Bayan binciken da muka yi kan rayuwar addini da ta siyasa ta Larabawa, ya dace mu yi magana a takaice game da yanayin zamantakewa, tattalin arziki da ɗabi'a da ya yi rinjaye a cikinta.

After the research we have made into the religious and political life of Arabia, it is appropriate to speak briefly about the social, economic and ethical conditions prevalent therein.

Al'ummar Larabawa ta gabatar da wani gauraye na zamantakewa, mai ɗauke da matakai daban-daban da bambancin al'umma. Matsayin mace a tsakanin masu daraja ya kai wani babban matsayi na girmamawa. Mace tana da 'yanci mai yawa na zaɓi, kuma shawararta sau da yawa ana aiwatar da ita. An ƙaunace ta sosai har jini zai iya zubewa cikin sauƙi don kare mutuncinta. A zahiri, ita ce mafi muhimmanci a cikin mabuɗin yaƙi mai zubar da jini ko zaman lafiya na abokantaka. Duk da waɗannan gata, tsarin iyali a Larabawa gabaɗaya na ubanci ne. Yarjejeniyar aure tana hannun waliyyinta na shari'a gaba ɗaya, kuma maganarsa game da matsayin aurenta ba za a taɓa tambayarta ba.

The Arabian Society presented a social medley, with different and heterogeneous social strata. The status of the woman among the nobility recorded an advanced degree of esteem. The woman enjoyed a considerable portion of free will, and her decision would most often be enforced. She was so highly cherished that blood would be easily shed in defence of her honour. In fact, she was the most decisive key to bloody fight or friendly peace. These privileges notwithstanding, the family system in Arabia was wholly patriarchal. The marriage contract rested completely in the hands of the woman’s legal guardian whose words with regard to her marital status could never be questioned.

A wasu ɓangarori na al'umma kuwa, karuwanci da rashin kunya sun yawaita, kuma suna gudana sosai. Abu Da'ud, daga Aisha (Allah ya yarda da ita) ya ruwaito cewa akwai nau'ikan aure guda huɗu a zamanin jahiliyya kafin Musulunci: Na farko yana kama da hanyoyin aure na yau, inda mutum zai bai wa wani mutum 'yarsa a aure bayan an amince da sadaki. Na biyu, miji zai aika matarsa – bayan lokacin al'ada – ta kwana da wani mutum don ta ɗauki ciki. Bayan ta ɗauki ciki, mijinta zai yi jima'i da ita idan ya so. Nau'i na uku shi ne cewa wata ƙungiya ta maza ƙasa da goma za su yi jima'i da mace ɗaya. Idan ta ɗauki ciki ta haifi ɗa, za ta aika a kira waɗannan mazan, kuma babu wanda zai iya ƙin zuwa. Za su taru a gidanta. Za ta ce: "Kun san abin da kuka aikata. Na haifi yaro kuma ɗan ku ne" (tana nuna ɗaya daga cikinsu). Mutumin da ta nufa zai karɓa dole. Nau'i na huɗu shi ne cewa maza da yawa za su yi jima'i da wata mace (karuwa). Ba za ta hana kowa ba. Irin waɗannan mata sukan sa wata tuta a ƙofar gidajensu don gayyatar duk wanda ya so ya shigo. Idan wannan karuwa ta ɗauki ciki ta haifi ɗa, za ta tara waɗannan mazan, sai wata boka ta faɗi wane ne ubangida na yaron. Mutumin da aka zaɓa zai ɗauki yaron ya ayyana shi ɗansa. Lokacin da Annabi Muhammad ﷺ ya bayyana Musulunci a Larabawa, ya soke dukkan waɗannan nau'ikan alaƙar jima'i sai dai auren Musulunci na yanzu. Mata sukan kasance tare da maza a yaƙe-yaƙensu. Masu nasara za su yi jima'i da irin waɗannan mata cikin 'yanci, amma kunya za ta bi 'ya'yan da aka haifa ta haka tsawon rayuwarsu. Larabawan kafin Musulunci ba su da iyakacin adadin mata. Suna iya auren 'yan'uwa mata biyu a lokaci guda, ko ma matan ubansu idan an sake su ko suka rasa mazajensu. Saki kuwa ya kasance a hannun miji sosai.

On the other hand, there were other social strata where prostitution and indecency were rampant and in full operation. Abu Da’ûd, on the authority of ‘Aishah(May Allah be pleased with her) reported four kinds of marriage in pre-Islamic Arabia: The first was similar to present-day marriage procedures, in which case a man gives his daughter in marriage to another man after a dowry has been agreed on. In the second, the husband would send his wife – after the menstruation period – to cohabit with another man in order to conceive. After conception her husband would, if he desired, have a sexual intercourse with her. A third kind was that a group of less than ten men would have sexual intercourse with a woman. If she conceived and gave birth to a child, she would send for these men, and nobody could abstain. They would come together to her house. She would say: ‘You know what you have done. I have given birth to a child and it is your child’ (pointing to one of them). The man meant would have to accept. The fourth kind was that a lot of men would have sexual intercourse with a certain woman (a whore). She would not prevent anybody. Such women used to put a certain flag at their gates to invite in anyone who liked. If this whore got pregnant and gave birth to a child, she would collect those men, and a seeress would tell whose child it was. The appointed father would take the child and declare him/her his own. When Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) declared Islam in Arabia, he cancelled all these forms of sexual contacts except that of present Islamic marriage Women always accompanied men in their wars. The winners would freely have sexual intercourse with such women, but disgrace would follow the children conceived in this way all their lives. Pre-Islam Arabs had no limited number of wives. They could marry two sisters at the same time, or even the wives of their fathers if divorced or widowed. Divorce was to a very great extent in the power of the husband.

Fasikanci ya yi yawa a tsakanin kusan dukkan azuzuwan al'umma, sai dai wasu 'yan maza da mata waɗanda mutuncinsu ya hana su aikata irin wannan aika-aika. Mata 'yantattu sun fi bayi mata yanayi mafi kyau, waɗanda suka zama babbar masifa. Da alama mafi yawan Larabawan zamanin jahiliyya ba su ji kunya wajen aikata wannan alfasha ba. Abu Da'ud ya ruwaito: Wani mutum ya tashi a gaban Annabi Muhammad ﷺ, ya ce: "Ya Manzon Allah! Wannan yaro ɗana ne. Na kwana da mahaifiyarsa a zamanin jahiliyya." Sai Annabi ﷺ ya ce:

The obscenity of adultery prevailed almost among all social classes except few men and women whose self-dignity prevented them from committing such an act. Free women were in much better conditions than the female slaves who constituted the greatest calamity. It seemed that the greatest majority of pre-Islam Arabs did not feel ashamed of committing this obscenity. Abu Da’ûd reported: A man stood up in front of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and said: “O Prophet of Allâh! that boy is my son. I had sexual intercourse with his mother in the pre-Islamic period.” The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

"Babu wata da'awa a Musulunci game da al'amuran kafin Musulunci. Yaro za a danganta shi ga wanda gadonsa aka haife shi a kai, kuma jifa ita ce makomar mazinaci."

• “No claim in Islam for pre-Islamic affairs. The child is to be attributed to the one on whose bed it was born, and stoning is the lot of a fornicator.”.

Dangane da dangantakar Balarabe kafin Musulunci da 'ya'yansa, mun ga cewa rayuwa a Larabawa tana cike da sabani kuma tana gabatar da hoto mai duhu na bambance-bambance. Yayin da wasu Larabawa ke ƙaunar 'ya'yansu sosai kuma suna kula da su ƙwarai, wasu kuma suna binne 'ya'yansu mata da rai saboda tsoron talauci da kunya na ƙarya da ke damunsu sosai. Duk da haka, ba za a iya ɗaukar aikin kashe jarirai a matsayin abin da ya yaɗu ba har ba za a iya dakatar da shi ba, saboda tsananin buƙatarsu ta 'ya'yan maza don kare kansu daga abokan gābansu.

With respect to the pre-Islam Arab’s relation with his offspring, we see that life in Arabia was paradoxical and presented a gloomy picture of contrasts. Whilst some Arabs held children dear to their hearts and cherished them greatly, others buried their female children alive because an illusory fear of poverty and shame weighed heavily on them. The practice of infanticide cannot, however, be seen as irrevocably rampant because of their dire need for male children to guard themselves against their enemies.

Wani muhimmin al'amari na rayuwar Larabawa da ya cancanci a ambata shi ne zurfafan sha'awar da badawa ke da ita ga kabilarsa. Iyali, ko kuma girman kai na kabila, na daga cikin manyan sha'awoyin da ke tattare da shi. Akidar hadin jini a matsayin ka'idar da ta haɗa Larabawa su zama al'umma guda ta samu goyon baya ne daga girman kan kabila. Taken da babu jayayya a kansa a wurinsu shi ne: "انصرأخاك ظالما أو مظلوما — Ka taimaki ɗan'uwanka ko yana azzalumi ko yana wanda ake zalunta" a ma'anarsa ta zahiri; sun yi watsi da gyaran Musulunci wanda ya ce taimakon ɗan'uwa azzalumi yana nufin hana shi yin ta'addanci.

Another aspect of the Arabs’ life which deserves mention is the bedouin’s deep-seated emotional attachment to his clan. Family, or perhaps tribal-pride, was one of the strongest passions with him. The doctrine of unity of blood as the principle that bound the Arabs into a social unity was formed andsupported by tribal-pride. Their undisputed motto was: “انصرأخاك ظالما أو مظلوما — Support your brother whether he is an oppressor or oppressed” in its literal meaning; they disregarded the Islamic amendment which states that supporting an oppressor brother implies deterring him from transgression.

Hirarsa ga shugabanci da kishin gasa mai karfi sukan haifar da yake-yake masu zafi tsakanin kabilu, duk kuwa da cewa sun samo asali daga kakan gama gari guda daya. A wannan fanni, ci gaba da zubar da jini tsakanin Aws da Khazraj, 'Abs da Dhubyan, Bakr da Taghlib, da sauransu, misali ne mai ban mamaki.

Avarice for leadership, and keen sense of emulation often resulted in bitter tribal warfare despite descendency from one common ancestor. In this regard, the continued bloody conflicts of Aws and Khazraj, ‘Abs and Dhubyan, Bakr and Taghlib, etc. are striking examples.

Dangantakar da ke tsakanin kabilu ba ta da ƙarfi kuma tana da rauni saboda yaƙe-yaƙen kabilu marasa ƙarewa da ake yi har a gaji. Sai dai zurfafan ibadar al'ada ta kamun kai ga tsafe-tsafe da wasu al'adun da ake girmamawa, sun kan dakile saurin zubar da jini da suke yi. A wasu lokuta kuma, akwai dalilai da mutunta yarjejeniya, aminci da dogaro da juna, waɗanda suka iya haifar da zaman lafiya da fahimtar juna, tare da kawar da dalilan rikici marasa tushe. Al'adar dā da aka karrama ta dakatar da fada a watanni da aka haramta (Muharram, Rajab, Dhul-Qa‘dah, da Dhul-Hijjah) tana aiki da kyau, kuma tana ba su damar samun abin dogaro da rayuwa tare cikin lumana.

Inter-tribal relationships were fragile and weak due to continual inter-tribal wars of attrition. Deep devotion to religious superstitions and some customs held in veneration, however, used to curb their impetuous tendency to quench their thirst for blood. In other cases, there were the motives of, and respect for, alliance, loyalty and dependency which could successfully bring about a spirit of rapport, and abort groundless bases of dispute. A time-honoured custom of suspending hostilities during the prohibited months (Muharram, Rajab, Dhul-Qa‘dah, and Dhul-Hijjah) functioned favourably and provided an opportunity for them to earn their living and coexist in peace.

Yanayin tattalin arziki ya yi daidai da yanayin zamantakewar al'umma. Hanyoyin rayuwar Larabawa a Larabawa za su nuna wannan lamari a fili. Kasuwanci shi ne mafi yawan hanyar biyan bukatun rayuwarsu. Tafiye-tafiyen kasuwanci ba za su yiwu ba sai an tabbatar da tsaron hanyoyin ayari da zaman lafiya tsakanin kabilu – abubuwa biyu masu muhimmanci da, abin takaici, ba su wanzu a Larabawa sai a watannin da aka haramta, a lokacin da Larabawa ke gudanar da tarukansu na 'Ukaz, Dhil-Majaz, Mijannah da sauransu.

The economic situation ran in line with the social atmosphere. The Arabian ways of living would illustrate this phenomenon quite clearly. Trade was the most common means of providing their needs of life. The trade journeys could not be fulfilled unless security of caravan routes and inter-tribal peaceful co-existence were provided – two imperative exigencies unfortunately lacking in Arabia except during the prohibited months within which the Arabs held their assemblies of ‘Ukaz, Dhil-Majaz, Mijannah and others.

Masana'anta ba ta dace da halayyar mutanen Larabawa ba. Yawancin sana'o'in saka da tanadar fata a Larabawa mutanen Yemen, Heerah da kan iyakar Siriya ne suke yi. A cikin Larabawa akwai wani nau'i na noma da kiwon dabbobi. Kusan dukkan matan Larabawa suna aikin kadi, amma har wannan sana'a yakai-kawo na barazana daga yaƙe-yaƙe. A takaice, talauci, yunwa da rashin isasshen tufafi su ne manyan siffofin Larabawa ta fuskar tattalin arziki.

Industry was alien to the Arabian psychology. Most of available industries of knitting and tannage in Arabia were done by people coming from Yemen, Heerah and the borders of Syria. Inside Arabia there was some sort of farming and stock-breeding. Almost all the Arabian women worked in yarn spinning but even this practice was continually threatened by wars. On the whole, poverty, hunger and insufficient clothing were the prevailing features in Arabia, economically.

Ba za mu iya musanta cewa larabawan kafin Musulunci suna da babban yawan miyagun halaye ba. Gaskiya ne cewa mugayen dabi'u da laifuffuka, waɗanda hankali ya ƙi karɓa gaba ɗaya, sun yi yawa a tsakanin larabawan kafin Musulunci, amma hakan ba zai taɓa hana kasancewar kyawawan halaye masu daraja ba, waɗanda suke ba da mamaki, daga cikinsu ga misalan da za mu kawo kamar haka:

We cannot deny that the pre-Islam Arabs had such a large bulk of evils. Admittedly, vices and evils, utterly rejected by reason, were rampant amongst the pre-Islam Arabs, but this could never screen off the surprise-provoking existence of highly praiseworthy virtues, of which we could adduce the following:

1. Karimci: Sun kasance suna yin gasa da juna a fannin karimci, kuma suna matuƙar alfahari da shi. Kusan rabin gadon waƙoƙinsu an keɓe shi ga girma da daraja da ke tattare da karɓar baƙo. Suna da kyautatawa da karimci har zuwa wuce gona da iri. Za su bayar da abincinsu na kansu ga baƙo mai sanyi ko yunwa. Ba za su yi jinkirin ɗaukar diyya mai yawa da nauyin da ya rataya a kansu ba don dakatar da zubar da jini, saboda haka suna samun yabo da godiya.

1. Hospitality: They used to emulate one another at hospitality and take utmost pride in it. Almost half of their poetry heritage was dedicated to the merits and nobility attached to entertaining one’s guest. They were generous and hospitable on the point of fault. They would sacrifice their private sustenance to a cold or hungry guest. They would not hesitate to incur heavy blood-money and relevant burdens just to stop blood-shed, and consequently merit praise and eulogy.

2. A cikin batun karimci, sai ga al'adunsu na shan giya, wadda ake ɗauka a matsayin wata hanyar nuna karimci da baƙunci. Shan giya ya kasance abin alfahari ga Larabawan zamanin jahiliyya. Manyan mawaƙan wancan zamani ba su taɓa barin saka mafi kyawun layukan ado cike da fariya da yabon wuraren shaye-shaye a cikin waƙoƙinsu na "mu'allaqat" ba. Ma har kalmar 'inabi' a harshen Larabci tana kama da kalmar karimci a furuci da rubutu. Caca kuma wata al'ada ce tasu da ke da alaƙa sosai da karimci, domin ribar da ake samu daga gare ta koyaushe ana bayar da ita ne a sadaka. Ko Alƙur'ani mai girma bai raina amfanin da ake samu daga shan giya da caca ba, amma kuma ya ce,

2. In the context of hospitality, there springs up their common habits of drinking wine which was regarded as a channel branching out of generosity and showing hospitality. Wine drinking was a genuine source of pride for the Arabs of the pre-Islamic period. The great poets of that era never forgot to include their suspending odes the most ornate lines pregnant with boasting and praise of drinking orgies. Even the word ‘grapes’ in Arabic is identical to generosity in both pronunciation and spelling. Gambling was also another practice of theirs closely associated with generosity since the proceeds would always go to charity. Even the Noble Qur’ân does not play down the benefits that derive from wine drinking and gambling, but also says,.