When tracing the origins of ancient arabian gods there is one "god" in particular that comes into mind. Yes it did exist thousands of years before "muhamad" discoverd it but further archeology finds out even more , "allah" was just a man with great position in power dating back to the antidilluvian era. But thats another story! Generically, the word "Allah" likely was a contraction of the Arabic Al-ilah, which means "the god". Both Arab Christians and pagans used the word Ilah for God. Even Arabic and Indonesian Bibles today use the word "Allah" for God. In past times, the similar Mideastern word el, meant "god" either true or false, in Ugaritic, Canaanite, and Hebrew. Prior to Mohammed, the Ka’bah, which housed 360 idols, was called Beit-Allah, or "House of Allah". Mohammed’s father, who died before he was born, was named ‘Abdullah meaning slave of Allah. Also, a tribe of Jews was called ‘Abdullah bin Salam in Bukhari vol.5 book 59 ch.13 no.362 p.241. Specifically, among the idols worshipped at Mecca, one was just called "Allah". This particular idol was the tribal god of the Quraysh, and he had three specific daughters. Compared to four of the five pillars of Islam, the Meccans before Mohammed fasted on the same day, gave alms to their own, prayed toward Mecca, and made pilgrimages (‘Umrah) to Mecca. There were many differences too, but some marvel in the continuity of these unchanged practices in common with the pagan Quraysh worship. just as the specific Greek idol Zeus likely came from the generic word for God (theos), a similar thing happened with pre-Islamic Arabs. And now the service or worship... Many primitive people worshipped a sun god and a moon goddess. Western Arabs were unusual in worshipping a moon god and his wife, the sun goddess. There are pre-Islamic statues of his symbol: the crescent moon. It looks just like the crescent moon of Shi’ite Muslims, except the Shi’ites added a small star. The Yemenites/Sabaeans had a moon god according to the Encyclopedia of Islam p.303. The Quraysh may have gotten this idol from them. Allah had three daughters named Lat, ‘Uzza, and Manat. At one time the "prophet of Allah" compromised and said in the Qur’an (Sura 53:19) that "their intercession was to be hoped for." In other words, he said we should hope for the help of these three idols. Mohammed’s followers must have been amazed that he said this. Later, Mohammed changed his mind and said Satan deceived him. Since a mistake was made, these verses were "abrogated" or taken out. These are often called "the Satanic verses." It is interesting to read how Allah could have what are called "abrogated verses" in Suras 13:39; 16:101; vol.2:106. Sura 41:37 mentions with disapproval sun and moon worshippers. Mecca in Mohammed’s time was a very cosmopolitan town. Sabaeans, and Mohammed’s tribe, the Quraysh worshipped a moon idol, named Al-ilah or Allah, and his three daughters. The Qur’an says not to worship idols, yet Muslim scholars admit Mohammed originally put in verses saying the intercession of the Allah’s daughters was to be hoped for.
I'd heard there was no literature from pre-Islamic Arabia. You appear to have discovered a hidden treasure. Source, please? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Goes to show how little you muslims know about your own history!! There were volumes of writings on cuneiforms and stone tablets found across mesopotamia particularly in the area of "sumer" now known as southern Iraq. Linguists across the world have deciphered more then 2,000 clay cylinders from that ancient land on the Persian Gulf that existed some 6,000 years ago. Some of these fragments, which date to 4,000 B.C., are in museums around the world. Explicative comparisons of similar but disparate mythologies provide a fuller understanding of world religions. From its beginnings as a collection of farming villages around 5000 BCE, through its conquest by Sargon of Agade around 2370 BCE and its final collapse under the Amorites around 2000 BCE, the Sumerians developed a religion and a society which influenced both their neighbors and their conquerors. Sumerian cuneiform, the earliest written language, was borrowed by the Babylonians, who also took many of their religious beliefs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Arabs
What language was the writing on the stone tablets? From your link: Additional info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_deity
I didn't. So what language was on the stone tablets? More info on pre-Islamic Arabs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_mythology
The ancient Mesopotamian civilizations recorded a great deal of their history on clay tablets. They tell a remarkable story about the gods and their relationship to humans. The language at that time consisted mainly of hieroglyphics. Most of these depicted stories were viewed as mythological and poetic rather than taken as fact. However further anaylsis of these series of events open new insides to what was exactly going on in the past in terms of culture ,worship and cosmology.
They were Semitic-speaking peoples migrating to that region who brought the knowledge of their gods with them!.
Semitic is a language?Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! And the moon god was present in China and India too. Does that mean Chinese and Indian religions are based on the moon gods? Or that Jews, Christians and Muslims are Zorastrians (ancient Iranians) in religious thought? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_deity Is the Judaic "El" a moon god?
I'm not a linguist but semitic speaking people inherit vocabulary traits among their other tribes thats why what they say sounds the same not necessary offical to be called a language. The chinese and indians epics do not base their worship entirely on the moon. They too have inherited this from migrating people coming from the west. What is a chinese religion anyway???Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Hmm so your opinion is that polytheism is the precursor of monotheism. But Indian "polytheism" is derived from a 5000 plus year old monotheism, according to the Vedas. Also, is the Judaic god a moon god?
It was all polytheism in ther beginning, when the gods rebelled and fought against each other, monotheisim rose up and factions and alliances were formed as a result seperate worship rituals were setup to keep their oaths fenced in. This is where the concept of religion emerged from. All these gods from greek to egyptian and as far as the polynesian settlements share similar traits, it's just that their names and designations have been altered to serve specific tasks of that civilization depending on the social circumstances.
All common knowledge. Islam emphasises the oneness of God, most of the Arabs at that time worshipped idols, the 360 idols at Mecca etc. However not all the Arabs believed in those idols: http://www.mideastweb.org/islamintro1.htm http://www.islamonline.net/English/introducingislam/Prophet/Life/article01.shtml And don't forget the Arabs had access to the teachings of the Christians and Jews. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanif Regarding the Satanic Verses. I don't think you can say Muhammad changed his mind. Muhammad had always opposed the idolatry of the pagan Arabs, now they opposed him and mocked him when he spoke of his revelations. However Muhammad still wanted the best for them, he wanted them to embrace Islam. When the incident took place and Quraysh were overjoyed, it would have been extremely difficult to go back on that. They mocked him, he says something that pleases them, he then goes back on what he says. Thats not an easy thing to do. Just imagine the implications for Muhammad. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_Verses#Tabar.C4.AB.27s_account Regarding the crescent - As far as I know, Muhammad and his followers didn't use symbols to represent themselves. The crescent symbol was adopted by Muslims well after Muhammad. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent
Apparently prior to the Israeli settlement of Canaan, there already existed a monotheistic Semitic religion of the Canaanites. So it would appear that the Israeli settlements took their religion from the Canaanites.
Sorry, thats not right. The RigVed is the oldest of the Vedas and speaks of one universal Brahman. e.g. ékam sád víprā́ bahudhā́ vadanti "To what is One, sages give many a title" Rig Ved 1.164.46c iyám vísṛṣṭiḥ yátaḥ ābabhûva / yádi vā dadhé yádi vā ná / yáḥ asya ádhyakṣaḥ paramé vyóman / sáḥ aṅgá veda yádi vā ná véda "He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it, / Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not." 10.129.7
FYI, here are some thoughts to consider in light of what you were saying about "all these 'gods' "... ...concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but One. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. *** What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. This "fellowship with demons" mentioned by Paul occurs when worship is directed to any other 'god' besides YHWH.
