![The Unbelievable Origins of Islam: From Stone-Preaching-Polytheism to Allah | [Documentary]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
The Polytheistic Origins Of Islam: From Stone-Preaching-Polytheism to Allah | [Documentary]
There once was a time in which all imaginable religions were being practiced, in Arabia: from Animism to Polytheism, from Zoroastrianism to Judaism and Christianity, Arabia was a land of diversity, fragmented into hundreds of tribes, mostly at peace among each other.
Religious diversity was so intertwined and chaotic, though, that at one point, the Kaaba, today the most important pilgrimage site in Islam, was said to have been surrounded by hundreds of idols and images of polytheistic deities.
Inside the Kaaba, on its walls, a pair of ram’s horns and paintings of Mary holding Jesus, of Abraham, of angels and of polytheistic tribal deities from all over Arabia, could be found.
When Muhammad (ﷺ) returned to Mecca from Medina with his army of Muslim followers, he defeated the ruling tribe of Mecca, the Quraysh. He demolished the idols of the deities that surrounded the Kaaba, and in some accounts (In As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hisham), it is said that he spared the paintings of Abraham, Jesus and Mary for a while, as a sign of respect, but later removed them to not confuse the focus of muslims, on any other than Allah.
Years later, the Muslim armies would continue in Muhammad’s (ﷺ) intents, spreading Islam from Mecca and Medina to the furthest corners of the Arabian peninsula. Temples of pagan deities were destroyed, sacred trees were cut, sacred rocks were smashed, and the books mentioning them, burned.
Entire civilizations’ histories and cultures went forgotten in the span of a decade. Animism and polytheism were eradicated… Many were forced to convert, many others willfully chose to do so, with some even happy to let the past go... Monotheism had prevailed.
The Jahiliyyah, or ‘’Age of Ignorance’’, how the early Muslim authors would later write in their books to refer to this period, a period in which humans ‘’willfully’’ chose to pray to statues rather than to the only God, Allah, had come to an end.
Muhammad (ﷺ) achieved to do what nobody else achieved before: the Union of Arabia, with Islam, as its glue.
Islam became the dominant religion of Arabia, and in the span of a few centuries would be destined to spread tenfold to the remotest areas of our planet.
Fast forward to today, the followers of Islam amount to almost 2 billion, and growing…
Though… while writing the script for this documentary, I couldn’t help but notice in amazement that while Muhammad (ﷺ) united so many people under one belief…
…So little, at the same time, has Islam actually changed from that period of supposed darkness and chaos.
Writer: Vlad Racovita
Editor: Mashudi
Voice-Over: Colin Sheriff Ghannam
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Our channel in Spanish: / @vladracovitaes
Bibliography/Sources:
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#religion
#history
29 сен 2024
