The jahiliyya period is the era before the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The term “jahiliyya” literally means “ignorance” and refers to the period when Arab society lived without divine guidance. This period is essential for understanding the seerah. It shows how the society on the Arabian Peninsula came into being, how it developed, and what that ultimately meant for the mission of the Prophet ﷺ: proclaiming the final message, the final guidance from the Creator ﷻ to mankind.
Studying the seerah is inseparably connected to the period before his ﷺ Prophethood. We find references in the Islamic source texts to that era and to the fact that the Prophet ﷺ lived within this particular society. Who were the Arabs, what made them so unique, and how did the Prophet ﷺ deal with this? To answer these questions, we study the jahiliyya period.
Many seerah books therefore do not begin with the birth of the Prophet ﷺ, but with the Arabs. They explain how Makkah and the Ka’bah came into existence, what Arab society looked like; all so that we properly understand the situation in which the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions رضي الله عنهم had to carry out their work. Studying the jahiliyyah is the key to properly understanding the Prophetic Mission.
Who Were the Arabs?
There are various opinions about what the word عرب ('arab) means. Linguistically, Arab means desert or barren land without water and vegetation. Since time immemorial, this term has been used for the Arabian Peninsula and its people. The Arabs are generally divided into three groups:
- Extinct Arabs: this includes 'Aad, Thamud, among others mentioned in the Quran
- Arabised Arabs: the descendants of Isma’il ﵇ through Adnan, also known as the Adnanites
- Pure Arabs: the descendants of Ya’rub bin Qahtan, also known as the Qahtanites
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The Extinct Arabs
The well-known extinct Arab nations are 'Aad and Thamud, alongside Tasm and Jadis. 'Aad lived in the northern part of Hadramaut in tall buildings and were skilled in various crafts. They were blessed with springs, fields and gardens, and Allah ﷻ sent the Prophet Hud ﵇ to them. Allah ﷻ says:
كَذَّبَتْ عَادٌ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ هُودٌ أَلَا تَتَّقُونَ إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ وَمَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ ۖ إِنْ أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ أَتَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ آيَةً تَعْبَثُونَ وَتَتَّخِذُونَ مَصَانِعَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ وَإِذَا بَطَشْتُمْ بَطَشْتُمْ جَبَّارِينَ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ وَاتَّقُوا الَّذِي أَمَدَّكُمْ بِمَا تَعْلَمُونَ أَمَدَّكُمْ بِأَنْعَامٍ وَبَنِينَ وَجَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ إِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ
The people of 'Aad rejected the messengers. Their brother Hud said to them: "Do you not fear Allah? I am a trustworthy messenger to you. Fear Allah and obey me. I ask you no reward for this; my reward is only with the Lord of the Worlds. Do you build on every elevation a monument for amusement? And do you construct fortresses as though you will live forever? And when you strike, you strike as tyrants. So fear Allah and obey me. Fear the One who has provided you with what you know: He gave you cattle, sons, gardens and springs. I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous Day.
Surah Ash-Shu'ara 123-124
They ignored Hud ﵇, whereupon Allah ﷻ sent an overwhelming storm wind upon them. For seven days straight, day and night, they were struck by it until no trace of them remained.
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The Thamud lived in Al-Hijr and possessed the skill of carving houses out of mountains. Like the people of 'Aad, they were blessed with many springs, fields and an abundance of gardens. Allah ﷻ sent Salih ﵇ to warn them. Allah ﷻ says:
كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ صَٰلِحٌ أَلَا تَتَّقُونَ إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ فَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ وَمَآ أَسْـَٔلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ۬ۖ إِنْ أَجْرِىَ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ أَتُتْرَكُونَ فِي مَا هَٰهُنَآ ءَامِنِينَ فِي جَنَّٰتٍ۬ وَعُيُونٍ۬ وَزُرُوعٍ۬ وَنَخْلٍ۬ طَلْعُهَا هَضِيمٌ۬ وَتَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ ٱلْجِبَالِ بُيُوتً۬ا فَـٰرِهِينَ فَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
Thamud rejected the messengers. Their brother Salih said to them: "Will you not have fear of Allah? Indeed, I am a trustworthy messenger to you. Fear Allah and obey me. I ask you no reward for this; my reward is only with the Lord of the Worlds." "Do you think you will be left in security among what you have here? In gardens with springs, fields and date palms with softened fruit? And you carve houses out of the mountains with great skill. So fear Allah and obey me.
Surah Ash-Shu'ara 141-150
In another verse He ﷻ says:
وَاذْكُرُوا إِذْ جَعَلَكُمْ خُلَفَاءَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ عَادٍۢ وَبَوَّأَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِن سُهُولِهَا قُصُورًۭا وَتَنْحِتُونَ ٱلْجِبَالَ بُيُوتًۭا ۖ فَٱذْكُرُوٓا۟ ءَالَآءَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ
Remember how He made you successors after 'Aad and gave you a place on earth: you built palaces on the plains and carved houses out of the mountains. Remember the blessings of Allah and do not spread corruption on earth.
Yet they did not obey, so Allah ﷻ destroyed them with an enormous supernatural blast of sound that pulverised them into lifeless bodies resembling dried-out remains.
Tasm and Jadis lived in Yamamah. Their ruler (from Tasm) was a violent oppressor. When his oppression, injustice and inequality worsened, a group from Jadis conspired to fight him and his tribe. They succeeded in killing them until only one man from Tasm remained, who managed to escape and sought the help of Hassan ibn Tubba’a, the king of Yemen. He returned, defeated them, and both tribes were ultimately destroyed.
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The downfall of these ancient peoples, 'Aad, Thamud, Tasm and Jadis, serves as a compelling lesson for the generations after them. Their stories demonstrate that prosperity, power and architectural grandeur offer no protection when a people turns away from divine guidance. It was precisely these lessons that shaped the moral landscape of the Arabian Peninsula in which the Prophet ﷺ would begin his mission.