What was the religion of the Arabs before Islam?

Answer 1

Arabia was majority pagan before the arrival of Islam. They believed in many gods (polytheism) and were open the idea of there being many other gods besides what they worshipped (henotheism).

Allah was the creator sky God who was supreme above the other gods. However he was not directly accessible to Mankind so they worshipped an array of intercessor gods and demons who interceded to Allah on behalf of the person praying.

The chief of these gods was Hubal. Hubal was portrayed as a man of rock with an arm of gold. Then there were the chief three goddesses Al-Lat (considered feminine form of Allah), Al-Uzza & Al-Manat. They were considered to be the daughters of Allah. Al-Lat was the mother goddess, she was also said to have been worshipped in Carthage and the Levant. She has been depicted riding a camel and is equated with Roman Minerva and Greek Athena. Al-Uzza was a war goddess and Goddess of Beauty, the pagan Arabs envoked her before heading into battle. She was portrayed as some kind of warrior queen and has been equated with Egyptian Isis and Greek Aphrodite. The third was Al-Manat who is said to have been the most ancient of the three. She was the Goddess of time and fate and was associated with death. She is equated with the Graeco-Roman goddess Nemesis.

Other major deities of the pagan Arabs included;

Wadd - Love and Friendship

Dhu'l'Khalasa - Oracular god of white stone

Manaf - Women and Menses

Ta'lab - Oracular deity originating from Sheba

Dhushara - Lord of the Mountain

Amm - Moon god, associated with Weather and Lightning

Al-Qaum - War and Night. Envoked to protect caravans.

The pagan Arabs also believed in minor gods and demons known as Jinn (Jinnee, Genie). Belief in Jinns remained as a part of Islam. Marids and Ifrits were two types of Jinn. There were other monsters such as Ghouls, who roamed the deserts at night and ate the flesh of the dead. There was also the Nasnas, depicted as half a man. It was said to have been a dangerous and agile creature. Bahamuth (Behemoth) was a large creature that crushed its victims.

The pagan Arabs didn't believe in an afterlife. They believed that once you died that was it, you were dust.

The Kabah (cube in Mecca) was filled with some 360 idol prior to the arrival of Islam. The exact worship rituals of the Pagan Arabs are not known but there are references to them. Circumabulating around the Kabah as Muslims do today while performing Hajj or Umrah was one of the mentioned rituals. It is more than likely that they prostrated and bowed infront of their idols and gave offerings (possibly food, clothes, water, wealth etc). Swaying, playing tambourines, reciting poetry and dancing may have also formed part of the worship rituals of the pre-Islamic Arabs. Sacrifices of animals and even humans (often babies) have been documented. These were said to be done in times of great need but cannot be said for certain. It is possible that the burying of infant daughters as documented in the Qur'an may have been linked to such human sacrifice rituals but cannot be verified.

Answer 2

The majority of Arabia was Pagan before the coming of Islam. Pagans believed in many gods (represented by idols made of stone), it's thought that there were at least 365. The gods & goddeses had names like Aglibol, Atargatis, Hubal, Ishtar, Al-Uzza, Al-Manat, Al-Lat, Wadd, Bes (same as Egyptian Bast), Bel Shamen, Abgal, Astarte, Nergal etc. As you can see one difference is that Islam is purely monotheistic whilst Arabian paganism is polytheistic. Another difference is that using pictures to depict God is totally forbidden in Islam whilst it was common place in pagan Arabia. The pagan Arabs also had many traditions & customs which are contrary to Islam, which are _______ and _______.