What faith do arabic dads practice
Not All Arabs Were Idol Worshippers
It is important to clarify the misconception that not all Arabs of pre-Islamic Arabia were idol-worshippers. There were Christians, atheists, and also the Hanif who were monotheists following the religion of Ibrahim (Abraham) and Ismail (Ishmael), believing in Allah, the one and only God.
The Faith of the Prophet’s Parents
It is generally believed that the Prophet’s parents were monotheists and did not engage in idol worship, as there is no absolute clear establishment of idol worshipping by the Prophet’s parents. Those who claimed that the Prophet’s parents were idol worshippers quoted the hadith where the Prophet told a man who asked where his father was in the afterlife, that their father is in the hellfire.
Misinterpretation of Hadith and the Science of Hadith
This belief became popular only recently due to the lack of understanding of the complexity in the science of hadith in recent times and the literal approach toward the hadith taken by people influenced by the slogan “Return to the Quran and Sunnah” directly, bypassing the chains of transmission and the authorities of knowledge, specifically in the branch of hadith, and bypassing the voluminous knowledge written on various subjects, including the status of the Prophet’s parents in their exegesis. This approach is a corruption resulting in the confusion of knowledge, leading people to confidently think and say that the parents of the Prophet were idol worshippers and are in hellfire, without any respect and due adab (etiquette) towards the Prophet.
They fail to understand that while hadith scholars may agree on the soundness in the chains of transmission of a hadith, they may not necessarily agree with the outward literal meaning of it as it may contradict other hadiths and established facts and concepts from the Quran.
The Interpretation of Scholars Regarding the Hadith
My teacher, a scholar of Al-Azhar who studied under various luminaries in the scholarship of Islam, including the former Grand Mufti of Egypt, addressed this subject in one of the classes. Regarding the hadith on the Prophet’s own father in hellfire, scholars disagreed that the Prophet was referring to his own father, as due to Arab custom of that time, they called and referred to their uncles as father too. Some scholars opined that the father he was referring to was his uncle Abu Talib, who took care of him and not his father Abdullah. Furthermore, the Prophet was an orphan and did not meet his real father in his lifetime. The only father figure he knew was Abu Talib.
The Case of Prophet Ibrahim’s Father Azar
This is further supported by the fact that Imam Fakhruddin al-Razi wrote in his Quranic exegesis that based on his observation of the linguistics in the Quran, Azar the idol-worshipper was not the real father of Ibrahim but his uncle despite being referred to as a father.
The Quranic Evidence on Divine Punishment
To say that the father of the Prophet, Abdullah, was in hellfire because he was an idol worshipper or that he was an idol worshipper, therefore he is in hellfire, is unsound and illogical as it contradicts the verse “We never punish until We send a messenger” (17:15). He did not live to witness and receive the message of his son, nor did he live to oppose divine guidance.
The Lineage of Prophets and Their Purity
In our Islamic epistemology, there has always been a Hanif or a monotheist from the beginning of time till the time of the Prophet Muhammad, and that all prophets descend through noble lineages and the parents of prophets are not unbelievers. And Prophet Muhammad also said, “I was carried from the loins of the pure men into the wombs of the pure women.”
Scholarly Opinions on the Prophet’s Parents
There are many major scholars from the mainstream orthodox belief of Islam who agreed that the Prophet’s parents were not idolaters, including:
- Imam Fakhruddin al-Razi
- Imam ‘Izzuddin ibn `Abdul Salam
- Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Mawardi
- Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani
- Imam Jalaluddin As-Suyuti
What Faith Do Arabic Dads Practice?
The question of what faith do Arabic dads practice has historical relevance, as not all Arabs practiced idol worship, and some adhered to monotheism, including the Hanif tradition.
Isaac of Antioch (Syrian scholar of 5th century) stated that pagan Arabs worshipped the Venus star under the name Al Uzza and they went on to their roof tops to pray to the star to make them beautiful.
The Ancient Pre-Islamic Culture of the Midianite, Kenite, Edomite, and Syrian Regions
The Triune Female Creatress Culture
In the ancient pre-Islamic culture of the Midianite/Kenite, Edomite/Seirite (even stretching up into Syria), what faith do Arabic dads practice was not solely based on a single male, monotheistic deity Allah (Arabic – same as the Tanak El) as Islam has created. There was a triune female creatress mother culture, very similar to the surrounding cultures and a polytheistic culture.
As a whole, she is called Al Lat / Allat (the lady, Elath in Hebrew, Elat in Ugaritic, Allahta in Syria), which simply means the goddess. The young maiden was Q’re (similar to Kore of the Greeks prior to her being raped and carted off to the underworld, then named Persephone). Q’re was represented by the waxing (increasing) crescent moon.
The strong mother, similar to Anath in the Canaanite culture just north of them, was Al Uzzah / Al Uzza (the mighty one), represented by the full moon – the Mother of the Gods. She is also represented as the morning and evening star (Islamic flags have the crescent moon and star).
The sage woman past childbearing was Manat / Manawat / Manutu (fate, destiny), represented by a waning (decreasing) moon. Rather than three actual deities, they simply represented the three stages of the mother cultures but later came to be referred to as three goddesses.
Temples and Worship Practices of the Mother Culture
The Temple of the Winged Lions at Petra (Edomite/Nabatean centers in Seir territory) was the temple of Al Uzza / Allat, as well as the cultic center of Mecca, prior to Islam. What faith do arabic dads practice
A meteorite fell from the sky and was associated with Al Uzza, the star from the heavens. The stone, originally white, began to oxidize and became the black stone of today. It is mounted in silver and looks like a vulva, furthering the association with the mother. A cube-shaped building surrounds it, called the Kaaba. What faith do arabic dads practice
The priestesses would circle the baetyl (Semitic sacred stone) seven times. This practice continues today with the pilgrims to Mecca.
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The Quraysh and Their Connection to the Mother Culture
The Quraysh (Koreish) were the powerful merchant tribe that controlled Mecca and held Al Uzza as sacred and were the guardians of the Black Stone of Mecca. They take their name from Q’re.
When Muhammed came on the scene saying that he was a prophet of the one male god Allah, his tribe kicked him out, and they fought many wars. However, they were eventually defeated by Muhammed, who took control over the money-generating site of Mecca, which he then dedicated to Allah.
Depictions of Al Uzza / Al Lat in Ancient Arabia
At Petra, Al Uzza / Al Lat is depicted with a lion and grain, a very common depiction for the mother cultures. What faith do arabic dads practice
Palmyra (Tadmor), an ancient Aramean/Arabic city in Syria, was part of the Arabic trade routes and was known as the Bride of the Desert.
In Palmyra, there was a temple to Allat, which had a statue of a lion with an oryx, very similar to all the symbolism of the creator mothers with lions and goats/caprids/oryx. What faith do arabic dads practice
On it is an inscription that states:
“Allat to bless the one who does not spill blood against the temple.”
This may have some bearing on the goat for AzzEl not being killed but released to the wilderness.
The Eradication of the Mother Culture by Islam
According to The Book of Idols by Hisham Ibn-Al-Kalbi, the prophet Muhammed, in his eradication of the pre-Islamic worship, especially of the mothers, sent a man to chop down the three sacred acacia trees that were at a place of worship for Al Uzza and report back that she was destroyed.
After cutting down the first and second tree, reporting that there was nothing there, he was sent back to chop down the third, when he saw an Abyssinian woman with loose hair in the place. What faith do arabic dads practice
The man cut her down, along with her tree and the guardian of her worship, and reported back. Many of the mother figures were depicted as trees, especially that of Asherah, listed in the Tanak. What faith do arabic dads practice
The Persistence of the Mother Culture in Arabic Territories
The centers of worship for these women, or a woman by three attributes, had primacy across the Arabic territories.
In fact, in Nabatean inscriptions, Allah does not occur, but these three female names do.
What faith do Arabic dads practice was still influenced by these pre-Islamic beliefs, and Islam could not wipe these women out, no matter how hard they tried, so they were incorporated into Islam, referring to them as the daughters of Allah (what, a patriarchal god with no sons?), much like the Hellenistic culture having the late Zeus birthing the previous mother Athene, as his daughter.
It was simply a patriarchal method of rewriting history. Quran
The Satanic Verses and Their Erasure
Later, the passages of the Quran that held these verses were edited out and considered the Satanic Verses, the verses that Muhammed spoke while under the influence of Satan. What faith do arabic dads practice
When they could not deny that Muhammed had spoken them to begin with, and they were already written, they were removed from the Quran.
This history remains a critical aspect in understanding what faith do Arabic dads practice, and how pre-Islamic Arabian beliefs shaped the religious evolution of the region. What faith do arabic dads practice
Worship of Al Uzza in Later Periods
Isaac of Antioch (Syrian scholar of the 5th century) stated that pagan Arabs worshipped the Venus star under the name Al Uzza and they went on to their rooftops to pray to the star to make them beautiful What faith do arabic dads practice
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