Cultural Life of Pre-Muhammad Arabia
Cultural Life of Arabia : Pre- Muhammadan Time
Oral culture was one
of the important resources for Arabian nomadic life. As Donner
states: “The nomads evolved only such a higher culture as they
could carry easily with them in particular the orally transmitted
arts of singing, storytelling, genealogy, and poetry, all of which
they developed to a very refined level, and in which they took great
pride.’’ 1
Language :
A
few men in Makkah knew the art of reading and writing but the Arabs,
as a whole, were ignorant of the way by which learning is imparted.
The Qur’an also calls them Ummi
or an unlettered people: “It is he who has sent among the
unlettered ones a messenger of their own.”2
The language spoken in Makkah was regarded as a model of
unapproachable excellence and the inhabitants of Makkah were
considered to possess the finest tongue. The language of the
Pre-Muhammadan Arabs had been so rich that it could be compared with
the developed languages the of modern world. The perfection of the
Arabic language was the greatest contribution of the Age of Ignorance
to the emergence of Islam. P. K. Hitti says, “The triumph of Islam
was to a certain extent the triumph of a language, more particularly
of the book.
Poetry :
Among
the Arabs, there were extremely few individuals who could read and
write. Most of them were not very eager to learn these arts. Some
historians are of the opinion that the culture of the period was
almost entirely oral. The Jews and the Christians were the custodians
of such knowledge as Arabia had. The greatest intellectual
accomplishment of the pagan Arabs was their poetry. They claimed that
Allah had bestowed the most remarkable qualities of the head upon the
Greeks (its proof is their science and philosophy); of hand upon the
Chinese (its proof is their craftsmanship); and of the tongue upon
the Arabs (its proof is their eloquence). Their greatest pride, both
before and after Islam, was their eloquence and poetry.
The poetry of the
period was national in influence but not in spirit. The themes of
poetry were tribal elements such as history of tribal war, courage of
their tribal heroes, beauty of women and lovers and nature. Poets
were highly honored in society. Margoliouth says that all Arabs
regularly assembled in circles at dusk for the samar
(the
night conversation), and that women held “salons in the court of
their houses”
The Importance of
poetry to them can be gauged by the following testimony: In nomad
Arabia, the poets were part of the war equipment of the tribe; they
defended their own, and damaged hostile tribes by the employment of a
force which was supposed to work mysteriously, but which in fact
consisted of dexterous phrases that would attract notice, and would
consequently be diffused and remembered widely.3
This constant
communication among cities engendered by the trade caravans might
justify Muhammad S. Mohamed’s statement that: The spread of the
poems during this time was as fast and effective as the wind crossing
the Arabian desert.”4
Ukaz Fair :
The
Arabs had a place named ‘Ukaz’
used for annual markets and a centre place of cultural activities.
Ukaz
is known as the Market fair of Ukaz
with its extensions in nearby al-Majanna and Dhu-l-Majaz; a two or
three days’ journey from Makkah. Ukaz was specially known for its
contest of boasting and poetry. By some accounts it was also a place
where one gave things away more than one bought and sold.5
The episodes of generosity at ‘Ukaz have much in common with the
potlatch episodes just described, except that they involve less
wastes, that they are not restricted to camel feasts, and that they
take place in this one locale within a repeating, seasonal pattern.
While there were still kings in Yemen (presumbly in the fifth and
sixth centuries C.E.), these would send fine swords, mounts, and
clothing to ‘Ukaz’ and have a messenger announce: “Let the most
valiant of the Arabs take it!” In this way, the Yemeni rulers would
find out whom they needed to cultivate in the tribal hinterland.6
Again the emphasis is on generosity and competition. But despite this
mention of kingship, ‘Ukaz is described as outside political or
tribal control, or as Wellhausen puts it: “Here no one was master
of the house.”7
Although somer accounts describe that the Quraysh of Makkah were
extending their influence within the fair of ‘Ukaz. The fair of
‘Ukaz took place outside Makkah, and, apparently, beyond Makkan
control.
References:
1
Donner, The
Early Islamic Conquests,
p. 17.
2
The Qur’an, 62 : 2.
3
D. S. Margoliouth, Mohammed
and the Rise of Islam, 1931.
4
Muhammad, Mass
Media Responsibility in Islam,
(Cairo : El Khanki Library, 1983). (Originally in Arabic :
Al-Mas’uliyah
al-A’lamiyah fi al-Islam).
p. 98.
5
Yaqut, Mujam
Al Buldan
s.v. “Ukaz” Welhausen, Reste,
pp. 88 – 91.
6
Abu Ali Ahmad al- Marzuqi, Kitab
al- azmina wal-amkina (Hyderabad : Dairat al Ma’arifat
al-Uthmaniyyah, 1332/1934),
(the Qur’an, 2 : 165).
7
Wellhausen, Reste,
92.
8
Zukka’dah,
Zulhajjah, Muharram, Rajab,
(11th, 12th, 1st and 7th month of hijah Year).
9
R. V. C. Bodley, The
Messenger, 1946,
p. 31.
11
E. A. Belyaev, Arabs,
Islam and the Arab Caliphate in the Early Middle Ages, 1969.
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