History of Islam

The Worshipping of Jinn and Angels

Besides the abovementioned sects, some people of Arabia used to worship Jinn and angels. `Abdullah ibn al-Zuba`ri, a tribal chief in Mecca, used to say, “We are the worshippers of the angels; the Jews worship Ezra, and the Christians worship the Christ! Now ask Muhammad: Would we go to hell when we worship so many beloved ones?”[^153]

Banu-Malih, a branch of the Khuza`ah tribe, used to worship Jinn.[^154] It is said that the first people who started worshipping jinn were a group of Yemenis; then it was the Banu-Hanifah tribe; then it was spread among the Arabs.[^155] In the words of interpreters, some people believed that God has married the Jinn and the angels are the offspring of such a marriage.[^156] In the Holy Qur'an, God has condemned the worshipping of Jinn and angels and the wrong assumptions about them:

And they made the jinn associates with Allah, while He created them, and they falsely attributed to Him, and highly exalted is He above what they ascribe to Him. (6:100)

And on the day when He will gather them all together, and then He will say to the angels: Did these worship you? They shall say: Glory be to Thee! Thou art our Guardian, not they; nay! The worshippers become abashed. (34:41)

It also becomes clear through the answers offered by the angels that they are not satisfied with people who worship them. (34:41) It is evident that this question is not asking for any information; neither does it unveil any ambiguity. This is because God is All-knowing. God intends that the angels reveal the truth so that their worshippers become abased. However, the jinn were content in this respect.

Thus, the worshipping of these two sets of invisible creatures on the part of some worshippers was not unlike the dualism-bided sect, because the worshipper considered the jinn as the source of light, benevolence and abundance. When entering a valley at night, some Arabs used to say, “I ask the protection of the chief of the ignorant ones in order to be safe against those ignorant ones who live in this land.”[^157] By chanting such slogans, they believed the jinn would protect them for the truth of this claim comes from the Holy Qur'an:

And persons from among men used to seek refuge with persons from among jinn, so they increased them in wrongdoing. (72:6)

The Appearance of Mecca

The building of Mecca goes back to the time of Prophet Abraham who was ordered by God to bring his wife Hajar and his infant Isma`il from Syria to live in a dry climate. (14:37) Upon the appearance of Zamzam by God to water these two,[^158] Jurhum, a southern tribe whose individuals had moved towards the north due to famine and drought, came to settle there.

[^159] Reaching the age of adulthood, Isma`il married a girl from this tribe.[^160] Prophet Abraham was commanded by Allah to build up the Kaaba with the assistance of his son, Isma`il. (2:127) When it was built, the city of Mecca came into being and Isma`il's offspring gradually settled therein.

The Remnants of Abraham's Religion: Hanifiyyah

`Adnan was the great ancestor of the `Adnani Arabs and the twentieth ancestor of the Holy Prophet from Isma`il’s generation. Living in Hijaz, Najd, and Tihamah,[^161] the `Adnanis followed Prophet Abraham’s religion. In the words of Ya`qubi:

“Quraysh and `Adnan's children in general believed in some principles of Prophet Abraham’s religion. They used to perform their pious pilgrimage; they observed the Hajj ceremonies; they were hospitable; they observed the prohibited months; they abhorred nasty deeds, the severing of relations with relatives and injustice or tyranny; they used to punish the wrongdoers.[^162]

The remnants of Prophet Abraham’s traditions, such as belief in God, avoidance of marrying one's mother or daughter, ceremonies of Hajj and Sacrifice, nocturnal pollution,[^163] circumcision, and shrouding and burying the dead[^164] were all carried out up to the advent of Islam: they carried the ten rules of cleansing the body and removing the unwanted hairs and the like.[^165] They believed, as well, in the prohibitions imposed on the four months which was one of Prophet Abraham’s traditions.

[^166] If for any reason, there occurred a fight among them; they called it a sinful and obnoxious war.[^167] Thus, monotheism had a long history with the Arabs of that region and their idolatry entered there only later and drove them astray from monotheism.

The Beginning of Idolatry Among Arabs

In accordance with numerous documents, two factors have been effective in the propagation of idolatry among Arabs:

First: `Amr ibn Luhayy, the chief of Khuza`ah, an influential man and custodian of the Kaaba,[^168] made a trip to Syria where he could visit a group at `Amaliqah[^169] who were engaged in idolatry. When he asked why they worshipped those idols, they replied, “They cause the rain to fall and help us in many ways.” He asked them for an idol, and they gave him an idol called Hubal. Later, he took it to the Kaaba and stuck it on it asking people to worship it.[^170] Besides this, there are two other idols next to the Kaaba: Asaf and Na’ilah.[^171] These two were also worshipped upon his recommendation. In this way, he laid the foundation of idolatry. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said:

`Amr ibn Luhayy was the one who transformed Isma`il's religion and laid the foundation of idolatry. I have seen him in the fire of Hell.[^172]

Second: When Isma`il's children grew in numbers in Mecca, they decided to go to different cities and locations to continue with their life. Due to their extreme respect and love for Mecca, everybody used to take away a piece of stone and put it on the ground wherever they went and started going around it like the ceremony around the Kaaba.

Little by little, the motive behind this practice was forgotten and each stone transformed into an idol. People then would worship any stone they liked. In this way, they completely forgot their precious customs and religion: they transformed the religion of Prophet Abraham and Prophet Isma`il, accepting idolatry.[^173]

Of course, these two factors were the basic reasons for the spread of idolatry. Naturally, there were other factors in this process, such as ignorance, human fondness of sensation (according to which man prefers God to be tangible), zeal for being the chief or among the prominent figures of the tribe who preferred people to be stuck in ignorance so that they could carry on with their domination, and imitating their ancestors that caused the spread of idolatry in different forms.[^174] The number of idols gradually increased to such an extent that there was an idol in every home.

On their trips, they used to caress it with their hands and ask for blessing.[^175] At the time of the conquest of Mecca, there were three hundred and sixty idols in this city.[^176]

Did Idolaters Believe in Allah?

The idolaters did not deny the existence of Allah; they considered Him as the Creator of the skies, the earth and the universe—a fact established in the Holy Qur'an.[^177] However, they committed two huge mistakes which were the very root of their misleading.

(1) A false recognition of Allah and His Attributes; they had puzzling attitudes towards Allah. This is witnessed by the fact that they assumed a wife and children for God. They thought that angels were Allah's daughters. They erroneously assumed that Allah was like men and other creatures that had the power of sexual reproduction. However, in different verses, God has reprimanded them for these attitudes:

And he made the angels - those who are the servants of the Beneficent God - female divinities.

What! Did they witness their creation? Their evidence shall be written down and they shall be questioned. (43:19)

Most surely, they who do not believe in the hereafter name the angels with female names. (53:27)

And they say: The Beneficent God has taken to Himself a son. Glory be to Him. Nay! They are honored servants. (21:16)

And they made the Jinn Associates with Allah, while He created them, and they falsely attributed to Him sons and daughters without knowledge; glory be to Him, and Highly exalted is He above what they ascribe to Him. And that He - exalted be the majesty of our Lord - has not taken a consort, or a son. (6:100-101)

In different verses, God has reprimanded the disbelievers for their ascribing to God the existence of girls, which were considered to be evil, while ascribing boys to themselves:

Or has He daughters while you have sons. (52:39)

Then ask them whether your Lord has daughters and they have sons. Or did we create the angels females while they were witnesses. (37:149-150)

Have you then considered Lat, `Uzza, and Manat the third, the last? What! For you the males. And for Him the females! This indeed is an unjust division! They are naught but names which you have named, you and your fathers; Allah has not sent for them any authority. They follow naught but conjecture and the low desires which their souls incline to; and certainly, the guidance has come to them from their Lord. (37:149-150)

What! Has He taken daughters to Himself of what He himself creates and chosen you to have sons? (43:16)

And they assert a relationship between Him and the jinn; and certainly, the jinn do know that they shall surely be brought up. Glory be to Allah for freedom from what they describe. (37:158-159)

In accordance with an interpretation, by the relation of God to Jinn was meant to be their assumption of God's relation with Jinn, the consequence of which was the angels.[^178]

2. They used to think of the idols as petty Gods, intermediate between themselves and Allah. Worshipping these petty Gods was supposed to satisfy Him. This assumption was irrational since worship belongs to Allah alone.

Despite the fact that these small gods were not supposed to be the creators of the world, their worshippers assumed some divine roles for them, considering them influential on man's fate and future. They looked for these Gods' assistance to solve their worldly problems. However, in Islam, Allah is considered to be both the Creator of the universe and its Manager. (17:111) The idols are lifeless entities, lacking perception. The Holy Qur'an depicts their baseless assumptions in the following manner:

And they serve beside Allah what can neither harm them nor profit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah. Say: Do you presume to inform Allah of what He knows not in the heavens and the earth? Glory be to Him, and supremely exalted is He above what they set up with Him. (10:18)

Now, surely, sincere obedience is due to Allah alone and as for those who take guardians besides Him, saying, We do not serve them save that they may make us nearer to Allah, Surely Allah will judge between them in that about which they differ; Surely Allah does not guide him aright who is a liar, ungrateful. (39:3)

And they have taken Gods besides Allah, that they should be to them a source of strength. (19:81)

And they have taken Gods besides Allah that they may be helped. (36:74)

The Holy Qur'an calls the idolaters liars and ungrateful ones because they considered the idols as helpers to Allah in the management of worldly affairs.

The Chaotic State of Religion

When Islam appeared, idolatry had distorted and transformed the Hanifiyyah through its widespread customs and ceremonies. The disbelievers were in a state of chaos regarding religion. They severely adhered to their idolatry and carried out its customs. They carried out Prophet Abraham’s ceremonies, such as Hajj and sacrifice in a defective, distorted way, and mingled it with superstitions.

For instance, besides bowing to and worshipping the Kaaba, they had built other temples around which they performed their ceremonies. They even took sacrifices to those temples, slaughtering them on the spot.[^179] Their prayers beside the Kaaba were nothing more than whistling and hand-clapping. During Hajj time and at the time of uttering the expression at Thy service, they used to call the names of their idols besides Allah's name.

[^180] In this way, they mingled the Hajj of Prophet Abraham, which is one of the most sublime manifestations of monotheism, with polytheism. The two tribes, Aws and Khazraj, instead of head-shaving at the land of Mina, carried out this ceremony on their way back to Medina at the foot of Manat (an idol), which was at the seashore[^181] on the route between Mecca and Yathrib.[^182]

The disbelievers, both men and women, used to circumambulate the Kaaba naked;[^183] it is apparent what a horrible scene could be seen around the Kaaba!

People of Quraysh used to put musk and ambergris on their idols next to the Kaaba and bow to them; they used to gather around them uttering at Thy service.[^184] Although they believed in the reverence of those four sacred months not to be involved in wars, they used to change the names of the month and postpone the sacred months so that they could be involved in wars.[^185]

Drastic Changes in the Light of the Appearance of Islam

The advent of Islam brought forth drastic changes in the lifestyle of the people of Hijaz; a complete revolution took place the effects of which could be observed in the entirety of the Arabian Peninsula. With a resolute and strong struggle against idolatry, the Holy Prophet rooted out idolatry, replacing it with the principle of monotheism.

Islam demolished the system of tribal life and its wrong and hazardous customs. It annulled the tribal prejudices and established a zeal for justice in society. Islam changed vengeance, plunder and homicide into peace and tranquility. It called all Muslims brethren of one another. It rescued women from misery and gave them sublime human dignity. Islam turned an ignorant nation into a knowing one. It established the systems of ummah (community) and imamate to replace tribal systems.

It made a unified nation out of the scattered tribes. Islam prepared them for a universal government transcending the limited tribal life. Due to Islam, the Arab nation became so powerful that it could overthrow the great empires of those days, namely Iran and Rome. This point is so obvious that even non-Muslim scholars have witnessed to its authenticity. As some examples, we will present the views of three of them.

Dr. Eustan Le Bon, a French author, says:

“It was the great miracle of the Prophet of Islam to unite all the wandering Arabs into a nation prior to his demise. He made every Muslim obedient to one leader. Without doubt, Prophet Muhammad had some tangible results that none of the previous religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, could have achieved. For this, the Arab nation owes him a lot. If we desire to evaluate people with their feats and deeds, definitely Muhammad is the greatest man in the history of mankind. We consider the religion which he brought for mankind as a great Divine asset.”[^186]

Thomas Carlyle, an English author, writes:

“Through Islam, God led the Arabs from darkness into light. Islam enlivened the dead and silenced Arabs. From the very beginning of man's life, Arabs were nothing but wandering desert-dwelling groups of people. They had nothing to present to the world.

Through the prophethood of a great Prophet, God changed the unknown Arab people into a well-known nation, a wandering nation into a settled one, a miserable nation into a prosperous one, a weak nation into a powerful one, and a spark into a great fire. The Prophet's rays spread everywhere; his light scattered at every corner of the earth, the south, the east and the west so much so that only one century after its advent, the Islamic government could establish its power from India to Andalusia.”[^187]

Will Durant writes:

“In those days, nobody could dream and believe that wandering desert-dwelling people could, after only one century, capture half of the Roman territories in Asia, the whole territory of Iran and Egypt and most of the northern territories of Africa, and be on its way towards Spain. This historic event which started from Arabia and through which the Arabs could capture half of the Mediterranean territories and could establish Islam is no doubt the strangest historical event in the Middle Ages.”[^188]

The Development and Significance of Mecca

The majority of the Arabian Peninsula people during the Ignorance Era were desert-dwellers living in tents. Civil life did not exist in the territory of Hijaz. What is referred to as a city was in fact minor villages with small populations. Some historians have estimated that only one-sixth of the population was city-dwellers; some have estimated that seventeen percent of the whole population was living in cities.[^189] The basis for these estimations is not clear. The percentage of city dwellers was small.

Being located eighty-three kilometers away from the Red Sea, the city of Mecca, in the south of Hijaz, was the most important in the region; it had attracted a lot of settlers some decades prior to the advent of Islam. There were two reasons for the development of Mecca: