Jahiliyyah - Part 3

[Guest guest]

('Jahiliyyah' - traditionally translated " Time of Ignorance " , and used to apply

to the pre-Islamic period in Arabia, but in the Muslim sources its primary

meaning is violent and explosive irascibility, arrogance, tribal chauvinism.

[Muhammad Prophet For Our Time Glossary pg. 217].)

 

 

Jahiliyyah - Part 3

 

(p.63) Later Muslim tradition would elaborate on the themes of Heaven, Hell, and

Judgment, but the Qur'an remains reticent, its language characteristically

elusive and mysterious. More crucially, it compels the listener to face up to

the judgment in the immediate present. The day of reckoning was not merely a

distant event; it was also a " moment of truth " here and now. The probing,

intimate questioning and the use of the present tense obliged listeners to face

up to the implications of their behavior on a daily basis. What would it be like

to know that you had wasted your time on earth when it was too late to do

anything about it? The Qur'an asks insistently: " Where are you going with your

life? " [18] Human beings were not inherently evil, but they were forgetful, all

too eager to push these uncomfortable ideas to the back of their minds. So they

needed a constant reminder ('dhikr'). [19] " Remind them, " God urged Muhammad,

" All you can do is be a reminder. " [20]

 

People must, therefore, become self-aware, conscious of what they are doing.

They must cultivate the virtue of 'taqwa'', a word that is sometimes translated

" fear " but is better rendered " mindfulness. " They must be continually on their

guard against selfishness, greed, and arrogance. Instead of frightening

themselves with the fear of hell, they should meditate on the signs ('ayat') of

God's generosity in the natural world and imitate his benevolence:

 

Look at the camel

and how it is created

Look at the sky and how it is raised

Look at the mountains and how they are set

Look at the earth and how it is spread. [20]

 

(p.64) The entire cosmos was a veil, which hid the presence of its Creator. The

succession of day and night, sun and moon, the life-giving rains, and the

marvellous construction of the human being were all signs of God's presence. By

contemplating these signs in a sustained and disciplined manner, they would

become aware of the inexpressible reality behind them and be filled with

gratitude.

 

At present the Quraysh despised the weak; they believed that failure and poverty

revealed an inherent lack of nobility, so they felt no obligation towards the

poor, the orphan, or the widow. But if they understood their dependence upon

Allah at every moment of their lives, they would appreciate their own frailty,

and their arrogance would be tempered by awe and wonder. They would lay aside

their haughty self-reliance and their proudly cultivated refusal to bow to any

creature, human or divine. Muhammad wanted every man, woman, and child in Mecca

to develop within themselves the humble thankfulness that should characterize

the human condition.

 

Muhammad was not content simply to work for social reform; he believed that

without an interior transformation, a purely political program would be

superficial. To effect this, he taught his little group the ritual actions that

would enable them to cultivate this new attitude. First, they would meet for

prayer ('salat'): their devout prostration would be a daily reminder of their

true condition. (p.65) Salat interrupted their ordinary business and helped them

to remember that Allah was their first priority. It was very difficult for men

and women schooled in the muruwah [bedouin chivalric] ethos to grovel like

slaves, and many of the Quraysh were offended by this abject posture. But the

physical routine of salat symbolized the surrender ('islam') of their entire

being to Allah. It taught their bodies at a level deeper than the rational to

lay aside the self-regarding impulse to prance and preen arrogantly. A 'muslim'

was a man or a woman who had made this act of submission and was proud to be

God's slave.

 

Second, members of the Muslim community ('ummah') were required to give a

proportion of their income in alms to the poor. This " pure offering " ('zakat')

took the egotism out of the traditional Bedouin generosity; instead of

exhibiting their reckless, excessive liberality, they made a regular, undramatic

contribution to the weaker members of the tribe. The new karim [bedouin ideal]

was no longer a person who gave away his entire fortune in a single night, but

one who tirelessly practiced the " works of justice. " At this stage, the new

faith was called 'tazakka' ( " purification " ). [21] By looking after the poor and

needy, freeing slaves, performing small acts of kindness on a daily, hourly

basis, the Muslims learned to cloak themselves in the virtue of compassion and

would gradually acquire a responsible, caring spirit, which imitated the

generosity of Allah himself. If they persevered, they would purge their hearts

of pride and selfishness and achieve a spiritual refinement.

 

Muhammad (Prophet For Our Time)

Chapter 2, 'Jahiliyyah', p. 63-65

Karen Armstrong

Harper Perennial - London, New York, Toronto and Sydney

ISBN-13 978-0-00-723248-2

ISBN-10 0-00-723248-9

 

Notes:

 

[18] Qur'an 81:26, Sells translation.

 

[19] Qur'an 88:21-22.

 

[20] Qur'an 88:17-20, Sells translation.

 

[21] Watt, 'Muhammad at Mecca', 68.