Peradaban Arab Pra-Islam (English version)

Ahmad Muzaqqi (114211062)

  

The scientific studies of pre-Islamic Arabs starts at 19th century, when the Arabists managed the epigraph Old South Arabian (among 10th century BCE) and Ancient North Arabian (6th century BCE) and the other writings. There were many Arabian kingdoms. And its studies becomes more tengible with the rise of some kingdoms, like Himyarite, Qahtanites, etc. The sources of history include archeological avidence, foreign account, and oral traditions –said by Islamic scholars, like a poems-, al-hadith, etc.

1.  Genealogy

According to this aspect, Arabian people were generation from Ibrahim. It is related with the history, where Ibrahim was the first people who find and placed in Arabia’s earth. He as the prophet (in his era) prayed to the God, “Be better and palmy this region”, and we all can find it now.

The general consensus among 14th century Arabic genealogists was that Arabs are of three kinds:

a.       "Perishing Arabs": These are the ancients of whose history little is known. They include ʿĀd, Thamud, Tasm, Jadis, Imlaq and others. Jadis and Tasm perished because of genocide. ʿĀd and Thamud perished because of their decadence. Some people in the past doubted their existence, but Imlaq is the singular form of 'Amaleeq and is probably synonymous to the biblical Amalek.

b.      "Pure Arabs": They allegedly originated from the progeny of Ya‘rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan so were also called Qahtanite Arabs.

c.       "Arabized Arabs": They allegedly originated from the progeny of Ishmael (Ismā'īl), son of the biblical patriarch and Islamic prophet, Abraham (Ibrāhīm), and were also called Adnan.

2.  Geographich

Acccording to the classical history, the form of Arabia’s area is at length. In the north, there are Palestine and Syam, there are Hira, Tirgis, Furat, and Persian gulf in the east, Indonesia ocean and gulf of Aden in the south, and the red-sea in the west. It proved that, the Arabia’s earth were saved from the other nation’s brunt. Beside that, Arabia’s earth also doesn’t have anything-before we all know that they are the source of fuels-. Even, in this area, there was none river or water source, except zam-zam –didn’t famous yet-.

The society of Arabia used to move trans-regionally-from the one to the others-continuously. Some activities done were like robbery and interdiction between kaabilah. Because of it, the wars can occured.

3.  Sosio-cultural Aspect

Relatet with the geographical aspect, the kabilah in Arabian people used to do-everything-to survive. They din’t know any rules and any ways as known by us. Just a few that known by them about freedom, it is individual, family, and a little groups (kabilah). They argued that, “what can I do for my kabila, I will do”. I think, it is resemble with our society, Indonesian people, exactly in the remote places, where the eucation didn’t enter yet more and the value didn’t be learned more also. It is natural, sunnatullah.

4.  Religion Aspect

Paganism, Judism, and Christ were the religion of Arabian people before Islam came. Pagan which the mayority made the Araian society worship to the looseleafes. There were three as the holist, Lata, Uzza, and Manat. They placed many looseleafes arround the Ka’bah and argued, those can make them closer to the God, we know it as the syirik concept.

In the other litterature, there were four names of looseleaf, there are ṣanam, wathan, nuṣub, dan ḥubal. Sanam’s form is like a man, made from the iron or wood. Wathan also made from the rock. Nusub was made from the sea rock. The Hubal was made from agate formed a man. It (Hubal) was the biggest than the other placed in the Ka’bah. Many people from the different kabilah came and worship theirselves. The point is the paganism has realy exist among the clasical Arabia civilization until the latest-coming the Jews, Christ, and Islam-.

Jews (Yahudi) entered into Arabia’s region and ‘placed’ in Yathrib and Yaman. Dzu Nawaz who known as the King in Yaman was a Jewish. He didn’t like (even) forbade the worshiping of the looseleafes in his nation. He coerced the society to enter and follow his religion. Even, he gave the punnishment for the protester.

Whereas the christ, it came into the Arabia’s region with the contadistions about the arguments and sects. According to Muhammad Abid al-Jabiri, the term “nasara” have two meaning, the first is loose deep in the ministry’s argument and the second one is “hawariyyun”. Many Chistian missionarist spread theit through use the greek language. It affected many problems. One of them is about contradictions about the rightness between greek philosophy and the Church’s thaugh. And this also devided the Cristiant to many groups.

5.  Economical Aspect

The center of commerce in Arabia’s region is Mekka. It had a big influence for the commerce in Persie and Binzantium, Yaman-where Ukaz, Majnah, and Dzul Majaz, the important city placed in-. In there also used to be conference between the sects and kabilah. The Mekka was a littel civilization. Even, the Jahiliyyah era –said as the deppression- had a high civilization. The Arabian people also had a good relation with many other cultures, like Helenisme, Persie, and Rhome. It also can strenghten the economical sector.

6.  Political Aspect (the kongdoms)

There were many kingdoms in Arabia’s region. Even though them, Arabian people can prove the big domination. Beside of that, the Arabia’s places also be the important place, specially in political sector. In a big-line, the kingdoms in Arabia can be devided to two,

South kingdom

a.    Kingdom of Ma'in/ Minaean (7th century BCE – 1st century BCE). The capital wa Karna (known as Sa’dah). The important city was Yathil (Baraqish)

b.    Kingdom of Saba/ Sabaean (9th century BCE – 275 CE). Its capital was Ma'rib, is located near what is now Yemen's modern capital, Sana'a.

c.    Kingdom of Hadhramaut (8th century BCE – 3rd century CE)

d.   Kingdom of Awsan (8th century BCE – 6th century BCE)

e.    Kingdom of Qataban (4th century BCE – 3rd century CE). The capital of Qataban was named Timna. The chief deity of the Qatabanians was Amm, or "Uncle" and the people called themselves the "children of Amm".

f.     Kingdom of Himyar/ Himyarites (2nd century BCE – 525 CE). The Himyar rebelled united Southwestern Arabia, controlling the Red Sea as well as the coasts of the Gulf of Aden. And, it time, It can dominate as far east to the Persian Gulf and as far north to the Arabian Desert.

g.    Aksumite occupation of Yemen (525 – 570 CE)

h.    Sassanid period (570 – 630 CE)

North kingdom

a.  The Achaemenids in Northern Arabia, it corresponded to the lands between Egypt and Mesopotamia.

b.  Nabateans

c.  Palmyra and Roman Arabia

d. Qahtanites

7.  Rise of Islam

When the stalemate was finally broken and it seemed like Byzantium had finally gained the upper hand in battle, nomadic Arabs invaded from the desert frontiers bringing with them a new social order that emphasized religious devotion over tribal membership.

By the time the last Byzantine-Sassanid war came to an end in 628, Islam was already united under the power of the religious-politico Caliphate (or leader). The Muslims were able to launch attacks against both empires which resulted in destruction of the Sassanid Empire and the overthrowing of Byzantium's territories in the Levant, the Caucasus, Egypt, Syria and North Africa.^[21] Over the following centuries, most of the Byzantine Empire and the entirety of the Sassanid Empire came under Muslim rule.

"Within the lifetime of some of the children who met Muhammad and sat on the Prophet's knees, Arab armies controlled the land mass that extended from the Pyrenees Mountains in Europe to the Indus River valley in South Asia. In less than a century, Arabs had come to rule over an area that spanned five thousand miles."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

P.K. Hitty. History of Arab.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Islamic_Arabia

http://msubhanzamzami.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/kondisi-arab-pra-islam-dalam-aspek-sosial-budaya-agama-ekonomi-dan-politik/