How Arabia
accepted Islam

Once an Arabic trading caravan, which was returning either from Syria or Iraq, brought back, among other trophies, a carnelian statuette with a broken-off hand.

The Arabs attached a new golden hand to the statuette and made it their idol. They named the deity Hubal. The word comes from the Semitic “baal,” meaning “master” or “lord.” The prefix “hu” is of Arabic origin and means “he.” Thus, the name Hubal translates to “He is the Master.”

Hubal was one of the many Baals worshipped by tribes in Arabia, Mesopotamia and Palestine untouched by Christianity and Zoroastrianism. The best-known of the Baals is the evil spirit Beelzebul, a distortion of the Hebrew “Ba’al-Zebul,” which translates to “Master of Flies.”

Unlike Beelzebul, it is not reliably known what Hubal was the master of. Some scholars argue that Hubal was a god of the moon. If that were true, the crescent symbol adopted in Islam would have been a pagan symbol representing Hubal. This theory is hard to believe: the crescent was rarely used in Islam before the Ottoman Empire, and it is one of the most obvious symbols humans could have come up with. Moreover, the throne of the moon god had long been occupied by the Sumerian deity Sin, who was far too famous across the Middle East for Hubal to lay claim to it.

Most likely, Hubal was a god of thunder and rain. Either way, Hubal was a special deity. Among all the Arabian idols, which numbered as many as 360, Hubal seems to have been the only one with a complete human form. Most other idols were ordinary stones. A few idols were roughly human-shaped or had images carved into the stone. One of them was the goddess Al-Lat, believed to be either the mother of Hubal or the wife of Allah, depending on the tribe. The crescent symbol is also often associated with the goddess Al-Lat.

Ancient Arabia consisted of tribes. By the time of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, the majority of western Arabia, an area known as Hijaz, had been captured by the Quraysh tribe.

Arab tribes were composed of numerous clans united under a ruling clan. Both tribes and clans had their own idols. In other words, prior to the advent of Islam, a great multitude of tribes and clans on the Arabian Peninsula worshipped stones. These stones typically had shapes and colors that were not commonly found everywhere. Rare specimens of round or rectangular black stones often became idols.

Each tribe also had a chief deity, the patron of that tribe. Hubal became the patron deity of the Quraysh tribe.

But there was another idol in Hijaz that stood even higher than Hubal. This idol was shared by all the tribes inhabiting ancient Arabia and was a large black boulder of an egg-like shape, presumably of basalt rock.

The main idol apparently had no name of its own. It was simply called the Black Stone. It was believed that the Black Stone was a messenger from the heavens and, therefore, it was highly revered. All Arabs worshipped the Black Stone.

The Honored Kaaba

All 360 Arabian idols, along with the Black Stone and Hubal, were kept in the city of Mecca. In the center of the city, on a large square, was erected a sanctuary of cubic shape, that was called the Kaaba.

The exact origin of the Kaaba is unknown. Even Muslims disagree about who first built it. Many believe that it was constructed by angels or the first human, Adam. The Quran states that the Kaaba was first built by the Prophet Abraham.

The origin of Mecca itself is also unknown. The name is first mentioned only in the year 741, long after the death of Muhammad, when the Arab Caliphate had established its dominance. The earlier history of Mecca is shrouded in mystery.

Ptolemy, in his “Geography” from the 2nd century AD, describes the cities of Arabia and among others mentions the city of Makoraba. The coordinates provided by Ptolemy do not correspond to Mecca. But many of his other coordinates do not match real cities either; it seems to be a systematic error in his calculations.

By elimination, one can assume that Makoraba was indeed Mecca. The connection between the names is unclear: the letters do not match exactly. How did Makoraba become Mecca? According to one version, the name “Makoraba” meant “Mecca Rabba” — Great Mecca. Other historians say that the word “makoraba” originated from an Arabic root meaning sanctuary.

So the Kaaba stands at the center of this Arab sanctuary, that is, in the center of modern Mecca. Today it is surrounded by a mosque called in Arabic Al-Masjid Al-Haram. The name is commonly translated as “The Forbidden Mosque.” However, the original meaning of the word “masjid” is a gathering place for people. Arab tribes, who were constantly at war with each other, used to arrange a truce for one month each year and gather in Mecca to participate in a fair and pilgrimage to the Kaaba. Therefore, the underlying meaning of the mosque’s name is: “a gathering place for people where hostility is forbidden.”

So the organizer of the fair and the main beneficiary was the Quraysh tribe. This tribe owned both Mecca and the Kaaba, along with the keys to its doors.

Enters Mahomet

When the Persian Sassanian dynasty was at the height of its power, Emperor Khosrow the Victorious received a strange message from Arabia. In it, some Arab fanatic urged the emperor to renounce his religion, embrace the fanatic’s faith and recognize him as a prophet.

Similar letters were received by the Byzantine Emperor, rulers of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Oman, the governor of Syrian Damascus, and kings of many other states.

The letters were most likely torn to shreds or disregarded, and no ruler recalled them again. All the messages began with the words: “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,” and their author was the Prophet Muhammad.

The kings and emperors ignored the message in vain. Little more than 20 years later, the whole ancient world would be on its knees before Islam. The religion of the “Arab fanatic” would be embraced by Persia, Egypt, all of North Africa and even future Spain. Only Byzantium would barely hold out, losing a large part of its territory.

But all this began quietly and unnoticed. The Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca and belonged to the Hashim clan, which was part of the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad’s father was an Arab with the common name Abdullah, and his mother was named Amina. Few Muslims today know these names. The prophet’s father passed away before his birth, and his mother died during his childhood. After the death of his mother, Muhammad was taken in first by his grandfather and then by his uncle Abu Talib.

It is commonly believed that Muhammad’s family was poor. Perhaps there was a period in Abdullah’s life when he experienced financial difficulties, but Abu Talib became the leader of the entire Quraysh tribe when Muhammad was eight years old. It is doubtful that the prophet’s childhood was particularly difficult.

For many years, nothing remarkable happened in Muhammad’s life. He often traveled with his uncle to trade in Syria, married a wealthy merchant named Khadijah, and enjoyed climbing the local mountains and seeking solitude in caves during his free time. It is with this peculiar hobby that the legend of the birth of Islam begins.

By that time, Muhammad had reached the age of 40. The midlife crisis had long passed, and dreams of a career were left in the past. Muhammad spent more and more time in his beloved cave on Mount Hira, near Mecca.

Suddenly, on one of the days when Muhammad was sleeping in the cave, Arabic script appeared on the wall. Then a voice commanded, “Read!” Taken aback, Muhammad thought he might be having heatstroke. After collecting his thoughts, he cautiously replied: “But that’s all in Arabic...”

The invisible voice became angry: why couldn’t the chosen prophet read at the age of 40? The unseen force began to suffocate Muhammad, repeating angrily, “Read, I am telling you!” At this point, Muhammad became genuinely frightened for his life, as he truly couldn’t read. Such is the Muslim version.

When the invisible voice realized that there was no use in this prophet, it began to read itself.

“It says here: ‘Read in the name of your Lord who created all that exists!’ Repeat.”
“Read in the name of your Lord who created all that exists! Repeat.”

These words were the beginning of the first verse of the Holy Quran, revealed by Allah.

When Muhammad regained consciousness and left the cave, he saw an angel standing on the horizon in human form. The Prophet tried to turn away, but no matter where he looked, the angel remained before him. Finally, the angel introduced himself as Gabriel and declared that Muhammad was a divine messenger.

Thus began the prophetic mission of Muhammad.

“O Hubal, be high!”
“Allah is higher!”

The Arabic word “Allah” is translated as “God.” In the early translations of the Quran into other languages, the word “Allah” was rarely used. “Allah” is simply a combination of the definite article “Al” and the Arabic word “Ilah,” meaning any deity. Similar words existed among Jews, Arameans, Syrians, Akkadians, and other peoples. For example, the name for God in the Old Testament is “Eloh.”

Islam and Judaism are connected not only by the name of God. Essentially, the concept of Islam is based on a corrected and supplemented rendition of the Old Testament with occasional borrowings from Christianity. In Islam, it is the same God and the same prophets. Muslims believe that the Bible is a divine revelation. They recognize Moses and Jesus, Isaac and Solomon as prophets. However, Muslims make a correction: people distorted the testaments bestowed upon them, and the task of Islam is to correct these distortions by presenting the true version of events received directly from heaven.

The Jews were the first people to invent monotheism and build their religion upon it — Judaism. Christianity then adopted the invention, while adding the Trinity, which not everyone fully understands. Islam represents the next step in the development of this idea, elevating monotheism to an absolute level. That’s why Muhammad is called an Arab “hanif,” meaning a monotheist.

Now the picture becomes clear. Muhammad came preaching to pagan Arabia to overthrow idol worship and establish belief in one God. In a sense, he was like Vladimir, the baptizer of Rus, who smashed the wooden statue of the Slavic god Perun, or like Constantine the Great, who cast the Roman Olympic gods into the sea. The difference is that Muhammad did not possess such power from the beginning.

Muhammad was not the only hanif in Arabia. Hanifism was a popular movement in line with the spirit of its time. There were many hanifs wandering across Arab lands. However, it was Muhammad who managed to push the matter through.

Muhammad began preaching in Mecca. Initially, his prophecy was biblical. Allah was presented as the sole God, unbegotten and without offspring, but the creator of the entire surrounding world. The first humans were Adam and Eve, who were likewise expelled from paradise. The end of time promised a Day of Judgment when all the deceased would be resurrected to answer for their actions before God. In other words, nothing new.

Naturally, the Quraysh did not accept Muhammad. However, his mission followed the classic script of success. Initially, the prophet was ignored, then people began to laugh at him, and eventually, they started to fight against him. A beloved story among Muslims tells of how while Muhammad was prostrating in prayer, someone dumped a she-camel’s entrails on his back. Nevertheless, despite everything, Muhammad attracted more and more followers.

While Muhammad’s uncle, Abu Talib, remained the leader of the tribe, there was no threat to the prophet. Eventually, however, his uncle died, and that’s when persecution against Muhammad began. This forced him to seek support in other cities of Arabia. He found it in Yathrib. The city was inhabited by two warring tribes unable to reach an agreement. Muhammad stepped in as a peacemaker. The people of Yathrib recognized him as their leader, arbitrator, and God’s messenger.

Then Muhammad, along with his followers, left Mecca and migrated to Yathrib. This event took place on September 24, 622, and this date holds great significance for Muslims. The migration of Muhammad is called the Hijrah, and it marks the starting point of the Islamic calendar. Therefore, in Saudi Arabia it is currently the year 1440 AH.

Yathrib became the first Muslim city. Soon it was renamed in honor of the Prophet and called Medina an-Nabi, which translates to “City of the Prophet.”

Over time, the interests of Medina and Mecca began to intersect, primarily due to the intersection of trade routes. This led to several battles between the cities.

The battles had a religious backdrop. Mecca was still centered around idols, with Hubal at the forefront, while Medina was Muslim and worshipped Allah.

In one of the decisive battles, Muhammad’s main enemy, Abu Sufyan, boosting the morale of his soldiers, praised the idols of Mecca, repeating: “O Hubal, be high.” Muhammad and his followers shouted in response: “Allah is higher.”

In the end, Allah emerged victorious. The One God proved to be greater than a little man with a golden hand. Mecca was conquered by Muhammad and surrendered without a fight. Muslims entered the city and destroyed all the idols in the Kaaba. Hubal was defeated, and the forbidden gathering place was cleansed of stones. Mecca shed its paganism and transformed into a new center of the Islamic world. The Grand Mosque was soon built around the Kaaba, and over time, entry into Mecca was closed to non-Muslims.

Nevertheless, one idol remained in the Kaaba. It was the Black Stone.

To this day, it remains embedded in one of the corners of the Kaaba and is set in a silver frame. During pilgrimage, while walking around the Kaaba, Muslims salute the Black Stone each time they pass by, sending it an air kiss and saying “Allahu Akbar.” After completing the pilgrimage, it is customary to kiss the stone.

This is the sorest point critics of Islam like to press on and essentially an echo from pre-Islamic Arabian paganism.

Quran

After the capture of Mecca, Muhammad was already making plans for the conquest of Syria, but these plans were not destined to be fulfilled. The Prophet passed away before witnessing the grand victories of the Arab state.

Nor did Muhammad ever see the Quran in his lifetime.

Muhammad read his sermons but never recorded them. The revelations from Allah were transmitted orally, from memory, in separate fragments. It was not until 20 years after Muhammad’s death that the verses began to be collected into a unified book by Caliph Uthman.

The early versions of the Quran allowed for variations in readings. The Arabic alphabet has only three vowel letters, which are written only for stressed syllables. In unstressed syllables, Arabs write only consonant letters and do not use vowels at all. Therefore, without knowing the context, the same word can be read in a dozen different ways.

Only by the end of the 7th century did the Arabs think of adding special vowel marks above the letters. With these marks, Arabic became as easy to read as any European language.

The absence of a unified literary Arabic language led to the emergence of seven different versions of the Quran. Each version was adapted to the dialects of the tribes inhabiting Arabia. Eventually, in the 10th century, the text of the Quran was finalized and accepted in one edition, written in the Quraysh dialect.

But it was already too late. By that time, the Arab Caliphate had already conquered half of the world, and the Quran in different editions had spread to various countries. To this day, there are at least five editions of the Quran used in different countries. In total, these editions are used by around 5% of Muslims, and the differences between them are minimal. For example, “we” may be written in place of “I” and so on.

The next problem with the Quran lies in the arrangement of its verses. For some reason, the compilers of the book did not arrange them in chronological order in which Muhammad received them. Instead, the verses were collected into chapters, and the chapters were sorted in descending order of length. The Quran begins with the longest chapters, containing over 200 verses, and ends with shorter chapters of only 4 to 5 lines.

That is precisely why the Quran is so hard to read. For example, the first verse revealed to Muhammad in the cave is numbered 96. The book does not read as a whole; it consists of separate fragments of narratives, biblical stories, and instructions. These fragments are repeated throughout the Quran, constantly in new forms, sometimes complementing, and sometimes contradicting each other.

All this wouldn’t be so important if it weren’t for the absolute belief of Muslims in the divinity of the Quran.

Muslims believe that the Quran was not written but created by Allah and has always existed. Islamic tradition considers the Quran a perfect book, revealed by God Himself and never changed in a single letter. Muslims believe that the Quran contains answers to all questions. Sometimes these answers are difficult to find, but that is a problem of interpretation, not of the book. In the eyes of a Muslim, the Quran only exists in Arabic. All translations are merely explanatory notes.

What does science see in the Quran?

A book recorded over a span of 20 years based on the words of Muhammad’s listeners and “voiced” a century later; artificially sorted in descending order of length, with lots of contradictions, archaisms, and disconnected fragments.

Undoubtedly, it is a great monument of culture.