Question

Answer the following question in brief (40–50 words).

What were the religious conditions in Arabia before Islam?

Answer 1

Before Islam (roughly before c. 610–622 CE), Arabia was religiously diverse. Most people practised various forms of polytheism, tribal gods, idol- and shrine-worship, ancestor/animist beliefs and rites, but the peninsula also had pockets of monotheists (Judaism, Christianity, and Arabs called “Hanifs” who sought pure monotheism), as well as external influences such as Zoroastrianism in the east.