The Sealed Nectar | Biography of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri

Linguistically, the word ``Arab’’ means deserts and barren land without water and vegetation. Ever since the dawn of history, this term has been used for the Arabian Peninsula and its people.

Arab Tribes Arab peoples have been divided according to lineage into three groups: 1. Perished Arabs: The ancient Arabs, of whose history little is known, and of whom were `Ad, Thamud, Tasm, Jadis, Emlaq and others. 2. Pure Arabs: They originated from the progeny of Ya’rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan and were also called Qahtanian Arabs. 3. Arabized Arabs: They originated from the progeny of Ismael and were also called `Adnanian Arabs. The pure Arabs -- the people of Qahtan -- originally lived in Yemen and comprised many tribes, two of which were very famous: a) Himyar: The most famous of whose ancestors were Zaid Al-Jamhur, Quda`ah and Sakasic. b) Kahlan: The most famous of whose ancestors were Hamdan, Anmar, Tai’, Mudhhij, Kindah, Lakhm, Judham, Azd, Aws, Khazraj and the descendants of Jafnah -- the kings of ancient Syria. The Kahlan tribes emigrated from Yemen to dwell in different parts of the Arabian Peninsula prior to the Great Flood (Sail Al-`Arim of the Ma’arib Dam). They migrated due to the failure of trade under the Roman pressure and control of both sea and land trade routes, following the Roman occupation of Egypt and Syria. Naturally enough, the competition between Kahlan and Himyar led to the evacuation of the former and the settlement of the latter in Yemen.

The emigrating tribes of Kahlan can be divided into four groups: 1. Al-Azd: They wandered in Yemen, sent pioneers under the leadership of `Imran bin `Amr Muzayqiya’, and finally headed to the north and the east. Details of their emigration can be summed up as follows: Tha`labah bin `Amr left his tribe Al-Azd for Hijaz, and dwelt between Tha`labiyah and Dhi Qar. When he gained power, he headed for Madinah and stayed there. Of his descendants are Aws and Khazraj, sons of Harithah bin Tha`labah. Harithah bin `Amr, known as Khuza`ah, wandered with his offspring in Hijaz until they came to Marr Az-Zahran. Later, they conquered the Haram, and settled in Makkah after having driven away its people, the tribe of Jurhum. `Imran bin `Amr and his family went to `Oman, where they established the tribe of Azd whose offspring inhabited Tihamah and were known as Azd of Shanu’ah. Jafnah bin `Amr and his family, headed for Syria where he settled and initiated the kingdom of Ghassan who was so named after a spring of water in Hijaz, where they stopped on their way to Syria.

2. Lakhm and Judham: From them was Nasr bin Rabi`ah, founder of the Manadhirah Kings of Heerah. 3. Banu Tai’: They also emigrated northwards to settle by the so-called Aja and Salma Mountains which were thereafter named the Tai’ Mountains. 4. Kindah: They dwelt in Bahrain but were expelled to Hadramout and Najd, where they had no power base, just as they had none in Bahrain, and so they settled in Najd. There they established an important rulership although it did not last long, for the whole tribe soon faded away. Another tribe of Himyar, known as Quda`ah, also left Yemen and dwelt in the Samawah desert on the borders of Iraq. The Arabized Arabs go back in ancestry to their great-grandfather Ibrahim from a town called ``Ar’’ near Ku...

It is known that Ibrahim (May peace be upon him!) left Ar for Harran and then for Palestine, which he made the headquarters for his Message and traveled all over the area. When he went to Egypt, the Pharaoh tried to do evil to his wife Sarah, but Allah saved her and the Pharaoh’s wicked scheme recoiled on him. He thus came to realize her strong attachment to Allah, and, in acknowledgment of her grace, the Pharaoh rendered his daughter Hagar at Sarah’s service. Sarah gave Hagar to Ibrahim (May peace be upon him!) as a wife and Ibrahim (May peace be upon him!) returned to Palestine where Hagar gave birth to Ismael (May peace be upon him!). Sarah became jealous of Hagar and f...

When talking about the Arabs before Islam, we see that it is necessary to outline the history of rule, government, sectarianism, and the religious domination of the Arabs, to facilitate the understanding of the emergent circumstances when Islam appeared. When the sun of Islam rose, rulers of Arabia were of two kinds: crowned kings, who were in fact not independent; and heads of tribes and clans, who enjoyed the same authorities and privileges possessed by crowned kings and were mostly independent, though some of them may have shown some kind of submission to a crowned king. The crowned kings were those of Yemen, and those of Shaam (ancient geographical Syria); the family of Ghassan and the monarchy of Heerah. All the other rulers of Arabia were not crowned.

Rule in Yemen In Yemen, the people of Sheba were one of the oldest known nations of the pure Arabs. They have been mentioned in records as early as the 25th century C.E., according to excavations undertaken at Or. Their civilization flourished, and their domain spread in the 11th century C.E.

From 1300 to 620 B.C. Their nation was known as `Ma`iniyah’ during which their kings were called `Makrib Sheba’. Their capital was Sarwah, also known as Kharibah, whose ruins lie approx. 50 kms. north-west of Ma’rib, and 142 kms. east of San`a’. During this period, they began building the Dam of Ma’rib which had great importance in the history of Yemen. Sheba had so great a domain that they established colonies within and outside Arabia. 2. From 620 B.C. to 115 B.C. During this era, their nation was known by the name Sheba. They left the name Makrib and assumed the designation of Kings of Sheba. They also made Ma’rib their capital instead of Sarwah. The ruins of Ma’rib lie at a distance of 192 km east of San`a’. 3. From 115 B.C. until 300 C.E. During this period, the nation became known as Himyariyah the First after the tribe of Himyar conquered the kingdom of Sheba making Redan their capital instead of Ma’rib. Later on, Redan was called Zifar. Its ruins still lie on Mudawwar Mountain near the town of Yarim. During this period, they began to decline in trade and power that eventually led to their downfall. Their trade failed to a great extent: firstly, because of the Nabetean domain over northern Hijaz; secondly, because of the Roman superiority over the naval trade routes after the Roman conquest of Egypt, Syria and northern Hijaz; and thirdly, because of the inter-tribal warfare. Due to the three above-mentioned factors, the families of Qahtan remained disunited and scat...

4. From 300 C.E. until Islam dawned in Yemen. During this period the nation was known as Himyariyah the Second, and it witnessed increasing disorder and turmoil, followed by civil rebellion and outbreaks of tribal wars, rendering the people of Yemen liable to foreign subjection and hence loss of independence. During this era, the Romans conquered `Adn and even helped the Abyssinians (Ethiopians) occupy Yemen for the first time in 340 C.E., making use of the constant intra-tribal conflict in Hamdan and Himyar. The Abyssinian (Ethiopian) occupation of Yemen lasted until 378 C.E., after which Yemen regained its independence. Later, cracks began to show in the Ma’rib Dam which led to the Great Flood (450 or 451 C.E.) mentioned in the Noble Qur’an. This was a great event, which caused the fall of the entire Yemeni civilization and the dispersal of the nations living therein.

In 523 C.E., a Jewish ruler named Dhu Nawas launched a devastating campaign against the Christians of Najran in order to force them to convert to Judaism. Having refused to do so, they were thrown alive into a big ditch where a great fire was lit. The Qur’an refers to this event: ``Cursed were the people of the ditch.’’ [85:4] This aroused great wrath among the Christians, especially the Roman emperors, who not only instigated the Abyssinians (Ethiopians) against the Arabs but also assembled a large fleet of seventy thousand warriors, which helped the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) army to bring about a second conquest of Yemen in 525 C.E., under the leadership of Eriat. He was granted rulership over Yemen, a position he held until he was assassinated by one of his army leaders, Abrahah. After reconciliation with the...

In the year 575 C.E., after the incident of the “People of the Elephant”, the people of Yemen, under the leadership of Ma`dikarib bin Saif Dhu Yazin Al-Himyari, and through Persian assistance, revolted against the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) invaders, regained independence and appointed Ma’dikarib as their king. However, Ma’dikarib was assassinated by some of his Abyssinian (Ethiopian) servants. The family of Dhu Yazin was thus deprived of royalty forever. Kisra, the Persian king, appointed a Persian ruler over San’a, and thus made Yemen a Persian colony. Pers...

During the time of Ardashir, Jadhimah Alwaddah exercised rulership over Heerah and the rest of the Iraqi desert area, including Rabi’ah and Mudar in Mesopotamia. Ardashir reckoned that it was impossible for him to rule the Arabs directly and prevent them from attacking his borders unless he appointed one of them who enjoyed the support and power of his tribe as a king. He had also seen that he could make use of them against the Byzantine kings who persistently harassed him. At the same time, the Arabs of Iraq could face the Arabs of Syria who were under the hold of Byzantine kings. However, he deemed it fit to keep a Persian battalion under the command of the king of Heerah to be used against those Arabs who might rebel against him. After the death of Jadhimah, and during the era of Kisra Sabour bin Ardashir, `Amr bin `Adi bin Nasr Al-Lakhmi was ruler of Heerah and Anbar (268-288 C.E.). The Lakhmi kings remained in rule of Heerah until the Persians appointed Qabaz bin Fairuz in whose reign appeared someone called Mazdak, who called for dissoluteness in social life. Qabaz, and many of his subjects, embraced Mazdak’s religion and even called upon the king of Heerah, Al-Mundhir bin Ma’-us-Sama’ (512-554 C.E.), to follow suit. When the latter, because of his pride and self-respect, rejected their call, Qabaz discharged him and nominated Harith bin `Amr bin Hajar Al-Kindi, who had accepted the Mazdak doctrine. No sooner did Kisra Anu Shairwan succeed Qabaz than he, due to hatre...