Arab Beliefs
A brief overview of the religious history and beliefs of Arab cultures.
Pre-Islamic Faiths of Arabia
Before the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, the people of the Arabian Peninsula followed many faiths. These included Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and an indigenous form of polytheism. Their polytheistic religion recognized hundreds of different gods and goddesses. Its worshippers may have venerated Allah as a supreme creator, though still one of many deities. Traditions of Christianity and other faiths among Arab populations have survived to the present day through minority populations.
One of the major holy sites of this faith was the Kaaba of Mecca, said to have been built by Abraham and Ishmael. In the time of Muhammad, this House of God contained idols and images for veneration, representing the many gods worshipped in the region. The Quraysh tribe guarded the Kaaba and its idols, guaranteeing the safety of pilgrims and profiting from their commerce.
Islam and the Prophet Muhammad
In this environment, a young man named Muhammad was born into a branch of the Quraysh around 570 CE. Orphaned at the age of six, he trained to be a merchant under the care of family members. At the age of 40, he began receiving visions and revelations from the Archangel Gabriel. After several years of prayer and study, he emerged to preach his message in public. His teachings rejected polytheism and the worship of idols, which proved threatening to the leaders of Mecca. Facing potential assassination, he left Mecca with his followers in 622 for Yathrib, now Medina. This emigration is known as the Hijra.
In Medina, Muhammad worked to unify competing tribes and increased his converts among them. They faced military opposition but, after several key victories, the tide began to turn in the Prophet’s favor. By 629, he had returned to Mecca with an army at his back. He died three years later, having united much of the Arabian Peninsula and founded a new world religion.
Islam is an extension of the older Abrahamic tradition, which it views as valid but incomplete. The Prophet Muhammad was the last in a long line of prophets including figures like Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. The Quran represents the direct and perfect word of Allah, a miracle in text form. It offers guidance to lead a moral life and gain entry to a paradise in the afterlife. Its teachings are supplemented in most schools by Hadith, or a broader source of teachings and sayings from Muhammad. The Quran and Hadith form the basis of Islamic law, or Sharia. The Five Pillars of Islam require worshippers to perform the following:
Recognize Allah as the one true God, and the Prophet Muhammad as his messenger
Pray five times daily while facing Mecca and the Kaaba
Perform acts of charity
Participate in ritual fasting, including during the month of Ramadan
Make a pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca, or the Hajj
Muslim Conquests and the Islamic Empire
Like other major religions, Islam is not a uniform faith. Its earliest caliphate, formed after the death of Muhammad, was headed by his close companion Abu Bakr. Issues over the succession of the Rashidun Caliphate soon arose, leading to a major split between Shia and Sunni factions. The Sunni majority went on to conquer vast territories across the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, now known as the Islamic Empire. The Umayyad dynasty extended as far as Spain and Iran by 750 CE.
Wherever they went, the Arabs brought their faith and language with them, though they tolerated Jews and Christians. The Islamic Empire came to encompass people of many cultures and faiths. Its cities, including Damascus and Baghdad, became centers of learning, preserving the works of Greek philosophers to be rediscovered in Renaissance Europe. Islamic scholars made important advances in the fields of medicine, mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, and more. Over time, new branches of Islam developed, most notably Sufism, as well as new schools of Islamic theology. It grew to be more than an ethnic Arab religion, but its worshippers continue to face Mecca as they pray.
Modern Worship in the Arab World
Today, the Arab world consists of 22 distinct nations, each with their own laws and customs surrounding religion. While some of these countries have grown more secular, others are embracing more conservative, fundamentalist interpretations of Islam. Mecca and the Kaaba remain the site of Islam’s most important pilgrimage, the Hajj. Tension between Shia and Sunni governments, particularly between Iran and Saudi Arabia, have influenced the politics of the Middle East for centuries. This same dynamic plays out on a local level between Sunni and Shia populations. Islam is the world’s second-largest religion with nearly 2 billion followers.
Further Reading:
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References
Ayoub, Mahmoud. Islam: Faith and History. Oneworld Publications. 2013.
Barakat, Halim. The Arab World: Society, Culture, and State. University of California Press. 1993.
Esposito, John. The Oxford History of Islam. Oxford University Press. 2000.
Habib Hourani, Albert and Malise Ruthven. A History of the Arab Peoples. Harvard University Press. 2002.
Hitti, Philip Khuri. The Arabs: A Short History. Regnery Publishing. 1996.
Reynolds, Dwight F., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Modern Arab Culture. Cambridge University Press. 2015.
Warnock Fernea, Elizabeth and Robert A. Fernea. The Arab World. Knopf Doubleday Publishing. 2011.
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