The Society in Which the Holy Quran Was Revealed
To understand the verses of the Holy
Quran and begin the process of comprehending the meanings which Allah (SWT)
want us to understand, one should start by taking an examining and close look
at the society which these miraculous verses from Allah (SWT) descended
upon. Without this look and close study,
our understanding of the Quran will not stand on firm ground. We cannot complete our comprehension of the
Quran without understanding the nature of the individuals upon whom the verses
were revealed, and the society in which it descended. From this study, we will be able to recognize
many reasons of the revelation and the wisdom behind the verses. We will be able to show the divine approach
which the Holy Quran took to raise and educate those people and train,
discipline, then accommodate them.
Consequently, we will be able to enlarge the circle of our understanding
of the holy verses to include all of the similar aspects in the different ages
and times. It will enable us to
recognize the greatness of the Quran and the One who sent it, in dealing with
the society which it descended upon. It
will clarify for us a lot of the facts and after that, we will be able to
respond to the enemies of Allah and the religion, those who try and are still
trying to criticize our religion.
In
brief, we can summarize the society in which the Quran descended as follows:
POLITICALLY:
A society that is ruled by a tribal system without a
political system or organization of any type.
There is no state, but there are different tribes where each of them has
independency and self-rule. There were
alliances, agreements, and treaties between these tribes to guard their
economic and political interests. The
tribe is ruled by its chiefs with the help of its nobles who are usually the
elderly and the wealthy. The rest of the
tribe give their absolute loyalty and complete obedience to their chief and
dignitaries. All of the tribe members
know each other by name, and it is ruled centrally through a semi-totalitarian
system. The tribe moves as one unit in
everything. The prevailing common law in
the tribe is the traditions and culture.
So whatever the parents used to do is inherited by the children. Hence, there was similarity in the laws which
govern most of the tribes because the traditions were almost the same. Many tribes may have to live in one city and
so they engage in a type of alliance together which secures for each tribe its
independence. However, there is also a
type of confederation and combined leadership headed by the biggest and
strongest of those tribes, but with complete participation from the chiefs and
representatives of most of the other tribes.
The individual in a tribe entertains a great amount of personal freedom
within the boundaries of loyalty to the chiefs and leaders of the tribe and in
abidance to the common law. He can talk
to whomever he wants in whatever time he wants, and he can express himself and
say whatever he wants. He has some
individual rights that are well recognized. Every tribal member has a respected
identity and independence. Abidance of
pacts, treaties, and alliances were one of the most sacred things so long as
the whole tribe abided by it. No one
from the tribe is allowed to fall behind from what the tribes decides, whether
during the time of peace or war, and under any circumstances.
ECONOMICALLY:
A society that is generally poor and deprived and is built on
trade and herding livestock to fulfill their needs of life. The water resources are very rare and come
from few seasonal rains and scattered wells.
The natural resources are very minimal and limited. Most of the land is bare desert and rocky
mountains. Trade is mainly with
SOCIALLY
AND INTELLECTUALLY:
It was an illiterate and ignorant society that was completely
retarded. Very few knew how to read and
write and did not have any intellectual background. All what an Arab knew about the world around
him was through commercial caravans. His
communication with the outside world was very limited and only through
trade. Most of the tribal members live a
Bedouin type of life and few live in cities which lack civilization. So, life in it was not much different from
Bedouin life except by the presence of permanent housing for its
inhabitants. The Arab minds were very
stony and petrified, and they firmly held on to the traditions and culture
which were inherited. It rejects change
in any way and refuses anything that it is not used to. Bedouin and desert life taught the people how
to be tough and harsh. Women have no
rights and they are a second-class citizen who is not compared to man and not
welcomed. Polygamy was the norm and
women must not stay without a husband under any circumstances except in rare
cases. Having a lot of children was
common in order to have more males.
Pride and vanity were the keys to the personality of an Arab and it was
his main ambition and hope.
Blackmailing, sarcasm, cursing, and backbiting were his weapons. Competition in gaining honor and showing off
with anything and everything were his daily engagement. War and fighting were normal for him which
every tribal member must practice, due to frequency of fighting and struggles
among the tribes. Fighting had its rules
and protocols that were inherited.
Sacrificing for the sake of the tribe and its dignity and honor was
something which the young children were raised on. There was no specific job that occupied a person's
time. People either herd the sheep,
which is a job that gives that person a lot of leisure time. Or they engaged in trade and business only
once or twice a year. As for the rest of
the year, they enjoyed and entertained themselves. So, the people had lots of long and spare
times. Ambitions were only for the big,
noble, and rich people. The system of
adoption was widespread and the adopted one had all the rights that the
biological son had. The slavery system
was part of the society and derived its source mainly from the battles. The
defeated tribe members together with their women and children were taken as
slaves for the service of the winning party.
Secondly, it derived its source from kidnapping and stealing children,
whether from the other tribes or cities, or from outside the country through
trade journeys. The slave was a personal
property of his master who does with him as he pleases, just like you own your
shoes. Poetry and eloquence in language
was the water and air which the Arabs breathe and compete in. Fulfilling promises and respecting pacts and
word, and swearing and giving oath, courage, sacrifice, generous hospitality,
good neighboring, answering the call, helping the needy, chivalry, and lack of
betrayal were all essential traits for an Arab and were the standards by which
his real Arab origin was assessed. An
Arab was most concerned with his reputation and image among the tribes and
people when it came to these aspects.
Due to the fact that he was raised on honor and dignity, he looks at the
other nations with a look of inferiority even if they are better than him. So, racism was part of his being. The desert, camels, mountains, boulders,
rain, clouds and horses and cattle, and the nature surrounding an Arab were
also part of him and he was part of them, due to his free time and loneliness
because of the low population in relation to big space. This gave him a big opportunity to think and
contemplate over these things and to look and examine them until they became
part of him in the end. He felt that he
is part of them and so they became like his family to whom he complains and
listens to and does not oppose.
The main religion was idol worshipping that was influenced in
the roots by the religion of Prophet Abraham.
This religion was based on statues which the Arabs sanctified and
symbolized God for them. Because Allah
(SWT) cannot be seen, they worshiped Him through these stony idols. They offered sacrifices of animals to these
idols and gave money to it. An Arab did
that in most cases, not out of faith or belief, but as a routine and in
abidance to the habits and traditions that his fathers and ancestors used to
do. Those fathers and ancestors whom he
took pride in, so for him they were not less than these idols themselves. With the passage of time, the Arabs came to
see their idols as the real God in front of his eyes, so, they directly
worshipped them. Due to the fact that
these idols do not control his life and does not forbid or permit, he felt
comfortable with this type of worshipping which does not demand from him except
some slaughters which he presented on specific occasions. But his deep feelings regarding the presence
of the One God and Creator were present and firm. That was reflected in the pilgrimage trip
which all the Arabs used to perform to the Kaaba every year, the House of
Allah, in worship to Him through worshipping these idols that were present
around the Kaaba and which they thought that brought them closer to Allah (SWT)
whom they don't see. So the awareness of
God was present in the heart of every Arab and that was natural in a nation
that was developed from Ishmael, son of Abraham (AS) and developed around the
Sacred House of Allah which Prophet Abraham built so that the Allah (SWT) is
worshipped alone. However, deviation,
distortion, and introduction of idol-worshipping completely disfigured this
belief, mixed it with polytheism, and at the end pulled man away from his true
religion. It turned religion into a
group of rituals which have no meaning or value. Hence, religion to him became something
superficial and secondary.
An Arab feels a sense of belonging to his family so he
sanctifies his parents and grandparents no matter who they are. He knows that his presence is derived from
their existence and that his dignity and honor is derived from theirs. So, consequently, he had big attachment to
his brothers and sisters, as well as his uncles and cousins. Keeping relations with his kin was very
sacred to him and because of that he has strong attachment to his family. He supports them, protects them, and does not
go against them, whether they are unjust or just. Without his family, he has no presence as
his family stands by his side at all times, whether good and bad. So the presence of a strong family around him
was a type of protection and security which he actively participates in and
shares with all his capabilities. That
comes above everything and before anything.
An Arab is talkative and has a strong personality. If he believed in something or gave his word
or promise, he should fulfill it and not care about anything for the sake of
his belief and word of honor. But before
he believes or gives his word of honor, he carefully calculates everything
because he does not want to force upon himself a word or promise that he can't
fulfill. So his word of honor was like a
sword on his neck. He did not give it
unless he was absolutely confident that he can carry it out. And if he gave it, he can not go back on his
word or else the other tribes will use that against him. He didn't give it up except for something
that is much stronger than him which he can't resist. Respect and veneration to the elderly of the
tribe and within the family were very important to him. He can not make any decision without
consulting them first and without their approval. As for the youth, they were used mainly for
fighting, courage, dual combat, and to show off and have pride between other
families and tribes. They were the ones
who protected and supported the elderly in the family and the tribes. Friendship and companionship had very great
importance and respect inside the Arab community and it is one of his
foundations.
Mecca which is the biggest cities of the Arabian peninsula,
holds a unique and sacred position among the Arabs due to the presence of the
sacred House of Allah in it and because it is the place from which the nation
developed. All of the tribes performed
pilgrimage to