Dot Point 1: ISLAM - Origins

Outline the social conditions and religious practices that existed in

pre-Islamic Arabia

Watch Life of Muhammad and beginnings of Islam

part 1 | World History | Khan Academy

OVERVIEW OF ISLAM:
Islam is a religion founded in the Arabian Peninsula in 600s CE by Muhammad but seen as the true and
final revelation of God following and superseding those prophets before Muhammad, e.g. Jesus. Islam is
the second largest world religion and has spread widely since its birth. Islam means ‘peace’ and
‘submission’, that is, to the will of Allah (God). It emphasises the oneness of Allah, his power and his
revelations. It believes in an afterlife. Its sacred book is the Qur’an which was revealed to Muhammad,
the prophet of Allah. There are two main sects: The Sunni and the Shi’ia (or Shi’ite).
Islam Judaism & Christianity

ABRAHAM

↙↘

Hagar (legitimate wife according to Islam) Sarah (legitimate wife according to Judaism)

↙↘

Ishmael (son of Abraham & Hagar) Isaac (son of Abraham & Sarah)

MOSES

JESUS

MUHAMMAD

Using the clip and the information below, to create a mind map which has ‘pre-Islamic Arabia’ at
its centre. Use the subheadings from this document to summarise the key points and terminology.

Pre - Islamic Arabia: Social Conditions

Arabs and Arabia

Islam began in the Arabian Peninsula about 1400 years ago with the work of its prophet
Muhammad, who lived in both Mecca and Medina. The Arabian peninsula is an extremely arid
desert region with very little fertile soil. Arabs are said to be the descendants of Ishmael, one of the
sons of the Prophet Abraham. The word Arab means ‘nomad’ and before Islam, the Arabian
Peninsula was inhabited by Bedouin, or nomadic tribes.
Tribes and trading routes

The peninsula consisted of settlements and nomadic tribes. These settlements included major
trading towns like Mecca and Medina. The peninsula was crisscrossed with trading routes between
the Persian Gulf (which led over the sea to India) and the Mediterranean Sea (which led to Europe).
Camel trains, or caravans, carried goods from India and Africa over the sands towards the Persian
and Roman Empires and Western Europe. Politics, policing and justice in the peninsula depended
upon the family clans or tribes of the Arabs (Hartney, 2010).

Clan Connections

The most important social network amongst the Arabian peoples was their clan connections. A
person’s identity and security was based on their membership of one of these large family groups. If
someone in the clan was murdered, it was the responsibility of other clan members to avenge that
death. Arabia remained clan-focused and disunited. The peninsula often broke out in blood feuds
between tribes, as each group took vengeance for the wrongs they considered had been inflicted on
their clan.

Male-oriented society

It was a very male-oriented society. The low-status of women was emphasised by the practice of
infanticide, where female babies were left to die in the desert (as many families only wanted male
children). Girls were seen as a drain on the family because they required expensive dowries when
they were married. Women were considered to be property. They could be bought or sold into
marriage or slavery. On the other hand, there is evidence that some women could attain high status
because of the high death rate of men. Widows could become powerful businesswomen if their
successful husbands were killed in tribal feuds. Muhammad’s first wife, Khadijah, is an example of
this.

Pre-Islamic Arabia: Religious practices

Faith before Islam

The Arabs worshipped many gods and spirits. Shrines to gods and goddesses were established and
were the object of regular pilgrimages. The Persian faith at this time was Zoroastrianism. There were
also some Jewish people living in the area, and in the north there were strong influences from the
Christians. Some Arab holy people (hanifs) believed in one God only (Allah), who was one among
many in the city of Makkah (Mecca in English).

The Ka’ba

The Ka’ba (the symbolic black ‘cube’ around which a

Muslim walks during the Hajj pilgrimage) is Mecca’s
main religious site. Mecca became a wealthy trading
centre and gained considerable revenue from its
thriving pilgrimage sites, which were controlled by the
most powerful tribe, the merchants known as the
"Quraish".

Many scholars think the Ka’ba was built as a tomb

about 200 CE, but it is believed by Muslims to have
been built much earlier by the Prophet Abraham
(Ibrahim) and his son Ishmael. They say it was the first temple dedicated to a single God, but fell into
use by polytheists later on. Before Islam developed, Arabians worshipped 360 gods in this building.
The images or idols of the Ka’ba were set up around the walls of the building. Allah (God) was also
worshipped by the Arabs, noted as the supreme God among a range of other gods.

Age of Ignorance

This system of polytheism in Arabia, together with clan feuds, general violence, gambling, drinking
and the mistreatment of women, means that Muslims sometimes refer to the time before the prophet
Muhammad as ‘the period of darkness’ or ‘age of ignorance’ (Hartney, 2010).

REVIEW QUESTIONS:
1. Explain the economy of Pre-Islamic Arabia. What were the main industries?
Take into consideration the climate and lifestyle of the Arabs.

2. Describe the ‘religious climate' of Pre-Islamic Arabia.

 3. Identify the key cultural issues which lead to the term the ‘age of
ignorance’.

PRACTICE RESPONSE:
Use your mindmap to help you respond to the question:

Outline the social conditions and religious practices that existed in pre-Islamic
Arabia.
Example Response
The Arabian peninsula is an extremely arid desert region with very little fertile soil. There was little
to no farming due to the arid environment of the Arabs hence the main industry was trading.
Camel trains carried goods from India and Africa through the desert towards the Persian and
Roman Empires and Western Europe. The most significant social network amongst the Arabian
people was their clan connection, in which a person's identity and security was based on their
membership of one of the large family groups. Additionally, it was a very male-oriented society
and the low-status and insignificance of women was emphasised by the practice of infanticide.
The religious climate of Pre-Islamic Arabia was Polytheistic. The Arabs worshipped many gods
and spirits and shrines to gods were established and were the object of regular pilgrimages.
Muslims often refer to the time before prophet Muhammad as the ‘age of ignorance’ due to the
system of polytheism in Arabia, clan feuds, general violence, gambling, drinking and the
mistreatment of women.

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