Table of Contents
The Land and Peoples of Arabia
Before the coming of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Arabia was a vast peninsula between great civilizations such as the Byzantines to the north and the Persians to the northeast. Most of the land was desert, with scattered oases and a few important towns. Life was largely tribal. People were known by their tribe and clan, not by a nation or a state.
The Arabs were mainly divided into settled townspeople and nomadic Bedouins. The Bedouins moved with their animals in search of water and pasture. Towns such as Mecca, Yathrib later called Madinah, and Ṭāʾif became centers for trade, social life, and religious practices. The Qur’an often mentions the Arabs as a distinct people and speaks about their land as a place where Allah sent His final Messenger.
“And thus We have revealed to you an Arabic Qur’an that you may warn the Mother of the Cities and those around it...”
(Qur’an 42:7)
“Mother of the Cities” here refers to Mecca. From this city, the message was meant to spread to all surrounding peoples and eventually to all of humanity.
Mecca and the Kaʿbah
At the heart of Arabia stood Mecca, a city held in great respect by the Arabs even before Islam. The Kaʿbah, originally built by Prophet Ibrāhīm and his son Ismāʿīl عليهم السلام, was located there. Over time, however, people forgot the pure worship of Allah alone and the Kaʿbah became filled with idols.
The Qur’an reminds the people that the Kaʿbah was a place established purely for the worship of Allah, as a center of guidance and safety for the world.
“Indeed, the first House established for mankind was that at Bakkah, blessed and a guidance for the worlds. In it are clear signs such as the standing place of Ibrāhīm. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And ˹due˺ to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House, for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves, then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.”
(Qur’an 3:96–97)
Although the Arabs respected the Kaʿbah and held sacred months during which fighting was forbidden, the pure meaning of worship and of pilgrimage had been largely lost. They kept the rituals but mixed them with polytheism and customs from their own desires.
Religion in Pre‑Islamic Arabia: Shirk and Fragments of Truth
Idolatry and Polytheism
The religious life of Arabia before Islam was dominated by shirk, the association of partners with Allah. While many Arabs believed that Allah was the supreme Creator, they thought they needed other gods as intermediaries to bring them closer to Him. Idols made of stone, wood, and metal surrounded the Kaʿbah, and each tribe had its own special idol. Some of the most famous were al‑Lāt, al‑ʿUzzā, and Manāt.
“Have you considered al‑Lāt and al‑ʿUzzā, and Manāt, the third, the other? Is the male for you and for Him the female? That then is an unjust division. They are nothing but names you have named, you and your forefathers, for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow nothing but assumption and what their souls desire, while there has already come to them from their Lord guidance.”
(Qur’an 53:19–23)
The Qur’an also records that if the Arabs were asked who created the heavens and the earth, many of them would say “Allah,” yet they still worshiped others besides Him.
“If you asked them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they would surely say, ‘Allah.’ Say, ‘Then have you considered what you invoke besides Allah? If Allah intended me harm, could they remove His harm, or if He intended me mercy, could they withhold His mercy?’ Say, ‘Sufficient for me is Allah; upon Him rely those who rely.’”
(Qur’an 39:38)
This shows that the problem in Arabia was not a total denial of Allah, but a corruption of Tawḥīd and the mixing of truth with falsehood.
Remnants of the Religion of Ibrāhīm
Alongside idolatry, there remained traces of the original way of Ibrāhīm عليه السلام, such as respect for the Kaʿbah, circumambulation of the House, some forms of sacrifice, and honoring the sacred months. However, these were changed by cultural habits and superstitions. Some sincere individuals, known as ḥunafāʾ, rejected idols and searched for the pure way of Ibrāhīm, but they were few.
The Qur’an constantly calls the people of Arabia back to the way of Ibrāhīm, which they claimed to follow but had in reality abandoned.
“Then We revealed to you [O Muhammad], ‘Follow the religion of Ibrāhīm, inclining toward truth, and he was not of those who associate others with Allah.’”
(Qur’an 16:123)
Other Religious Groups in Arabia
Although idolatry was widespread, Arabia also contained Jewish and Christian communities, especially in places like Yathrib and Najrān. Some Arabs had accepted Judaism or Christianity and mixed their beliefs with local customs. The Qur’an speaks about the People of the Book who lived among the Arabs and near them.
“And among the People of the Scripture is he who, if you entrust him with a great amount of wealth, will return it to you. And among them is he who, if you entrust him with a single dīnār, will not return it to you unless you are constantly standing over him...”
(Qur’an 3:75)
The presence of these communities meant that stories of earlier prophets, such as Mūsā and ʿĪsā عليهم السلام, were known in a limited way. Some individuals among the Arabs had heard that a new prophet was expected, and this expectation appears in several narrations once the Prophet ﷺ began his mission.
The Qur’an also corrects wrong beliefs among some of the People of the Book, such as taking rabbis and monks, or ʿĪsā عليه السلام, as rivals to Allah in obedience and love.
“They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and ˹also˺ the Messiah, the son of Maryam, while they were not commanded except to worship one God. There is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.”
(Qur’an 9:31)
So Arabia was not completely cut off from previous revelations, but divine guidance was obscured by distortion, imitation, and the dominance of tribal tradition.
Social Life and Tribal Society
Arabian society before Islam was fiercely tribal. A person’s honor, safety, and identity came from his tribe. Loyalty to the tribe was often blind. People supported their relatives even if they were unjust. The Prophet ﷺ later described exactly this attitude when he criticized it.
“He is not one of us who calls to ʿaṣabiyyah (tribalism), or who fights for ʿaṣabiyyah, or who dies upon ʿaṣabiyyah.”
(Reported by Abū Dāwūd)
Life was organized by unwritten customs rather than a single, clear law that all accepted. Blood feuds between tribes could last for years. Revenge killings, raiding, and constant competition for honor and resources made stability difficult. The Qur’an hints at this condition when it reminds the believers later how Allah united their hearts through Islam.
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you, when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together. So you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.”
(Qur’an 3:103)
This verse, revealed after Islam, refers back to the state of division and hostility that had been common in Arabia before the coming of the Prophet ﷺ.
Moral Corruption and Social Injustice
Pre‑Islamic Arabia is often called “Jāhiliyyah,” the Age of Ignorance. This term does not mean that the people lacked intelligence or poetry or bravery. It refers to ignorance of true guidance and the domination of desires, customs, and superstition over divine truth.
Among the practices of Jāhiliyyah were grave injustices, especially against the weak. Women, orphans, and slaves often suffered the most. Some Arabs buried their newborn daughters alive, fearing shame or poverty. The Qur’an condemns this in very strong language.
“And when one of them is given good news of a female, his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief. He hides himself from the people because of the ill of which he has been informed. Should he keep her in humiliation or bury her in the ground? Unquestionably, evil is what they decide.”
(Qur’an 16:58–59)
“And when the girl who was buried alive is asked, for what sin she was killed.”
(Qur’an 81:8–9)
Marriage customs were also corrupt. Men could marry many women without responsibility, could easily mistreat or abandon them, and sometimes wives were inherited like property. The Qur’an later refers to such practices when it commands believers not to consume women’s rights unjustly.
“O you who believe, it is not lawful for you to inherit women by force. And do not make difficulties for them in order to take back part of what you gave them, unless they commit a clear immorality...”
(Qur’an 4:19)
Wealth and power were concentrated in the hands of a few, especially among the leading clans of Quraysh in Mecca. The poor, the orphan, and the traveler were often neglected. The Qur’an reminds Quraysh of Allah’s favors and criticizes their neglect of the needy.
“Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense? For that is the one who drives away the orphan and does not encourage the feeding of the poor.”
(Qur’an 107:1–3)
“Have you seen the one who turns away, and gives little, then withholds?”
(Qur’an 53:33–34)
This climate of selfishness and injustice is what the message of Islam came to change, by calling to justice, mercy, and care for the weak.
Economic Life and Trade
Despite the harsh desert environment, Mecca became a trade center because of its religious status and its strategic location. The Quraysh organized caravans in summer and winter, traveling north and south for commerce. The Qur’an reminds them that this economic security was a gift from Allah, connected to the Kaʿbah and its safety.
“For the accustomed security of the Quraysh, their security in the caravan of winter and summer, let them worship the Lord of this House, who has fed them, [saving them] from hunger and made them safe from fear.”
(Qur’an 106:1–4)
Trade brought wealth, contact with other peoples, and exposure to different cultures and beliefs. However, business deals were often mixed with cheating, interest, and unjust practices. The Qur’an later condemns those who give less in measure and weight.
“Woe to those who give less [than due], who, when they take a measure from people, take in full, but if they give by measure or by weight to them, they cause loss.”
(Qur’an 83:1–3)
Financial dealings in Jāhiliyyah commonly included usury and harsh treatment of debtors. Such economic injustice became one of the important matters reformed by Islam.
Beliefs about the Unseen and the Hereafter
Many Arabs believed in jinn, omens, fortune tellers, and soothsayers. They would seek guidance from them, rely on superstitions, and fear unseen beings more than they feared Allah. Poets and soothsayers sometimes claimed inspiration from jinn. The Qur’an acknowledges the existence of jinn but rejects the false beliefs and practices surrounding them.
“And that there were men from mankind who sought refuge in men from the jinn, so they [only] increased them in burden.”
(Qur’an 72:6)
belief in the Hereafter was generally weak or denied. Some said that only this worldly life exists. Others mocked the idea of being raised after death.
“And they say, ‘There is not but our worldly life; we die and live, and nothing destroys us except time.’ And they have of that no knowledge; they are only assuming.”
(Qur’an 45:24)
“And they say, ‘When we are bones and crumbled particles, will we truly be resurrected as a new creation?’”
(Qur’an 17:49)
The denial of accountability in the Hereafter helped to justify oppression, indulgence, and heedlessness. The message of the Prophet ﷺ would come to correct all this by establishing certainty about resurrection, judgment, Paradise, and Hell.
Signs that a Messenger Was Needed
The situation in Arabia before Islam was a mixture of good qualities and deep corruption. The Arabs were known for courage, generosity, hospitality, poetry, and eloquence. Yet they were also trapped in idolatry, injustice, and ignorance of divine law. This combination created a world that was ripe for change.
The Qur’an describes humanity as a whole, including the Arabs, as being in darkness before the coming of the Prophet ﷺ.
“Alif Lām Rā. [This is] a Book which We have revealed to you [O Muhammad] so that you might bring mankind out of darknesses into light, by permission of their Lord, to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy.”
(Qur’an 14:1)
And Allah reminds the believers later of the favor He did for them by sending a messenger from among themselves.
“Certainly did Allah confer great favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before in clear error.”
(Qur’an 3:164)
The Prophet ﷺ himself explained that he came at a time when people had diverged in their beliefs and paths.
“Indeed, Allah looked at the people of the earth and despised them, the Arabs among them and the non‑Arabs, except for some remnants from the People of the Scripture.”
(Reported by Muslim)
This hadith shows that most people, Arabs and others, had gone far from guidance, with only small groups still holding some remnants of earlier revelations.
The Wisdom of Sending the Final Prophet in Arabia
Although Allah could have sent His final Messenger anywhere, there is wisdom in the choice of Mecca and the Arabs. They spoke a powerful and expressive language, and the Qur’an came in their tongue.
“Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an that you might understand.”
(Qur’an 12:2)
They lived between major empires, yet were politically independent. This meant the new message was not immediately swallowed by an existing empire or culture. Instead, it grew from a place that was both connected to the world through trade and yet not fully controlled by foreign powers.
The Kaʿbah already stood as a central sanctuary that all Arab tribes respected. When Islam purified the Kaʿbah from idols and restored it to the worship of Allah alone, this house became the spiritual center, not only for Arabia but for all Muslims.
In this way, Arabia before Islam was both a place of deep darkness and an ideal starting point for the light of the final revelation. The social, religious, and economic conditions all pointed to the need for a messenger who would call to Tawḥīd, justice, and mercy, and who would bring humanity from Jāhiliyyah to guidance.