SPIRIT OF ISLAM JUNE 2O18

6 Spirit of Islam Issue 66 June 2018 Egypt and many other places on the backs of camels. Agriculture not being possible, Makkah thrived on commerce. It became an important trading centre because of the Sanctuary—the Kabah, to visit which people came from places far and near. So Makkah became a religious as well as a financial centre. As a religious centre, Makkah wielded greater influence on this account. Makkah, a focal point of pilgrimage dating back to the origin of Arab history, owed its status to the Kabah, which had been built by Prophets Abraham and Ismael. The progeny of Ismael were known as naturalized Arabs and they greatly multiplied. They were divided into many tribes and clans. The Quraysh were the largest tribe and were considered the most honourable. Due to trade the Quraysh became one of the richest and most powerful tribes. Prophet Muhammad belonged to the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh. Besides the Arabs there were also Christians and Jews who lived in Arabia. A large number of their population lived in Madinah. In Arabia there are two different geographical types of soil markedly different from one another—the oasis and the desert. The inhabitants of Arabia naturally were divided into two main groups: nomadic or Bedouins and settled people or the city dwellers. The Bedouins lived in tents and possessed goats, camels and horses. They were continually on the move. They attached the greatest importance to total freedom for the individual as well as the tribe, but this was not the case with the city dwellers. They attached importance not only to freedom but also to peace, security and prosperity. As far as the religion of the Arabs was concerned the Arabs followed the religion of Abraham for some generations, but their later generations tended to deviate from the path of monotheism. Emergence of Islam Islam emerged in a region known as Hijaz, inhabited by the descendants of Ismael and another tribe, the Banu Kinanah. These people had access only to limited resources, limited habitable area, cattle, pasture and oases. Everything was in short supply. They could only afford an extremely simple life. Due to these constraints they often waged war, sometimes to take possession of the limited reservoirs of water and pastures. As they lived very far from the artificial world of civilization the Bedouins had many good qualities. The atmosphere of nature served Makkah, a focal point of pilgrimage dating back to the origin of Arab history, owed its status to the Kabah, which had been built by Prophets Abraham and Ismael.