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48-449: Baltis was an ancient Arabian goddess . She was revered at Carrhae and identified with the planet Venus . Isaac of Antioch mentions Baltis in a text written in the middle of the 5th century CE as a deity worshipped by the Arabs . Baltis here is equivalent to Ishtar (Inanna) , an ancient Mesopotamian goddess . This article relating to a myth or legend from the ancient Middle East

96-646: A sky deity . The worship of sacred stones constituted one of the most important practices of the Semitic speaking peoples , including Arabs . Cult images of a deity were most often an unworked stone block. The most common name for these stone blocks was derived from the Semitic nsb ("to be stood upright"), but other names were used, such as Nabataean masgida ("place of prostration") and Arabic duwar ("object of circumambulation", this term often occurs in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry ). These god-stones were usually

144-483: A few exceptions, all inscriptions from the fourth to sixth centuries are not polytheistic: among over one hundred monumental inscriptions that could testify to a polytheistic cult, only two of them do, along with less than ten inscriptions from wood remains. Similarly, of 58 extant Late Sabaic inscriptions that mention the theonym Rahmanan from the period of Jewish rule in south Arabia, none of them can be labelled as pagan or polytheistic. Invocation of alternative deities

192-545: A free-standing slab, but Nabataean god-stones are usually carved directly on the rock face. Facial features may be incised on the stone (especially in Nabataea), or astral symbols (especially in South Arabia). Under Greco-Roman influence, an anthropomorphic statue might be used instead. The Book of Idols describes two types of statues: idols ( sanam ) and images ( wathan ). If a statue were made of wood, gold, or silver, after

240-520: A goddess of love. Manāt ( Arabic : مناة) was the goddess of destiny. Al-Lāt's cult was spread in Syria and northern Arabia. From Safaitic and Hismaic inscriptions, it is probable that she was worshiped as Lat ( lt ). F. V. Winnet saw al-Lat as a lunar deity due to the association of a crescent with her in 'Ayn esh-Shallāleh and a Lihyanite inscription mentioning the name of Wadd , the Minaean moon god, over

288-497: A human form, it would be an idol, but if the statue were made of stone, it would be an image. Monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia Early attestations of Arabian polytheism include Esarhaddon 's Annals, mentioning Atarsamain , Nukhay , Ruldaiu , and Atarquruma. Herodotus , writing in his Histories , reported that the Arabs worshipped Orotalt (identified with Dionysus ) and Alilat (identified with Aphrodite ). Strabo stated

336-525: A lesser impact in the remainder of the peninsula, but did secure some conversions. With the exception of Nestorianism in the northeast and the Persian Gulf , the dominant form of Christianity was Miaphysitism . The peninsula had been a destination for Jewish migration since Roman times, which had resulted in a diaspora community supplemented by local converts. Judaism had largely grown in South Arabia and

384-444: A pre-Islamic god called Ailiah and is similar to El , Il, Ilah , and Jehovah . They also considered some of his characteristics to be seemingly based on lunar deities like Almaqah, Kahl, Shaker, Wadd and Warakh. Alfred Guillaume states that the connection between Ilah that came to form Allah and ancient Babylonian Il or El of ancient Israel is not clear. Wellhausen states that Allah was known from Jewish and Christian sources and

432-594: A region of Arabia into monotheistic faith is attributed to Constantius II , his successor. According to the Greek historian Philostorgius (d. 439) in his Ecclesiastical History 3.4, Constantius sent an Arian bishop known as Theophilus the Indian (also known as "Theophilus of Yemen") to Tharan Yuhanim , then the king of the South Arabian Himyarite Kingdom to convert the people to Christianity. According to

480-567: Is [Syrian] Ghassān, and [the southern] Banū Ḥārith ibn Kaʿb in Najrān, and [the northern] al-Ṭayyiʾ, Tanūkh, many of [the Syrian] Kalb, and all those from [Najdi] Tamīm and [Iraqi] Lakhm residing in Ḥīrah. Ḥimyar were Jewish, as were many from Kindah. Khathʿam had no religion at all (lā tadīn bi-shayʾ aṣlan). Zoroastrianism (al-majūsiyyah) appeared among Tamīm, and it is said that Laqīṭ ibn Zurārah had converted to Zoroastrianism (qad tamajassa). The rest of

528-413: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia included indigenous Arabian polytheism , Buddhism , ancient Semitic religions , Christianity , Judaism , Mandaeism , and Zoroastrianism . Arabian polytheism, the dominant form of religion in pre-Islamic Arabia , was based on veneration of deities and spirits. Worship

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576-622: Is another South Arabian Christian graffito dating to the sixth century and containing a pre-Islamic variant of the Basmala . ) Whereas Abraha's predecessor more explicitly denoted Jesus as the Son of Rahmanan and as "Victor" (corresponding to Aksumite description under Kaleb of Axum ), and made use of Trinitarian formulae, Abraha began to only describe Jesus as God's "Messiah" (but not Son) and, in aligning himself more closely with Syriac Christianity , replaced Aksumite Christian with Syriac loanwords. More broadly,

624-532: Is limited. One early attestation of Arabian polytheism was in Esarhaddon 's Annals, mentioning Atarsamain , Nukhay , Ruldaiu , and Atarquruma. Herodotus , writing in his Histories , reported that the Arabs worshipped Orotalt (identified with Dionysus ) and Alilat (identified with Aphrodite ). Strabo stated the Arabs worshipped Dionysus and Zeus . Origen stated they worshipped Dionysus and Urania . Muslim sources regarding Arabian polytheism include

672-552: The jinn of west and central Arabia. Unlike jinn in modern times, ginnaye could not hurt nor possess humans and were much more similar to the Roman genius . According to common Arabian belief, soothsayers , pre-Islamic philosophers, and poets were inspired by the jinn. However, jinn were also feared and thought to be responsible for causing various diseases and mental illnesses. Aside from benevolent gods and spirits, there existed malevolent beings. These beings were not attested in

720-586: The Kaaba with them, erected them, and circumambulated them like the Kaaba. This, according to al-Kalbi led to the rise of idol worship. Based on this, it may be probable that Arabs originally venerated stones, later adopting idol-worship under foreign influences. The relationship between a god and a stone as his representation can be seen from the third-century Syriac work called the Homily of Pseudo-Meliton where he describes

768-580: The Sinai Peninsula . Allāt ( Arabic : اللات) or al-Lāt was worshipped throughout the ancient Near East with various associations. Herodotus in the 5th century BC identifies Alilat ( Greek : Ἀλιλάτ) as the Arabic name for Aphrodite (and, in another passage, for Urania ), which is strong evidence for worship of Allāt in Arabia at that early date. Al-‘Uzzá ( Arabic : العزى) was a fertility goddess or possibly

816-451: The "Lord of heaven and Earth". Aaron W. Hughes states that scholars are unsure whether he developed from the earlier polytheistic systems or developed due to the increasing significance of the Christian and Jewish communities, and that it is difficult to establish whether Allah was linked to Rahman. Maxime Rodinson , however, considers one of Allah's names, "Ar-Rahman", to have been used in

864-641: The "associators" ( mushrikūn ) have been increasingly understood, since originally being posited by Julius Wellhausen , to be references to monotheistic/henotheistic individuals who did not dispute the supremacy of Allah but instead believed in other beings (such as angels) that acted as intermediaries in the devotion to the one high God. Ibn Hazm (d. 1064) attempts to describe the broad landscape of pre-Islamic religious belief in his Jamharat ansāb al-ʿArab (Compilation of Arab Genealogy): all of [Mesopotamian tribes] Iyād and Rabīʿah and Bakr and Taghlib and Namar and [the eastern] ʿAbd al-Qays are Christian, so too

912-448: The Arabs worshipped Dionysus and Zeus . Origen stated they worshipped Dionysus and Urania . Similarly, late Nabataean , Safaitic , and Sabaic inscriptions attest to the veneration of a broad array of sacred stones and polytheistic deities until the fourth century. The first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity was Constantine the Great . The first recorded attempt to convert

960-632: The Meccans and the other settled inhabitants of the Hejaz worshiped their gods at permanent shrines in towns and oases, the Bedouin practiced their religion on the move. In South Arabia, mndh’t were anonymous guardian spirits of the community and the ancestor spirits of the family. They were known as 'the sun ( shms ) of their ancestors'. In North Arabia, ginnaye were known from Palmyrene inscriptions as "the good and rewarding gods" and were probably related to

1008-587: The centre of the cult of Al-Lat in the sixth century). These inscriptions refer to God with the use of terms like Allāh, al-Ilāh ( ʾl-ʾlh ), and Rabb ("Lord"). The uncontracted form Al-Ilāh/ ʾl-ʾlh is thought to have among Christians as an isomorphism or calque for the Greek expression ho theos , which is how the Hebrew ʾĕlōhîm is rendered in the Septuagint . This uncontracted form continued to be used by Christians until

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1056-704: The coast of Yemen. The Marib Dam inscription from 548 mentions a priest, a monastery , and an abbot of that monastery. As in the Himyarite period, Christian inscriptions continue to refer to the monotheistic deity using the name Rahmanan , but now these inscriptions are accompanied with crosses and references to Christ as the Messiah and the Holy Spirit. For example, one (damaged) inscription, as for example in Ist 7608 bis. Another extensive inscription, CIH 541, documents Abraha sponsoring

1104-536: The construction of a church at Marib , besides invoking/mentioning the Messiah, Spirit, and celebrations hosted by a priest at another church. Later Islamic historiography also ascribes to Abraha the construction of a church at Sanaa . Abraha's inscriptions bear a relatively low Christology, perhaps meant to assuage the Jewish population, and their formulae resemble descriptions of Jesus in the Quran . (The Jabal Dabub inscription

1152-534: The daughters of Allah. Regional variants of the word Allah occur in both pagan and Christian pre-Islamic inscriptions. References to Allah are found in the poetry of the pre-Islamic Arab poet Zuhayr bin Abi Sulma , who lived a generation before Muhammad, as well as pre-Islamic personal names. Muhammad's father's name was ʿAbd-Allāh , meaning "the servant of Allah". Charles Russell Coulter and Patricia Turner considered that Allah's name may be derived from

1200-424: The divine world reflected the society of the time. Trade caravans also brought foreign religious and cultural influences. A large number of deities did not have proper names and were referred to by titles indicating a quality, a family relationship, or a locale preceded by "he who" or "she who" ( dhū or dhāt respectively). The religious beliefs and practices of the nomadic Bedouin were distinct from those of

1248-585: The eighth-century Book of Idols by Hisham ibn al-Kalbi , which F.E. Peters argued to be the most substantial treatment of the religious practices of pre-Islamic Arabia, as well as the writings of the Yemeni historian al-Hasan al-Hamdani on South Arabian religious beliefs. According to the Book of Idols , descendants of the son of Abraham ( Ishmael ) who had settled in Mecca migrated to other lands carried holy stones from

1296-510: The epigraphic record, but were alluded to in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, and their legends were collected by later Muslim authors. Commonly mentioned are ghouls . Etymologically, the English word "ghoul" was derived from the Arabic ghul , from ghala , "to seize", related to the Sumerian galla . They are said to have a hideous appearance, with feet like those of an ass. Arabs were said to utter

1344-402: The following couplet if they should encounter one: "Oh ass-footed one, just bray away, we won't leave the desert plain nor ever go astray." Christian Julien Robin notes that all the known South Arabian divinities had a positive or protective role and that evil powers were only alluded to but were never personified. Some scholars postulate that in pre-Islamic Arabia, including in Mecca, Allah

1392-485: The form of Rahmanan earlier. Al-Lāt , Al-‘Uzzá and Manāt were common names used for multiple goddesses across Arabia. G. R. Hawting states that modern scholars have frequently associated the names of Arabian goddesses Al-lāt , Al-‘Uzzá and Manāt with cults devoted to celestial bodies, particularly Venus , drawing upon evidence external to the Muslim tradition as well as in relation to Syria , Mesopotamia and

1440-432: The fourth century, almost all inhabitants of Arabia practiced polytheistic religions at which point pre-Islamic Arabian monotheism had begun to spread. From the fourth to sixth centuries, Jewish , Christian , and other monotheistic populations developed. Until recent decades, it was believed that polytheism remained the dominant belief system in pre-Islamic Arabia, but recent trends suggest that henotheism or monotheism

1488-408: The high god Rahmanan (whose name means "The Merciful One"). A Sabaic inscription dating to this time, titled Ja 856 (or Fa 60) describes the replacement of a polytheistic temple dedicated to the god al-Maqah with a mikrāb (which might be the equivalent of a synagogue or an original form of organization local to Himyarite Judaism ). The evidence suggests a sharp break with polytheism, coinciding with

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1536-719: The northwest Hijaz . Additionally, the influence of the Sasanian Empire resulted in Iranian religions being present in the peninsula. Zoroastrianism existed in the east and south, while there is evidence of either Manichaeism or Mazdakism being possibly practiced in Mecca. Features Types Types Features Clothing Genres Art music Folk Prose Islamic Poetry Genres Forms Arabic prosody National literatures of Arab States Concepts Texts Fictional Arab people South Arabian deities Until about

1584-589: The pagan faiths of Syriac-speakers in northern Mesopotamia, who were mostly Arabs. However, mythologies and narratives elucidating the history of these gods, as well as the meaning of their epithets, remains uninformative. The pre-Islamic Arabian religions were polytheistic, with many of the deities' names known. Formal pantheons are more noticeable at the level of kingdoms, of variable sizes, ranging from simple city-states to collections of tribes. Tribes , towns, clans, lineages and families had their own cults too. Christian Julien Robin suggests that this structure of

1632-516: The physical descriptions of the pre-Islamic gods are traced to idols , especially near the Kaaba, which is said to have contained up to 360 of them, including the Buddha statue. Other religions were represented to varying, lesser degrees. The influence of the adjacent Roman and Aksumite civilizations resulted in Christian communities in the northwest, northeast, and south of Arabia . Christianity made

1680-517: The region. Sumyafa Ashwa came into power, but he was soon overthrown by his rival Abraha , initiating a period of Ethiopian Christian rule over southern Arabia in 530. During the Ethiopian Christian period, Christianity appears to have become the official religion. Many churches began to be built. For example, the inscription RIÉ 191, discovered in Axum , describes the construction of a church off

1728-606: The report, Theophilus succeeded in establishing three churches, one of them in the capital Zafar . However, Tharan did not convert to Christianity. Several decades later, the ruling class of the Himyarite Kingdom would convert to Judaism during the reign of Malkikarib Yuhamin , potentially motivated by a wish to distance themselves from the Byzantine Empire . It is in the mid-fourth century that inscriptions suddenly transition from polytheistic invocations to ones mentioning

1776-557: The separation of Abraha's Himyar from the Akumsite kingdom corresponded to its greater alignment with the Christianity espoused in Antioch and Syria. Inscriptions from this region disappear after 560. Abraha's influence would end up extending across the regions he conquered, including regions of eastern Arabia, central Arabia, Medina in the Hejaz , and an unidentified site called Gzm. With

1824-436: The settled tribes of towns such as Mecca . Nomadic religious belief systems and practices are believed to have included fetishism , totemism and veneration of the dead but were connected principally with immediate concerns and problems and did not consider larger philosophical questions such as the afterlife. Settled urban Arabs, on the other hand, are thought to have believed in a more complex pantheon of deities. While

1872-573: The southern Levant, southern Arabia, western Arabia, and across the gulf of eastern Arabia. All Paleo-Arabic inscriptions from the fifth and sixth centuries, which have been found in all major regions of the Arabian peninsula and in the southern Levant, are either monotheistic or explicitly Christian. These inscriptions also demonstrate a penetration of monotheism into previously thought holdouts or surviving bastions of paganism or polytheism, such as Dumat al-Jandal and Taif (which ibn al-Kalbi held to be

1920-552: The sudden appearance of Jewish and Aramaic words (‘ ālam /world, baraka /bless, haymanōt /guarantee, kanīsat /meeting hall) and personal names (Yṣḥq/Isaac, Yhwd’/Juda), Yws’f/Joseph). Soon after and prompted by the massacre of the Christian community of Najran during the reign of the militant Jewish ruler Dhu Nuwas in the early sixth century, the Kingdom of Aksum in Ethiopia would invade, leading to an ousting of Jewish leadership over

1968-414: The sudden rupture brought about by the coming of Muhammad and his career between 610 and 632. However, Islamic-era compilations of pre-Islamic poetry only sporadically describe idols or polytheistic practice and principally evince monotheistic or henotheistic beliefs. The Quran may also occasionally refer to vestiges of polytheistic deities in two separate verses, but its better-attested descriptions of

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2016-584: The tenth century, even as the form ʾllh appeared in the Quran with two consecutive lāms without a hamza. One Islamic-era example of the uncontracted form is in the Yazid inscription . Muslim-era historiographical sources, such as the eighth-century Book of Idols by Hisham ibn al-Kalbi as well as the writings of the Yemeni historian al-Hasan al-Hamdani on South Arabian religious beliefs continue to depict pre-Islamic Arabia as dominated by polytheistic practices until

2064-534: The title of fkl lt . René Dussaud and Gonzague Ryckmans linked her with Venus while others have thought her to be a solar deity. John F. Healey considers that al-Uzza actually might have been an epithet of al-Lāt before becoming a separate deity in the Meccan pantheon. Paola Corrente, writing in Redefining Dionysus , considers she might have been a god of vegetation or a celestial deity of atmospheric phenomena and

2112-420: Was considered to be a deity, possibly a creator deity or a supreme deity in a polytheistic pantheon . The word Allah (from the Arabic al-ilah meaning "the god") may have been used as a title rather than a name. The concept of Allah may have been vague in the Meccan religion. According to Islamic sources, Meccans and their neighbors believed that the goddesses Al-lāt , Al-‘Uzzá , and Manāt were

2160-452: Was directed to various gods and goddesses, including Hubal and the goddesses al-Lāt , al-‘Uzzā , and Manāt , at local shrines and temples such as the Kaaba in Mecca . Deities were venerated and invoked through a variety of rituals, including pilgrimages and divination, as well as ritual sacrifice. Different theories have been proposed regarding the role of Allah in Meccan religion. Many of

2208-492: Was dominant from the fourth century onwards. The contemporary sources of information regarding the pre-Islamic Arabian religion and pantheon include a growing number of inscriptions in carvings written in Arabian scripts like Safaitic , Sabaic , and Paleo-Arabic , pre-Islamic poetry, external sources such as Jewish and Greek accounts, as well as the Muslim tradition, such as the Qur'an and Islamic writings. Nevertheless, information

2256-405: Was known to pagan Arabs as the supreme god. Winfried Corduan doubts the theory of Allah of Islam being linked to a moon god , stating that the term Allah functions as a generic term, like the term El- Elyon used as a title for the god Sin . South Arabian inscriptions from the fourth century AD refer to a god called Rahman ("The Merciful One") who had a monotheistic cult and was referred to as

2304-437: Was rare, though it suggests the cult surrounding Rahmanan was henotheistic as opposed to purely monotheistic. Once Christian rule initiates in South Arabia in the early sixth century, extant inscriptions become purely monotheistic. Epigraphic evidence further attests to the spread of Judaism beyond South Arabia, into northwestern Arabia, as well as Christianity into all major regions of Arabia including northern Arabia and

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