Pre-Islamic Arabia

Pre-Islamic Arabia Timeline

This short timeline gives an overview of some of the key moments in Arabia leading up to the foundation of the religion of Islam.

History of Pre-Islamic Arabia

Pre-Islamic Arabia was not a single state governed by a single government or empire. Instead, the socio-political structure of pre-Islamic Arabia was made up of many different tribes who were constantly at war with one another.

This map shows some of the names and locations of the dominant tribes in Arabia c.600 C.E. One key tribe to look out for here is the Quraysh tribe located in Mecca (here spelled the Arabic way, Makkah).

Map Showing Names and Locations of the Major Tribes in Pre-Islamic Arabia c.600 C.E. Wikimedia Commons.

There were two main types of tribe in pre-Islamic Arabia. Let's take a look at each of these in turn.

Bedouin Tribes

Bedouin tribes were nomadic tribes, meaning that they were constantly on the move to find new places to graze their livestock. The English word 'Bedouin' means 'desert dweller', to highlight the fact that these nomadic tribes moved through the desert regions of Arabia.

Bedouin tribes mainly herded camels and goats. They also earned money by taxing trade caravans and transporting trade across the deserts.

Hadari Tribes

Hadari tribes were sedentary tribes, meaning that they settled in towns or cities rather than moving about the region. They tended to be farmers or merchants. One of the key tribes in the early history of Islam was the Quraysh tribe. The Quraysh were fierce opponents of Muhammad.

Clans

Although any individual's identity was defined first and foremost by their tribe, every tribe was split into various clans. These clans tended to be extended families that represented powerful factions within a tribe. Clans often clashed with one another as they attempted to gain the most power within a tribe.

Mecca in Pre-Islamic Arabia

The city of Mecca was based in the region of the Hejaz, located in modern day southwest Saudi Arabia. In the century leading up to Muhammad's birth, the city became a thriving financial centre because it was based at an intersection of different trade routes across Arabia.

However, the significance of Mecca stretched far beyond its financial prosperity. For many centuries, Mecca had been a site of religious pilgrimage, drawing tribes from all over Arabia to worship various deities at the Kaaba.

The Kaaba in pre-Islamic Arabia

The Kaaba was a holy site for the Bedouin tribes in pre-Islamic Arabia. It comprised of a black cube-shaped building, inside of which were many sculptures and paintings of the various gods that the Bedouins worshipped. Once a year, the different tribes agreed to stop fighting and perform the annual pilgrimage to the Kaaba to worship and trade with one another.

Muslims worshipping at the Kaaba in Mecca. Aiman Titi, Wikimedia Commons.

When Muhammad conquered Mecca in 630, he destroyed all the sculptures of different local deities in the Kaaba and made it a site dedicated to the worship of Allah instead. Therefore, the Kaaba continued its religious significance, but now in the character of Islam rather than paganism.

Pre-Islamic Arabia Religion

Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia can be split into two categories.

1. Arabic religion. This which was the religious practice observed by the Bedouin and Hadari tribes of pre-Islamic Arabia.

2. Monotheistic religion: Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism.

Arabic Religion

Religious culture among the Arab tribes was mainly polytheistic and pagan. Let's take a closer look at some of the pagan deities worshipped in Arabia during this time.

Monotheistic Religions

Prior to the rise of Islam in Arabia, there were three major monotheistic religions in the area. These were Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism.

Judaism

There was a long history of Judaism in Arabia - it was in this region that Semitic culture and religion was first born. After the Romans' destruction of the Jewish temple at Jerusalem in 70 C.E, many Jews migrated to the Arabian Peninsula and settled there.²

Scholar Josef Horowitz argues that in some areas, Jews mingled with the polytheistic Arabs so frequently that the two groups had much more in common that you might think.

Christianity

The religion of Christianity was born after the death and alleged resurrection of a prophet named Jesus in Jerusalem at the hands of the Roman Empire. It was originally a Jewish sect, but quickly became distinct from its Jewish roots.

Early Christianity was formed in the Arabian region - one of the first Christian missionaries, St Paul, was converted in the Syrian city of Damascus. Two of the first Church Councils, where the different leaders of the early Church came together, were held in the Arabian Peninsula.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism was a monotheistic religion which arose in the Iranian region of the Near East. This religion was founded on the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster, who believed that the universe was divided into good and evil forces. The Sassanid dynasty promoted the Zoroastrian religion in their territories.