what was religion of arab before islam?

Answer 1

Before the coming of Islam the religion in most of Arabia was polytheistic but some tribes had converted to Christianity or Judaism. Islam later expanded into regions that had been part of the Roman empire which was dominated by Christianity.

Answer 2

All of the above. Our main source for the pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs of the Hijaz (the area around Mecca and Medina) is the Qur'an, because archeology in that region is not far advanced. The Qur'an seems to have a mixed viewpoint on this: it accuses the people of Mecca of being polytheists (as does Muslim tradition), but at the same time it is absolutely clear that they are familiar with the stories of the Old Testament, and of the life of Jesus. Some scholars think that most Muslims were at least semi-Judaised and Christianised. The strong influence of Judaism and Christianity on Islam supports this theory. Probably none were Zoroastrian - the Zoroastrian influence on Islam comes only with the expansion of the Empire into Persia and Iraq. There are a few other sources, such as the Arabic poems hung in the shrines of various gods, and some lingering traditions, such as the veneration of stones and the names of female goddesses preserved in the Qur'an, which make it clear that the earlier religious traditions of the western Arabs had not been forgotten, although there is no reason to think that these were the most important aspects of religion in the Hijaz in the lifetime of the Prophet. The matter is further confused by the question of what kind of society predominated in this region at the time. Until recently it was assumed that the Hijaz was a major thoroughfare for traders and goods, which would bring all manner of religions from the Near East into the region, creating a cultural and religious melting-pot. This now seems unlikely: most scholars tend to think that the Hijaz was something of a backwater, which may have been reached by a few heretical Christians and Arab Jews, but which was probably not the vibrant cosmopolitan centre previously believed. This makes it more difficult to understand just how Islam emerged - it is still a question that is very much up in the air. It is one of the most hotly contested questions in Early Arabic Studies. Unfortunately, this question has become vexed in some quarters, because evangelical Christians see it as an opportunity to argue that the god of Islam is simply a manifestation of a pre-Islamic moon-god. This is simply unprovable (and most of the evidence mustered to demonstrate it is laughably bad) , and moreover it misses the point: that the coming of Islam was a point of radical discontinuity with pre-Islamic religions, whatever those religions might have been. Muhammad and his followers saw themselves as making a clean and violent break with the past, which became known to Muslims as the Jahiliyya - the age of ignorance.

Answer 3

Religion has always been One. Call it Hinduism or Islam. As time passes, there are infringements on the ordained Belief and Practices. So, another Holy Prophet or Bhagwan is assigned the mission of re-correction of the Pristine Faith. After the Holy Prophets Abraham and Ishmael, the Prophecy revealed in Arabia, for the entire mankind, was that of Muhammad, the absolutely pious person who said that his was not a new Faith but that of the Abraham- renewed and refreshed. He termed the immediately earlier period as the age of ignorance. No 'name' is recorded of the prevailing religion then. Perhaps there was no religion. Just some practices. Some of those were retained, like the Hajj.

Answer 4

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RE:
what was religion of arab before islam?

Answer 5

There were many religions among the Arabs before Islam. Depending on region there were, Coptic, Hebrew, Christian, and the pagan faiths (the Goddess Ishtar was big). Islam acted as a cohesive to the many Arab tribes and they then used force to try to spread Islam to other parts of the Mediterranean world.

Answer 6

Before Islam?

Well... Judaism, Islam and Christianity all take their roots from the same place- where they end up is slightly different.

Although the major source of both Christianity and Judaism is the Hebrew Bible, Judaism and Christianity may have received influences from various non-biblical religions present in Egypt and Syria. This can be seen by the Torah's reference to Egyptian culture in Genesis and the story of Moses, as well as the mention of Hittite and Hurrian cultures of Syria in the Genesis story of Abraham. The Hebrews are a group of the Canaanite peoples who prior to the development of monotheism practised a polytheistic religion.

Abraham is the point of divergence. The Jews, the sons of Issac. The Arabs, the sons of Ishmael. The Christians who follow parts of the Jewish faith but believe that Jesus is the Messiah promised to Abraham.

Answer 7

What unbelievable nonsense and half-truths can you get!
Some Arabs had converted to Christianity, usually heretical forms.
Most however stuck to the ancestral religion of the Arabs. Allah was considered as a supreme god but there were lesser gods, often considered as his children, including three daughters, Al-Lat, Al-Uzzah and Manat. These were also identified with planets - for example, Al-Uzzah with Venus.

Answer 8

before advent of Islam the Arabs were like us i.e in awe of the nature
forces around us and so tried to pacify them by worshipping them and seeking their blessing to make their daily life sail smoothily. Hindhu religion is the most pristine and natural way of life.So I think that their religion was akin to ours.Not much diffrerce.

Answer 9

Judaism

Answer 10

Christainity, especially in Babylon which was to become present day Iraq. I have a Catholic friend from Baghdad. There are also Christian pockets who have survived in places like Egypt too, against all the odds.