)
“And if you ask them who sends down rain from the sky, giving life to the earth after its death, they will surely say, “Allah!” Say, “Praise be to Allah!” In fact, most of them do not understand”
(Quran 29:63)
They had many idols like Hubal, Lat, Manat, and Uzza. But interestingly, they did not have an idol of Allah. So, why did they worship these idols? They believed that the idols were mediators between them and Allah, and they wanted to seek Allah’s help through them.
Allah said in the Quran,
“Indeed, sincere devotion is due ˹only˺ to Allah. As for those who take other lords besides Him, ˹saying,˺ “We worship them only so they may bring us closer to Allah,” surely Allah will judge between all1 regarding what they differed about. Allah certainly does not guide whoever persists in lying and disbelief.”
(Quran 39:3)
They got this idea from their ancestors. They believed they were very sinful, so they thought they had to worship Allah through these idols. Otherwise, they feared Allah wouldn’t listen to them. Unfortunately, many Muslims today make the same mistake. They go to shrines or seek help from fake Pirs (spiritual leaders), believing these dead or living Pirs will act as mediators between them and Allah. They offer a flawed logic, saying that just as you need a lawyer to approach a judge, you need a mediator to approach Allah.
But there is no mediator between Allah and us. No matter how sinful we are, no one is as merciful as Allah. He is all-hearing and has said that He is the most merciful. So why would we need help from anyone else? This kind of belief is shirk, even if one believes in Allah.
Allah said in the Quran,
“And they worship other than Allah that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say, “These are our intercessors with Allah ” Say, “Do you inform Allah of something He does not know in the heavens or on the earth?” Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him.”
(Quran 10:18)
Also Allah said in the Quran
Or ˹ask them,˺ “Who responds to the distressed when they cry to Him, relieving ˹their˺ affliction, and ˹Who˺ makes you successors in the earth? Is it another god besides Allah? Yet you are hardly mindful!”
(Quran 27:62)
Now, let’s move on to the discussion of their political system. In that Arab society, each tribe had its own leader. These tribes were based on lineage or bloodline, so in many cases, everyone in a tribe was related to each other. Typically, a tribe was named after a famous ancestor. No tribe was very large, as they often divided into smaller sub-tribes. The tribes of that time can be compared to the nations or states of today. While tribes were based on lineage, modern nations or states are generally based on ethnicity, like Turkish, Yemeni, or Lebanese. The tribal leader was responsible for the independence and security of the tribe’s members.
Tribal sovereignty was more important than anything else, similar to how national interests are prioritized in today’s world. Every member of a tribe would always fight for their own tribe, even if their tribe was in the wrong. In the Quran, this is referred to as “Hamiyaat al-Jaahiliyyah,” meaning the tribalism of the age of ignorance, which refers to blindly supporting one’s own tribe. This can be compared to modern nationalism, where a person believes their nation or country is the best without reason and always defends it, regardless of whether it’s right or wrong. Anyone opposing their nation is labelled a traitor.
However, Islam views this matter differently. In Islam, justice is the highest priority. Islam is a religion of justice before it is a religion of peace. There can be no true peace without justice. In the eyes of Allah, there is no special status based on nationality. The best person in the eyes of Allah is the one who fears Him the most. The foundation of the superiority in Islam is faith, and the basis of sovereignty is the Sharia of Islam, not ethnicity or tribal identity. Although most Arab tribes were independent, some were under the rule of the Roman or Persian empires.
Primarily, these tribes acted as intermediaries. Almost all the time, there was war and conflict among the tribes, but there were also treaties between them, similar to the concept of friendly and enemy states today. If a tribe had an ally, that ally’s enemies were also considered enemies. War between tribes was a common reality. They did not have international laws like we do today. Conflicts among Arab tribes were frequent, often starting over small issues. There are incidents where wars began because someone’s camel grazed in the wrong place, and these wars lasted for 40 years, or fierce battles erupted from a simple horse race competition.
During the Jahiliya era, there was such a war that was very important in the history of Islam. That was the Battle of Bu’ath. This battle took place between the two main tribe in Madinah which was Aws and Khazraj. And the Jews did a very dirty job of provoking this war year after years. Jews kept them busy of fighting so that they could remain in Madinah in their rule. These two groups fought day after day and became tired of that which actually help them to accept Islam quickly later on. And after the advent of Islam in Madinah, these two groups became friend of each other. And they fight together against enemy for Islam. We will discuss this later Insha’Allah.
Another thing is that there was no other conventional army at that time. Rather, the entire adult male of the tribe was their part of the army. In the tribal society, a family’s power depended on the number of members of their family. The more the number of members of the family, the more powerful were they. If we talk about the economic system. First of all, it should be said that there was no agricultural work in that era. They were behind the trend at that time. Their mainly earning was from their sheep and camel. They mainly did business or trade. We have already discussed earlier about their special dignity. They use to trade with Caravan throughout the Arab land safely. This status were not same for the other tribe.
Allah said in the Quran,
“Have they not seen how We have made ˹Mecca˺ a safe haven, whereas people ˹all˺ around them are snatched away?1 How can they then believe in falsehood2 and deny Allah’s favors?”
(Quran 29:67)
The Quraysh used to buy things from Syria and Yemen. And sold them in various markets Okaz, Mazinna, Zulmajaz. These were some of the most famous markets at that time. But they were not only the market. It was also the cultural center of that time. There, poetry was practiced. Speeches were delivered. Great poets and speakers would gather. These markets became the center of the literature of Arabia.
We have discussed the source of finance of Quraysh at this time because when we enter the Madani period, we will see why this topic is so important. In the Madani period, the war against Quraysh was not only limited to the battle field but it was also a financial war. The battle of Badr was based on attacking to a Quraysh caravan. Attacking caravan was a common matter for Quraysh. The Arabs’ dominance in trade later played a role in the spread of Islam when they accept Islam. While Islam was primarily spread through Jihad (Battle), in regions like Africa and Asia, it spread through trade. Besides trade, another source of their income was interest-based loans, which they likely learned from the Jews. Hajj and Umrah were also significant sources of income. When pilgrims came for Hajj or Umrah, they would engage in trade or shopping. The Quran hints at these sources of income. Let’s talk about some aspects of Arab culture. The most important thing in Arab culture was their lineage. They judged superiority based on ancestry. Because of this, they didn’t want to marry non-Arabs, as they didn’t want to mix their bloodlines. But later, Islam broke this wrong idea and set fear of Allah as the true measure of superiority.
Another unique thing in Arab culture was their love for literature. Arabs were very passionate about it. They reached heights in literature that no other culture did. They had poetry gatherings where they could create verses on the spot. Their poetry wasn’t just simple rhymes; it was rich in meaning and quality, made instantly with great skill.”
Besides poetry, the Arabs were also skilled in giving speeches. Their words could have a huge impact across the Arab world, which was amazing. Even though most Arabs were illiterate, their poetry was more than just rhymes; it worked like the media today, spreading messages quickly. Through poetry, they could make someone a hero or a villain. A single poem could spread far in just a few hours, sometimes bringing honor to a tribe or causing shame.
In pre-Islamic Arabia, the condition of women was very poor. They usually did not inherit any property. Islam changed this by giving women the right to inherit property. It’s interesting that while the West often criticizes Islam for women’s rights, they only gave women inheritance rights much later. For example, in the 1990s, a woman in the U.S. often needed a man’s permission to sell property. But nearly 1,400 years ago, Islam gave women the right to own and inherit property
Allah said in the Quran,
“For men there is a share in what their parents and close relatives leave, and for women there is a share in what their parents and close relatives leave—whether it is little or much. ˹These are˺ obligatory shares”
(Quran 4:7)
In those days, the birth of a girl was looked down upon in Arab society. Women had little value because they didn’t fight in wars or earn money, so they were often seen as a burden
Allah said in the Quran,
“When any of them is told about the birth of a female his face turns dark, and he is filled with suppressed anger, (16:59) and he hides himself from people because of the bad news, thinking: should he keep the child despite disgrace, or should he bury it in dust?”
(Quran 16: 58-59)
In many Arab societies, there was a practice of burying baby girls alive due to the fear of poverty. Islam completely stopped this cruel practice. After Islam came, the way people saw women changed entirely. Islam made it forbidden to kill children out of fear of not having enough money. For the same reason, Islam also does not allow avoiding having children because of worries about providing for them
Allah says,
“Say, ˹O Prophet, “Come! Let me recite to you what your Lord has forbidden to you: do not associate others with Him ˹in worship˺. ˹Do not fail to honor your parents. Do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for you and for them. Do not come near indecencies, openly or secretly. Do not take a ˹human˺ life—made sacred by Allah—except with ˹legal˺ right. This is what He has commanded you, so perhaps you will understand.” (Quran 6:151)
In the time of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic period), women had no status or respect. However, in the Islamic society of Madinah, we see that women were given value, and their opinions were taken seriously. In a Hadith from Sahih Muslim, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “By Allah, in the time of Jahiliyyah, we did not consider women to have any rights. Then Allah revealed what He revealed about their rights and determined what was due to them.”
In the time of Jahiliyyah, women were treated like second-class citizens. There were some strange customs in Arab society regarding women. For example, if a woman’s husband passed away, she would marry the eldest son from her husband’s other wife. Islam put an end to this practice.
Allah says in the Quran,
“Do not marry former wives of your fathers—except what was done previously. It was indeed a shameful, despicable, and evil practice.”
(Quran 4:22)
During that time, there was no limit on giving divorce. A man could divorce his wife as many times as he wanted and still take her back. Islam changed this rule. According to Islamic law, a man can divorce his wife a maximum of three times. After three divorces, the wife becomes forbidden for him, and they cannot remarry each other even if they want to. However, if the woman marries someone else and her new husband willingly divorces her, only then can she remarry her first husband. Allah says,
“Divorce may be retracted twice, then the husband must retain ˹his wife˺ with honour or separate ˹from her˺ with grace.1 It is not lawful for husbands to take back anything of the dowry given to their wives, unless the couple fears not being able to keep within the limits of Allah.2 So if you fear they will not be able to keep within the limits of Allah, there is no blame if the wife compensates the husband to obtain divorce.3 These are the limits set by Allah, so do not transgress them. And whoever transgresses the limits of Allah, they are the ˹true˺ wrongdoers.
So if a husband divorces his wife ˹three times˺, then it is not lawful for him to remarry her until after she has married another man and then is divorced. Then it is permissible for them to reunite, as long as they feel they are able to maintain the limits of Allah. These are the limits set by Allah, which He makes clear for people of knowledge.”
(Quran 2: 229-230)
One of the propaganda spread by Islamophobes is about “Hilla marriage.” They twist this Islamic ruling to make people think negatively about Islam. They claim that if a man divorces his wife, she must marry someone else with the agreement that the new husband will divorce her so she can return to her first husband. This would mean that the marriage with the new husband is just a setup. But this is not what Islam teaches. There is no such thing as a contract marriage in Islam. A woman cannot marry someone with the agreement that he will divorce her after a while. They must live together as a normal married couple, without the intention of returning to the first husband. However, if the new husband willingly divorces her for any reason, then she can marry her first husband again.
One might ask why Islam limits the number of divorces. The reason is to prevent divorce from becoming a cheap and easy thing. It is also to stop a husband from using divorce as a tool to exploit his wife, divorcing her whenever he wants and then taking her back. Islam treats marriage with great importance. It doesn’t allow divorce over minor issues, followed by remarriage. In fact, even jokingly giving divorce is not allowed in Islam. This is not a matter to be taken lightly. As it is such an important issue, so divorce is limited in Islam.
Another strange custom before Islam was related to the concept of “Zihar.” If a husband compared his wife to his mother, the divorce would happen automatically. Simply saying, “You are like my mother,” would result in a divorce. Islam also abolished this rule. Allah Says,
“Those among you who make their wives unlawful to them by Zihar they cannot be their mothers. None can be their mothers except those who gave them birth. And verily, they utter an ill word and a lie.”
(Quran 58:2)
Nowadays, we can say that Westerners, in the name of women’s rights, have actually broken down the family system in society. They have made the path to adultery easier. They have placed unnecessary economic burdens on women. They have commercialized the female body. They have even legalized the business of women’s bodies, covering it in the guise of modelling, fashion, and advertising industries. Most importantly, the Western culture has created an unsafe society for women, the likes of which we do not see anywhere else in Islam.
At this point, we have only criticized the Arabs. But a question might arise: if the Arabs were so bad and barbaric, why did Allah send the Prophet among them? Why didn’t He send the Prophet to the Romans, who had the most advanced civilization at that time? Or why didn’t He send the Prophet to Persia? Why did He send the Prophet to the desert of Arabia among the uneducated Bedouins? There are several reasons behind this.
Now, we will discuss some of the qualities of the Arabs. Firstly, their intelligence and strong memory. Arabs had an oral tradition. They had extraordinary memorization skills. Unlike us, who write things down to preserve them, Arabs preserved them in their minds and passed them down orally from one generation to the next. This skill later helped in the preservation of the Qur’an and Hadith. In the early days, the Qur’an and Hadith were preserved in the memory of the companions. After the Prophet’s death, the Qur’an was first compiled in written form, and the Hadith was written down much later. These were possible due to these unique qualities of the Arabs.
The second quality could be the simplicity of the Arabs. It’s true that they were polytheists, but their beliefs were straightforward. They did not like philosophical discussions or complicated arguments. They did not practice the complex logic of the Greeks, nor did they believe in the strange theology of the Romans. So, when Islam came, false ideas were relatively easy to remove from their hearts. On the other hand, civilizations that have existed for a long time had more complex beliefs and theology. Therefore, when Islam entered those regions, it was difficult to remove old beliefs from the minds of new Muslims. But for the Arabs, it was easier. They could accept Islam in its pure form without mixing it with their false be
The Arabs were extremely generous. Imagine if a guest came to someone’s home and the only possession they had was a camel. To honour the guest, they would slaughter the entire camel. We have heard of Hatim al-Tai, who was famous for his generosity, and he was an Arab. Abdul Muttalib, whom we have discussed, was also known for his generosity. And we have talked about the Quraysh, who generously hosted the pilgrims, a tradition that continues even today.
The Arabs were brave and loved to fight. Those who love battle are usually courageous. In Arab society, those who died in battle were praised, while those who died in bed were mocked and poetry was written about them. For an Arab, nothing was more important than the honour of his tribe. If his tribe was attacked, he would immediately jump to its defence. Not standing by the helpless was seen as cowardice. This bravery was useful for Islam. The number of battles fought in the early days of Islam is unimaginable without a brave nation. In the Prophet’s time alone, about 70 battles and military expeditions took place. Later, during the time of the Rashidun Caliphs, wars were fought against the two great powers, the Romans and the Persians. Despite being technologically backward, the Arab Muslims went to war against these powerful military forces and won. This practice of great bravery played a significant role in the early victories of Islam.
They had a love for freedom. The Arabs did not have a defeatist or hopeless mentality like the Bani Israel. They wanted to remain independent. Most of the tribes in Arabia were independent. The Romans and Persians did not interfere in the internal affairs of the Arabs. The Arabs disliked the idea of outsiders meddling in their internal matters.
The Arabs strongly disliked lying. An excellent example of this is a story involving Abu Sufyan. At that time, Abu Sufyan had not yet become a Muslim and was a strong enemy of Islam. He hated the Prophet. At that time, there was a peace treaty between the Muslims and the Quraysh. This incident occurred a few days before the battle between the Muslims and the Romans. The Roman Emperor Heraclius was curious about the Muslims and the Arabs. The idea of the Bedouin Arabs waging war against the Romans was something they had never imagined. Anyway, Heraclius asked Abu Sufyan some questions about the Prophet to understand if he was a true Prophet or a false one. Surprisingly, despite having strong enmity and hatred, Abu Sufyan did not lie in his answers to Heraclius. It would have been normal for him, as an enemy, to say negative things about the Prophet, but even as a disbeliever, Abu Sufyan did not do so. Later, when he became a Muslim, he admitted the reason himself. He said, “If I were not afraid of being labelled a liar, I would have lied.” This shows that lying, even against an enemy, was generally seen as a bad trait among the Arabs. However, this does not mean that the enemies of the Prophet never lied against him. The Quraysh spread all sorts of propaganda against him.
The Arabs had another quality: loyalty, meaning loyalty to their own tribe. They never betrayed the side they were on. If they made a promise, they would keep it even if it meant risking their lives. The best example of this is Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). When he was a disbeliever, he was a strong opponent of Islam. But when he became a Muslim, he became a thorn in the eyes of the Quraysh. In other words, whatever he believed in, he dedicated himself fully to it. However, this loyalty among the Arabs sometimes went to extremes. They would sometimes support their own tribe even when it was unjust, as we discussed earlier.
The Arabs were known for their patience in difficult times and their contentment with little. They did not live luxurious lives; their way of life was quite harsh. They were used to having little food, rough environments, and harsh conditions. These qualities were necessary for the early Muslims, who had to endure more hardship than any other generation of Muslims. These qualities of the Arabs created a positive environment for the coming of Islam. Later, Islam further developed these qualities and guided them in the right direction. When the Arabs’ good qualities combined with faith and piety, they spread far and wide. They conquered country after country, won people’s hearts, and replaced disbelief with the fragrance of faith. They replaced injustice with justice and countered evil with good.
Besides these qualities, there are two geopolitical reasons why Arabia was suitable for the arrival of prophethood.
First, Arabia was located between two great civilizations, the Roman and Persian empires. Neither of these empires considered the Arabs significant. When a prophet appeared in Arabia, they did not see it as a threat and did not interfere. History shows us that great civilizations often fall to smaller tribes.
Second, the Arabs did not have a civilization like others; they had no legal system or moral framework. If prophethood had come to an established civilization, it would have been difficult to change their existing customs, laws, or social status. But this was not the case with the Arabs. Islam came, and the Arabs built Islamic civilization from scratch.
Overall, we can say that the Arabs were the most suitable people at that time to spread Islam. Despite the knowledge of the Persians, the skill of the Romans, and the intellect of the Greeks, these civilizations were not chosen for prophethood. The Arabs were chosen because their natural character was less corrupt, allowing them to accept Islam more easily and spread it around the world
