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Inpre-Islamic Arabia, the dominant religious practice was that ofArab polytheism, which was based on the veneration ofvarious deities and spirits, such as the godHubal and the goddessesal-Lāt,al-‘Uzzā, andManāt. Worship was centred on local shrines and temples, most notably including theKaaba inMecca. Deities were venerated and invoked through pilgrimages, divination, and ritual sacrifice, among other traditions. Different theories have been proposed regarding the role of "Allah" (a word inArabic that is now chiefly associated withGod in Islam) in the Meccan religion. Many of the physical descriptions of the pre-Islamic gods and goddesses are traced toidols, especially near the Kaaba, which is said to have contained up to 360 of them.
Other religions—namelyChristianity,Judaism, andZoroastrianism—were also represented in the region. The influence of theRoman Empire and theKingdom of Aksum enabled the nurturing ofChristian communities in northwestern, northeastern, and southern Arabia. In the other areas of theArabian Peninsula, Christianity did not have as much of a presence, though it did secure some converts, and with the exception ofNestorianism in the northeast and around thePersian Gulf, the dominant form of the religion wasMiaphysitism. Since the beginning of the Roman era,Jewish migration into Arabia had become increasingly frequent, resulting in the establishment of a prominentJewish diaspora community, which was supplemented by local converts. Over time,Judaism grew throughout southern Arabia and the northwestern Hejaz. Additionally, the influence of theSasanian Empire aided the growth of a Zoroastrian population in eastern and southern Arabia, and there is evidence of eitherManichaeism orMazdakism being practiced in Mecca as well. It is speculated that Zoroastrianism may have been practiced by some inhabitants of theHimyarite Kingdom, which was home to a mixed Arab–Persian community calledal-Abnāʾ in Arabic.
Until about the fourth century, almost all inhabitants of Arabia practiced polytheistic religions at which pointpre-Islamic Arabian monotheism had begun to spread.[1] From the fourth to sixth centuries,Jewish,Christian, and othermonotheistic populations developed. Until recent decades, it was believed that polytheism remained the dominant belief system in pre-Islamic Arabia,[2] but recent trends suggest thathenotheism or monotheism was dominant from the fourth century onwards.[3][4][5]
The contemporary sources of information regarding the pre-Islamic Arabian religion and pantheon include a growing number ofpre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions, written in scripts likeSafaitic,Sabaic, andPaleo-Arabic,[6] pre-Islamic poetry, external sources such as Jewish and Greek accounts, as well as the Muslim tradition, such as the Qur'an and Islamic writings. Nevertheless, information is limited.[6]
One early attestation of Arabian polytheism was inEsarhaddon's Annals, mentioningAtarsamain,Nukhay,Ruldaiu, and Atarquruma.[7]Herodotus, writing in hisHistories, reported that the Arabs worshippedOrotalt (identified withDionysus) andAlilat (identified withAphrodite).[8][9]Strabo stated the Arabs worshipped Dionysus andZeus.Origen stated they worshipped Dionysus andUrania.[9]
Muslim sources regarding Arabian polytheism include the eighth-centuryBook of Idols byHisham ibn al-Kalbi, whichF.E. Peters argued to be the most substantial treatment of the religious practices of pre-Islamic Arabia,[10] as well as the writings of the Yemeni historianal-Hasan al-Hamdani on South Arabian religious beliefs.[11]
According to theBook of Idols, descendants of the son ofAbraham (Ishmael) who had settled inMecca migrated to other lands carried holy stones from theKaaba with them, erected them, andcircumambulated them like theKaaba.[12] This, according to al-Kalbi led to the rise of idol worship.[12] Based on this, it may be probable that Arabs originally venerated stones, later adopting idol-worship under foreign influences.[12] The relationship between a god and a stone as his representation can be seen from the third-centurySyriac work called theHomily of Pseudo-Meliton where he describes the pagan faiths of Syriac-speakers in northern Mesopotamia, who were mostly Arabs.[12] However, mythologies and narratives elucidating the history of these gods, as well as the meaning of their epithets, remain uninformative.[13][14]
The pre-Islamic Arabian religions were polytheistic, with many of the deities' names known.[1] Formal pantheons are more noticeable at the level of kingdoms, of variable sizes, ranging from simple city-states to collections of tribes.[15]Tribes, towns, clans, lineages and families had their own cults too.[15] Christian Julien Robin suggests that this structure of the divine world reflected the society of the time.[15] Trade caravans also brought foreign religious and cultural influences.[16] A large number of deities did not have proper names and were referred to by titles indicating a quality, a family relationship, or a locale preceded by "he who" or "she who" (dhū ordhāt respectively).[15]
The religious beliefs and practices of the nomadicBedouin were distinct from those of the settled tribes of towns such asMecca.[17] Nomadic religious belief systems and practices are believed to have includedfetishism,totemism andveneration of the dead but were connected principally with immediate concerns and problems and did not consider larger philosophical questions such as the afterlife.[17] Settled urban Arabs, on the other hand, are thought to have believed in a more complexpantheon of deities.[17] While the Meccans and the other settled inhabitants of theHejaz worshiped their gods at permanent shrines in towns and oases, the Bedouin practiced their religion on the move.[18]
In South Arabia,mndh’t were anonymous guardian spirits of the community and theancestor spirits of the family.[19] They were known as 'the sun (shms) of their ancestors'.[19]
In North Arabia,ginnaye were known fromPalmyrene inscriptions as "the good and rewarding gods" and were probably related to thejinn of west and central Arabia.[20] Unlike jinn in modern times,ginnaye could not hurt nor possess humans and were much more similar to the Romangenius.[21] According to common Arabian belief,soothsayers, pre-Islamic philosophers, and poets were inspired by the jinn.[22] However, jinn were also feared and thought to be responsible for causing various diseases and mental illnesses.[23]
Aside from benevolent gods and spirits, there existed malevolent beings.[20] These beings were not attested in the epigraphic record, but were alluded to in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, and their legends were collected by later Muslim authors.[20]
Commonly mentioned areghouls.[20] Etymologically, the English word "ghoul" was derived from the Arabicghul, fromghala, "to seize",[24] related to the Sumeriangalla.[25] They are said to have a hideous appearance, with feet like those of an ass.[20] Arabs were said to utter the following couplet if they should encounter one: "Oh ass-footed one, just bray away, we won't leave the desert plain nor ever go astray."[20]
Christian Julien Robin notes that all the known South Arabian divinities had a positive or protective role and that evil powers were only alluded to but were never personified.[26]
| Part of themyth series on Religions of the ancient Near East |
| Pre-Islamic Arabian deities |
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| Arabian deities of other Semitic origins |
Some scholars postulate that in pre-Islamic Arabia, including in Mecca,[27] Allah was considered to be a deity,[27] possibly acreator deity or asupreme deity in a polytheisticpantheon.[28][29] The wordAllah (from the Arabical-ilah meaning "the god")[30] may have been used as a title rather than a name.[31][32][33] The concept ofAllah may have been vague in the Meccan religion.[34] According to Islamic sources, Meccans and their neighbors believed that the goddessesAl-lāt,Al-‘Uzzá, andManāt were the daughters of Allah.[2][29][31][32][35]
Regional variants of the wordAllah occur in both pagan and Christian pre-Islamic inscriptions.[36][37] References to Allah are found in the poetry of the pre-Islamic Arab poetZuhayr bin Abi Sulma, who lived a generation before Muhammad, as well as pre-Islamic personal names.[38] Muhammad's father's name wasʿAbd-Allāh, meaning "the servant of Allah".[34]
Charles Russell Coulter andPatricia Turner considered that Allah's name may be derived from a pre-Islamic god called Ailiah and is similar toEl, Il,Ilah, andJehovah. They also considered some of his characteristics to be seemingly based on lunar deities likeAlmaqah,Kahl, Shaker,Wadd and Warakh.[39]Alfred Guillaume states that the connection between Ilah that came to form Allah and ancient BabylonianIl orEl of ancient Israel is not clear. Wellhausen states that Allah was known from Jewish and Christian sources and was known to pagan Arabs as the supreme god.[40] Winfried Corduan doubtsthe theory of Allah of Islam being linked to a moon god, stating that the term Allah functions as a generic term, like the term El-Elyon used as a title for the godSin.[41]
South Arabian inscriptions from the fourth century AD refer to a god calledRahman ("The Merciful One") who had a monotheistic cult and was referred to as the "Lord of heaven and Earth".[29]Aaron W. Hughes states that scholars are unsure whether he developed from the earlier polytheistic systems or developed due to the increasing significance of the Christian and Jewish communities, and that it is difficult to establish whether Allah was linked to Rahman.[29]Maxime Rodinson, however, considers one of Allah's names, "Ar-Rahman", to have been used in the form of Rahmanan earlier.[42]
Al-Lāt,Al-‘Uzzá andManāt were common names used for multiple goddesses across Arabia.[31][43][44][45][46]G. R. Hawting states that modern scholars have frequently associated the names of Arabian goddessesAl-lāt,Al-‘Uzzá andManāt with cults devoted to celestial bodies, particularlyVenus, drawing upon evidence external to the Muslim tradition as well as in relation toSyria,Mesopotamia and theSinai Peninsula.[47]
Allāt (Arabic: اللات) or al-Lāt was worshipped throughout the ancient Near East with various associations.[39]Herodotus in the 5th century BC identifiesAlilat (Greek: Ἀλιλάτ) as the Arabic name forAphrodite (and, in another passage, forUrania),[8] which is strong evidence for worship of Allāt in Arabia at that early date.[48] Al-‘Uzzá (Arabic: العزى) was a fertility goddess[49] or possibly a goddess of love.[50] Manāt (Arabic: مناة) was the goddess of destiny.[51]
Al-Lāt's cult was spread in Syria and northern Arabia. FromSafaitic andHismaic inscriptions, it is probable that she was worshiped as Lat (lt). F. V. Winnet saw al-Lat as a lunar deity due to the association of a crescent with her in 'Ayn esh-Shallāleh and aLihyanite inscription mentioning the name ofWadd, the Minaean moon god, over the title offkl lt.René Dussaud andGonzague Ryckmans linked her with Venus while others have thought her to be a solar deity. John F. Healey considers that al-Uzza actually might have been an epithet of al-Lāt before becoming a separate deity in the Meccan pantheon.[52] Paola Corrente, writing inRedefining Dionysus, considers she might have been a god of vegetation or a celestial deity of atmospheric phenomena and asky deity.[53]
The worship of sacred stones constituted one of the most important practices of theSemitic speaking peoples, includingArabs.[54]Cult images of a deity were most often an unworked stone block.[55] The most common name for these stone blocks was derived from the Semiticnsb ("to be stood upright"), but other names were used, such asNabataeanmasgida ("place of prostration") andArabicduwar ("object of circumambulation", this term often occurs inpre-Islamic Arabic poetry).[56] These god-stones were usually a free-standing slab, but Nabataean god-stones are usually carved directly on the rock face.[56] Facial features may be incised on the stone (especially in Nabataea), or astral symbols (especially in South Arabia).[56] Under Greco-Roman influence, an anthropomorphic statue might be used instead.[55]
TheBook of Idols describes two types of statues: idols (sanam) and images (wathan).[57] If a statue were made of wood, gold, or silver, after a human form, it would be an idol, but if the statue were made of stone, it would be an image.[57]
Representation of deities in animal-form was common in South Arabia, such as the god Sayin from Hadhramaut, who was represented as either an eagle fighting a serpent or a bull.[58]
Sacred places were known ashima,haram ormahram, and within these places, all living things were considered inviolable and violence was forbidden.[59] In most of Arabia, these places would take the form of open-air sanctuaries, with distinguishing natural features such as springs and forests.[59] Cities would contain temples, enclosing the sacred area with walls, and featuring ornate structures.[60]
Sacred areas often had a guardian or a performer of cultic rites.[61] These officials were thought to tend the area, receive offerings, and perform divination.[61] They are known by many names, probably based on cultural-linguistic preference:afkal was used in theHejaz,kâhin was used in theSinai-Negev-Hisma region [ar], andkumrâ was used in Aramaic-influenced areas.[61] In South Arabia,rs2w and'fkl were used to refer to priests, and other words includeqyn ("administrator") andmrtd ("consecrated to a particular divinity").[62] A more specialized staff is thought to have existed in major sanctuaries.[61]
Pre-Islamic Arabia was a region of many pilgrimage rituals beyond that ofHajj.[63] Many words in Arabian languages were used to describe pilgrimage, including the Semiticḥgg.[64] The most important pilgrimage ritual inSouth Arabia was the one to theTemple of Awwam, dedicated to the godAlmaqah, which was associated with aḥaram ormaḥram.[65][66] A number of other South Arabian deities were also associated with special sanctuaries and pilgrimages, includingDhu Samawi,Qaynan, Siyan, and several more.[67]
Pilgrimages to sacred places would be made at certain times of the year.[68] Pilgrim fairs of central and northern Arabia took place in specific months designated as violence-free,[68] allowing several activities to flourish, such as trade, though in some places only exchange was permitted.[69]
The most important pilgrimage inSaba' was probably the pilgrimage ofAlmaqah atMa'rib, performed in the month of dhu-Abhi (roughly in July).[62] Two references attest the pilgrimage of Almaqah dhu-Hirran at 'Amran. The pilgrimage ofTa'lab Riyam took place in Mount Tur'at and the Zabyan temple at Hadaqan, while the pilgrimage of Dhu-Samawi, the god of the Amir tribe, took place in Yathill.[62] Aside from Sabaean pilgrimages, the pilgrimage of Sayin took place at Shabwa.[62][68]
The pilgrimage of Mecca involved the stations ofMount Arafat,Muzdalifah,Mina and central Mecca that includedSafa and Marwa as well as the Kaaba. Pilgrims at the first two stations performedwuquf or standing in adoration. At Mina, animals were sacrificed. The procession from Arafat to Muzdalifah, and from Mina to Mecca, in a pre-reserved route towards idols or an idol, was termedijaza andifada, with the latter taking place before sunset. At Jabal Quzah, fires were started during the sacred month.[70]
Nearby the Kaaba was located thebetyl which was later calledMaqam Ibrahim; a place calledal-Ḥigr whichAziz al-Azmeh takes to be reserved for consecrated animals, basing his argument on a Sabaean inscription mentioning a place calledmḥgr which was reserved for animals; and theWell of Zamzam. Both Safa and Marwa were adjacent to two sacrificial hills, one called Muṭ'im al Ṭayr and another Mujāwir al-Riḥ which was a pathway toAbu Kubais from where theBlack Stone is reported to have originated.[71]
Meccan pilgrimages differed according to the rites of different cult associations, in which individuals and groups joined for religious purposes. TheḤilla association performed thehajj in autumn season while theṬuls andḤums performed theumrah in spring.[72]
TheḤums were the Quraysh,Banu Kinanah,Banu Khuza'a andBanu 'Amir. They did not perform the pilgrimage outside the zone of Mecca'sharam, thus excluding Mount Arafat. They also developed certain dietary and cultural restrictions.[73] According toKitab al-Muhabbar, theḤilla denoted most of theBanu Tamim,Qays,Rabi`ah, Qūḍa'ah,Ansar,Khath'am,Bajīlah,Banu Bakr ibn Abd Manat,Hudhayl,Asad,Tayy andBariq. TheṬuls comprised the tribes of Yemen and Hadramaut,'Akk, Ujayb and Īyād. TheBasl recognised at least eight months of the calendar as holy. There was also another group which did not recognize the sanctity of Mecca'sharam or holy months, unlike the other four.[74]
The ancient Arabs that inhabited theArabian Peninsulabefore the advent of Islam used to profess a widespread belief infatalism (ḳadar) alongside a fearful consideration for the sky and the stars, which they held to be ultimately responsible for every phenomenon that occurs on Earth and for the destiny of humankind.[75] Accordingly, they shaped their entire lives in accordance with theirinterpretations of astral configurations and phenomena.[75]
Since South Arabia,oracles were regarded asms’l, or "a place of asking", and that deities interacted byhr’yhw ("making them see") a vision, a dream, or even direct interaction.[76] Otherwise deities interacted indirectly through a medium.[77]
There were three methods of chance-based divination attested in pre-Islamic Arabia; two of these methods, making marks in the sand or on rocks and throwing pebbles are poorly attested.[78] The other method, the practice of randomly selecting an arrow with instructions, was widely attested and was common throughout Arabia.[78] A simple form of this practice was reportedly performed before the image ofDhu'l-Khalasa by a certain man, sometimes said to be the Kindite poetImru al-Qays according toal-Kalbi.[79][80] A more elaborate form of the ritual was performed in before the image ofHubal.[81] This form of divination was also attested inPalmyra, evidenced by an honorific inscription in the temple ofal-Lat.[81]
The most common offerings were animals, crops, food, liquids, inscribed metal plaques or stone tablets, aromatics, edifices and manufactured objects.[83] Camel-herding Arabs would devote some of their beasts to certain deities. The beasts would have their ears slit and would be left to pasture without a herdsman, allowing them to die a natural death.[83]
Pre-Islamic Arabians, especially pastoralist tribes, sacrificed animals as an offering to a deity.[82] This type of offering was common and involved domestic animals such ascamels,sheep andcattle, whilegame animals andpoultry were rarely or never mentioned. Sacrifice rites were not tied to a particular location though they were usually practiced in sacred places.[82] Sacrifice rites could be performed by the devotee, though according to Hoyland, women were probably not allowed.[84] The victim's blood, according to pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and certain South Arabian inscriptions, was also 'poured out' on the altar stone, thus forming a bond between the human and the deity.[84] According to Muslim sources, most sacrifices were concluded with communal feasts.[84]
In South Arabia, beginning with the Christian era, or perhaps a short while before, statuettes were presented before the deity, known asslm (male) orslmt (female).[62]Human sacrifice was sometimes carried out in Arabia. The victims were generally prisoners of war, who represented the god's part of the victory in booty, although other forms might have existed.[82]
Blood sacrifice was definitely practiced in South Arabia, but few allusions to the practice are known, apart from some Minaean inscriptions.[62]
Pre-Islamic Arabia practiced various forms of polytheistic religion until the4th century, when monotheism was introduced into the region and became largely prevalent by the 6th century, as is attested in texts like the inscriptions fromJabal Dabub,Ri al-Zallalah, and the Abd Shams inscription.[85]
With the rise of Christianity and Judaism, religious scriptures entered into use in pre-Islamic Arabia, although the available evidence is limited. Nevertheless, with the number of Christians and Jews in this period, it is likely that their scriptures were revered to a degree.[86] The presence of scriptures among existing communities of Christians and Jews, known as the Gospel and the Torah, is described by theQuran.[87] In the early sixth century, sixEthiopic inscriptions were composed during the time ofKaleb of Axum. These inscriptions reveal multiple scriptural quotations, including from theBook of Isaiah, thePsalms, theGospel of Matthew, and with less certainty, theBook of Genesis. They also mention biblical figures like Jesus, Mary, and David.[88] Another explicit example is the inscriptionDJE 23, discovered 15 km southeast of the city ofSanaa. This inscription is in Hebrew and was composed during Jewish rule over South Arabia. It is amishmarot which lists thepriestly divisions based on the list given in1 Chronicles 24. The priestly divisions refer to the way in which the priests were divided in order to organize their service to theTemple in Jerusalem.[89]Ahmad Al-Jallad has argued that theJabal Dabub inscription, notable for its pre-Islamic variant of theBasmala, bears influences from the Psalms, particularly Psalm 90 and Psalm 123.[90]
The image of a Torah case has been discovered in one of the personal seals (and possibly an inscription) of the Himyarite kingDhu Nuwas.[91] TheBook of the Himyarites records multiple uses of scriptures, including citations of it by theChristian community of Najran and in the letters of Simeon of Beth Arsham. The text reports of several martyrs under Dhu Nuwas quoting scripture, such as one directly quoting1 John 2:4 to him in accusing him of being a liar, and another declares their going to Christ as they approach death using2 Corinthians 3:8. In one occasion, Dhu Nuwas also swears by the Torah.[86]Jacob of Serugh, a Syriac poet and homilist of the sixth century, wrote aLetter to the Himyarites to the Christian community of South Arabia during these same persecutions, a text that involves detailed discussions of Christology and use of scripture.[92]
In the Hejaz, menstruating women were not allowed to be near the cult images.[58] The area whereIsaf and Na'ila's images stood was considered out-of-bounds for menstruating women.[58] This was reportedly the same withManaf.[93] According to theBook of Idols, this rule applied to all the "idols".[58] This was also the case in South Arabia, as attested in a South Arabian inscription from al-Jawf.[58]
Sexual intercourse in temples was prohibited, as attested in two South Arabian inscriptions.[58] One legend concerning Isaf and Na'ila, when two lovers made love in the Kaaba and were petrified, joining the idols in the Kaaba, echoes this prohibition.[58]
TheDilmun civilization, which existed along the Persian Gulf coast and Bahrain until the 6th century BC, worshipped a pair of deities,Inzak andMeskilak.[94] It is not known whether these were the only deities in the pantheon or whether there were others.[95] The discovery of wells at the sites of a Dilmun temple and a shrine suggests that sweet water played an important part in religious practices.[94]
In the subsequent Greco-Roman period, there is evidence that the worship of non-indigenous deities was brought to the region by merchants and visitors.[95] These includedBel, a god popular in the Syrian city ofPalmyra, the Mesopotamian deitiesNabu andShamash, the Greek deitiesPoseidon andArtemis and the west Arabian deitiesKahl and Manat.[95]
The main sources of religious information in pre-IslamicSouth Arabia are inscriptions, which number in the thousands, as well as the Quran, complemented by archaeological evidence.
The civilizations of South Arabia are considered to have the most developed pantheon in the Arabian peninsula.[14] In South Arabia, the most common god was'Athtar, who was considered remote. The patron deity (shym) was considered to be of much more immediate significance than'Athtar. Thus, the kingdom of Saba' hadAlmaqah, the kingdom of Ma'in hadWadd, the kingdom of Qataban had'Amm, and the kingdom of Hadhramaut had Sayin. Each people was termed the "children" of their respective patron deity. Patron deities played a vital role in sociopolitical terms, their cults serving as the focus of a person's cohesion and loyalty.
Evidence from surviving inscriptions suggests that each of the southern kingdoms had its own pantheon of three to five deities, the major deity always being a god.[96] For example, the pantheon of Saba comprisedAlmaqah, the major deity, together with 'Athtar,Haubas, Dhat-Himyam, andDhat-Badan.[96] The main god in Ma'in and Himyar was 'Athtar, in Qataban it wasAmm, and in Hadhramaut it was Sayin.[96] 'Amm was alunar deity and was associated with the weather, especially lightning.[97] One of the most frequent titles of the godAlmaqah was "Lord ofAwwam".[98]
Anbay was an oracular god of Qataban and also the spokesman of Amm.[99] His name was invoked in royal regulations regarding water supply.[100] Anbay's name was related to that of the Babylonian deityNabu.Hawkam was invoked alongside Anbay as god of "command and decision" and his name is derived from the root word "to be wise".[7]
Each kingdom's central temple was the focus of worship for the main god and would be the destination for an annual pilgrimage, with regional temples dedicated to a local manifestation of the main god.[96] Other beings worshipped included local deities or deities dedicated to specific functions as well as deified ancestors.[96]
The encroachment of northern Arab tribes into South Arabia also introduced northern Arab deities into the region.[26] The three goddessesal-Lat,al-Uzza andManat became known as Lat/Latan, Uzzayan and Manawt.[26] Uzzayan's cult in particular was widespread in South Arabia, and in Qataban she was invoked as a guardian of the final royal palace.[26] Lat/Latan was not significant in South Arabia, but appears to be popular with the Arab tribes bordering Yemen.[26] Other Arab deities include Dhu-Samawi, a god originally worshipped by the Amir tribe, and Kahilan, perhaps related toKahl ofQaryat al-Faw.[26]
Bordering Yemen, theAzd Sârat tribe of theAsir region was said to have worshippedDhu'l-Shara, Dhu'l-Kaffayn,Dhu'l-Khalasa and A'im.[101] According to theBook of Idols, Dhu'l-Kaffayn originated from a clan of theBanu Daws.[102] In addition to being worshipped among the Azd, Dushara is also reported to have a shrine amongst the Daws.[102] Dhu’l-Khalasa was an oracular god and was also worshipped by theBajila and Khatham tribes.[80]
Before conversion to Christianity, theAksumites followed a polytheistic religion that was similar to that of Southern Arabia. The lunar godHawbas was worshiped in South Arabia and Aksum.[103] The godAstar, a sky-deity was related to that of 'Attar, was also worshipped in Aksum.[104] The godAlmaqah was worshiped atHawulti-Melazo.[105] The South Arabian gods in Aksum included Dhat-Himyam andDhat-Ba'adan.[106] A stone later reused for the church of Enda-Cerqos at Melazo mentions these gods. Hawbas is also mentioned on an altar and sphinx in Dibdib. The name of Nrw who is mentioned in Aksum inscriptions is related to that of the South Arabian god Nawraw, a deity of stars.[107]
TheHimyarite kings radically opposed polytheism in favor ofJudaism, beginning officially in 380.[108] The last trace of polytheism in South Arabia, an inscription commemorating a construction project with a polytheistic invocation, and another, mentioning the temple ofTa’lab, all date from just after 380 (the former dating to the rule of the king Dhara’amar Ayman, and the latter dating to the year 401–402).[108] The rejection of polytheism from the public sphere did not mean the extinction of it altogether, as polytheism likely continued in the private sphere.[108]
TheKinda tribe's chief god wasKahl, whom their capital Qaryat Dhat Kahl (modern Qaryat al-Faw) was named for.[109][110] His name appears in the form of many inscriptions and rock engravings on the slopes of theTuwayq, on the walls of thesouk of the village, in the residential houses and on the incense burners.[110] An inscription in Qaryat Dhat Kahl invokes the gods Kahl,Athtar al-Shariq andLah.[111]
According to Islamic sources, theHejaz region was home to three important shrines dedicated to al-Lat, al-’Uzza and Manat. The shrine and idol of al-Lat, according to theBook of Idols, once stood inTa'if, and was primarily worshipped by theBanu Thaqif tribe.[112] Al-’Uzza's principal shrine was inNakhla and she was the chief-goddess of the Quraysh tribe.[113][114] Manāt's idol, reportedly the oldest of the three, was erected on the seashore betweenMedina and Mecca, and was honored by theAws andKhazraj tribes.[115] Inhabitants of several areas venerated Manāt, performing sacrifices before her idol, and pilgrimages of some were not considered completed until they visited Manāt and shaved their heads.[116]
In the Muzdalifah region near Mecca, the godQuzah, who is a god of rains and storms, was worshipped. In pre-Islamic times pilgrims used to halt at the "hill of Quzah" before sunrise.[117]Qusai ibn Kilab is traditionally reported to have introduced the association of fire worship with him onMuzdalifah.[117]
Various other deities were venerated in the area by specific tribes, such as the godSuwa' by theBanu Hudhayl tribe and the god Nuhm by the Muzaynah tribe.[118]
The majority of extant information about Mecca during the rise of Islam and earlier times comes from the text of the Quran itself and later Muslim sources such as theprophetic biography literature dealing with the life ofMuhammad and theBook of Idols.[119] Alternative sources are so fragmentary and specialized that writing a convincing history of this period based on them alone is impossible.[120] Several scholars hold that the sīra literature is not independent of the Quran but has been fabricated to explain the verses of the Quran.[121] There is evidence to support the contention that some reports of the sīras are of dubious validity, but there is also evidence to support the contention that the sīra narratives originated independently of the Quran.[121] Compounding the problem is that the earliest extant Muslim historical works, including the sīras, were composed in their definitive form more than a century after the beginning of the Islamic era.[122] Some of these works were based on subsequently lost earlier texts, which in their turn recorded a fluid oral tradition.[120] Scholars do not agree as to the time when such oral accounts began to be systematically collected and written down,[123] and they differ greatly in their assessment of the historical reliability of the available texts.[121][124][125]
TheKaaba, whose environs were regarded as sacred (haram), became a national shrine under the custodianship of theQuraysh, the chief tribe of Mecca, which made the Hejaz the most important religious area in north Arabia.[126] Its role was solidified by a confrontation with the Christian kingAbraha, who controlled much of Arabia from a seat of power in Yemen in the middle of the sixth century.[127] Abraha had recently constructed asplendid church inSana'a, and he wanted to make that city a major centre of pilgrimage, but Mecca's Kaaba presented a challenge to his plan.[127] Abraha found a pretext for an attack on Mecca, presented by different sources alternatively as pollution of the church by a tribe allied to the Meccans or as an attack on Abraha's grandson inNajran by a Meccan party.[127] The defeat of the army he assembled to conquer Mecca is recountedin detail by the Islamic tradition and is also alluded to in the Quran and pre-Islamic poetry.[127] After the battle, which probably occurred around 565, the Quraysh became a dominant force in western Arabia, receiving the title "God's people" (ahl Allah) according to Islamic sources, and formed the cult association ofḥums, which tied members of many tribes in western Arabia to the Kaaba.[127]
According to tradition, the Kaaba was a cube-like, originally roofless structure housing ablack stone revered as a relic, resembling other ArabianKaabas reported in tradition, such as theKaaba of Najran.[128] The sanctuary was dedicated to Hubal (Arabic: هبل), who, according to some sources, was worshiped as the greatest of the 360 idols the Kaaba contained, which probably represented the days of the year.[129]Ibn Ishaq andIbn Al-Kalbi both report that the human-shaped idol of Hubal made of precious stone (agate, according to theBook of Idols) came into the possession of the Quraysh with its right hand broken off and that the Quraysh made a hand of gold to replace it.[130] A soothsayer performeddivination in the shrine by drawing ritual arrows,[126] and vows and sacrifices were made to assure success.[131]Marshall Hodgson argues that relations with deities and fetishes in pre-Islamic Mecca were maintained chiefly on the basis of bargaining, where favors were expected in return for offerings.[131] A deity's or oracle's failure to provide the desired response was sometimes met with anger.[131]
Different theories have been proposed regarding the role of Allah in Meccan religion. According to one hypothesis, which goes back toJulius Wellhausen, Allah (the supreme deity of the tribal federation around Quraysh) was a designation that consecrated the superiority of Hubal (the supreme deity of Quraysh) over the other gods.[36] However, there is also evidence that Allah and Hubal were two distinct deities.[36] According to that hypothesis, the Kaaba was first consecrated to a supreme deity named Allah and then hosted the pantheon of Quraysh after their conquest of Mecca, about a century before the time of Muhammad.[36] Some inscriptions seem to indicate the use of Allah as a name of a polytheist deity centuries earlier, but we know nothing precise about this use.[36] Some scholars have suggested that Allah may have represented a remote creator god who was gradually eclipsed by more particularized local deities.[33] There is disagreement on whether Allah played a major role in the Meccan religious cult.[2][30] No iconic representation or idol of Allah is known to have existed.[30][132]
The three chiefgoddesses of Meccan religion wereal-Lat,Al-‘Uzzá, andManāt, who were called the daughters of Allah.[2][31][32][35] Egerton Sykes meanwhile states that Al-lāt was the female counterpart of Allah while Uzza was a name given byBanu Ghatafan to the planet Venus.[133]
Other deities of the Quraysh in Mecca includedManaf,Isaf and Na’ila. Although the early Arab historianAl-Tabari calls Manaf (Arabic: مناف) "one of the greatest deities of Mecca", very little information is available about it. Women touched his idol as a token of blessing, and kept away from it during menstruation. Gonzague Ryckmans described this as a practice peculiar to Manaf, but according to theEncyclopedia of Islam, a report fromIbn Al-Kalbi indicates that it was common to all idols.[134] Muhammad's great-great-grandfather's name wasAbd Manaf which means "slave of Manaf".[135] He is thought by some scholars to be asun-god.[136] The idols ofIsāf and Nā'ila were located near the Black Stone with atalbiyah performed to Isāf during sacrifices. Various legends existed about the idols, including one that they were petrified after they committed adultery in the Kaaba.[71]
The pantheon of the Quraysh was not identical with that of the tribes who entered into various cult and commercial associations with them, especially that of thehums.[137][138] Christian Julien Robin argues that the former was composed principally of idols that were in the sanctuary of Mecca, including Hubal and Manaf, while the pantheon of the associations was superimposed on it, and its principal deities included the three goddesses, who had neither idols nor a shrine in that city.[137]
The second half of the sixth century was a period of political disorder in Arabia and communication routes were no longer secure.[139] Religious divisions were an important cause of the crisis.[140] Judaism became the dominant religion in Yemen while Christianity took root in the Persian Gulf area.[140] In line with the broader trends of the ancient world, Arabia yearned for a more spiritual form of religion and began believing in afterlife, while the choice of religion increasingly became a personal rather than communal choice.[140] While many were reluctant to convert to a foreign faith, those faiths provided intellectual and spiritual reference points, and the old pagan vocabulary of Arabic began to be replaced by Jewish and Christianloanwords from Aramaic everywhere, including Mecca.[140] The distribution of pagan temples supportsGerald Hawting's argument that Arabian polytheism was marginalized in the region and already dying in Mecca on the eve of Islam.[140] The practice of polytheistic cults was increasingly limited to the steppe and the desert, and inYathrib (later known as Medina), which included two tribes with polytheistic majorities, the absence of a public pagan temple in the town or its immediate neighborhood indicates that polytheism was confined to the private sphere.[140] Looking at the text of the Quran itself, Hawting has also argued that the criticism of idolaters and polytheists contained in Quran is in fact a hyperbolic reference to other monotheists, in particular the Arab Jews and Arab Christians, whose religious beliefs were considered imperfect.[121][141] According to some traditions, the Kaaba contained no statues, but its interior was decorated with images ofMary and Jesus, prophets, angels, and trees.[36]
To counter the effects of anarchy, the institution of sacred months, during which every act of violence was prohibited, was reestablished.[142] During those months, it was possible to participate in pilgrimages and fairs without danger.[142] The Quraysh upheld the principle of two annual truces, one of one month and the second of three months, which conferred a sacred character to the Meccan sanctuary.[142] The cult association ofhums, in which individuals and groups partook in the same rites, was primarily religious, but it also had important economic consequences.[142] Although, asPatricia Crone has shown, Mecca could not compare with the great centres of caravan trade on the eve of Islam, it was probably one of the most prosperous and secure cities of the peninsula, since, unlike many of them, it did not have surrounding walls.[142] Pilgrimage to Mecca was a popular custom.[143] Some Islamic rituals, including processions around the Kaaba and between the hills of al-Safa and Marwa, as well as the salutation "we are here, O Allah, we are here" repeated on approaching the Kaaba are believed to have antedated Islam.[143] Spring water acquired a sacred character in Arabia early on and Islamic sources state that the well of Zamzam became holy long before the Islamic era.[144]
According to Ibn Sa'd, the opposition in Mecca started when the prophet ofIslam,Muhammad, delivered verses that "spoke shamefully of the idols they (the Meccans) worshiped other than Himself (God) and mentioned the perdition of their fathers who died in disbelief".[145] According toWilliam Montgomery Watt, as the ranks of Muhammad's followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the Kaaba, the focal point of Meccan religious life, which Muhammad threatened to overthrow.[146] Muhammad's denunciation of the Meccan traditional religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Kaaba.[146]
Theconquest of Mecca around 629–630 AD led to the destruction of the idols around theKaaba, includingHubal.[147] Following the conquest, shrines and temples dedicated to deities were destroyed, such as the shrines to al-Lat, al-’Uzza and Manat in Ta’if, Nakhla and al-Qudayd respectively.[148][149]
Less complex societies outside South Arabia often had smaller pantheons, with the patron deity having much prominence. The deities attested in north Arabian inscriptions includeRuda,Nuha, Allah, Dathan, andKahl.[150] Inscriptions in aNorth Arabian dialect in the region ofNajd referring to Nuha describe emotions as a gift from him. In addition, they also refer to Ruda being responsible for all things good and bad.[150]
TheSafaitic tribes in particular prominently worshipped the goddessal-Lat as a bringer of prosperity.[150] The Syrian godBaalshamin was also worshipped bySafaitic tribes and is mentioned in Safaitic inscriptions.[151]
Religious worship amongst theQedarites, an ancient tribal confederation that was probably subsumed into Nabataea around the 2nd century AD, was centred on a polytheistic system in which women rose to prominence. Divine images of the gods and goddesses worshipped by Qedarite Arabs, as noted in Assyrian inscriptions, included representations ofAtarsamain,Nuha,Ruda, Dai, Abirillu and Atarquruma. The female guardian of these idols, usually the reigning queen, served as a priestess (apkallatu, in Assyrian texts) who communed with the other world.[152] There is also evidence that the Qedar worshippedal-Lat to whom the inscription on a silver bowl from a king of Qedar is dedicated.[45] In theBabylonian Talmud, which was passed down orally for centuries before being transcribed c. 500 AD, in tractateTaanis (folio 5b), it is said that most Qedarites worshiped pagan gods.[153]
The Aramaicstele inscription discovered by Charles Hubert in 1880 atTayma mentions the introduction of a new god called Salm ofhgm into the city's pantheon being permitted by three local gods – Salm of Mahram who was the chief god, Shingala, and Ashira. The name Salm means "image" or "idol".[154]
TheMidianites, a people referred to in theBook of Genesis and located in north-western Arabia, may have worshippedYahweh. An Egyptian temple ofHathor continued to be used during the Midianite occupation of the site, although images of Hathor were defaced suggesting Midianite opposition.[155] They transformed it into a desert tent-shrine set up with a copper sculpture of a snake.[155]
TheLihyanites worshipped the god Dhu-Ghabat and rarely turned to others for their needs.[100] Dhu-Ghabat's name means "he of the thicket", based on the etymology ofgabah, meaning forest or thicket.[156] The godal-Kutba', a god of writing probably related to aBabylonian deity and perhaps was brought into the region by the Babylonian kingNabonidus,[100] is mentioned inLihyanite inscriptions as well.[157] The worship of theHermonian godsLeucothea andTheandrios was spread fromPhoenicia to Arabia.[158]
According to theBook of Idols, theTayy tribe worshipped al-Fals, whose idol stood onJabal Aja,[159] while theKalb tribe worshippedWadd, who had an idol in Dumat al-Jandal.[160][161]
TheNabataeans worshipped primarily northern Arabian deities. Under foreign influences, they also incorporated foreign deities and elements into their beliefs.
The Nabataeans' chief-god isDushara. In Petra, the only major goddess isAl-‘Uzzá, assuming the traits ofIsis,Tyche andAphrodite. It is unknown if her worship and identity is related to her cult at Nakhla and others. The Nabatean inscriptions define Allāt and Al-Uzza as the "bride of Dushara". Al-Uzza may have been an epithet of Allāt in the Nabataean religion according to John F. Healey.[162]
Outside Petra, other deities were worshipped; for example,Hubal and Manat were invoked in the Hejaz, andal-Lat was invoked in theHauran and theSyrian desert. The Nabataean kingObodas I, who foundedObodat, was deified and worshipped as a god.[163] They also worshippedShay al-Qawm,[164]al-Kutba',[157] and various Greco-Roman deities such asNike andTyche.[165] Maxime Rodinson suggests that Hubal, who was popular in Mecca, had a Nabataean origin.[166]
_Archaeological_Museum_Amman_Citadel_Jordan0820.jpg)
The worship of Pakidas, a Nabataean god, is attested atGerasa alongsideHera in an inscription dated to the first century A.D. while an Arabian god is also attested by three inscriptions dated to the second century.[167]
The Nabataeans were known for their elaborate tombs, but they were not just for show; they were meant to be comfortable places for the dead.[168] Petra has many "sacred high places" which include altars that have usually been interpreted as places of human sacrifice, although, since the 1960s, an alternative theory that they are "exposure platforms" for placing the corpses of the deceased as part of a funerary ritual has been put forward. However, there is, in fact, little evidence for either proposition.[169]
Palmyra was a cosmopolitan society, with its population being a mix of Aramaeans and Arabs. The Arabs of Palmyra worshippedal-Lat, Rahim andShamash. The temple of al-Lat was established by theBene Ma'zin tribe, who were probably an Arab tribe.[170] The nomads of the countryside worshipped a set of deities, bearing Arab names and attributes,[171] most prominent of them wasAbgal,[172] who himself is not attested in Palmyra itself.[173] Ma'n, an Arab god, was worshipped alongside Abgal in a temple dedicated in 195 AD at Khirbet Semrin in the Palmyrene region while an inscription dated 194 AD at Ras esh-Shaar calls him the "good and bountiful god". A stele at Ras esh-Shaar shows him riding a horse with a lance while the god Saad is riding a camel. Abgal, Ma'n and Sa'd were known as thegenii.[174]
The god Ashar was represented on a stele inDura-Europos alongside another god Sa'd. The former was represented on a horse with Arab dress while the other was shown standing on the ground. Both hadParthian hairstyle, large facial hair and moustaches as well as similar clothing. Ashar's name is found to have been used in atheophoric manner among the Arab-majority areas of the region of theNorthwest Semitic languages, likeHatra, where names like "Refuge of Ashar", "Servant of Ashar" and "Ashar has given" are recorded on an inscription.[175]
InEdessa, thesolar deity was the primary god around the time of the Roman EmperorJulian and this worship was presumably brought in by migrants from Arabia. Julian's oration delivered to the denizens of the city mentioned that they worshipped the Sun surrounded by Azizos and Monimos whomIamblichus identified withAres andHermes respectively. Monimos derived fromMu'nim or "the favourable one", and was another name of Ruda or Ruldaiu as apparent from spellings of his name inSennacherib's Annals.[176]
The idol of the god al-Uqaysir was, according to theBook of Idols, located inSyria, and was worshipped by the tribes ofQuda'a,Lakhm,Judham,Amela, andGhatafan.[177] Adherents would go on a pilgrimage to the idol and shave their heads, then mix their hair with wheat, "for every single hair a handful of wheat".[177]
A shrine to Dushara has been discovered in theharbour ofancient Puteoli in Italy. The city was an important nexus for trade to the Near East, and it is known to have had a Nabataean presence during the mid 1st century BCE.[178] A Minaean altar dedicated to Wadd evidently existed in Delos, containing two inscriptions in Minaean and Greek respectively.[179]
TheBedouin were introduced to Meccan ritualistic practices as they frequented settled towns of the Hejaz during the four months of the "holy truce", the first three of which were devoted to religious observance, while the fourth was set aside for trade.[126] Alan Jones infers from Bedouin poetry that the gods, even Allah, were less important to the Bedouins than Fate.[180] They seem to have had little trust in rituals and pilgrimages as means of propitiating Fate, but had recourse to divination and soothsayers (kahins).[180] The Bedouins regarded some trees, wells, caves and stones as sacred objects, either as fetishes or as means of reaching a deity.[181] They created sanctuaries where people could worship fetishes.[182]
The Bedouins had a code of honor whichFazlur Rahman Malik states may be regarded as their religious ethics. This code encompassed women, bravery, hospitality, honouring one's promises and pacts, and vengeance. They believed that the ghost of a slain person would cry out from the grave until their thirst for blood was quenched. Practices such as killing of infant girls were often regarded as having religious sanction.[182] Numerous mentions ofjinn in the Quran and testimony of both pre-Islamic and Islamic literature indicate that the belief in spirits was prominent in pre-Islamic Bedouin religion.[183]
However, there is evidence that the word jinn is derived from Aramaic,ginnaye, which was widely attested in Palmyrene inscriptions. The Aramaic word was used by Christians to designate pagan gods reduced to the status of demons, and was introduced into Arabic folklore only late in the pre-Islamic era.[183]Julius Wellhausen has observed that such spirits were thought to inhabit desolate, dingy and dark places and that they were feared.[183] One had to protect oneself from them, but they were not the objects of a true cult.[183]
Bedouin religious experience also included an apparently indigenous cult of ancestors.[183] The dead were not regarded as powerful, but rather as deprived of protection and needing charity of the living as a continuation of social obligations beyond the grave.[183] Only certain ancestors, especially heroes from which the tribe was said to derive its name, seem to have been objects of real veneration.[183]
A thriving community ofJewish tribes existed in pre-Islamic Arabia and included both sedentary and nomadic communities. Jews had migrated into Arabia from Roman times onwards.[184] Arabian Jews spokeArabic as well asHebrew andAramaic and had contact with Jewish religious centres inBabylonia andPalestine.[184] The YemeniHimyarites converted toJudaism in the 4th century, and some of the Kinda were also converted in the 4th/5th century.[185] Jewish tribes existed in all major Arabian towns during Muhammad's time including inTayma andKhaybar as well asMedina with twenty tribes living in the peninsula. From tomb inscriptions, it is visible that Jews also lived inMada'in Saleh andAl-'Ula.[186]
There is evidence that Jewish converts in theHejaz were regarded as Jews by other Jews, as well as by non-Jews, and sought advice fromBabylonian rabbis on matters of attire andkosher food.[184] In at least one case, it is known that an Arab tribe agreed to adopt Judaism as a condition for settling in a town dominated by Jewish inhabitants.[184] Some Arab women inYathrib/Medina are said to have vowed to make their child a Jew if the child survived, since they considered the Jews to be people "of knowledge and the book" (ʿilmin wa-kitābin).[184]Philip Hitti infers from proper names and agricultural vocabulary that the Jewish tribes of Yathrib consisted mostly of Judaized clans of Arabian andAramaean origin.[126]
The key role played by Jews in the trade and markets of the Hejaz meant that market day for the week was the day preceding theJewish Sabbath.[184] This day, which was calledaruba in Arabic, also provided occasion for legal proceedings and entertainment, which in turn may have influenced the choice of Friday as the day of Muslim congregational prayer.[184] Toward the end of the sixth century, the Jewish communities in the Hejaz were in a state of economic and political decline, but they continued to flourish culturally in and beyond the region.[184] They had developed their distinctive beliefs and practices, with a pronouncedmystical andeschatological dimension.[184] In the Islamic tradition, based on a phrase in theQuran, Arab Jews are said to have referred toUzair as the son ofAllah, although the historical accuracy of this assertion has been disputed.[31]
Jewish agriculturalists lived in the region ofEastern Arabia.[187][188] According toRobert Bertram Serjeant, theBaharna may be theArabized "descendants of converts from Christians (Arameans), Jews andancient Persians (Majus) inhabiting the island and cultivated coastal provinces ofEastern Arabia at the time of the Arab conquest".[189] From the Islamic sources, it seems that Judaism was the religion most followed in Yemen.Ya'qubi claimed all Yemenites to be Jews;Ibn Hazm however states only Himyarites and some Kindites were Jews.[190]
The main areas of Christian influence in Arabia were on the northeastern and northwestern borders and in what was to becomeYemen in the south.[191] The north west was under the influence of Christian missionary activity from theRoman Empire where theGhassanids, a client kingdom of the Romans, were converted to Christianity.[192] In the south, particularly atNajran, a centre of Christianity developed as a result of the influence of the ChristianKingdom of Axum based on the other side of theRed Sea inEthiopia.[191] Some of theBanu Harith had converted to Christianity. One family of the tribe built a large church at Najran calledDeir Najran, also known as the "Ka'ba of Najran". Both the Ghassanids and the Christians in the south adoptedMonophysitism.[191]
The third area of Christian influence was on the north eastern borders where theLakhmids, a client tribe of theSassanians, adoptedNestorianism, being the form of Christianity having the most influence in the Sassanian Empire.[191] As thePersian Gulf region of Arabia increasingly fell under the influence of the Sassanians from the early third century, many of the inhabitants were exposed to Christianity following the eastward dispersal of the religion by Mesopotamian Christians.[193] However, it was not until the fourth century that Christianity gained popularity in the region with the establishment ofmonasteries and adiocesan structure.[194]
In pre-Islamic times, the population of Eastern Arabia consisted ofChristianized Arabs (includingAbd al-Qays) andAramean Christians among other religions.[195]Syriac functioned as aliturgical language.[187][196] Serjeant states that the Baharna may be theArabized descendants of converts from the original population of Christians (Aramaeans), among other religions at the time of Arab conquests.[188] Beth Qatraye, which translates "region of the Qataris" inSyriac, was the Christian name used for the region encompassing north-eastern Arabia.[197][198] It included Bahrain,Tarout Island, Al-Khatt,Al-Hasa, and Qatar.[199] Oman and what is today the United Arab Emirates comprised thediocese known as Beth Mazunaye. The name was derived from 'Mazun', thePersian name for Oman and the United Arab Emirates.Sohar was the central city of the diocese.[197][199]
InNejd, in the centre of the peninsula, there is evidence of members of two tribes, Kinda andTaghlib, converting to Christianity in the 6th century. However, in theHejaz in the west, whilst there is evidence of the presence of Christianity, it is not thought to have been significant amongst the indigenous population of the area.[191]
Arabicized Christian names were fairly common among pre-Islamic Arabians, which has been attributed to the influence that Syrianized Christian Arabs had on Bedouins of the peninsula for several centuries before the rise of Islam.[200]
Neal Robinson, based on verses in the Quran, believes that some Arab Christians may have held unorthodox beliefs such as the worshipping of a divine triad of God the father, Jesus the Son and Mary the Mother.[201] Furthermore, there is evidence that unorthodox groups such as theCollyridians, whose adherents worshipped Mary, were present in Arabia, and it has been proposed that the Quran refers to their beliefs.[202] However, other scholars, notablyMircea Eliade,William Montgomery Watt,G. R. Hawting andSidney H. Griffith, cast doubt on the historicity or reliability of such references in the Quran. Their views are as follows:
Though they lack any surviving physical evidence,[207] Iranian religions may have existed in pre-Islamic Arabia on account ofSasanian military presence along thePersian Gulf andSouth Arabia and on account of trade routes between theHejaz andIraq. According to Islamic-era sources, Arabs in northeast of the peninsula converted toZoroastrianism and severalZoroastrian temples were constructed inNajd. There is also evidence of existence ofManichaeism in Arabia as several early sources indicate a presence of "zandaqas" in Mecca, although the term could also be interpreted as referring toMazdakism. However, according to the most recent research by Tardieu, the prevalence of Manichaeism in Mecca during the 6th and 7th centuries, when Islam emerged, can not be proven.[208][209][210]
Similar reservations regarding the appearance of Manichaeism andMazdakism in pre-Islamic Mecca are offered by Trompf & Mikkelsen et al. in their latest work (2018).[211][212] There is evidence for the circulation of Iranian religious ideas in the form of Persian loan words in Quran such asfirdaws (paradise).[213][214]
Zoroastrianism was also present inEastern Arabia[215][216][217] and Persian-speaking Zoroastrians lived in the region.[195] The religion was introduced in the region including modern-dayBahrain during the rule of Persian empires in the region starting from 250 B.C. It was mainly practiced in Bahrain by Persian settlers. Zoroastrianism was also practiced in the Persian-ruled area of modern-dayOman. The religion also existed in Persian-ruled area of modernYemen. The descendants ofAbna, the Persian conquerors of Yemen, were followers of Zoroastrianism.[218][190]
Yemen's Zoroastrians who had thejizya imposed on them after being conquered by Muhammad are mentioned by the Islamic historianal-Baladhuri.[190] According to Serjeant, theBaharna people may be theArabized descendants of converts from the original population of ancient Persians (majus) as well as other religions.[189]
There are some Islamic documents that, when describing the state of religion in pre-Islamic Arabia, include a presence ofBuddhism. One recurring theme in these depictions is that the Buddhist community was able to store some of their idols in theKaaba.Rashid al-Din Hamadani (d. 1318), in hisJāmiʾ al-Tawārīkh, says both that Buddhist idols could be found in the Kaaba and that both Arabs and some Persians on the peninsula saw themselves as students of the Buddha. One Islamicminiature from the thirteenth century depicts Muhammad destroying Hindu and Buddhist idols at the Kaaba.Al-Masudi said that Buddhists see the Kaaba as one of their temples. Al-Masudi also depicts theQuraysh tribe of Mecca as having gold-plated deer statues, which were then seen as typical Buddhist symbols. Mostafa Vaziri has speculated about a possible historicity to these descriptions, suggesting that Buddhism reached Arabia through Indian merchants and trade routes. Vaziri also speculates an influence of Buddhist architecture on the design of the Kaaba, such as from the Nawbahār and other Buddhiststupas.[219]
The worship of sacred stones constituted one of the most general and ancient forms of religion; but among no other people was this worship so important as among theSemites. The religion of the nomads ofSyria andArabia was summarized byClement of Alexandria in the single statement, "The Arabs worship the stone," and all the data afforded by Arabian authors regarding the pre-Islamitic faith confirm his words. The sacred stone ("nuṣb"; plural, "anṣab") is a characteristic and indispensable feature in an ancient Arabian place of worship. [...] When the Arabs offeredbloody sacrifices the blood was smeared on the sacred stones, and in the case of offerings of oil the stones were anointed (comp. Gen. xxviii. 18, xxxi. 13). The same statement holds true of the Greco-Roman cult, although theblack stone of Mecca, on the other hand, is caressed and kissed by the worshipers. In the course of time, however, the altar and the sacred stone were differentiated, and stones of this character were erected around the altar. Among bothCanaanites andIsraelites the maẓẓebah was separated from the altar, which thus became the place for the burning of the victim as well as for the shedding of its blood. That the altar was a development from the sacred stone is clearly shown by the fact that, in accordance with ancient custom, hewn stones might not be used in its construction.
That Manicheism went further on to the Arabian peninsula, up to the Hejaz and Mecca, where it could have possibly contributed to the formation of the doctrine of Islam, cannot be proven.
Perhaps the charge of zandaqa functions in this report as a belated rhetorical caricature with no historical substance, much like the employment of congeners 'Manichee' and 'Gnostic' in the vocabulary of christian heresiography. If this is the case, historians can no longer appeal to the testimony of al-Kalbī as undisputable evidence for the proliferation of Manichaen-Doctrine in pre-islamic Mecca.
This tradition is persistently echoed by later tradents ... whose values as independent witnesses to Manichaean activity in early seventh century Mecca are correspondingly suspect.
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