Islamic Insights

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Martyr Beheshti begins his historical analysis by covering the region of present day Arabia, which was the birthplace and the heartland of the Islamic movement. During the pre-Islamic period in Arabia, also known as the Jahiliya (the Age of Ignorance), Arabia lacked any semblance of a centralized government. Instead, society was divided into competing tribes, and tribal disputes or problems between individuals were settled by tribal elders though intervention and arbitration. In many cases, however, disputes between tribes would end up with one member of a tribe exacting revenge on other members of an opposing tribe, which would lead to reciprocal cycle of violence that lasted for generations. Economically, the trading and transport of goods was predominant among the Arabs. Furthermore, the Arabs were also known for organizing seasonal fairs and bazaars in various cities and localities throughout the year, which served as exhibitions of literary works, poetry, and art. Poetry was the predominant art form among the Arabs; Shaheed Beheshti writes, "The Arabs were a people with a poetic bent, even though their land was no land of flowers and nightingales, but only thorns and sand, yet it nurtured many a poet." The finest poems of the time were inscribed on posters and hung on the walls of the Ka'aba. The value placed on poetry in pre-Islamic Arab culture is vital to understanding the beauty and power of the Holy Qur'an. As the Holy Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, it was considered by far the most beautiful poetic expression that the Arabs had ever heard, the likes of which could not be matched by any human. Today, it is the verses of the Qur'an, and not those of any man, that adorn the walls of the Ka'aba.

Martyr Beheshti continues his analysis of the pre-Islamic era by examining Iran, which unlike Arabia, had developed a centralized government over twelve centuries prior to the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny). However, as was the case with many worldly leaders who were distant from monotheistic teachings, many leaders of the ancient Iranian civilization were unbelievably arrogant. For instance, King Darius, upon having ordered a canal to be dug linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, had the following inscribed in a history of the canal, "I am King Darius, great king, king over many varied races, king over extensive and remote domains…I am a Parsi…I decreed this canal to be dug to link a river called Nile which flows in Egypt to the sea which reaches Iran. This canal has been dug by my command and the ships have sailed via this canal from Egypt to Iran as I had desired." Socially, pre-Islamic Iran was marred by a stratified class system that divided people according to their professions. Martyr Beheshti writes, "In such a society, the class implied the child of a farmer…could never entertain the thought of raising his social status to that of a clergyman, warrior, clerk, or government servant." Many diverse religious movements existed in Iran prior to rise of Islam, including a faith called Mizda'i, which professed faith in One God. This faith became corrupted with superstitions and was reformed by Zoroaster, which led to the predominance of Zoroastrianism as faith in Iran, a predominance that continued throughout the rule of Sassanian Empire, the empire that ruled Iran immediately prior to the rise of Islam. However, Martyr Beheshti notes that little religious tolerance was shown during the rule of the Sassanids. Instead, "the government recognized a state religion dominated by powerful organization of Zoroastrian priests, which kept the religious minorities under distress."

Finally, Martyr Beheshti also outlines conditions in ancient Egypt during the period before the birth of Islam. Egypt, similar to Iran, had a centralized government many centuries prior to the rise of Islam. The king of the Egyptian government was regarded as a God amongst his subjects, who regarded themselves as his servants. However, since Egypt was a wildly polytheistic society, Egyptians believed in a number of non-human gods as well, and these non-human gods had idol-temples where a number of priests served them. This situation often resulted in these priests developing a rivalry between their own non-human gods. Obviously, this concept of rival centers of power was completely swept away by Islamic teachings. Furthermore, the laws and traditions that existed in Egypt before Islam were also unusual; Martyr Beheshti writes, "Among the traditions existing in ancient Egypt which seem odd to us was the legitimacy of marriage with close relatives, and even marriage between a brother and a sister. This was particularly in vogue in royal houses." Moreover, slavery existed in its most inhuman form in ancient Egypt, so much so that for every stone carried and place in a pyramid, about fifty slaves lost their lives. This trouble was only taken to build a tomb for the mummified corpse of a god-king, a tradition that was also completely revolutionized by Islamic burial rites.

The political and social triumph of Islam consisted in the fact that these various cultures and polytheistic practices from the pre-Islamic era all became united under the banner of La Ilaha Illa Allah ("There is no deity but God"). Indeed, the sublime victory of Islam was guaranteed by Prophet Muhammad in Mecca during the beginning of his mission, when he proclaimed, "Come and embrace a faith the light of which will spread over Iran, Rome, Abyssinia and all other places." Prophet Muhammad's movement, from an objective standpoint, consisted of an illiterate orphan living in the middle of the desert, in a region surrounded by the superpowers of Iran and Rome as well as other civilized regions, transforming the entire world order during the course of his lifetime. Indeed, the outgrowth of Islam into other regions of the world, including Russia, China, Africa, India, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, and today, the United States and Europe, confirms that the values taught by Prophet Muhammad have broad universal appeal beyond the confines of any region or culture.

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