What is mean by aiyyami-Jahiliyyah:

Jahiliyyah:- The term Jahilliyyah  originated from the arabic language  jahala. It means not knowing or not having knowledge. In  the  Quran  (al-Maidah,  5:50)  the  term  Jahilliyyah  refers  to the  pre-Islamic society  in  the  Arabian  Peninsula . They  are  a  society  plagued  with  ignorance,  rejected  Allah  SWT  guidance,  had  no  moral  values,  had  no civilization, could not read or write and  were disobedient to the laws of Allah SWT.

The Jahilliyyah  Period:-

The duration of this Jahilliyyah period is about 310 years beginning from 300

AD until 610  AD. This is represented in Table 1. The Arab society that lived during this period were known as

Arab  Jahilliyyah  as  they  did  not  follow  the  teachings  of  the  earlier  Prophets  and  Messengers  such  as  Prophet

Sulaiman a.h.,  Prophet  Ibrahim  a.h,  Prophet  Ismail  a.h.,  Prophet  Musa  a.h.,  Prophet  Isa  a.h.  and others.

Duration of the Jahilliyyah Period

DATE	EVENT
300 AD	Destruction of the Ma„arib Damp
570 AD	The Birth of  Nabi Muhammad SAW
610 AD	Beginning of Revealation to Prophet Muhammad SAW. It is from here that the Islamic period begins

The  Jahilliyyah  period  is regarded as the dark period. At that time the  Arab  Jahilliyyah  did  not  worship Allah SWT the  One and Only. In fact most of them worshipped idols and believed in animism. The Arab  Jahilliyyahsociety lived  chaotically  as there were no Prophet or Messenger and holy books that could be used as a guidance in  their  life at that time. Their good manners were almost non-existent.

Worldview of The Arab Jahilliyyah Society:-

a.  Religion and Belief

In the Arab  Jahilliyyah  society, the  rejection to any form of  religion could be due to a few factors. First they did

not  believe  the  Prophets  and  Messengers  sent  by  Allah  SWT  in  the  period  before;  second  they  changed  the

contents of the Taurat that was brought by  Prophet  Musa a.h.; third there was no particular Prophet or Messenger

and  holy  book  that  were  sent  specifically  for  them;  fourth  the  spread  of  various  religions  within  the  Arabian

Peninsula, the  Persians  spread  the  Magi  religion  whereas  the  Romans  spread  Christianity;  and  fifth  there  were

some  quarters who brought back  external  religions into Mecca.

The effect was that Mecca became the centre for worshipping idols at the time. The religious sect on the other

hand could be categorised into 5 sections that is Wathani, Christianity,  Magi, Jews and Hanif. Besides that a part

of  the  Arab  Jahilliyyah  society  practised  animism  such  as  belief  in  the  spirits,  protector,  unseen  powers,  sun

worshipping  and  tree  worshipping.

b.  Social

The  Arab  Jahilliyyah  society  was  generally  divided  into  two  groups,  that  is  the  Bedouin  and  the  Hadhari(Civilized) society. The Bedouin lived in the valleys and upcountry, that is in the middle of the Arabian Peninsula. The Hadhari society on the  other  hand lived along the coast of the  Arabian Peninsula.  The differences in their settlement indirectly affected their different ways of life and achievements. In  addition  the  Arab  Jahilliyyah  society  was  made  up  of  various  clans  and  tribes.  Such  situation  provided  a number of negative effects. Among them is the emergence of  ‘asabiyyah    (extreme feeling of closeness to one‟s clan and  tribe) and resulted usually in the onset of war within the society. Besides that the emergence of such social traits were closely related to the geographical circumstances that  they

lived  in  which  was  very  hot  and  dry.  In  ensuring  survival,  each  clan  would  need  to  overcome  the  problemscollectively.  The  solidification  towards  the  feeling  of  clanship  had  resulted  in  the  Arab  Jahilliyyah  life  to  be chaotic  and  disordered. This  usually  became  the  source  of  animosity  within  the  Arab  Jahilliyyah  society.  War between differing clans could exist even on trivial grounds.  The al-Basus war between the Bakr clan and Rabi„ah exhibited a trait of the Arab Jahilliyyah society that took pleasure in fighting one another.

c.  Economy

The destruction of the Ma„arib  Damp  in Yemen had brought  about a decline in the economy.  Agricultural yield decreased  badly  due  to  the  poor  irrigation  system.  The  northern  part  consisted  of  the  desert.  As  such  trading activities were conducted  in Mecca, Hirah and Ghassan. However trading was not   profitable due to the bickering amongst clans. The Quraisy exploited trade and practised usury and suppression. They pressured the Bedouin who lived  in  the  desert.  In  retaliation  the  Bedouin  robbed  the  Quraisy‟s  caravans.  Actually  the  main  economics activities  of  the  Bedouin  were  rearing  cattles  nomadically  such  as  camels,  goats  and  sheep.  They  migrated constantly in search for greener pastures for their livestocks. Their economics activities symbolized  a primitive life.

d.  Politics

During the  Jahilliyyah  period  none of the governments had a systematic and strong administration. Politics were jeopardized due to colonization. The north was governed by the Roman and Persian empires, whereas the south was governed by the Habsyah (Euthopia) government. Mecca was badly affected by these conquests. The political climate of these colonized areas such as in Ghassan, Hirah and Yemen were  unruly. The society lived by tribes and were regularly at war with one another.  Although the country had its own administration nonetheless it could not be regarded as an advanced or civilized govenrment becuase it was under the colonialists.Based on the above discussions in could be seen that the worldview  is the core or mould to  all aspects of life. If theworldview is shaped by illicit means, then the whole aspects of life became chaotic. Such would also be the case if vice versa.