Pre-Islamic Arabia
Religious Studies: KS3, topic 2.1.1
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Islam was founded in the Middle East in the 7th Century, in what is now known as Saudi Arabia.
Tribes
- Arabia in the 7th century was a tribal area.
- Tribes are groups of families who had joined together to form a tribe. Often this was for protection against others.
- Some of these tribes were settled, meaning they lived in towns and villages.
- But many of them were nomadic, such as the Bedouin.
- This meant that they travelled from place to place. Often, this was to find food and water for their livestock, which included camels and goats.
Conflict
- These many tribes in Arabia were competing for scarce resources, especially water.
- The title Bedouin comes from a term for desert dweller, and water is a rare commodity in the desert.
- There were oases in the desert. These are places where water could be found, and where some vegetation grew.
- The tribes would often come into conflict with each other to have access to these places. This was so they could have water for themselves and their animals.
Religion
- Most Arabs were polytheists. This means that they worshipped many gods.
- These Gods included Hubal, who was worshipped in Mecca.
- He was considered the greatest of over 300 idols whose shrines were built in Mecca.
- Hubal’s image was a human with a golden hand.
Shrines
- Many of the shrines in Mecca were on a holy site called the Kaaba. This was where many Bedouin worshipped.
- Idol worship was common and involved the veneration (worship) of images of the Gods.
- Sacrifices were often made to these idols as they believed it would bring them good fortune.
Mecca
- As we have seen, Mecca was an important town for these Arab tribes.
- One of the most important tribes in Mecca was known as the Quraish.
- It is believed that the image of the deity Hubal was a particular focus of the Quraish worship.
Test yourself on Pre-Islamic Arabia
What was the primary religion in Arabia before Islam?
Which tribe was based in Mecca and worshipped the God Hubal?