KHUTAB III - 27. THE ORIGIN OF THE ARABS

27. THE ORIGIN OF THE ARABS

The Arabs were one of the branches of the Semitic people. Semitic people were the descendants of Sām (سَامْ)   son of Noah. The Arabs were divided by the historians into two groups:  العَرَبُ الْبَائِدَة  (the extinct Arabs, the lost Arabs, the Arabs who have disappeared), and العَرَبُ اْلبَاقِيَة  (the surviving Arabs). The extinct Arabs were those who did not survive any longer because they were punished by Allah for their disobedience or because of war among themselves. Among those mentioned in the Qur’an were:  عَادٌ (‘Ād), ثَمُوْد (Thamūd), إِ رَم (Iram) and أَصْحَابُ اْلأَيْكَة (As.h.āb al-Aykah). Others were mentioned in history and literature; they were Jurhum (جُرْهُمْ), T.asm (طَسْم)  and Jadīs ( (جَدِيْس . The surviving Arabs are the Qah.t.ānīs (القَحْطَانِيُّوْن) and the ‘Adnānīs (العَدْناَنِيوُّنْ)

The ‘Ād people were the fourth generation from Noah. They occupied a large area in Southern Arabia, extending from Oman to Hadramaut and Yemen, and between Hadramaut and the Empty Quarter. They were tall in stature and were the first people who disobeyed their prophet after Prophet Noah. They were strong, proud and militant people and idol worshipers. When they disobeyed Prophet Hūd (Heber), who called them to worship Allah and behave properly, Allah sent punishment to them with a terrible blast of wind destroying them and their land. The tomb of Prophet Hūd was said to be in Hadramaut, 90 km north of Mukalla. (A.Y. Ali, The Holy Qur’an, p. 417, n. 1040). In the Qur’ān Allah said:

   وَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِرِيحٍ صَرْصَرٍ عَاتِيَةٍ . سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ

 حُسُومًا فَتَرَى الْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَى كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ (الحاقة : ٦-٧)

 And the ‘Ad, they were destroyed by a furious wind, exceedingly violent.  He

 made it rage against them seven nights and eight days in succession: so that

 thou couldst see the (whole) people lying overthrown in its (paths), as if they

 had been roots of hollow palm-trees tumbled down.  (Q. 69:6-7).

Prophet Hūd and his followers were saved from this calamity.

Thamūd people lived in the area known today as Madā’in S.ālih., located near the town of al-‘Alá in the north of Hijaz. Allah destroyed them with an earthquake accompanied with a terrible thunderstorm. Allah said:

وَإِلَى ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَالِحًا قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرُهُ قَدْ جَاءَتْكُمْ

بَيِّنَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ هَذِهِ نَاقَةُ اللَّهِ لَكُمْ آَيَةً فَذَرُوهَا تَأْكُلْ فِي أَرْضِ اللَّهِ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ

عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ . وَاذْكُرُوا إِذْ جَعَلَكُمْ خُلَفَاءَ مِنْ بَعْدِ عَادٍ وَبَوَّأَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِنْ سُهُولِهَا

قُصُورًا وَتَنْحِتُونَ الْجِبَالَ بُيُوتًا فَاذْكُرُوا آَلَاءَ اللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ. قَالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ

اسْتَكْبَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ لِلَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا لِمَنْ آَمَنَ مِنْهُمْ أَتَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ صَالِحًا مُرْسَلٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ قَالُوا

إِنَّا بِمَا أُرْسِلَ بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ .  قَالَ الَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا إِنَّا بِالَّذِي آَمَنْتُمْ بِهِ كَافِرُونَ . فَعَقَرُوا النَّاقَةَ

وَعَتَوْا عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقَالُوا يَا صَالِحُ ائْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَا إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ .  فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ

الرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا فِي دَارِهِمْ جَاثِمِينَ . فَتَوَلَّى عَنْهُمْ وَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ لَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ رِسَالَةَ

رَبِّي وَنَصَحْتُ لَكُمْ وَلَكِنْ لَا تُحِبُّونَ النَّاصِحِينَ  (الأعراف : ٧٣-٧٩)

  To the Thamud people (We sent) Salih, one of their own brethren: He said: “O my people! Worship Allah, you have no other God but Him. Now hath come to you a clear (sign) from your Lord. This she-camel of Allah is a sign unto you: so leave her to graze in Allah’s earth, and let her come to no harm, or ye shall be seized with a grievous punishment.  And remember how He made you inheritors after the ‘Ad people and gave you habitations in the land: ye built for yourselves palaces and castles in (open) plains, and carve out homes in the mountains; so bring to remembrance the benefits (ye have received) from Allah and refrain from evil and mischief on the earth”. The leaders of the arrogant party among his people said to those who were reckoned powerless—those among them who believed; “Know ye indeed that Salih is a messenger from his Lord?” They said: “We do indeed believe in the revelation which hath been sent through him”.  The arrogant party said: “For our part, we reject what ye believe him”.  Then they killed the she-camel, and insolently defied the commandment of their Lord, saying: “O Salih, bring about thy threats, if thou art a messenger (of Allah).”  So the earthquake seized them, and they lay (dead), prostrate in their homes. Then he (Salih) turned from them, and said: “O my people! I have indeed conveyed on to you the Message of my Lord, and have given you good advice but you like not good advisers”. (Q. 7:73-79).

In another verse it is said:

  فَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِالطَّاغِيَةِ (الحاقة  : ٥)  

But the Thamud, they were destroyed by a terrible storm of thunder

 and lightning. (Q. 69:5).

The As.h.āb al-Aykah (lit. “the owners of the  Aykah  tree) lived in Madyan, not far from the Thamūd area, close to the present Gulf of ‘Aqabah. They were called so, because there was a big tree called Aykah near their town Madyan. They worshiped idols, lived prosperously as traders, but cheated in buying and selling. So, Allah sent Prophet Shu‘ayb (Jethro) to them, but many of them did not want to listen to him. As punishment Allah sent a mighty blast.  

.. وَأَخَذَتِ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا الصَّيْحَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا فِي دِيَارِهِمْ جَاثِمِينَ. (هود , ٩٤)

… but the (mighty) blast did seize the wrong-doers, and they lay

prostrate in their homes by the morning. (Q. 11:94).

The T.asm people lived in the area now called Riyadh, whereas the Jadīs tribe lived in the south of that area. These areas belonged to the area called Yamāmah which was cultivated and made its people prosperous. The T.asm tribe became strong militarily and threatened its neighbours. Its raid on Yemen caused its own destruction and the destruction of Jadīs.

With regard to the surviving Arabs, they are: al-‘Arab al-‘Āribah (العَرَبُ ْالعَارِبَة) or العرب العرباء, the indigenous Arabs, the true Arabs,   and al-‘Arab al-Musta‘ribah (الْعَرَبُ اْلمُسْتَعْرِبَة), the Arabicised Arabs.  Al-‘Arab al-‘Āribah (الْعَرَبُ الْعَارِبَة), the indigenous Arabs, the true Arabs, are the Qah.t.ānīs (الْقَحْطَانِيُّوْن)  or the Arabs of the South, for they lived in Southern Arabia. Al-‘Arab al-Musta‘ribah (الْعَرَبُ اْلمُسْتَعْرِبَة), the Arabicised Arabs are the ‘Adnānīs (اْلعَدْناَنِيُّوْن)  or the Arabs of the North, for they lived in the Northern and Central part of Arabia. Qah.t.ān, the ancestor of the Qah.t.ānīs, was the first forefather of the Arabs, whereas ‘Adnān was the forefather of the ‘Adnānīs. ‘Adnān was one of the descendants of Prophet Ismā‘īl (Ishmael) a.s. son of Prophet Ibrāhīm (Abraham) a.s. Ismā‘īl’s descendants were not among the pure Arabs, because they had intermarried with their neighbours and adopted the Arabic language, so that they were called Arabs through assimilation. The majority of the Qah.t.ānīs who lived in the South were town dwellers and earned their living by trading and farming, and others lived in the desert as nomads tending sheep and camels. Many of the Adnānīs were nomads, but some of them were traders and farmers, living in areas where water was available, such as Wādī H.anīfah, al-Aflaj and al-Ah.sā’ (al-Ih.sā’). Among the Adnānīs well known for their trade was the Quraysh tribe.

The descendants of Prophet Ibrāhīm (Abraham) are the Arabs and the Jews; the Arabs through Prophet Ismā‘īl (Ishmael), and the Jews through Prophet Ish.āq (Isaac). They were also the descendants of Sam, son of Prophet Noah. His name in the Bible was Shem, the eldest son of the Biblical patriarch Noah (Genesis 10:21-32). Therefore, they are all Semitic people. It is wrong to say that it is only the Jews who were Semitic, and, therefore, it is also wrong to say that the Arabs are anti-Semitic in its original meaning. However, the term “Semites” was first used towards the end of the 18^th century. Since then the term “anti-Semitism” appeared and applied to “political, social, and economic agitation and activities directed against Jews” (Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, s.v. “anti-Semitism”)

So far, I have explained briefly the origin of the Arabs and some prophets sent to them, as well as the consequence of disobeying them. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. was the last prophet to them as well as to all mankind.