The Religion and Rituals of the Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia

by Ahmad Al-Jallad

This book approaches the religion and rituals of the pre-Islamic Arabian nomads using the Safaitic inscriptions. Unlike Islamic-period literary sources, this material was produced by practitioners of traditional Arabian religion; the inscriptions are eyewitnesses to the religious life of Arabian nomads prior to the spread of Judaism and Christianity across Arabia. The author attempts to reconstruct this world using the original words of its inhabitants, interpreted through comparative philology, pre-Islamic and Islamic-period literary sources, and the archaeological context.

Genres: History, Religion, Ancient History, Archaeology, Nonfiction, Islam

164 pages, ebook

Published March 21, 2022

About the author

Ahmad Al-Jallad is a philologist, epigraphist, and historian of language. His work focuses on the languages and writing systems of pre-Islamic Arabia and the ancient Near East.

Reviews

[MM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting little book that looks at Safaitic inscriptions to reconstruct rituals and rites of pre-Islamic Arabia, in hopes of reducing the bias from Islamic sources. Time period 1st cent BCE to 4th cent CE.

Main findings:

- the carvings are mainly invocation+narrative+prayer. Assume that the prayer can tell us about the narrative
- carvings are done by the petitioner, not by an employed mason
- mainly to Allāt (abudance/fertility) but also to Baal Samin (god of storm) + Rodaw (parent of Allāt)
- Fate (Mny) as separate from gods, like a hunter, gods can only delay
- may have believed in an afterlife but not that the gods punished in afterlife
- expected oral interactions w/ their carvings by passers-by (e.g. reading a prayer for the inscriber)
- some images are representations of gods, but not all- and in fact not that much imagery in general. Images may also have been an offering to a deity
- mainly prayed and had narratives about travel, dangerous activities, mourning/grieving, revenge, the seasons/rain, longing

Overall a quick read that gives an overview of Safaitic inscriptions and the limited information we can get from them. Unlike other works, which focus on the divinities themselves, this work attempts to reconstruct the rites/rituals. The author draws cautious and academic extrapolations from the evidence, which may be disappointing to some but is important for accuracy.

For me, personally, this is just a little peek into some of Islamic practices such ablution, sacred water (Zamzam), pilgrimage and how it grows from or relates to pre-Islamic practices.

[Edz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to the rapidly growing field of Ancient Arabian Studies exploring the religion and rituals of the nomads of pre-Islamic Arabia through an analysis of the Safaitic inscriptions, which were written in an early Arabic script by the nomads of the region.

The book is divided into eight chapters (and two appendices), each of which focuses on a different aspect of the religion and rituals of the nomads of pre-Islamic Arabia. Firstly, we are introduced to the study of Safaitic inscriptions and the challenges as well as opportunities that they present with regards to their historical context. Then the author argues that the nomads engaged in a variety of rituals, including animal sacrifice and the pouring of libations, in order to appease their gods and seek their favor. These were performed within the presence of the divinity of choice, who was instantiated by a stele, and spanned all kinds of different supplications (vengeance, security, food, shelter etc.), very much echoing later Islamic practices but with a polytheistic bent, especially the pilgrimages and offerings. Next we analyze the deities themselves and find that many of them are localized either in the celestial realm or in their mythological earthly residences (Allāt is most likely from Jebel Ram, Dusares from Petra), and have an active role in the lives of their worshippers, providing them with safe travel, security, reunion with loved ones, justice and curing illnesses although the presence of magic seems to have a faint echo in the sources. Additionally, Fate is represented as being a metaphysical entity which lies in wait for the unsuspecting traveler, like a hunter eagerly waiting to catch its prey, to which one can do nothing more than submit to its cold machinations. Afterwards, we observe that the concept of the afterlife is of a rudimentary nature, dealing mainly with providing the deceased with belongings and a mount as is indicated in funerary installations, with no apparent conception of heaven nor hell. Figural representations of the divine abound, although one cannot necessarily prove that what is being represented are the actual deities themselves due to how unclear some of the evidence can be. Finally, the question of why such practices of writing inscriptions is broached, whereby the author argues that given the general form of the text (narrative + prayer) it is quite possible that ancient nomads intended for their supplications to reach as large an audience as possible and by consequence increase the likelihood of the gods to respond to their query. Appendix 1 and 2 deal respectively with the divinities present in the inscriptions and previously unpublished material (which is, you guessed it, more inscriptions!).

Overall, this was a nice introduction to a field that I had only previously dipped my toes in lightly, considering how much of a specialist one needs to be when studying ancient inscriptions. Thankfully, al-Jallad managed to flesh out his expertise in the matter in a manner that suitable for both distinguished scholars as well as lay readers.

[Aaron Schuschu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A survey of funeral graffiti not too far from Petra, and may even be closely related cultures.