The Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah)
Long before the first revelation to Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, people travelled to Makkah to honour the Ka‘bah. They performed pilgrimage, circled the sanctuary and preserved practices associated with Abraham عليه السلام. Yet the worship surrounding the Ka‘bah had become mixed with devotion to idols. The pilgrimage itself continued, while the invocation of Quraysh and Kinanah included a partner whom they placed beneath Allah’s authority.
Makkah also had arrangements for feeding pilgrims, assemblies where tribal leaders met, and merchants who entrusted their goods to others for trade. Alongside these activities were acts of injustice—and attempts to resist them. The story of a merchant denied his rights, and the agreement formed to support him, belongs to this same setting.
Worship Around the Ka‘bah
One account traces the arrival of Hubal in Makkah to ‘Amr ibn Luhayy. During a journey to Syria, he encountered people worshipping idols. They claimed that their idols answered requests for rain and victory. He asked for an idol to take home, received Hubal, and brought it to Makkah, where he instructed people to worship and honour it.
Another account describes a practice among people leaving Makkah. Out of reverence for the sanctuary, they carried a stone from it to their new homes and walked around it as they had walked around the Ka‘bah. The account then describes a change: people began worshipping stones that attracted them, abandoning the religion they had previously followed.
Some inherited practices remained. People continued to revere the Ka‘bah, perform pilgrimage and offer sacrifices. The rites associated with Abraham عليه السلام survived alongside religious additions that changed their character. Even the pilgrimage invocation combined an acknowledgment of Allah with a reference to a partner under His control.
False Religious Practices Before Islam
Animals were also drawn into these practices. A bahirah was a she-camel whose milk was reserved for idols. A sa’ibah was set apart for their gods and released from carrying burdens. These explanations appear in the account of Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyab recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 4623.
The Qur’an condemns such invented religious restrictions, including the allocation of crops and livestock to supposed partners of Allah and claims that certain provisions were forbidden. It also condemns the killing of children. These matters are addressed in the passages cited here: al-Ma’idah 5:103, al-Nahl 16:56 and 16:116, and al-An‘am 6:136–140.
When explaining the ignorance of the Arabs, Ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله عنهما directed attention to the condemnation in al-An‘am of killing children foolishly and forbidding what Allah had provided. His statement is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 3524. It connects that ignorance with particular acts and false religious claims, rather than merely describing a lack of information.
Leadership and Hospitality in Makkah
Qusayy ibn Kilab brought his people together in Makkah and settled Quraysh families in different quarters. His authority included the guardianship of the Ka‘bah, responsibility for pilgrims, the assembly and the banner.
The Dar al-Nadwah served as a meeting place for the chiefs. They gathered there to discuss important disputes and decide how to deal with them. Marriage agreements and other communal affairs were also conducted there. When Quraysh regained control of the sanctuary, however, practices inherited from Khuza‘ah continued, including sacrifices to idols and appeals for their help.
Providing for pilgrims was another responsibility. Qusayy urged Quraysh to give food and drink to those visiting Allah’s House. Members of the tribe contributed from their wealth, and the money was used to feed pilgrims during their stay at Mina.
Trade and Trust
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid رضي الله عنها was a wealthy merchant who engaged men to trade her goods through profit-sharing arrangements. Her business offers a specific example of how trade could be conducted in Makkah before the beginning of the prophetic mission.
After hearing of the truthfulness, trustworthiness and good character of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, Khadijah رضي الله عنها offered him a trading journey to Syria. He accepted the offer. Trade and personal reputation thus meet in an episode that forms part of his life before revelation.
Conflict in a Sacred Month
The sanctity attached to particular times did not always prevent fighting. The conflict known as the Fijar war involved Kinanah and Qays ‘Aylan. Its name was associated with warfare during a sacred month, when fighting was forbidden.
The accounts differ over the age of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم at the time. One gives twenty years; another gives fourteen or fifteen. These figures belong to differing reports and should not be blended into a single, certain age.
A Merchant’s Complaint and the Pact of al-Fudul
A merchant from Zabid brought goods to Makkah, where al-‘As ibn Wa’il withheld what was due to him. The merchant sought help from the latter’s allies, but they refused to intervene. He then made a public appeal near the Ka‘bah.
Men from Hashim, Zuhrah and Taym gathered at the house of ‘Abd Allah ibn Jud‘an. They agreed to stand together with a wronged person against the wrongdoer until that person’s rights were restored. They then recovered the merchant’s goods and returned them to him. The agreement became known as Hilf al-Fudul.
A report recalls Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم attending a pact at Ibn Jud‘an’s house and expressing willingness to answer such a call even after Islam. A corresponding report appears in al-Bayhaqi’s al-Sunan al-Kubra, no. 12719 in the consulted numbering. The reference identifies the report; it is not presented here as an independent assessment of its chain.
Those Who Rejected Idols
Not everyone accepted the worship around them. Waraqah ibn Nawfal adopted Christianity and studied its scriptures. Zayd ibn ‘Amr ibn Nufayl rejected idols and sought the religion of Abraham عليه السلام.
Zayd affirmed Allah’s oneness and objected to animals being slaughtered in the names of other gods. His position brought opposition, including efforts to prevent him from entering Makkah.
His rejection of prevailing practices also extended to the killing of girls. Asma’ bint Abi Bakr رضي الله عنهما recalled that, when a father intended to kill his daughter, Zayd would offer to bear the cost of raising her. He took the girl into his care. When she grew older, he gave her father the choice of taking her back or allowing him to continue providing for her. Her account is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 3828.
These accounts place idol worship, religious restrictions and injustice alongside hospitality, trade, protection of the wronged and rejection of idols. They provide a view of Makkah and its surroundings before the beginning of the mission of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم.