Arabia in the 6th Century

Arabia in the 6th Century

Islam has its roots in Arabia, where Muhammad was born. To understand Islam's beginnings, it is important to first look at the time period in which Muhammad grew up.

The town of Mecca, Muhammad's birthplace, was located in a dry, rocky valley in western Arabia. Mecca did not have agriculture, but instead gained wealth as a center of trade. Merchants traveling along caravan routes stopped at the city's market, where they bought spices, sheepskins, dates, and other wares from townspeople and nomads.

By the time Muhammad was born, Mecca was a prosperous city.  Merchant families brought goods into Mecca from faraway places, growing wealthy through trade with Yemen (southern Arabia), Syria, and kingdoms in Africa.  Over time, a handful of clans, or families, had come to rule the city.  These families refused to share their fortune with the weaker, poorer clans who lived there.

Mecca was also a religious center.  According to the Qur'an (koor-AHN), the holy book of Islam, Abraham had built the cube-shaped shrine, the Ka'bah, centuries before to honor God.  In Muhammad's day, according to Islamic teaching, most Arabs followed  polytheism , and the Ka'bah housed hundreds of statues of different gods.  Pilgrims from all over Arabia came to worship at Mecca.

polytheism:

belief in more than one god

Many Arabs lived a nomadic life in the desert environment.  But some Arabs led a more urban and sedentary lifestyle in towns like Medina.  However, there was no central government in Arabia.  Instead, Arabs pledged loyalty to their clans and to larger tribes.  These tribes sometimes fought each other to capture territory, animals, goods, watering places, and even wives.  When someone from one tribe was killed during a raid, his family was honor-bound to avenge that death.  This led to long periods of fighting among tribes.

Although Arabs on the peninsula were not united as a nation, they shared cultural ties, especially language.  Arabic poetry celebrated the history of the Arab people, the beauty of their land, and their way of life.  Poets and singers from different tribes competed at gatherings held at the markets and during pilgrimages.  This was the culture into which Muhammad was born.

The holy city of Mecca is located on the Arabian Peninsula and is the birthplace of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. The Qur’an describes Mecca as a flourishing settlement that also served as a religious center.

Multiple Choice

Before the founding of Islam, most Arabs followed

• Buddhism.

• Judaism.

• polytheism.

Multiple Choice

polytheism is...

• the belief in one god

• the belief in many gods

Multiple Choice

Around the time of Muhammad's birth, Mecca was a prosperous desert trading city on the Arabian Peninsula where many merchants had become wealthy.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Mecca was also a religious center, and pilgrims from all over Arabia came to worship at the Ka'bah.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The Ka'bah was built by James, for God,

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The Ka'bah housed statues of one god.

• true

• false