Life and Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
1. Arabia before Islam
~ 8 ~
camel, the only means of transportation is indispensable, for a
desert life demands continuous movement. The desert dwellers
must continually go in search of pastures, which are scarce and
thin, and soon cropped bare. The pastures turn green around
spring, watered by springs which form in the wake of occasional
rainfalls. In such an infertile country where no agriculture has ever
been possible, the only produce is dates. In the context of this
civilization, Yemen has always been very developed in terms of
agriculture. Showing great intelligence the Yemenis invented ways
of saving rain water from running down to the sea so that artificial
irrigation could be carried out. Moreover, they built the famous
dam of Maarib by changing the natural course of the water. This
water is gathered in a 400 meter wide valley between two
mountains by constructing a dam with gates at the narrowest point
in the valley.
Then this water is divided into many streams and spread over a
wide area of plains. It is almost like the Nile in the dam area in
Upper Egypt. In this way they have contrived to have a controlled
distribution of their water. The fertility of their land has gone on
increasing and the people of Yemen have become very prosperous.
MAKKAH
When Hajira’s infant son started crying for water she ran
desperately between the hills of Safa and Marwah in search of
water. She ran seven times when finally she discovered a spring of
water gushing from the ground by the side of her son. It was this
