Pre-Islam

The punishment for theft was the chopping off of a hand in late pre-Islamic Arabia. Recognition of the Crime Theft was a crime in the eyes of the Arabs since ancient times. An inscription found at Hatra dates from December 151 CE.  It reads, “Anyone who will steal inside this store and inside the outer […]

Listening to songs was a popular entertainment activity of pre-Islamic Arabs.  The singers usually engaged with musicians who played different musical instruments to adorn the voice of a singer and enrich the overall impression. Our knowledge of singing and listening to singing comes from pre-Islamic Arabic poetry.  Pre-Islamic poetry has a lot of references to

Late Pre-Islamic Arabs used to follow the precedents set by their tribal heroes.  These precedents were called sunnah (سنه). Pre-Islamic poet Labid (Labīd لَبِيد) once spoke of a leader from his own clan: One of a tribe whose forefathers laid down for them a sunnah; and every folk has a sunnah and its imām (امام).

Corpses underwent preparations before being interred in pre-Islamic Arabia. One poet, imagining himself dead, describes how his kin “closed his eyes and said in sorrow, ‘he’s gone,’ combed his hair, clad him in clothes that bore no sight of wear, sprayed sweet odours on him and said lamenting ‘how goodly a man he was,’ wrapped

Late Antique Arabs had a taste for inter tribal wars. It is particularly true for the Arabs residing in the Tribal Zone. Nature of War Enmity could linger on for generations, but the battles were essentially brief, and none of them lasted for more than a day.  All of them are generally referred to as

Pre-Islamic Arabs were of two types in terms of their way of life: nomads (Bedouin, baddū, بدو) and sedentary (al-mustaqraʾ, المستقرأ). Nomads roamed the countryside, grazing their herds of camels and sheep. The sedentary lived in fixed settlements as farmers, traders, or engaged in other economic activities. Change in Historical Perception Classical historians believed that

Late pre-Islamic Arabs had a set of ethical behaviour that was valued as noble by the society at large and was called muru’ah (murūʾah مروءه). Muru’ah was the result of a shared vision of an ideal human, a shared attitude toward the role of the individual within society, and a shared apprehension of the human

Extent of the Crime Murder is the single most talked-about crime in pre-Islamic inscriptions and poetry.  How heinous was the crime in the eyes of Arabs, and how anxious were they to avenge it, can be assumed from the content of a Safaitic inscription. “He found the trace of his brother so he was distraught

Tribes had their leaders called shaykh (شَيخ).  The shaykh had two administrative tools at his disposal to manage his tribe. One was muru’ah – the general Arab code of conduct, and the other was sunnah – the code of conduct of that particular tribe. There was no official chief of tribe, let alone a hierarchy. 

Pre-Islamic Arabia had devised its own justice system.  It was prevalent all over the Tribal Zone of pre-Islamic Arabia. Need for Justice No society is devoid of crime. Despite a loyal following of muru’ah and sunnah among the Arabs, crime did take place. Source of the Law The authority that generates the law is called