Arabia before and after Islam | Islamic Golden Age- Part I
In the heart of a tumultuous society, nestled away in a small, inconspicuous house, a man named Al-Arqam provided refuge to a handful of Muslims. Fearing persecution and death from the Pagan Arabs, this small group — perhaps only 10 to 20 individuals — met in secret. Within these walls, they sought solace, learned good manners, and discussed the dire state of their Pre-Islamic Society.
For a video version of this article watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He6PgnH7X7M
Let’s zoom in and listen to a fragment of their conversation.
“Guys, the situation in our society has become very tragic. People are divided into either wealthy masters who own everything or poor oppressed slaves.”
Their discussion painted a grim picture. The rich merchants were notorious for cheating, monopolising, and bribing rulers to facilitate their oppression. Temple priests scammed people out of their hard-earned money, offering false promises of good luck and divine services.
On the other hand, the masses were either enslaved or on the brink of slavery due to overwhelming debts. Morality had vanished, leaving only subjective opinions dictated by the powerful. Racism was rampant, with white men asserting dominance over black men, and tribes perpetually at war, each claiming supremacy.
“Intoxicants and drinks destroyed half of the brain cells of every wise man until there were no wise men left.”
Drunkenness, gambling, and crime plagued society. Educated individuals were a rarity, and illiteracy was widespread. Animals were mistreated, and people worshipped idols made of dates, only to eat them when hungry. This absurdity underscored the depth of their societal decay.
“If a man gets a baby he checks it. If it’s a boy he celebrates, if it’s a girl, he buries her alive.”
The plight of women and girls was especially dire. Girls were often buried alive in pre-islamic Arabia, and those who survived faced a future of forced prostitution. Women were denied inheritance, ownership, and basic rights. Even food was segregated, with the best reserved for men.
Men’s shamelessness extended to wife swaps and rampant adultery. Many children grew up not knowing their fathers, destined for broken or non-existent families. Conversations were laced with curses, rumours, and mockery. Usury exploited the poor, while the rich grew richer, and money became the ultimate deity.
A Society in Ruins
Leadership was bought with bribes, and orphans’ inheritance was stolen without remorse. Gender roles were distorted, and the people’s connection to their natural disposition (fitra) was lost. The society was spiralling into mass depression, suicide, and a profound lack of meaning.
“We are just 10–20 people, there is nothing we can do to fix all that. We are too few and weak to have any effect. There is no hope!”
A Glimpse of Hope
As we eavesdrop on this group hiding in Al-Arqam’s house, their despair is palpable. They are acutely aware of their small number and limited power. Yet, this isn’t the end of their story.
Let’s skip forward to the end and see the outcome. What happened in the middle is for you to guess, but know this: these few individuals, huddled in fear and hope, were the seeds of a transformation that would change the course of history.
One day, a caller was walking around the streets of one city and saying in a loud voice:
O’ my people, anyone wants charity money?
Anyone needs financial help?
No one answered.
The caller was confused. Why isn’t anyone answering?
So he started shouting out loud, I have all of this money for anyone in need. Who needs financial help?
No one answered.
The caller recognized that no one needs charity. No one is that poor. So he started shouting another question:
O’ my people, does anyone have debt? I can pay your debts.
No one answered.
So he shouted:
O’ my people, anyone wants to get married, I can buy you a house and pay your wedding cost.
And No one answered.
He kept trying different streets all over the city.
Still. No one.
The caller then sent a letter back to the Caliphate Omar ibn Abd Al-Aziz saying: We are trying to distribute the charity money on the people of our city, but we can’t find anyone who needs it. Take the money back and find another city that has people in need.
This was not the only letter the Caliphate received saying we failed to distribute charity money.
More than half of the world back then, from west China to Spain, from Middle Africa to Southern Russia.
All the callers in all the cities in all of these areas around the world sent letters to the Khalifa to tell him. We can’t find anyone who wants charity.
The Khalifa then ordered them to help out Non-Muslim Residents in these lands. Buy them what they need and pay their debts.
And they still didn’t find any.
So the Khalifa ordered them to buy birds food and throw it on top of mountains so no one will ever be hungry. Not people, nor animals, nor birds.
By the way, you might think they were extremely rich as in millionaires and billionaires. No, they were not. Everyone had what they needed or maybe a little more.
The difference is that the major reasons for poverty didn’t exist in that society.
There was no oppression, no cheating in business, no monopolies, no usury, no extravagance, no buying useless items just to show off, and no excessive buying to compensate for insecurities and depression.
The rich were not becoming richer by squeezing the life out of the poor, and the most beloved deed for everyone was helping out their brothers and neighbors.
It was near impossible to find a person in need.
And even those who were disabled or could not work for any reason, they were given this coin each.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQhZSoJ7qngmXRb1gpRU72ii1U8YmPjQDbiWw&s
It has the words Allah Damin on it. which means, Allah guarantees your provission.
Anyone who had this coin takes provision from the Islamic House of Money for free.
And because money does not buy happiness, let’s talk about the real happy society.
Let’s taste together the idea of the happy society that existed in reality, not in a novel or a movie.
The difference between people faded away, there were no difference between black and white, and there were no difference between Indian, Arab, African, European, or Asian.
Everyone was 100% equal in all rights and duties.
Everyone is your brother whom you are ordered by Allah Himself to take care of more than you take care of yourself.
Imagine living in that community.
The borders between countries and tribes faded away. More than half of the world became one country ruled by the law of God.
There were no subjective opinions, no never-ending debates, as all the major questions were already answered by God.
Even family issues were very very rare, as loving your wife and taking care of your family is also ordered by God.
You feel safe at home, you feel safe in the streets, and you feel safe when you are buying or selling, as you know that no one is gonna scam you.
And even when rarely something happens, the Justice System was superior to any other in history.
Even competitive businesses cared for each other. Imagine caring for your competitors.
For example.
Merchants had this habit of putting a small chair in the morning in front of every shop in the marketplace.
The moment a merchant makes his first sale of the day, he removes the chair from in front of his shop.
When the second customer comes to him, he says to the customer, no, go buy from anyone who still has their chair in front of his shop, because he hasn’t made his first sale of the day yet.
This is not a part of a fantasy story, these were real people who cared for each other. The whole community was one big family.
Slavery completely ended as the slave got exactly the same rights as the biological son. So basically, even if he was called a slave, in reality, he was treated exactly equal to your children. The only exception was inheritance.
If you are unfamiliar with this transition, check the Slavery in Islam video.
Women got their rights and more. The job of the man was to take care of his wife, provide for her, love her, respect her, and defend her with his life.
A man is ordered to die for his wife, not the opposite.
A man is ordered to provide for his wife, not the opposite.
The rank of a man was set by the Prophet pbuh as follows: The best of you is the best to his wife.
The Prophet also linked entering Paradise to the 5-star service you provide to your old mother.
This was how every woman was guaranteed superior care in young and old age.
Women also got the right to own property and businesses, buy and sell, work, and have their own savings.
A woman’s money is her money alone, but the man’s money should be spent on him and his wife and the whole family.
Women also felt safer in their houses as they knew that there was no adultery in society, cheating was not allowed nor tolerated, and their husbands were not under constant 24/7 temptation by other girls.
Women made their families thier first priority, while also contributing to society in many ways.
If you are unfamiliar with this, check the Women in Islam playlist.
Hygiene became the norm for literally everyone. The only way you could see a smelly dirty disgusting person who doesn’t wash himself was to travel outside of Muslim land.
Especially Europe back then.
You would meet strangers in the street with 100% confidence that they at least wash themselves 5-times a day in addition to after every bathroom. And also have their teeth cleaned.
Everyone also took very good care of their diet and their health. No one ate excessively or ruined his body over the desire to fill their stomach.
No one had any weird ideas on what we should or should not eat, no one also had any weird ideas about identifying as something he or she isn’t.
There was no hostility, no toxicity, or enmity between family members, neighbors, or even strangers.
Animals were treated with mercy, no heavy loads, and no pain was allowed either physically or emotionally.
Education became a must. the literacy rate increased from less than 5% to more than 90%. Learning religion was a must and learning Dunia knowledge was highly recommended.
And that amazing emphasis on Education led to spectacular results that we’ll cover in the next part.
For a video version of this article watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He6PgnH7X7M
More on this topic: https://medium.com/@howtomuslimnow/how-islam-transformed-the-arabs-c4c8e1672ad0
