Adonis Diaries

When “Arabic” tribes are mentioned, people are trained to thinking of the Arabic Peninsula or current Saudi Arabia Wahhabi Kingdom.  That is not correct.  Arabic tribes are as ancient as antiquity; it appears that the first time the word “Arab” was discovered in manuscripts was in 853 BC as Jundub, the leader of a coalition of Arab tribes, associated with Syria and a few Israelite tribes in northern Palestine to counter an Assyrian incursion in the Levant.  Many “Arabic” stories and myths were altered and recounted by bordering Empires to fitting the environment and culture.

Arabic tribes extended to the desert region between the Euphrates and Tiger Rivers, to the vast stretch of land bordering the Red Sea, to Southern Palestine and Jordan, to the Sinai Peninsula, and to the lands bordering the Persian Gulf.  The Arabic tribes languages and cultures were influenced by the urban civilization in Yemen, the various Persian Empires and India, and the various Western Empires of Greek, Roman, and Byzantium Empires before the advent of Islam.

The dominant Empires at every period paid tributes to coalition of Arabic tribes in return of keeping the peace on demarcation borders, facilitating trade caravans, and for gathering intelligence on the enemy as advance signs of changing policies, and for joining in battles.

Thus, we you read about pre-Islam cultures of Arabic tribes you should keep in mind thousand of years of traditions and customs.  Pre-Islam Arabic cultures are lumped by the new emerging Islam as “Period of Ignorance (Jahilyya)” meaning ignorance of the One and Unique God Allah. 

 Fact is, many Arabic tribes were already Christians and many could be labelled by the Orthodox Byzantium Church as “heretic” Christians: they had dogmas different from the Byzantine Orthodox dogma.  For example, the tribes of Salih, Kalb, Udhra, Tannukh, Bahra, Tayy, Ghassan, and Jusham.  The father of the Prophet was a Christian convert and one of his uncles was the Patriarch of the Christian sect in Mecca.  The ease with which Islam settled in Syria and Iraq was because the supporting tribes in Syria and Iraq formed the majority of Islam army that defeated Byzantium and Persia Empires within 15 years of the death of the Prophet.

Fact is, many Arabic tribes were Jewish, especially in the region of Yathreb or Medina where the Prophet established his first Islamic administration.  The wars between Muhammad and the Jewish tribes were mostly due to sphere of influence because the Jews got worried of Islam domination in the region. 

Fact is many tribes believed in Mazda (the dominant religion in Persia) and appeased Satan since God was forgiving and compassionate but satan needed plenty of attention and cajoling. 

Fact is, most of the idols that Arabic tribes venerated were imported from Syria, Persia, and India.  Islam became the common denominator religion among Arabic tribes during the Prophet Muhammad life.

I might describe a few of the pre-Islam poets and cultures in successive  articles.  What follows are a few pre-Islam saying extracted from “The enigma of Qaf” by Alberto Mussa:

“When I tell a lie then, am I not restoring an ancient truth?”  (The Arabic Scheherazade)

“Two write:  The one with daulty memory and the other who cannot clearly express verbally”

“I love women who, when naked, are never totally nude” (Poet Imru2 al Qayss)

“Honor is never but another form of fear” (Poet Shanfara)

“Is there any greater glory than being ignored by hyenas?” (Poet Amru ben Kulthum)

“Three are stupid:  the one who does not know that he doesn’t; the one who knows that he doesn’t; and the one who doesn’t know that he knows.”  (Poet Labid or Lubad)

“Having respect for your enemies is celebrating a cult to the dead.” (Poet Antara)

“O beauty! O Women! O desert!” (Anonymous)

“Three possess faith: The Persian in his horoscope, the Jew in his laws, and the Arab in his camel.”

Two are innocents:  A beautiful girl and an armed man.”

“What you don’t own, steal it” (Ali Baba)

“Why ask of God what I can buy on the market?” (Mundhir)

“The greatest merit of an atheist is that he does not believe in demons.”

“Four are pleasures: laughing, eating, loving, and knowing.”

“I love the concept of woman, and only that concept. This one woman, the other one: Who can tell me the difference?” (Poet Imru el Qayss)

“True wise men can never be happy.”

“Even talking about a single evident fact requires that you have read a thousand book.” (Malika)

“Ask the dead if they really want peace!” (Poet Tarafa)

“Realising your desires is the work of an imbecile.” (Aladin)

“I have never forgiven: I have not the pretension of possessing a virtue attributed to God.”

“Nothing is that grand to merit being taken seriously.” (Poet Al Aasha the dim sighted)

“We don’t kill a pork without soiling the knife.”

“I love the tribe of bats:  Any female is beautiful.”

“The best in life are those that we have no use of them.” (Poet Zuheir)

“I am immortal: I will never know when I died.” (Harith bi Hilliza)

“I don’t like everything that I possess, but I possess everything that I love.” (Poet Nabigha al Zubyani)

“The best of blind people are those who want to see.”

Note:  For further details, you may read my post https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/nomads-or-the-transmitters-of-civilizations/