Tradition versus culture
Family: Religion and custom · 25 entries
Entries on this theme
Event
Introduction of Idols to Mecca
c. 450 BCEʿAmr ibn Luḥayy’s import of idols to the Hijaz and setting Hubal inside the Ka‘ba — the first idolatry in Mecca.ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib’s Vow and the Lot
c. 550 CEHis vow to sacrifice a son; the lot fell on ʿAbdullāh, and by an auguress’s counsel camels were raised to one hundred and slaughtered in his stead — fixing the Arab bloodwit at a hundred camels.The Dhat Anwat incident
January 630 CE · Shawwal 8 AHOn the march to Hunayn the army passed the sacred tree Dhat Anwat, where pagans hung their weapons and held rites; some of the newly converted soldiers asked the Prophet to 'appoint for us a Dhat Anwat as they have one', and he rebuked the request, likening it to the Israelites' demand that Moses make them a god.
Person
Zayd ibn Amr
c. 560 CEA Meccan seeker who rejected the idols of his people and sought 'the religion of Abraham' years before the Prophet's mission — the tradition's example of the hanif, the indigenous monotheist.ʿAmr ibn Luḥayy
Khuza‘a’s chief who brought idols to the Hijaz, set Hubal inside the Ka‘ba and instituted the consecrated-livestock customs.
Concept
al-Anwāʾ (Star Rains)
Al-Anwāʾ: attributing rain to star-settings — the Prophet counted it ingratitude to God.Divining Arrows
Azlam: divining arrows consulted before undertakings — forbidden in the Qurʾan among Satan’s works.al-Hāma (Vengeful Owl)
Al-Hāma: the belief that a slain man’s spirit becomes an owl crying ‘give me to drink’ until avenged — Islam negated it.al-Hums
The Hums: the self-styled ‘rigorous’ fraternity of Quraysh and allies who invented Hajj innovations — shunning ‘Arafa, Rafm clothes, naked tawaf, back-door entry in ihram.Jāhilī Marriage Forms
Four pagan marriage forms — common, istibda‘ (lending a wife for a better lineage), communal paternity assignment, and wife-swapping (al-badal) — Islam abolished all but the first.Soothsaying & Augury
Kahāna, ‘irāfa and sand-reading: the pagan trade in the unseen through jinn and stars — all forbidden by the Prophet.Maysar (Gambling)
Maysar: arrow-casting gambling on slaughtered camels — the Qurʾan condemned it with wine as a great sin.al-Nasīʾ (Intercalation)
Al-Nasīʾ: shifting the sacred months to fit seasonal interests until the Hajj realigned in 10 AH — the Qurʾan abolished it as ‘an excess of disbelief’.Consecrated Livestock
Animals the pagans consecrated — Bahira, Saʾiba, Wasila, Hami — neither ridden nor milked except for guests; the Qurʾan rebuked the custom.Tiyara (Ill Omen)
Tiyara: ill-omen beliefs in days, houses, women and horses — Islam negated it: ‘no contagion, no omen’.Waʾd (Infant Burial)
Waʾd: burying infant girls alive out of fear of poverty or disgrace — Islam abolished it and classed it among the gravest sins.
Object
al-Lāt
al-Lāt — a pre-Islamic Arabian idol.al-ʿUzzā
al-ʿUzzā — a pre-Islamic Arabian idol.Hubal
Hubal — a pre-Islamic Arabian idol.Manāt
Manāt — a pre-Islamic Arabian idol.Nasr
Nasr — a pre-Islamic Arabian idol.Suwāʿ
Suwāʿ — a pre-Islamic Arabian idol.Wadd
Wadd — a pre-Islamic Arabian idol.Yaghūth
Yaghūth — a pre-Islamic Arabian idol.Yaʿūq
Yaʿūq — a pre-Islamic Arabian idol.
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