Pre-Islamic Arabia: Religion ☪️ 🛐

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When it came to religion, the pre-Islamic Arabs were almost exclusively polytheistic. Islamic tradition hold that the Prophet Ibrahim عليه السلام and his son, Isma’il عليه السلام, built the Ka’ba in the valley of Makkah in ancient times as a house of worship for one God. The Ka’ba was built as a plain rectangular building on a foundation set by the first man - Adam عليه السلام. From this shrine, Isma’il was able to preach the monotheistic message to the Arabs, who adopted him as one of their own.

Over the centuries, however, the progeny of Isma’il distorted his monotheistic teachings. Stone and wood idols were carved to represent attributes of God. Later, they would go on to represent separate gods entirely. by the time of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, there were 360 gods in the Ka’ba.

The message of Ibrahim and Isma’il عليهما السلام was not lost entirely on the Arabs, however. The two prophets were still revered figures in the. minds of the Arabs and even some of their basic teachings still held weight in this society. They certainly believed in the God of Ibrahim and Isma’il عليهما السلام, called Allah in Arabic. But they believed he was one among many different gods, represent by the idols. This belief system was far removed from the strict monotheism those two Prophets had preached, and reflected influence from the Sumerian religions to the north. Isolated Christian and Jewish communities existed within the Arabian Peninsula and also revered the Prophets, but that was where their similarities ended.

The sparse monotheists of Arabia tended to avoid complete assimilation with the polytheistic Arabs, instead creating their own insular communities.