ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Roots of Religion Lesson 19: Muhammad, the Radiance that shone forth in the Darkness The World before Islam The chaotic situation of the world prior to Islam is clearly reflected in the accurate mirror of history. The outline of decline, oppression, bloodshed, idol-worship is evident in this mirror.

Before Islam, it was as if mankind was leaning over the edge of the precipice of ruin and destruction, and there was the fear that at any moment it could roll down and be annihilated in it. The Religions and Beliefs of the People a) In the Arabian Peninsula The Arabs prior to Islam were committed in their hearts to idols, and what they saw around themselves with their own eyes they made into idols.

Not only did they lower their heads and prostrate before them, but they donated everything had, even gifts of agricultural produce, to their idols[^1]. They believed that apart from the life of this world there was no other life[^2]. Obviously those who did not see the wretchedness of their idols whom they had chosen as their gods could not grasp the idea and truth of the resurrection.

So it was no wonder that they fumed the House, which Hazrat Ibrahim had built at the command of and in the name of Allah into brightly coloured quarters for their idols. As for the origins of idol-worship in the Hijaz, some believe that the first person to introduce it was 'Amr ibn Luhayy. Alwrites in his history: “He (ibn Luhayy) journeyed to Syria and saw all of the inhabitants worshipping idols.

When he asked about the virtues of the idols, they told him, 'They have befriended us, and they bring down rain for us.' He took a liking to them and asked them to give him an idol. They gave him &teal and he took him to Mecca.” Ibn Hisham writes that ‘Amr ibn Luhayy brought this idol from Mu'ab (Iraq). In any case, Hubab was the most famous of the gods in the Ka'bah: he was built in the form of man, and holy arrows, which the diviners used for casting auguries, were set in front of him.

The influence of idol-worship grew to the point where idols were built in the form of animals, plants, men, jinn angels and stars; even stones were the objects of worship. 'Lat' was in Ta'il in the form of a cubic stone, and had a special field and meadow near Taif which was a holy place, and cutting trees, hunting and the spilling of blood were not lawful in its vicinity; the people of Mecca and other places made pilgrimage to it.