Life and Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
1. Arabia before Islam
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of Noah, are called the
Arab al baidah,
“the lost Arabs”, their
identity having been submerged in that of other peoples.
The progeny of Ismail were known as
Mustariba
, or naturalised
Arabs, and they greatly multiplied. They were divided into many
tribes and clans. The Quraysh, the largest tribe, descending from
the Kinanah and Ismail, had several clans. They were settled in
Makkah by an ancestor of renown called Qusayy, who displaced the
previous inhabitants, the Khuzaah. The clans who lived in the
vicinity of the Kabah were considered most honourable. These
were called
Quraysh al Bitah
(the Quraysh of the Hollow).
The location of Makkah on important caravan routes across the
Peninsula, and the prestige of the Kabah in the age of Ignorance
(Jahiliyyah) gave it great advantages as a trading city. This is why
the Quraysh became one of the richest and most powerful tribes.
This, together with their descent from the Kinanah and Ismail, gave
them claims to an aristocratic pre-eminence.
The Prophet Muhammad was of the Banu Hashim clan of the
Quraysh, who lived in the vicinity of the Kabah and enjoyed great
honour and prestige in Arabia. These clans were divided into
families. Besides these Arabs there were also Christian and Jews
who lived in Arabia. A large number of their population lived in
Madinah.
In Arabia there are two different geographical types of soil
markedly different from one another – the oasis and the desert.
The inhabitants of Arabia naturally fall into two main groups:
nomadic and settled people. The city dwellers settled in one place
