Jahiliyyah

Jahiliyyah is an Islamic term for the condition of ignorance and practices associated with Arabia before Islam. It also names a historical period understood through Islamic scripture and later interpretation.

Qur’an: The central scripture of Islam, understood by Muslims as revelation to Muhammad. Its use of jahiliyyah shaped the term’s religious meaning and enduring interpretation.
Pre-Islamic Arabia: The Arabian Peninsula and its societies before the rise of Islam in the seventh century. This is the historical setting most commonly associated with jahiliyyah.
Hadith: Reports about Muhammad’s words, actions, and approvals, transmitted through chains of narrators. Hadith literature preserves later accounts of customs associated with the pre-Islamic past.
Islam: A monotheistic religion founded on the Qur’an and the teachings of Muhammad. Islam is the religious order against which jahiliyyah is most directly contrasted.
Abul A'la Maududi: A South Asian Islamic thinker and political activist who wrote about Islam as a comprehensive social order. Maududi applied jahiliyyah to societies he judged governed by human systems rather than divine law.
Jahiliyyah in the Qur’an: The Qur’anic occurrences of jahiliyyah, describing attitudes and practices opposed to divine guidance. These passages show that the term criticizes conduct as well as identifying an era.
Pre-Islamic poetry: Arabic poetry composed before Islam, preserved largely through later transmission. Its language and social ideals provide evidence for life before Islam.
Asbab al-nuzul: Reports describing circumstances associated with the revelation of particular Qur’anic passages. These reports help explain the settings assigned to Qur’anic references to jahiliyyah.
Hijra: Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, marking the start of the Islamic calendar. The migration marks a turning point in the formation of a community beyond Meccan society.
Sayyid Qutb: An Egyptian writer and Islamist thinker whose works criticized modern political and social orders. Qutb extended jahiliyyah into a forceful critique of modern societies and their institutions.

Linked from 4 pages