Lesson: Arabia Before the Prophet ﷺ

The land of Arabia long ago

Long, long ago, before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born, there was a hot desert land called Arabia. There were no cars, no shops, and no electric lights. People travelled on camels and horses, and lived in tents or small houses made of clay and stone. Families lived together in big groups called tribes, and each tribe looked after its own people. In the middle of this land was a busy town called Makkah.

The Ka'bah — the first house of Allah

In Makkah stood a special cube-shaped building called the Ka'bah. Many years before, Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet Ismail had built it together as a house to worship Allah alone. Allah tells us in the Qur'an how Ibrahim and Ismail raised up the walls of the House and prayed for Allah to accept it. The Ka'bah was the very first house built for people to worship Allah. It was meant to be a place of love and prayer to the One True God.

People drifted away

As the years passed, something sad happened. Little by little, the people forgot the message of Ibrahim. Instead of worshipping Allah alone, they began to make statues out of stone and wood. These statues were called idols, and people started to pray to them and ask them for help. There were even many idols placed around the Ka'bah — the very house that was built to worship Allah! But an idol cannot see or hear or help anyone. Only Allah can do that.

A land in need of guidance

Not everyone was happy about the idols. A few kind people felt in their hearts that this was wrong. They remembered that long ago, even Prophet Ibrahim had looked at the world and known that only Allah, who made the sun, moon and stars, deserves our worship. But most people had lost their way. Some were unkind to the poor and weak, and many had forgotten how to live gently and fairly. The whole land was waiting — waiting for Allah to send a special messenger who would remind everyone to worship Allah alone and to be kind. That is where our story begins.