Mudun al-Jazira (Kali Yuga)

Map of the tribes and cities of the Arabian Peninsula

Mudun al-Jazira(t) (مُدُن الجزيرةِ, literally "Cities of the [Arabian] Peninsula") or al-Mudun for short, is a collection of disunited city-states and tribal confederations located in the Arabian Peninsula. Some of the northernmost tribes and cities have territories within Rashidi Arabia and Memphia which border the patchwork of tribes and city-states to the north. while the rest of the region is surrounded by sea. The region has an overall estimated population of 95 Million, and is divided between numerous clans and tribes, twenty-four of which are dominant. The region is significant for being the birthplace of Islam, a major point of Abrahamic pilgrimage, having significant oil wealth, and being at the crossroads of vital global trade networks.

History

Prehistory

عن عبادة بن الصامت : أنه قال لابنه : يا بُنيّ، إنك لن نجد طعم الإيمان حتى تعلم أن ما أصابك لم يكن يخطئك، وما أخطأك لم يكن ليصيبك، سمعتُ رسول الله ﷺ يقول : ((إن أول ما خلق الله القلم، فقال له : "اكتب" فقال : "رب وماذا أكتب؟ قال : "اكتب مقادير كل شيء حتى تقوم الساعة")) يا بني، سمعتُ رسول الله ﷺ يقول :((من مات على غير هذا فليس مني.))

Ubadat bin as-Samit narrated that he had said to his son : "O my son! You shall never know the taste of faith until you know that whatever tragedy had befallen you was not wrong, and that which wrongs you is no tragedy! I heard the Messenger of God ﷺ say : 'Verily the first thing that God had created was the pen, and he said to it : 'Write,' and so it replied : 'My lord, what shall I write?' and He said : 'Write of all the things I have decreed until the coming of the Hour.' And also my son, I heard the Messenger of God ﷺ saying : 'Whoever dies denying this, he is not of me."

Sunan Abi Dawud 4700

In the beginning, before there was anything, God, Glorified and Exalted is He, created the Pen. Its shape and style are not known, but that it was a pen. The pen wrote all that would be as God had intended and created from the beginning of time, to the end of time.

﴾قُلْ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَكْفُرُونَ بِالَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ وَتَجْعَلُونَ لَهُ أَندَادًا ۚ ذَ‌ٰلِكَ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ (9) وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ مِن فَوْقِهَا وَبَارَكَ فِيهَا وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَا أَقْوَاتَهَا فِي أَرْبَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ سَوَاءً لِّلسَّائِلِينَ (10)﴿

"Say : Do you disbelieve in He who had created the Earth in two periods, and you thus appoint for Him partners? That is the Lord of Existence! He had set upon it mountains, blessed it, and decreed within it sustenance in four periods in accordance with the needs of those who ask!"

Surat Fussilat 9-10

And God, exalted is He, created the Earth in two periods, and in the next four periods He furnished it with its many geographic features and blessed it with life. The Arabic "يوم" meaning "day" is used here, and may mean either days or epochs, perhaps meaning one literal day or many millions or billions of years; whatever the case, the truth rests with God and God knows best to withhold His knowledge or inspire it to whomever He wills from among His servants.

إِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي خَالِقٌ بَشَرًا مِّن طِينٍ (71) فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِي فَقَعُوا لَهُ سَاجِدِينَ (72) فَسَجَدَ الْمَلَائِكَةُ كُلُّهُمْ أَجْمَعُونَ(73) إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ اسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ (74) قَالَ يَا إِبْلِيسُ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَن تَسْجُدَ لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ ۖ أَسْتَكْبَرْتَ أَمْ كُنتَ مِنَ الْعَالِينَ (75) قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ ۖ خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ (76) قَالَ فَاخْرُجْ مِنْهَا فَإِنَّكَ رَجِيمٌ (77) وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكَ لَعْنَتِي إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (78) قَالَ رَبِّ فَأَنظِرْنِي إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ (79) قَالَ فَإِنَّكَ مِنَ الْمُنظَرِينَ (80) إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْوَقْتِ الْمَعْلُومِ (81)قَالَ فَبِعِزَّتِكَ لَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ (82) إِلَّا عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِينَ (83) قَالَ فَالْحَقُّ وَالْحَقَّ أَقُولُ (84) لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنكَ وَمِمَّن تَبِعَكَ مِنْهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ (85)

"When your Lord had said to the angels : 'I shall create man from clay, and when I shape and breathe into him a soul which I have created you must prostrate before him.' And so all the angels fell in prostration before him, except Iblis who had become arrogant and disbelieving. God said : 'O Iblis! What prevents you from prostration before that which I have created with my own two hands? Do you allege yourself greater, or are you greater?' He said : 'I am better than he. You have created me from fire, and you created him from clay.' God said : 'Begone from here, for you are now outcast! Upon you is my curse until the end of days!' He said : ' My Lord! Offer me at the very least respite till the Day of Ressurrection!' And God said : 'Then you will have respite, till the day of the appointed time.' And he said : 'And with your grace, I shall mislead humanity altogether save for the most sincere of your slaves from them!' And God said : 'And the Truth is, and the Truth I say : I shall fill the hellfire with you and your followers altogether.'"

Surat as-Saad 71 - 85

Before the time of Man, God, exalted is He, had first created angels and genies. The angels were created from light, and the genies from fire. Like man, genies were capable of free will and ruled the Earth before our time; and from among them was Iblis, who was a devout servant of God and alongside his believers were said to almost be like angels, and were thus sometimes counted among them. However when God had created Adam, peace be upon him, and commanded the angels to prostrate before him, Iblis refused saying that he was better, refusing to believe in the eternal wisdom of God in commanding his prostration before Adam. For that sin of disbelief, Iblis and his followers, may God curse them, were cast out from Heaven and cursed by God. From then on, Iblis became known as ash-Shaytan ar-Rajeem (الشيطان الرجيم), literally "the Accursed Devil." Granted immortality as respite until the Endtimes, this Devil, God curse him, has dedicated his life to misleading Adam, peace be upon him, and his children from the path of faith and righteousness.

وَقُلْنَا يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ ٱسْكُنْ أَنتَ وَزَوْجُكَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ (35) فَأَزَلَّهُمَا ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ عَنْهَا فَأَخْرَجَهُمَا مِمَّا كَانَا فِيهِ ۖ وَقُلْنَا ٱهْبِطُوا۟ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّۭ ۖ وَلَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّۭ وَمَتَـٰعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍۢ (36)

فَتَلَقَّىٰٓ ءَادَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ كَلِمَـٰتٍۢ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ (37)

"And we said : 'O Adam, live with your wife in this garden and eat from it as freely as you would wish, but do not approach this tree lest you become sinners.' But the Devil deceived them, leading to their exile from the blissful place they were once in. And we said : 'Descend from this place as enemies to one another, and you shall find upon the Earth accommodation and provision for a brief period. And the Lord inspired Adam and so he repented, and God is accepting of repentance and most especially merciful."

Surat al-Baqarah 36-37

Adam, peace be upon him, and Eve lived in paradise for a time being, until by God's decree they had disobeyed Him due to the whispers of the Devil, and it was declared that they would be cast out from paradise and thrown to the Earth as enemies to one another. For his sin, Adam repented and became a prophet; but Iblis did not, and would continue to lead man astray. Adam had landed in India and with him was a white stone from paradise, whereas his wife Even had landed in Jeddah. Man of that day and age was of greater stature and age, as Adam was sixty cubits tall and lived to a millennium, and travelled the Earth seeking his wife until the two had met one another at Mt. Arafat around the modern location of Baca in Arabia. A great many years passed between Adam and Noah, peace be upon them both. It is reported that between them passed a hundred qarn (قرن ; plural : Qurun [قرون],) with qarn being various interpreted as century or generation; and as man of that time could live almost a thousand years, then certainly a generation of that era would encompass centuries, but the knowledge of its meaning is with God, and God knows best to withhold and inspire His knowledge to whomever He wills. And during the time of Noah, peace be upon him, there came righteous pious men : Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq, and Nas'r; and they had many followers. And when these righteous men passed, their followers were filled with such grief that allowed the Devil to whisper into their hearts and so they created idols in their image to remember them by; and as they passed, the succeeding generation through the whispers of the Devil began to worship these idols as gods.

إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦٓ أَنْ أَنذِرْ قَوْمَكَ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ (1) قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ إِنِّى لَكُمْ نَذِيرٌۭ مُّبِينٌ (2) أَنِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱتَّقُوهُ وَأَطِيعُونِ (3) يَغْفِرْ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُؤَخِّرْكُمْ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍۢ مُّسَمًّى ۚ إِنَّ أَجَلَ ٱللَّهِ إِذَا جَآءَ لَا يُؤَخَّرُ ۖ لَوْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ (4) قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى دَعَوْتُ قَوْمِى لَيْلًۭا وَنَهَارًۭا (5) فَلَمْ يَزِدْهُمْ دُعَآءِىٓ إِلَّا فِرَارًۭا (6) وَإِنِّى كُلَّمَا دَعَوْتُهُمْ لِتَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ جَعَلُوٓا۟ أَصَـٰبِعَهُمْ فِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَٱسْتَغْشَوْا۟ ثِيَابَهُمْ وَأَصَرُّوا۟ وَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ ٱسْتِكْبَارًۭا (7) ثُمَّ إِنِّى دَعَوْتُهُمْ جِهَارًۭا (8) ثُمَّ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَنتُ لَهُمْ وَأَسْرَرْتُ لَهُمْ إِسْرَارًۭا (9) فَقُلْتُ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ غَفَّارًۭا (10) يُرْسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًۭا (11) وَيُمْدِدْكُم بِأَمْوَٰلٍۢ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍۢ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَـٰرًۭا (12) مَّا لَكُمْ لَا تَرْجُونَ لِلَّهِ وَقَارًۭا (13) وَقَدْ خَلَقَكُمْ أَطْوَارًا (14) أَلَمْ تَرَوْا۟ كَيْفَ خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَـٰوَٰتٍۢ طِبَاقًۭا (15) وَجَعَلَ ٱلْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًۭا وَجَعَلَ ٱلشَّمْسَ سِرَاجًۭا (16) وَٱللَّهُ أَنۢبَتَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ نَبَاتًۭا (17) ثُمَّ يُعِيدُكُمْ فِيهَا وَيُخْرِجُكُمْ إِخْرَاجًۭا (18) وَٱللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ بِسَاطًۭا (19) لِّتَسْلُكُوا۟ مِنْهَا سُبُلًۭا فِجَاجًۭا (20) قَالَ نُوحٌۭ رَّبِّ إِنَّهُمْ عَصَوْنِى وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ مَن لَّمْ يَزِدْهُ مَالُهُۥ وَوَلَدُهُۥٓ إِلَّا خَسَارًۭا (21) وَمَكَرُوا۟ مَكْرًۭا كُبَّارًۭا (22) وَقَالُوا۟ لَا تَذَرُنَّ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ وَلَا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّۭا وَلَا سُوَاعًۭا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًۭا (23) وَقَدْ أَضَلُّوا۟ كَثِيرًۭا ۖ وَلَا تَزِدِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ إِلَّا ضَلَـٰلًۭا (24) مِّمَّا خَطِيٓـَٔـٰتِهِمْ أُغْرِقُوا۟ فَأُدْخِلُوا۟ نَارًۭا فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا۟ لَهُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَنصَارًۭا (25) وَقَالَ نُوحٌۭ رَّبِّ لَا تَذَرْ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ مِنَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ دَيَّارًا (26) إِنَّكَ إِن تَذَرْهُمْ يُضِلُّوا۟ عِبَادَكَ وَلَا يَلِدُوٓا۟ إِلَّا فَاجِرًۭا كَفَّارًۭا (27) رَّبِّ ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَىَّ وَلِمَن دَخَلَ بَيْتِىَ مُؤْمِنًۭا وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ وَلَا تَزِدِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ إِلَّا تَبَارًۢا (28)

"Verily we have sent Noah to his people. 'That you may warn your people before a painful torment approaches them!' He said : 'O my people, I am clearly a warner for you! That you may worship God and obey, so that He may forgive your sins and offer you respite till your appointed time! Verily if death arrives, it is as God had decreed, and he will never delay it for anyone if only you knew!' And he said [to his Lord] : 'My Lord! I have called upon my people day and night, yet my calls do not increase them in anything except flight! Every time I call upon them that you may forgive them, they plug their fingers into their ears, cover themselves up in their garments, become obstinate and boast in arrogance! And I have called upon them in public, and in secret, and I have told them : 'Seek forgiveness from your Lord for He is Oft Forgiving. He sends the sky to shower you, blesses you with wealth and children and grants you bountiful gardens and flowing rivers! What is the matter with you that you do not long for God in dignity seeing that He has created you in stages? Do you not see how God created the seven heavens one above the other? And created therein the moon as a light and the sun as a lamp? And God has planted you upon the Earth like crop, and to the Earth He shall return you to and from which He shall resurrect you. And God has appointed for you a vast world, that you may tread therein in great paths.' And Noah said [to his Lord] : 'My Lord! They disobey me and follow those who do not add to their wealth and children except loss! And they have devised great conspiracy, saying : 'Do not abandon your gods, do not abandon Wadd nor Suwa', nor Yaghuth, nor Ya'uq, nor Nas'r.' They have already misled a multitude, and they will not not give these sinners any benefit except in error.' Because of their sins, they were drowned and cast into the Fire and never shall they find any savior beyond God. And Noah said : 'My Lord! Do not leave upon the Earth a single one of the disbelievers! Surely, if you leave even a single one then they will mislead the rest of your servants and they will not produce any children except wicked disbelievers! My Lord, forgive me and my parents and whoever had entered my house as a believer, and forgive the believers and do not provide the wrongdoers anything except destruction.'"

Surat Nuh 1-28

Noah, peace be upon him, was sent by God as a prophet to his people who had taken righteous men who had passes as gods themselves; but most of them refused to even hear his message. As punishment, God drowned the disbelievers and will cast them into the Fire on the Day of Judgement. Noah and his family were saved, and his progeny repopulated the Earth and spread across it. Mentioned among the sons of Noah were : Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

It is unknown where Noah's Ark had landed, however it is generally accepted by linguistic scholars that the Arabian Peninsula was the urheimat of the Semitic Languages, which suggests that Shem may have settled in Arabia.

Ancient Period

'Ad

وَإِلَىٰ عَادٍ أَخَاهُمْ هُودًۭا ۚ قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥٓ ۖ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا مُفْتَرُونَ (50) يَـٰقَوْمِ لَآ أَسْـَٔلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا ۖ إِنْ أَجْرِىَ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلَّذِى فَطَرَنِىٓ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ (51) وَيَـٰقَوْمِ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ يُرْسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًۭا وَيَزِدْكُمْ قُوَّةً إِلَىٰ قُوَّتِكُمْ وَلَا تَتَوَلَّوْا۟ مُجْرِمِينَ (52) قَالُوا۟ يَـٰهُودُ مَا جِئْتَنَا بِبَيِّنَةٍۢ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَارِكِىٓ ءَالِهَتِنَا عَن قَوْلِكَ وَمَا نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ (53) إِن نَّقُولُ إِلَّا ٱعْتَرَىٰكَ بَعْضُ ءَالِهَتِنَا بِسُوٓءٍۢ ۗ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أُشْهِدُ ٱللَّهَ وَٱشْهَدُوٓا۟ أَنِّى بَرِىٓءٌۭ مِّمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ (54) مِن دُونِهِۦ ۖ فَكِيدُونِى جَمِيعًۭا ثُمَّ لَا تُنظِرُونِ (55) إِنِّى تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ رَبِّى وَرَبِّكُم ۚ مَّا مِن دَآبَّةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ ءَاخِذٌۢ بِنَاصِيَتِهَآ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى عَلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍۢ مُّسْتَقِيمٍۢ (56) فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُم مَّآ أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِۦٓ إِلَيْكُمْ ۚ وَيَسْتَخْلِفُ رَبِّى قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ وَلَا تَضُرُّونَهُۥ شَيْـًٔا ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَفِيظٌۭ (57)

"And to the people of ’Âd We sent their brother Hûd. He said, “O my people! Worship Allah. You have no god other than Him. You do nothing but fabricate lies ˹against Allah˺. O  my people! I do not ask you for any reward for this ˹message˺. My reward is only from the One Who created me. Will you not then understand? And O  my people! Seek your Lord’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. He will shower you with rain in abundance, and add strength to your strength. So do not turn away, persisting in wickedness.” They argued, “O Hûd! You have not given us any clear proof, and we will never abandon our gods upon your word, nor will we believe in you. All we can say is that some of our gods have possessed you with evil.” He said, “I call Allah to witness, and you too bear witness, that I ˹totally˺ reject whatever you associate with Him ˹in worship˺. So let all of you plot against me without delay! I have put my trust in Allah—my Lord and your Lord. There is no living creature that is not completely under His control. Surely my Lord’s Way is perfect justice. But if you turn away, I have already delivered to you what I have been sent with. My Lord will replace you with others. You are not harming Him in the least. Indeed, my Lord is a ˹vigilant˺ Keeper over all things.”"

Surat Hud 50-57

Some of the earliest people to inhabit Arabia were the nation of 'Ad. Little is known of this people save for what has been revealed in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and some pre-Islamic poetry. The Prophet Hud, peace be upon him, sometimes identified as the Biblical Eber, was sent to the nation of 'Ad to warn them to turn away from idolatry and worship God. Like many before and after them, the people of 'Ad heard and disobeyed, and were thus destroyed in a violent storm lasting seven nights and eight days.

Qahtanites

Genealogy of the Qahtanite Tribes.

The original Arabs were descendants of Qahtan, a descendant of Shem. The Islamic historian Wahb bin Munabbih, may Allah preserve him, supported the tradition that he was a descendant of Ishmael and thus Abraham, peace be upon them both. However some traditions have identified Qahtan with Joktan, the second son of Eber, thus potentially being the great great grandson of Shem and correlation between Qahtan's son "Hadramaut" in Arabic and Joktan's son "Hazarmaveth" in Hebrew seems to support this tradition. Qahtan is traditionally held to be the ancestors of many important tribes such as the Banu Jurhum, who would later teach Ishmael, peace be upon him, the Arabic language and culture.

Qahtanites are held to be the original pure Arabs, lacking the North Semitic admixture provided by Ishmael, peace be upon him. Majority of the Qahtanite Tribes are Yemeni tribes, although some major Qahtanite migrations had taken place prior to the rise of Islam, giving rise to tribes such as the Banu Ghassan, a traditionally Christian Arab tribe residing in the Syria-Palestine region.

Abraham, Ishmael, and the Adnanites

Decorative seal depicting the name of the Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him.

وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَآ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ رُشْدَهُۥ مِن قَبْلُ وَكُنَّا بِهِۦ عَـٰلِمِينَ (51) إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِۦ مَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلتَّمَاثِيلُ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنتُمْ لَهَا عَـٰكِفُونَ (52) قَالُوا۟ وَجَدْنَآ ءَابَآءَنَا لَهَا عَـٰبِدِينَ (53) قَالَ لَقَدْ كُنتُمْ أَنتُمْ وَءَابَآؤُكُمْ فِى ضَلَـٰلٍۢ مُّبِينٍۢ (54) قَالُوٓا۟ أَجِئْتَنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ أَمْ أَنتَ مِنَ ٱللَّـٰعِبِينَ (55) قَالَ بَل رَّبُّكُمْ رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلَّذِى فَطَرَهُنَّ وَأَنَا۠ عَلَىٰ ذَٰلِكُم مِّنَ ٱلشَّـٰهِدِينَ (56) وَتَٱللَّهِ لَأَكِيدَنَّ أَصْنَـٰمَكُم بَعْدَ أَن تُوَلُّوا۟ مُدْبِرِينَ (57) فَجَعَلَهُمْ جُذَٰذًا إِلَّا كَبِيرًۭا لَّهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ يَرْجِعُونَ (58) قَالُوا۟ مَن فَعَلَ هَـٰذَا بِـَٔالِهَتِنَآ إِنَّهُۥ لَمِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ (59) قَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا فَتًۭى يَذْكُرُهُمْ يُقَالُ لَهُۥٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمُ (60) قَالُوا۟ فَأْتُوا۟ بِهِۦ عَلَىٰٓ أَعْيُنِ ٱلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْهَدُونَ (61) قَالُوٓا۟ ءَأَنتَ فَعَلْتَ هَـٰذَا بِـَٔالِهَتِنَا يَـٰٓإِبْرَٰهِيمُ (62) قَالَ بَلْ فَعَلَهُۥ كَبِيرُهُمْ هَـٰذَا فَسْـَٔلُوهُمْ إِن كَانُوا۟ يَنطِقُونَ (63) فَرَجَعُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ فَقَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّكُمْ أَنتُمُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ (64) ثُمَّ نُكِسُوا۟ عَلَىٰ رُءُوسِهِمْ لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ يَنطِقُونَ (65) قَالَ أَفَتَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَنفَعُكُمْ شَيْـًۭٔا وَلَا يَضُرُّكُمْ (66) أُفٍّۢ لَّكُمْ وَلِمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ (67) قَالُوا۟ حَرِّقُوهُ وَٱنصُرُوٓا۟ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ فَـٰعِلِينَ (68) قُلْنَا يَـٰنَارُ كُونِى بَرْدًۭا وَسَلَـٰمًا عَلَىٰٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ (69) وَأَرَادُوا۟ بِهِۦ كَيْدًۭا فَجَعَلْنَـٰهُمُ ٱلْأَخْسَرِينَ (70) وَنَجَّيْنَـٰهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلَّتِى بَـٰرَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَـٰلَمِينَ (71) وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُۥٓ إِسْحَـٰقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ نَافِلَةًۭ ۖ وَكُلًّۭا جَعَلْنَا صَـٰلِحِينَ (72) وَجَعَلْنَـٰهُمْ أَئِمَّةًۭ يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْهِمْ فِعْلَ ٱلْخَيْرَٰتِ وَإِقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَإِيتَآءَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةِ ۖ وَكَانُوا۟ لَنَا عَـٰبِدِينَ (73)

"And indeed, We had granted Abraham sound judgment early on, for We knew him well ˹to be worthy of it˺. ˹Remember˺ when he questioned his father and his people, “What are these statues to which you are so devoted?” They replied, “We found our forefathers worshipping them.” He responded, “Indeed, you and your forefathers have been clearly astray.” They asked, “Have you come to us with the truth, or is this a joke?” He replied, “In fact, your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, Who created them ˹both˺. And to that I bear witness.” ˹Then he said to himself,˺ “By Allah! I will surely plot against your idols after you have turned your backs and gone away.” So he smashed them into pieces, except the biggest of them, so they might turn to it ˹for answers˺. They protested, “Who dared do this to our gods? It must be an evildoer!” Some said, “We heard a young man, called Abraham, speaking ˹ill˺ of them.” They demanded, “Bring him before the eyes of the people, so that they may witness ˹his trial˺.” They asked, “Was it you who did this to our gods, O  Abraham?” He replied ˹sarcastically˺, “No, this one—the biggest of them—did it! So ask them, if they can talk!” So they came back to their senses, saying ˹to one another˺, “You yourselves are truly the wrongdoers!” Then they ˹quickly˺ regressed to their ˹original˺ mind-set, ˹arguing,˺ “You already know that those ˹idols˺ cannot talk.” He rebuked ˹them˺, “Do you then worship—instead of Allah—what can neither benefit nor harm you in any way? Shame on you and whatever you worship instead of Allah! Do you not have any sense?” They concluded, “Burn him up to avenge your gods, if you must act.” We ordered, “O fire! Be cool and safe for Abraham!” They had sought to harm him, but We made them the worst losers. Then We delivered him, along with Lot, to the land We had showered with blessings for all people. And We blessed him with Isaac ˹as a son˺ and Jacob ˹as a grandson˺, as an additional favour—making all of them righteous. We ˹also˺ made them leaders, guiding by Our command, and inspired them to do good deeds, establish prayer, and pay alms-tax. And they were devoted to Our worship."

Surat al-Anbiya' 51-73

From the descendants of Shem came Abraham, peace be upon him, who was born in the Sumerian city of Ur. His father was a crafter of idols of ancient Mesopotamian religion, but despite this was vehemently opposed to idolatry. In one incident, as the people of Ur were in celebration, Abraham feigned illness to stay behind and entered the temple, asking the idols why they do not eat, drink, move, or respond before destroying them with his right hand. His strict adherence to monotheism and vehement opposition to idolatry earned him the ire of his people, until such that he was sentence to death by burning. God then commanded the fire to be cool, and Abraham was seen before public eyes in awe unharmed and untouched by the fire. Abraham, peace be upon him, was delivered from his people alongside his kinsman Lot and brought west to Canaan where they made their home. Abraham had briefly resided in Egypt, whose tyrannical king lusted after his wife Sarah. Abraham advised Sarah to inform the king of Egypt that she was his mere sister [in religion] so that he would not be killed in envy, and the king thus sought Sarah but Sarah prayed to God to restrain the tyrant, and the tyrant was frozen and paralyzed. He begged her to pray to her Lord to let him go, but upon being freed he returned to his plot, and so Sarah called upon her Lord once more. Again and again, the king was paralyzed and begged for release until fear took him and he cast them out of his kingdom and begged them to leave, even offering Abraham his daughter Hagar's hand in marriage only for them to leave.

وَحَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ السَّخْتِيَانِيِّ، وَكَثِيرِ بْنِ كَثِيرِ بْنِ الْمُطَّلِبِ بْنِ أَبِي وَدَاعَةَ،، يَزِيدُ أَحَدُهُمَا عَلَى الآخَرِ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ، قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ أَوَّلَ مَا اتَّخَذَ النِّسَاءُ الْمِنْطَقَ مِنْ قِبَلِ أُمِّ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، اتَّخَذَتْ مِنْطَقًا لَتُعَفِّيَ أَثَرَهَا عَلَى سَارَةَ، ثُمَّ جَاءَ بِهَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ، وَبِابْنِهَا إِسْمَاعِيلَ وَهْىَ تُرْضِعُهُ حَتَّى وَضَعَهُمَا عِنْدَ الْبَيْتِ عِنْدَ دَوْحَةٍ، فَوْقَ زَمْزَمَ فِي أَعْلَى الْمَسْجِدِ، وَلَيْسَ بِمَكَّةَ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَحَدٌ، وَلَيْسَ بِهَا مَاءٌ، فَوَضَعَهُمَا هُنَالِكَ، وَوَضَعَ عِنْدَهُمَا جِرَابًا فِيهِ تَمْرٌ وَسِقَاءً فِيهِ مَاءٌ، ثُمَّ قَفَّى إِبْرَاهِيمُ مُنْطَلِقًا فَتَبِعَتْهُ أُمُّ إِسْمَاعِيلَ فَقَالَتْ يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ أَيْنَ تَذْهَبُ وَتَتْرُكُنَا بِهَذَا الْوَادِي الَّذِي لَيْسَ فِيهِ إِنْسٌ وَلاَ شَىْءٌ فَقَالَتْ لَهُ ذَلِكَ مِرَارًا، وَجَعَلَ لاَ يَلْتَفِتُ إِلَيْهَا فَقَالَتْ لَهُ آللَّهُ الَّذِي أَمَرَكَ بِهَذَا قَالَ نَعَمْ‏.‏ قَالَتْ إِذًا لاَ يُضَيِّعُنَا‏.‏ ثُمَّ رَجَعَتْ، فَانْطَلَقَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ حَتَّى إِذَا كَانَ عِنْدَ الثَّنِيَّةِ حَيْثُ لاَ يَرَوْنَهُ اسْتَقْبَلَ بِوَجْهِهِ الْبَيْتَ، ثُمَّ دَعَا بِهَؤُلاَءِ الْكَلِمَاتِ وَرَفَعَ يَدَيْهِ، فَقَالَ ‏{‏رَبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنْتُ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ‏}‏ حَتَّى بَلَغَ ‏{‏يَشْكُرُونَ‏}‏‏.‏ وَجَعَلَتْ أُمُّ إِسْمَاعِيلَ تُرْضِعُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، وَتَشْرَبُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الْمَاءِ، حَتَّى إِذَا نَفِدَ مَا فِي السِّقَاءِ عَطِشَتْ وَعَطِشَ ابْنُهَا، وَجَعَلَتْ تَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ يَتَلَوَّى ـ أَوْ قَالَ يَتَلَبَّطُ ـ فَانْطَلَقَتْ كَرَاهِيَةَ أَنْ تَنْظُرَ إِلَيْهِ، فَوَجَدَتِ الصَّفَا أَقْرَبَ جَبَلٍ فِي الأَرْضِ يَلِيهَا، فَقَامَتْ عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ اسْتَقْبَلَتِ الْوَادِيَ تَنْظُرُ هَلْ تَرَى أَحَدًا فَلَمْ تَرَ أَحَدًا، فَهَبَطَتْ مِنَ، الصَّفَا حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الْوَادِيَ رَفَعَتْ طَرَفَ دِرْعِهَا، ثُمَّ سَعَتْ سَعْىَ الإِنْسَانِ الْمَجْهُودِ، حَتَّى جَاوَزَتِ الْوَادِيَ، ثُمَّ أَتَتِ الْمَرْوَةَ، فَقَامَتْ عَلَيْهَا وَنَظَرَتْ هَلْ تَرَى أَحَدًا، فَلَمْ تَرَ أَحَدًا، فَفَعَلَتْ ذَلِكَ سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ ـ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ فَذَلِكَ سَعْىُ النَّاسِ بَيْنَهُمَا ‏"‏‏.‏ ـ فَلَمَّا أَشْرَفَتْ عَلَى الْمَرْوَةِ سَمِعَتْ صَوْتًا، فَقَالَتْ صَهٍ‏.‏ تُرِيدَ نَفْسَهَا، ثُمَّ تَسَمَّعَتْ، فَسَمِعَتْ أَيْضًا، فَقَالَتْ قَدْ أَسْمَعْتَ، إِنْ كَانَ عِنْدَكَ غِوَاثٌ‏.‏ فَإِذَا هِيَ بِالْمَلَكِ، عِنْدَ مَوْضِعِ زَمْزَمَ، فَبَحَثَ بِعَقِبِهِ ـ أَوْ قَالَ بِجَنَاحِهِ ـ حَتَّى ظَهَرَ الْمَاءُ، فَجَعَلَتْ تُحَوِّضُهُ وَتَقُولُ بِيَدِهَا هَكَذَا، وَجَعَلَتْ تَغْرِفُ مِنَ الْمَاءِ فِي سِقَائِهَا، وَهْوَ يَفُورُ بَعْدَ مَا تَغْرِفُ ـ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ يَرْحَمُ اللَّهُ أُمَّ إِسْمَاعِيلَ لَوْ تَرَكَتْ زَمْزَمَ ـ أَوْ قَالَ لَوْ لَمْ تَغْرِفْ مِنَ الْمَاءِ ـ لَكَانَتْ زَمْزَمُ عَيْنًا مَعِينًا ‏"‏‏.‏ ـ قَالَ فَشَرِبَتْ وَأَرْضَعَتْ وَلَدَهَا، فَقَالَ لَهَا الْمَلَكُ لاَ تَخَافُوا الضَّيْعَةَ، فَإِنَّ هَا هُنَا بَيْتَ اللَّهِ، يَبْنِي هَذَا الْغُلاَمُ، وَأَبُوهُ، وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُضِيعُ أَهْلَهُ‏.‏ وَكَانَ الْبَيْتُ مُرْتَفِعًا مِنَ الأَرْضِ كَالرَّابِيَةِ، تَأْتِيهِ السُّيُولُ فَتَأْخُذُ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَشِمَالِهِ، فَكَانَتْ كَذَلِكَ، حَتَّى مَرَّتْ بِهِمْ رُفْقَةٌ مِنْ جُرْهُمَ ـ أَوْ أَهْلُ بَيْتٍ مِنْ جُرْهُمَ ـ مُقْبِلِينَ مِنْ طَرِيقِ كَدَاءٍ فَنَزَلُوا فِي أَسْفَلِ مَكَّةَ، فَرَأَوْا طَائِرًا عَائِفًا‏.‏ فَقَالُوا إِنَّ هَذَا الطَّائِرَ لَيَدُورُ عَلَى مَاءٍ، لَعَهْدُنَا بِهَذَا الْوَادِي وَمَا فِيهِ مَاءٌ، فَأَرْسَلُوا جَرِيًّا أَوْ جَرِيَّيْنِ، فَإِذَا هُمْ بِالْمَاءِ، فَرَجَعُوا فَأَخْبَرُوهُمْ بِالْمَاءِ، فَأَقْبَلُوا، قَالَ وَأُمُّ إِسْمَاعِيلَ عِنْدَ الْمَاءِ فَقَالُوا أَتَأْذَنِينَ لَنَا أَنْ نَنْزِلَ عِنْدَكِ فَقَالَتْ نَعَمْ، وَلَكِنْ لاَ حَقَّ لَكُمْ فِي الْمَاءِ‏.‏ قَالُوا نَعَمْ‏.‏ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ فَأَلْفَى ذَلِكَ أُمَّ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، وَهْىَ تُحِبُّ الإِنْسَ ‏"‏ فَنَزَلُوا وَأَرْسَلُوا إِلَى أَهْلِيهِمْ، فَنَزَلُوا مَعَهُمْ حَتَّى إِذَا كَانَ بِهَا أَهْلُ أَبْيَاتٍ مِنْهُمْ، وَشَبَّ الْغُلاَمُ، وَتَعَلَّمَ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ مِنْهُمْ، وَأَنْفَسَهُمْ وَأَعْجَبَهُمْ حِينَ شَبَّ، فَلَمَّا أَدْرَكَ زَوَّجُوهُ امْرَأَةً مِنْهُمْ، وَمَاتَتْ أُمُّ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، فَجَاءَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ، بَعْدَ مَا تَزَوَّجَ إِسْمَاعِيلُ يُطَالِعُ تَرِكَتَهُ، فَلَمْ يَجِدْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، فَسَأَلَ امْرَأَتَهُ عَنْهُ فَقَالَتْ خَرَجَ يَبْتَغِي لَنَا‏.‏ ثُمَّ سَأَلَهَا عَنْ عَيْشِهِمْ وَهَيْئَتِهِمْ فَقَالَتْ نَحْنُ بِشَرٍّ، نَحْنُ فِي ضِيقٍ وَشِدَّةٍ‏.‏ فَشَكَتْ إِلَيْهِ‏.‏ قَالَ فَإِذَا جَاءَ زَوْجُكِ فَاقْرَئِي عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمَ، وَقُولِي لَهُ يُغَيِّرْ عَتَبَةَ بَابِهِ‏.‏ فَلَمَّا جَاءَ إِسْمَاعِيلُ، كَأَنَّهُ آنَسَ شَيْئًا، فَقَالَ هَلْ جَاءَكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ قَالَتْ نَعَمْ، جَاءَنَا شَيْخٌ كَذَا وَكَذَا، فَسَأَلَنَا عَنْكَ فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ، وَسَأَلَنِي كَيْفَ عَيْشُنَا فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ أَنَّا فِي جَهْدٍ وَشِدَّةٍ‏.‏ قَالَ فَهَلْ أَوْصَاكِ بِشَىْءٍ قَالَتْ نَعَمْ، أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أَقْرَأَ عَلَيْكَ السَّلاَمَ، وَيَقُولُ غَيِّرْ عَتَبَةَ بَابِكَ‏.‏ قَالَ ذَاكِ أَبِي وَقَدْ أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أُفَارِقَكِ الْحَقِي بِأَهْلِكِ‏.‏ فَطَلَّقَهَا، وَتَزَوَّجَ مِنْهُمْ أُخْرَى، فَلَبِثَ عَنْهُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمُ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ أَتَاهُمْ بَعْدُ، فَلَمْ يَجِدْهُ، فَدَخَلَ عَلَى امْرَأَتِهِ، فَسَأَلَهَا عَنْهُ‏.‏ فَقَالَتْ خَرَجَ يَبْتَغِي لَنَا‏.‏ قَالَ كَيْفَ أَنْتُمْ وَسَأَلَهَا عَنْ عَيْشِهِمْ، وَهَيْئَتِهِمْ‏.‏ فَقَالَتْ نَحْنُ بِخَيْرٍ وَسَعَةٍ‏.‏ وَأَثْنَتْ عَلَى اللَّهِ‏.‏ فَقَالَ مَا طَعَامُكُمْ قَالَتِ اللَّحْمُ‏.‏ قَالَ فَمَا شَرَابُكُمْ قَالَتِ الْمَاءُ‏.‏ فَقَالَ اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَهُمْ فِي اللَّحْمِ وَالْمَاءِ‏.‏ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ حَبٌّ، وَلَوْ كَانَ لَهُمْ دَعَا لَهُمْ فِيهِ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ فَهُمَا لاَ يَخْلُو عَلَيْهِمَا أَحَدٌ بِغَيْرِ مَكَّةَ إِلاَّ لَمْ يُوَافِقَاهُ‏.‏ قَالَ فَإِذَا جَاءَ زَوْجُكِ فَاقْرَئِي عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمَ، وَمُرِيهِ يُثْبِتُ عَتَبَةَ بَابِهِ، فَلَمَّا جَاءَ إِسْمَاعِيلُ قَالَ هَلْ أَتَاكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ قَالَتْ نَعَمْ أَتَانَا شَيْخٌ حَسَنُ الْهَيْئَةِ، وَأَثْنَتْ عَلَيْهِ، فَسَأَلَنِي عَنْكَ فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ، فَسَأَلَنِي كَيْفَ عَيْشُنَا فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ أَنَّا بِخَيْرٍ‏.‏ قَالَ فَأَوْصَاكِ بِشَىْءٍ قَالَتْ نَعَمْ، هُوَ يَقْرَأُ عَلَيْكَ السَّلاَمَ، وَيَأْمُرُكَ أَنْ تُثْبِتَ عَتَبَةَ بَابِكَ‏.‏ قَالَ ذَاكِ أَبِي، وَأَنْتِ الْعَتَبَةُ، أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أُمْسِكَكِ‏.‏ ثُمَّ لَبِثَ عَنْهُمْ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ، ثُمَّ جَاءَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ، وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ يَبْرِي نَبْلاً لَهُ تَحْتَ دَوْحَةٍ قَرِيبًا مِنْ زَمْزَمَ، فَلَمَّا رَآهُ قَامَ إِلَيْهِ، فَصَنَعَا كَمَا يَصْنَعُ الْوَالِدُ بِالْوَلَدِ وَالْوَلَدُ بِالْوَالِدِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ يَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَنِي بِأَمْرٍ‏.‏ قَالَ فَاصْنَعْ مَا أَمَرَكَ رَبُّكَ‏.‏ قَالَ وَتُعِينُنِي قَالَ وَأُعِينُكَ‏.‏ قَالَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أَبْنِيَ هَا هُنَا بَيْتًا‏.‏ وَأَشَارَ إِلَى أَكَمَةٍ مُرْتَفِعَةٍ عَلَى مَا حَوْلَهَا‏.‏ قَالَ فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ رَفَعَا الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ، فَجَعَلَ إِسْمَاعِيلُ يَأْتِي بِالْحِجَارَةِ، وَإِبْرَاهِيمُ يَبْنِي، حَتَّى إِذَا ارْتَفَعَ الْبِنَاءُ جَاءَ بِهَذَا الْحَجَرِ فَوَضَعَهُ لَهُ، فَقَامَ عَلَيْهِ وَهْوَ يَبْنِي، وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ يُنَاوِلُهُ الْحِجَارَةَ، وَهُمَا يَقُولاَنِ ‏{‏رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ‏}‏‏.‏ قَالَ فَجَعَلاَ يَبْنِيَانِ حَتَّى يَدُورَا حَوْلَ الْبَيْتِ، وَهُمَا يَقُولاَنِ ‏{‏رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ‏}‏‏.‏

Narrated Ibn `Abbas: The first lady to use a girdle was the mother of Ishmael. She used a girdle so that she might hide her tracks from Sarah. Abraham brought her and her son Ishmael while she was suckling him, to a place near the Ka`ba under a tree on the spot of Zamzam, at the highest place in the mosque. During those days there was nobody in Mecca, nor was there any water So he made them sit over there and placed near them a leather bag containing some dates, and a small water-skin containing some water, and set out homeward. Ishmael's mother followed him saying, "O Abraham! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything (to enjoy)?" She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her Then she asked him, "Has Allah ordered you to do so?" He said, "Yes." She said, "Then He will not neglect us," and returned while Abraham proceeded onwards, and on reaching the Thaniya where they could not see him, he faced the Ka`ba, and raising both hands, invoked Allah saying the following prayers: 'O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring dwell in a valley without cultivation, by Your Sacred House (Ka`ba at Mecca) in order, O our Lord, that they may offer prayer perfectly. So fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with fruits, so that they may give thanks.' (14.37) Ishmael's mother went on suckling Ishmael and drinking from the water (she had). When the water in the water-skin had all been used up, she became thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She started looking at him (i.e. Ishmael) tossing in agony; She left him, for she could not endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of Safa was the nearest mountain to her on that land. She stood on it and started looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she could not see anybody. Then she descended from Safa and when she reached the valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like a person in distress and trouble, till she crossed the valley and reached the Marwa mountain where she stood and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She repeated that (running between Safa and Marwa) seven times." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "This is the source of the tradition of the walking of people between them (i.e. Safa and Marwa). When she reached the Marwa (for the last time) she heard a voice and she asked herself to be quiet and listened attentively. She heard the voice again and said, 'O, (whoever you may be)! You have made me hear your voice; have you got something to help me?" And behold! She saw an angel at the place of Zamzam, digging the earth with his heel (or his wing), till water flowed from that place. She started to make something like a basin around it, using her hand in this way, and started filling her water-skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out after she had scooped some of it." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "May Allah bestow Mercy on Ishmael's mother! Had she let the Zamzam (flow without trying to control it) (or had she not scooped from that water) (to fill her water-skin), Zamzam would have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth." The Prophet (ﷺ) further added, "Then she drank (water) and suckled her child. The angel said to her, 'Don't be afraid of being neglected, for this is the House of Allah which will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah never neglects His people.' The House (i.e. Ka`ba) at that time was on a high place resembling a hillock, and when torrents came, they flowed to its right and left. She lived in that way till some people from the tribe of Jurhum or a family from Jurhum passed by her and her child, as they (i.e. the Jurhum people) were coming through the way of Kada'. They landed in the lower part of Mecca where they saw a bird that had the habit of flying around water and not leaving it. They said, 'This bird must be flying around water, though we know that there is no water in this valley.' They sent one or two messengers who discovered the source of water, and returned to inform them of the water. So, they all came (towards the water)." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "Ishmael's mother was sitting near the water. They asked her, 'Do you allow us to stay with you?" She replied, 'Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.' They agreed to that." The Prophet (ﷺ) further said, "Ishmael's mother was pleased with the whole situation as she used to love to enjoy the company of the people. So, they settled there, and later on they sent for their families who came and settled with them so that some families became permanent residents there. The child (i.e. Ishmael) grew up and learnt Arabic from them and (his virtues) caused them to love and admire him as he grew up, and when he reached the age of puberty they made him marry a woman from amongst them. After Ishmael's mother had died, Abraham came after Ishmael's marriage in order to see his family that he had left before, but he did not find Ishmael there. When he asked Ishmael's wife about him, she replied, 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Then he asked her about their way of living and their condition, and she replied, 'We are living in misery; we are living in hardship and destitution,' complaining to him. He said, 'When your husband returns, convey my salutation to him and tell him to change the threshold of the gate (of his house).' When Ishmael came, he seemed to have felt something unusual, so he asked his wife, 'Has anyone visited you?' She replied, 'Yes, an old man of so-and-so description came and asked me about you and I informed him, and he asked about our state of living, and I told him that we were living in a hardship and poverty.' On that Ishmael said, 'Did he advise you anything?' She replied, 'Yes, he told me to convey his salutation to you and to tell you to change the threshold of your gate.' Ishmael said, 'It was my father, and he has ordered me to divorce you. Go back to your family.' So, Ishmael divorced her and married another woman from amongst them (i.e. Jurhum). Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished and called on them again but did not find Ishmael. So he came to Ishmael's wife and asked her about Ishmael. She said, 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Abraham asked her, 'How are you getting on?' asking her about their sustenance and living. She replied, 'We are prosperous and well-off (i.e. we have everything in abundance).' Then she thanked Allah' Abraham said, 'What kind of food do you eat?' She said. 'Meat.' He said, 'What do you drink?' She said, 'Water." He said, "O Allah! Bless their meat and water." The Prophet added, "At that time they did not have grain, and if they had grain, he would have also invoked Allah to bless it." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "If somebody has only these two things as his sustenance, his health and disposition will be badly affected, unless he lives in Mecca." The Prophet (ﷺ) added," Then Abraham said Ishmael's wife, "When your husband comes, give my regards to him and tell him that he should keep firm the threshold of his gate.' When Ishmael came back, he asked his wife, 'Did anyone call on you?' She replied, 'Yes, a good-looking old man came to me,' so she praised him and added. 'He asked about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our livelihood and I told him that we were in a good condition.' Ishmael asked her, 'Did he give you any piece of advice?' She said, 'Yes, he told me to give his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of your gate.' On that Ishmael said, 'It was my father, and you are the threshold (of the gate). He has ordered me to keep you with me.' Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished, and called on them afterwards. He saw Ishmael under a tree near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows. When he saw Abraham, he rose up to welcome him (and they greeted each other as a father does with his son or a son does with his father). Abraham said, 'O Ishmael! Allah has given me an order.' Ishmael said, 'Do what your Lord has ordered you to do.' Abraham asked, 'Will you help me?' Ishmael said, 'I will help you.' Abraham said, Allah has ordered me to build a house here,' pointing to a hillock higher than the land surrounding it." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "Then they raised the foundations of the House (i.e. the Ka`ba). Ishmael brought the stones and Abraham was building, and when the walls became high, Ishmael brought this stone and put it for Abraham who stood over it and carried on building, while Ishmael was handing him the stones, and both of them were saying, 'O our Lord! Accept (this service) from us, Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.' The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "Then both of them went on building and going round the Ka`ba saying: O our Lord ! Accept (this service) from us, Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." (2.127)

Sahih al-Bukhari 3364

Hagar bore Abraham a son, who was named Ishmael, peace be upon him, meaning "God has heard." God inspired Abraham to bring his son Ishmael to Baca and leave them there. When he had left them there, the desert was barren and Hagar ran between Safa and Marwa seven times looking for water or for help but was unsuccessful. Finally an angel revealed himself and dug his heel into the ground, from which sprouted a well that gushed forth with so much water that Hagar said "Stop! Stop!" and so the well was named "Zamzam."

Genealogy of the Adnanite Tribes.

This place had been near the trade routes of the Arab tribe of Jurhum from the progeny of Qahtan, and they had passed near it and found birds circling above a place where they had long thought to be barren. Curious, they set out scouts to survey the area, and found Hagar and Ishmael, peace be upon him, around the Zamzam Well. They asked her for permission to drink from the well and settle in the area, and so the city of Baca began to take root. Ishmael, peace be upon him, grew amongst the Banu Jurhum and learned their Arabic tongue and married from them until his father returned. Abraham, peace be upon him, found his son living in hardship with a woman who was not grateful to God and so advised him with divorcing her. Ishmael did so, and remarried, and was blessed with prosperity and a woman who praised God for His blessings. He visited them again later on in life, finding Ishmael under a tree near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows; and Ishmael joined his father, peace be upon both of them, in order to build the Ka'abah. They created the foundations for a house of worship and embedded into its corners the white stone of Adam, peace be upon him, from paradise. Each time a pilgrim touched the white stone of Adam, it absorbed their sins and so over time the stone turned from white to black as it absorbed the sins of countless pilgrims who were forgiven for their past misdeeds.

From the Arabized descendants of Ishmael, peace be upon him, was Adnan. It is uncertain if Adnan was a son of Ishmael or his direct descendant, and it is also uncertain that if he was a descendant of Ishmael how many generations were between them. Adnan united the descendants of Ishmael, peace be upon him, under his banner and fathered the Adnanite Tribes of Arabia.

Thamud

﴾وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَالِحًا ۗ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ ۖ قَدْ جَاءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ هَـٰذِهِ نَاقَةُ اللَّهِ لَكُمْ آيَةً ۖ فَذَرُوهَا تَأْكُلْ فِي أَرْضِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴿

And to the Thamud [We sent] their brother Salih. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. This is the she-camel of Allah [sent] to you as a sign. So leave her to eat within Allah's land and do not touch her with harm, lest there seize you a painful punishment.

Surat al-'Araaf 73

An ancient Arabian tribe known as Thamud was attested in old Assyrian and Roman sources and described in the Noble Qur'an. They resided in cities carved from stone along the Hejaz, and thrived until the Prophet Salih, peace be upon him, came to them and warned them of the error of their ways. When they asked for a sign, they witnessed as a rock was miraculously split open, from which appeared a she-camel emerged. Thamud was warned from slaughtering the camel, but did so anyway, and was punished severely with the destruction of their once great civilization.

Classical Period

The Roman Empire

Rome began to expand rapidly from the 4th Century BCE onward, conquering most of the Mediterranean. The Arabian Peninsula was a vital hub for trade from which the Romans obtained spice and perfume, and was also a buffer zone between the Roman and Persian empires. Arabia was then dominated by the Adnanite Nabataean Kingdom which grew rich off of the spice and perfume trade with Rome, while numerous Qahtanite kingdoms flourished across the Peninsula and evaded Roman influence.

The first attempt to expand Roman influence in the region was in 26 BCE during the reign of Augustus Caesar with 10,000 legionnaires under the command of Aelius Gallus. Gallus contracted a Nabataean guide Syllaeus to lead his army to the Qahtanite Sabaean capital of Ma'rib. However Syllaeus deceived Gallus and intentionally mislead the Roman legions to wander around the deserts aimlessly for six months before finally reaching Ma'rib, where fatigue had taken over the Romans after a week-long siege.

Another event which greatly influenced the trajectory of the Arabian Peninsula which while orchestrated by the Romans was not a maneuver to expand their influence in the peninsula, was the Roman Destruction of Judea. The Romans occupied Judea in 6 CE, and following a number of revolts in 66 CE, 115 CE, and 132 CE, the Romans dissolved the Jewish nation and exiled the Jewish people from their homeland. As a result the Jewish diaspora spread across the world, including within Arabia where a number of tribes and kingdoms would fall under Jewish influence and convert to Judaism including the great Himyarite Kingdom, the Banu Qurayza, the Banu al-Harith, and part of the Banu Bali.

In 106 CE, the Nabataean Kingdom was annexed by Rome and became the province of Arabia Petraea. Qahtanite tribes such as the Banu Ghassan, Banu Judham, and Banu Lakhm began to migrate towards Arabia Petraea and fell under Roman influence, becoming Roman clients and adopting Roman religion. This effectively extended Roman cultural influence across the entire peninsula lasting up till the rise of Islam.

While not a direct consequence of Roman expansion, an Adnanite resident of the Roman province of Syria named Zayd bin Kilab born in 400 CE became the first king of Baca. Later known as Qusayy, he refurbished the Ka'abah which at that point was neglected and left in a state of disarray, and established his tribe, the Quraysh around the Ka'abah to profit from the pilgrimage trade. The Ka'abah was transformed from an Abrahamic place of worship with the integration of various pagan idols such as Allat and al-Uzza, syncretizing the pilgrimage rituals with the pagan faiths of Arabia in order to attract a wider and broader host. It was also known that an image of Jesus and Mary were enshrined within the Ka'abah before all of the idols and images within it were destroyed by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Rise of Christianity

وَٱذْكُرْ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مَرْيَمَ إِذِ ٱنتَبَذَتْ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا مَكَانًۭا شَرْقِيًّۭا (16) فَٱتَّخَذَتْ مِن دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًۭا فَأَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا فَتَمَثَّلَ لَهَا بَشَرًۭا سَوِيًّۭا (17) قَالَتْ إِنِّىٓ أَعُوذُ بِٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ مِنكَ إِن كُنتَ تَقِيًّۭا (18) قَالَ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ رَسُولُ رَبِّكِ لِأَهَبَ لَكِ غُلَـٰمًۭا زَكِيًّۭا (19) قَالَتْ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى غُلَـٰمٌۭ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِى بَشَرٌۭ وَلَمْ أَكُ بَغِيًّۭا (20) قَالَ كَذَٰلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ هُوَ عَلَىَّ هَيِّنٌۭ ۖ وَلِنَجْعَلَهُۥٓ ءَايَةًۭ لِّلنَّاسِ وَرَحْمَةًۭ مِّنَّا ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرًۭا مَّقْضِيًّۭا (21) فَحَمَلَتْهُ فَٱنتَبَذَتْ بِهِۦ مَكَانًۭا قَصِيًّۭا (22) فَأَجَآءَهَا ٱلْمَخَاضُ إِلَىٰ جِذْعِ ٱلنَّخْلَةِ قَالَتْ يَـٰلَيْتَنِى مِتُّ قَبْلَ هَـٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسْيًۭا مَّنسِيًّۭا (23) فَنَادَىٰهَا مِن تَحْتِهَآ أَلَّا تَحْزَنِى قَدْ جَعَلَ رَبُّكِ تَحْتَكِ سَرِيًّۭا (24) وَهُزِّىٓ إِلَيْكِ بِجِذْعِ ٱلنَّخْلَةِ تُسَـٰقِطْ عَلَيْكِ رُطَبًۭا جَنِيًّۭا (25) فَكُلِى وَٱشْرَبِى وَقَرِّى عَيْنًۭا ۖ فَإِمَّا تَرَيِنَّ مِنَ ٱلْبَشَرِ أَحَدًۭا فَقُولِىٓ إِنِّى نَذَرْتُ لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ صَوْمًۭا فَلَنْ أُكَلِّمَ ٱلْيَوْمَ إِنسِيًّۭا (26) فَأَتَتْ بِهِۦ قَوْمَهَا تَحْمِلُهُۥ ۖ قَالُوا۟ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ لَقَدْ جِئْتِ شَيْـًۭٔا فَرِيًّۭا (27) يَـٰٓأُخْتَ هَـٰرُونَ مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ ٱمْرَأَ سَوْءٍۢ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّۭا (28) فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ ۖ قَالُوا۟ كَيْفَ نُكَلِّمُ مَن كَانَ فِى ٱلْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّۭا (29) قَالَ إِنِّى عَبْدُ ٱللَّهِ ءَاتَىٰنِىَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيًّۭا (30) وَجَعَلَنِى مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُ وَأَوْصَـٰنِى بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱلزَّكَوٰةِ مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّۭا (31) وَبَرًّۢا بِوَٰلِدَتِى وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْنِى جَبَّارًۭا شَقِيًّۭا (32) وَٱلسَّلَـٰمُ عَلَىَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ حَيًّۭا (33) ذَٰلِكَ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ ۚ قَوْلَ ٱلْحَقِّ ٱلَّذِى فِيهِ يَمْتَرُونَ (34) مَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ أَن يَتَّخِذَ مِن وَلَدٍۢ ۖ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥٓ ۚ إِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمْرًۭا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ (35) وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبُّكُمْ فَٱعْبُدُوهُ ۚ هَـٰذَا صِرَٰطٌۭ مُّسْتَقِيمٌۭ (36) فَٱخْتَلَفَ ٱلْأَحْزَابُ مِنۢ بَيْنِهِمْ ۖ فَوَيْلٌۭ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن مَّشْهَدِ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ (37) أَسْمِعْ بِهِمْ وَأَبْصِرْ يَوْمَ يَأْتُونَنَا ۖ لَـٰكِنِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ ٱلْيَوْمَ فِى ضَلَـٰلٍۢ مُّبِينٍۢ (38)

"And mention in the Book ˹O Prophet, the story of˺ Mary when she withdrew from her family to a place in the east, screening herself off from them. Then We sent to her Our angel, ˹Gabriel,˺ appearing before her as a man, perfectly formed. She appealed, “I truly seek refuge in the Most Compassionate from you! ˹So leave me alone˺ if you are God-fearing.” He responded, “I am only a messenger from your Lord, ˹sent˺ to bless you with a pure son.” She wondered, “How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me, nor am I unchaste?” He replied, “So will it be! Your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me. And so will We make him a sign for humanity and a mercy from Us.’ It is a matter ˹already˺ decreed.” So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a remote place. Then the pains of labour drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She cried, “Alas! I wish I had died before this, and was a thing long forgotten!” So a voice[1] reassured her from below her, “Do not grieve! Your Lord has provided a stream at your feet. And shake the trunk of this palm tree towards you, it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon you. So eat and drink, and put your heart at ease. But if you see any of the people, say, ‘I have vowed silence[1] to the Most Compassionate, so I am not talking to anyone today.’” Then she returned to her people, carrying him. They said ˹in shock˺, “O Mary! You have certainly done a horrible thing! O  sister of Aaron![1] Your father was not an indecent man, nor was your mother unchaste.” So she pointed to the baby. They exclaimed, “How can we talk to someone who is an infant in the cradle?” Jesus declared, “I am truly a servant of Allah. He has destined me to be given the Scripture and to be a prophet. He has made me a blessing wherever I go, and bid me to establish prayer and give alms-tax as long as I live, and to be kind to my mother. He has not made me arrogant or defiant. Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I will be raised back to life!” That is Jesus, son of Mary. ˹And this is˺ a word of truth, about which they dispute. It is not for Allah to take a son! Glory be to Him. When He decrees a matter, He simply tells it, “Be!” And it is! ˹Jesus also declared,˺ “Surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him ˹alone˺. This is the Straight Path.” Yet their ˹various˺ groups have differed among themselves ˹about him˺, so woe to the disbelievers when they face a tremendous Day! How clearly will they hear and see on the Day they will come to Us! But today the wrongdoers are clearly astray."

Surat Maryam 16-38

Mi'dhanat Eissaa (Tower of Jesus) in Damascus, where the Second Coming is believed to take place.

Five hundred and ninety years before the Prophet ﷺ, Jesus the Messiah, peace be upon him, would be born to the virgin Mary. Jesus was inspired with the Injeel, and began to preach to the Jews even when he was as young as an infant. He preached true unitarian monotheism, and commanded his followers to worship God. This earned him the ire of the Jews and the Romans, who sought to extinguish his truth for revealing and denouncing their sins and falsehoods. And thus God saved Jesus, peace be upon him, from certain doom; and in his place, a sinner bearing his resemblance was crucified, and the Jews believed and claimed that they had killed the Messiah.

Christian theology was greatly influenced by Greek philosophy and Jewish scripture, with the early gospels frequently citing Jewish scripture and prophecies and using Greco-Roman philosophy to allude to deeper meanings. The gospels were authored anonymously and none of the authors were eyewitnesses. The gospels were copied over and over and went through various languages in an unrestricted manner, allowing greater opportunity for the corruption of the text until the early Christian scholars realized the dangers of this and began a canonization effort beginning from the 2nd Century CE onward. The synthesis of Greek philosophy, Jewish theology, and inevitable linguistic corruption allowed Christianity to develop the concept of the Trinity over the following centuries, especially after Constantine I issued an edict against the writings of the unitarian theologian Arius in favor of trinitarian theology.

Roman authorities initially suppressed Christianity, but eventually adopted it after the reign of Constantine the Great (306 CE - 337 CE) who himself adopted Christianity on his deathbed. Christianity spread across the Roman Empire and its periphery, with the Kingdom of Axum, the Banu Ghassan, the Banu Lakhm, the Banu Hanifa, and the Banu Judham all adopting Christianity. The influence of Christianity eventually expanded deeper into the Arabian Peninsula, with the emergence of the Hanifites, a sect of Abrahamic monotheists sometimes identified to be a sect of unitarian Christianity that was assimilated into Islam after its scholars recognized the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as a prophesied figure in the gospel, usually identified as "parqaleeta," a name in the Greek Bible with a similar meaning to the Arabic name "Muhammad" whom in trinitarian theology is usually identified with the Holy Spirit instead.

In the 6th Century CE, the Kingdom of Axum invaded the powerful Himyarite Kingdom and supplanted its Jewish kings with Christian vassals who subjugated and oppressed the Jews of Himyar. The Christian rulers of Himyar were eventually overthrown by Dhu Nuwas, who re-established Judaism as the state religion but suppressed and persecuted Christianity within his realm. He expelled the foreign occupiers, but massacred Christians until his genocidal atrocities caught the attention of the Romans. With Roman support, the Axumites launched a reconquest of Himyar and devastated the Jewish realm to such an extent that Jews were exiled from Himyar and Dhu Nuwas committed suicide by riding his horse into the sea. Dhu Nuwas was replaced by Sumyafa Ashwa, who was then later supplanted by Abraha.

﴾أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَـٰبِ ٱلْفِيلِ (1) أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِى تَضْلِيلٍۢ (2) وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ (3) تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍۢ مِّن سِجِّيلٍۢ (4) فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍۢ مَّأْكُولٍۭ (5)﴿

"Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the army of the elephant? Had he not thwarted their ambitions? And sent upon them flocks flying towards them, and hurling them with stones of baked clay which turned them into the likes of worm-eaten leaves."

Surat al-Fil 1-5

During the Year of the Elephant between 570 CE and 571 CE, the Christian King of Himyar, Abraha, constructed the al-Qullays cathedral in Sana'a in an attempt to divert the pilgrimage trade away from Baca. This infuriated the Banu Kinanah, of which the Quraysh were an offshoot, and during the night one of their tribal members snuck into the cathedral and defecated within it possibly smearing the material across the walls and images. Abraha had also previously sent Muhammad bin Khuza'i to the Hejaz as his representative to attempt to subjugate its people, and was killed by 'Urwa bin Hayyad. This infuriated Abraha, who raised an army of sixty thousand men led by an army of African war elephants to destroy the Ka'abah. The Quraysh chief Abd al-Mutallib attempted to negotiate with Abraha but to no avail, and instead evacuated the city. Miraculously, the entire army of Abraha was destroyed by flocks of birds which hurled stones at them which melted their skin, flesh, and bones until they were like "chewed straw" or "worm-eaten leaves."

Romano-Sassanian Wars

The conquests of Alexander saw the beginning of the Hellenistic Era, which divided the world between great empires occupying vast cultural spheres such as the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire. The Near East had once been the sphere of influence of the Persians, but with the rise of Roman naval hegemony they subjugated the Levant and began to encroach on Mesopotamia, denying the Persians their greater sphere of influence. From the 4th Century onwards, the Persian Sassanids began to adopt a more aggressive approach to the Roman Empire and was hellbent on establishing permanent hegemony and destroying their Hellenistic rivals once and for all.

Abraha's defeat at Baca left his realm vulnerable to the Sassanians, and when Abraha was succeeded by his son Masruq, his maternal brother Ma'ad Yakrib sought aid from the Persian Empire to claim the Himyarite throne. Khosrau sent a fleet and army under the command of Persian leader Wahrez to depose Masruq and enthrone Ma'ad, triggering the Aksumite-Persian War. When Ma'ad was assassinated by his Axumite servants, Yemen was annexed as a direct province of the Persian Empire with Wahrez as its governor.

Seeking to deter Persian expansion, the Romans supported the Hanifite Quraysh nobleman Uthman bin al-Huwayrith in his quest to establish himself as the king of Baca in 590. Uthman was initially very successful until his ascension came to a dramatic halt as the Quraysh rescinded their support for his kingship. Uthman bin al-Huwayrith eventually left Baca for Rome and became a poet and interpreter, and may have likely converted to trinitarian Christianity.

In 591 CE, the Romans under Maurice supported Khosrow's quest to reclaim the Persian throne but Maurice was overthrown and executed by Phocas, and so Khosrow supported Maurice's son Theodosius to reclaim the Roman throne and invaded Phocas's empire in 603. Khosrow was able to decisively defeat the Romans so badly that he was able to annex most of the Roman provinces until the new Roman emperor Heraclius was able to crush the Persian army and reclaim the lost territory while Khosrow was overthrown in a revolt. The war had so effectively crippled both the Roman and Persian empires to such a miraculous extent that they were unable to withstand the Rashidun conquests that followed.

Islamic Period

Rise of Islam

حَدَّثَنَا شَيْبَانُ بْنُ فَرُّوخَ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا ثَابِتٌ الْبُنَانِيُّ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَتَاهُ جِبْرِيلُ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهُوَ يَلْعَبُ مَعَ الْغِلْمَانِ فَأَخَذَهُ فَصَرَعَهُ فَشَقَّ عَنْ قَلْبِهِ فَاسْتَخْرَجَ الْقَلْبَ فَاسْتَخْرَجَ مِنْهُ عَلَقَةً فَقَالَ هَذَا حَظُّ الشَّيْطَانِ مِنْكَ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ غَسَلَهُ فِي طَسْتٍ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ بِمَاءِ زَمْزَمَ ثُمَّ لأَمَهُ ثُمَّ أَعَادَهُ فِي مَكَانِهِ وَجَاءَ الْغِلْمَانُ يَسْعَوْنَ إِلَى أُمِّهِ - يَعْنِي ظِئْرَهُ - فَقَالُوا إِنَّ مُحَمَّدًا قَدْ قُتِلَ ‏.‏ فَاسْتَقْبَلُوهُ وَهُوَ مُنْتَقَعُ اللَّوْنِ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَنَسٌ وَقَدْ كُنْتُ أَرَى أَثَرَ ذَلِكَ الْمِخْيَطِ فِي صَدْرِهِ ‏.‏

Anas b. Malik reported that Gabriel came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) while he was playing with his playmates. He took hold of him and lay him prostrate on the ground and tore open his breast and took out the heart from it and then extracted a blood-clot out of it and said: That was the part of Satan in thee. And then he washed it with the water of Zamzam in a golden basin and then it was joined together and restored to it place. The boys came running to his mother, i. e. his nurse, and said: Verily Muhammad has been murdered. They all rushed toward him (and found him all right) His color was changed, Anas said. I myself saw the marks of needle on his breast.

Sahih Muslim 162c

The Messenger of God ﷺ was born in Baca on a Monday during the Year of the Elephant (570 CE - 571 CE) to Abdullah bin Abdul Mutallib and Aaminat bint Wahb. He was a member of the Banu Hashim, a dominant clan in the Quraysh tribe, and his grandfather was Abdul Mutallib, the chief of the Quraysh during the Year of the Elephant. It is known that most of Muhammad's relatives were pagan and his parents' religion is vague and debated among scholars, but Muhammad ﷺ in his early life was a Hanifite. His father Abdullah had died before he was born, and he stayed with his foster mother Halima bint Abi Dhuayb of the Banu Hawazin until he was two years old. While staying with Halima, a man had come to Muhammad ﷺ while he was playing with his foster siblings and struck his heart. The boys ran to their mother, saying that Muhammad had been killed, but when they returned he was miraculously alive and unharmed. The man was later said to be the angel Gabriel, peace be upon him, and he had surgically removed a clot from the heart of the young Prophet ﷺ, and Islamic tradition states that it was through this clot present in all men that the Devil whispered his lies and temptations to men, and as Muhammad ﷺ had lost his clot, he became immune to temptation. When he was six years old, he lost his mother and came into the care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new chief of the Banu Hashim. He was brought up by his uncles, who taught him the fundamentals of trade, leadership, archery, swordsmanship, and martial arts; though he had never learned to read nor write. Muhammad ﷺ in his youth was known as al-Amin (الأمين; "The Trustworthy) and was known to be a very pious Hanifite who refused to pray before idols and even eat from meat offered to him by disbelievers except from Christians, Jews, and Sabaeans. During a dispute following the renovation of the Ka'abah, the young Prophet ﷺ was called to arbitrate between the different clans of the Quraysh on who should bear the honor of placing the black stone of Adam, peace be upon him, back onto the Ka'abah. The Messenger of God ﷺ thus cleverly suggested that a piece of cloth be used to carry the black stone, with members of each clan carrying the stone as it was placed on the foundational corner of the Ka'abah. A wealthy merchant and influential noblewoman, Khadijat bint Khuwaylid noticed his inherent good nature and proposed to him when he was in his twenties and bore him Qasim, Abdullah, Fatimah, Zaynab, Ruqayya, and Umm Kulthum though both their sons died in early childhood. In contrast to his wise and pious nature, the Prophet ﷺ found himself surrounded by sacrilege and injustice; as during his youth the Fijar Wars broke out wherein both the Banu Kinanah and Banu Qays federations violated the sacred months of pilgrimage to wage petty wars of vengeance, and until the revelation of prophethood the Ka'abah built by Abraham, peace be upon him, was infested with the pagan idols of the Quraysh while slaves were sold around it and animals were sacrificed in the name of false gods.

إِِقْرَاء بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ (1) خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلقٍ (2) إِقْرَاء وَرَبُّكَ الأَكْرَمُ (3) الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمٍ (4) عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَم (5) كَلَا إِِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَيَطْغَى (6) أَنْ رَّءَاهُ اسْتَغْنَى (7)إِنَّ إِلَى رَبِّك الْرُّجْعَى (8) أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يَنْهَى (9) عَبْدًا إِذَا صَلَّى (10) أَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ كَانَ عَلَى الْهُدَى (11) أَوْ أَمَرَ بِالْتَّقْوَى (12) أَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ كَذَبَ وَتَوَلَى (13) أّلّمْ يَعْلَمْ بِأَنَّ اللهَ يَرَى (14) كَلَا لَئِنْ لَّمْ يَنْتَهِي لَنَسْفَعًا بِالْنَّاصِيَّةِ (15) نَاصِيَّةٍ كَاذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍ (16) فَلْيَدْعُ نَادِيَهُ (17) سَنَدْعُ الْزَّبَانِيَّةَ (18) كَلَا لَا تُطِعْهُ وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِب (19)

"Read [1] in the name of thy Lord. He who had created man from a mere clot! Read, for your Lord is Most Generous; He who had taught by the pen, and taught man what he had never known! And so nay, for man ever transgresses once they think they are self-sufficient. To your Lord is all return. Do you see he who prevents a pious servant from praying? Do you see him upon true guidance? Or how he commands righteousness? Have you seen him lie and stubbornly refuse to listen? Does he not know that God sees all? But no, if he does not desist, then We shall grab him by the forelocks! These lying sinful forelocks! Let him call his gods! We shall call upon him the wardens of Hell. So no, do not follow him, but instead prostrate yourself before God and draw closer to Him."

Surat al-Alaq 1 - 19

Prophetic

Rashidun

Abu Bakr

Umar

Uthman

Ali

Umayyad

Abbasid

Ottoman

Western Era

Geography

Shape. Topography. Climate.

Economy

Economy

Population

Demographics

Population

Religion

Religion

Culture

Culture

Tribal Divisions

Tribal Divisions

Tribe	Description	Territories
Banu Hassan	The Banu Hassan are descendants of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ through his grandson Hassan bin Ali, May Allah be pleased with him.
Banu Hussayn	The Banu Hussayn are descendants of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ through his grandson Hussayn bin Ali, May Allah be pleased with him.
Banu Qasim	The Banu Qasim, also known as the Rassids, are an offshoot of the Banu Hussayn, named after al-Qasim ar-Rassi.
Banu Juhainah
Banu Hanifa	The Banu Hanifa are a highly influential sedentary Arab tribe that populates the al-Yamamah Oasis.
Banu Abd al-Qays
Banu Azd Uman
Banu Mahra
Banu Kinda
Banu Hamdan
Banu al-Harith	The Banu al-Harith or Bnei Chorath are a powerful Jewish Arab tribe based in Najran.
Banu Judham
Banu Lakhm
Banu Ghassan	The Banu Ghassan are a large and powerful Christian Arab tribe.
Banu Hawazin
Banu Tamim
Banu Sulaym
Banu Ghatafan
Banu Tayy
Banu Asad
Banu Bali
Banu Kalb
Banu Bakr
Banu Udhra