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Women in pre-Islamic Arabia

There is very scarce information regarding women in pre-Islamic Arabia. Most of it originates from Hadith and historical traditions, pre-Islamic poetry, and early biographical accounts, or from conclusions from Qur'anic statements.

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Tribe

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Many assumptions have been made about pre-Islamic law due to discrepancies in the understanding of how the law was enacted within the Arabian society in that time. The main functional unit of the Arabian society, the tribe, was composed of those who had connections to a common relative. The tribe itself was tied together by a mutual understanding of spoken rules which could vary considerably depending on the tribe and its economic activities, including women's roles and rights. The rules were enforced by the tribal leader who also mediated the discussion of new laws. Individual men within the tribe were allowed to suggest new rules, but they would not be enacted until a consensus had been reached by the entire group.[1] Many of these tribes were of patrilineal descent and therefore were only formed by male links traced down from each generation.[1] In the tribal society, women generally had no right to dictate who they chose to marry.[2] However, the tribe did offer the woman protection if she was maltreated by her husband.[3]

During the pre-Islamic times between 3500 and 3000 BCE, many of the city-states containing the individual tribes continually changed who had the authority to dictate. Much of this change occurred due to the tribal warfare taking place among these tribes. As the governmental power continued to be overturned and replaced, the laws towards women became more limiting as time went on. For some time, husbands had the right to pawn their wives and children, beat them mercilessly, or pull their hair without being penalized for these actions. The only chief right a woman had during these times was stated in the Code of Hammurabi in 1752 BCE, "women could obtain a divorce only with great difficulty. If a woman so hated her husband, that she has declared, 'you may not have me', her record shall be investigated at her city council".[4] The quote further goes on to state that if the court does not find the wife to be at fault, then she will be allowed to return to her father's home.

Veiling

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During pre-Islamic times, the Assyrian law clearly depicted within their written regulation who was allowed to veil. Those women who were family to "seigniors" had to veil as well as those who were previously prostitutes but now married. Laws on veiling were so strict that intolerable consequences were enacted for these women, some of which included being severely beaten or cutting their ears off. Prostitutes and slaves were prohibited from veiling. The veil was not only used to classify women according to their status, but also to label them based on their sexual activity and marital status.[4]

Women of upper class status

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While the general population of women in pre-Islamic Arabia did not have many rights, upper-class women had more. Many became 'naditum', or priestesses, which would in turn give them even more rights. These women were able to own and inherit property. In addition, the naditum were able to play an active role in the economic life of their community.[4] The Samad Late Iron Age population in central Oman shows archaeologically women of both high and low social rank.[5]

Marriage practices

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Main article: Marriage in pre-Islamic Arabia

In pre-Islamic Arabia, a variety marriage practices existed. The most common and recognized types of marriage at this time were marriage by agreement, marriage by capture, marriage by purchase, marriage by inheritance and Mut'ah or temporary marriage.[6]

Family structure and motherhood

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Research on the family structure of pre-Islamic Arabia has many ambiguous views so it becomes difficult to know the exact structure of the family during this time period. Family structure that may have been of a typical tribe during pre-Islamic Arabia was patriarchal and the relations in the family were between other relations with men. It was vital for families to have boys rather than girls because men were viewed as superior to women. Within the family the women did not have any parental rights over their children even if the father had died, and it is claimed that women had no rights of inheritance. However, it is clear that many widows were able to inherit from their husbands and were quite wealthy, Muhammad's wife Khadija and many other early widows of Islam included, before the surahs on inheritance were given. One of the most important roles of the mother within the household was for her to give birth to children, and to produce male offspring. Even though women had few rights within the household they did partake in few roles within society. Some of the activities the women did were making meals, milking animals, washing clothes, preparing butter, weaving material for tents, and spinning wool.[7]

During pre-Islamic Arabian times, the child mortality rate was very high, and it was very common for parents to lose a child in infancy or during the child's childhood due to certain diseases and ailments. If the infant survived the community would hold a social feast in celebration of the infant's survival where they would name the child, and slaughter a sheep in honor of the child's birth. Children were not at fault for the same criminal punishments as adults.[8] During this time period, it was seen as high importance for women to produce male offspring because they were seen as superior and also as the most fundamental component to be able to fight in the difficult desert conditions.[7][unreliable source?]

Family planning was very important and certain aspects are put into place before anything takes course, but the family planning did not apply to everyone. People were concerned with circumstances that may impact their family and or the community. The process of planning the family structure is mutually between the husband and wife. An important aspect of the family structure is determining the number of children the mother has, and spacing out the pregnancies as a way to make sure the health of the mother and children are not at risk, and also strengthen the well-being of the family.[9] People also enforced the importance of having the mother breast-feed, which was an infant's basic right for two years.[8]

Female infanticide

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The existence and prevalence of female infanticide in pre-Islamic Arabia is disputed by historians. Islamic thought came to think the pre-Islamic era, which they referred to as the age of Jahiliya, as one of barbarism, darkness, and ignorance. Independent evidence from this period, however, is scarce.[10] Tradition itself is often late (originating in the second and third centuries of Islam) and often limited to legend, proverb, poem, and other forms of non-historiographical content.[11] Occasionally, infanticide is mentioned in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry.[12][13][14][15] Some interpret the Quran as supporting the historicity of the practice of female infanticide in pre-Islamic Arabia, but others have disputed this.[16]

Historical societal justifications of infanticide include the need to reduce population sizes and removal of defective members (like the sick, those with physical abnormalities, the socially legitimate, etc).[17] The Quran has usually been interpreted as mentioning infanticide during the pre-Islamic period, as "qatl al-awlad" (killing male and female children). In the hadith, this phrase also encompasses coitus interruptus (hidden infanticide),[18] abortion,[19] and the burial of live infants to prevent the shedding of blood (which was thought to make it humane).[20] Works of law (fiqh) and other hadith describe additional ways to commit infanticide, such as by hurling them off of cliffs, drowning them, or leaving them in the woods.[21]

Some interpret the Quran as describing infanticide as a means to prevent poverty or a solution for the liability of female children. Some sources claim females were liabilities in some tribal societies.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Coulson, Noel (2011). A History of Islamic Law. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781412818551. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  2. ^ Ahmed, Leila (1992). Women and Gender in Islam. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-300-05583-2.
  3. ^ Sechzer, Jeri (September 2004). "Islam and Woman: Where Tradition Meets Modernity: History and Interpretations of Islamic Women's Status". Sex Roles. 51 (5/6): 267. doi:10.1023/b:sers.0000046610.16101.e0. S2CID 38184740.
  4. ^ a b c Ahmed, Leila (1992). Women and Gender in Islam. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 12–16. ISBN 978-0-300-05583-2.
  5. ^ Yule, Paul (2014). Cross-roads – Early and Late Iron Age South-eastern Arabia. Abhandlungen Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft, vol. 30, Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-10127-1..
  6. ^ Shah, N. (2006). Women, The Koran and International Human Rights Law. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 32. ISBN 90-04-15237-7.
  7. ^ a b Nihal, Sahin. "Arabia in the Pre-Islamic Period". Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Lindsay, James (2005). Daily life in the medieval Islamic world. Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. pp. 186–187. ISBN 0-313-32270-8. position of women responsibilities in pre islamic arabia.
  9. ^ Heyneman, Stephen (2004). Islam and social policy. Vanderbilt University Press. pp. 121–123. ISBN 0-8265-1447-2.
  10. ^ Elhadj, Dr.Elie (3 November 2010). "In Defense of Pre-Islamic Arabian Culture". Blitz, Comprehensive Tabloid Weekly. Jahiliyya Literature. 6 (47): 74.
  11. ^ Ahmed, Leila. "Women in Pre-Islamic Arabia by Muslim Women's League". Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  12. ^ Al-Lisan/Um Wa Diwan Hassan/The Diwan of Hassan Thabit (c. 563): 1:467 (Poem Collection). Buried beneath earth and settled therein, without any appurtenances of burial, or a pillow on which the dead are given homage
  13. ^ Al-Lisan, Wa'd, Wa Bulugh al-Irab, 3:42. That the buried newborn, did not receive from his mother's inclemency as much as did all of Thuhul and 'Amer
  14. ^ Um Wa Diwan Hassan/The Diwan of Hassan Thabit: 2:319.
  15. ^ Omar Abdallah Ahmad Shehadeh. "Infanticide in pre Islam Era: Phenomenon Investigation". Department of Arabic Language and Literature: 5. we do not find in what remained, any mention by the poets of the word wa'd (infanticide) or its derivatives, except in rare cases
  16. ^ Lindstedt, Ilkka (2023). "The Qurʾān and the Putative pre-Islamic Practice of Female Infanticide". Journal of the International Qur'anic Studies Association. 8 (1): 5–29. doi:10.1515/jiqsa-2023-0005.
  17. ^ Kentz Andag, Kristofer (February 16, 2007). Infant Killing: Pre-Islamic Infanticide in the Arabian Peninsula.
  18. ^ Gil'adi, Avner (1992). Children of Islam: Concepts of Childhood in Medieval Muslim Society. [...] coitus interruptus, intended to prevent the birth of both male and female infants, is designated in Hadith literature as 'hidden wa'd' (wa'd khafiyy) [...]
  19. ^ Giladi, A. (May 1990). "Some Observations on Infanticide in Medieval Muslim Society". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 22 (2): 185–200. doi:10.1017/S0020743800033377. S2CID 144324973.
  20. ^ Smith, W. Robertson (1903). Kinship & Marriage in Early Arabia 1903, p. 293). London, Adam and Charles Black. p. 293.
  21. ^ Ahmad Shehadeh, Omar Abdallah; Reem Farhan Odeh Maait (July 2011). "Infanticide in pre-Islamic era". International Journal of Academic Research: Phenomenon Investigation. 2. 3 (4).
  22. ^ Ali, Asgar (1992). The Rights of Women in Islam. London: C. Hurst and company, London. pp. 21–25.
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