The Criterion (Part 2)

So,

Where were we.

Right, the Arabs and their language skills.

So here we are in present day Arabia, (we’ve just time travelled back to about half a century after Christ’s time)

And well, the Arabs in Makkah were really doing great. They were following the Abrahamic creed and all was fine. But then something went wrong. They lost the creed and went bonkers. For your reference, the Abrahamic creed as it is known as is the monotheistic creed. Abraham PBUH, the grand papa of the Arabs and the Jews, struggled to find truth in his life, and he ended up finding it (Boss level Achievement for which he got the title "Khaleelullah - The Friend of Allah". A true friend in the highest of places!) 

He realized the reality of One God. Allah. The supreme ruler of the universe. Wasn’t easy dawning on him, but the story of how he found his path is a long one, and it would be a tangent. But bottom line is that he realized that it is One Allah who created and controls the entire universe, and we’ll proceed with that.

So among the Arabs, there is brought forth a new idea which sort of destabilizes the whole idea of monotheism. Islam says, One Allah. One God. Whatever you want, ask HIM. No one else. Direct line of contact from the heart of the being to Allah. But one trader comes along and says Nooooooo. Here’s a shortcut. There are angels who are daughters of Allah, and they are your intercession to gain his favours. So butter them, and they will lead you to Allah. Slowly, the worship split between Allah and his so called daughters, who were idolized. And idolizing was not part of the Abrahamic creed. So in effect, the whole creed and ideology was falling apart. So were the rules and regulations of society.

There came a point when they had ignored the holy laws and made up their own laws entirely. Sorcery was rampant. They made important decisions based on how arrows would fall out. Casting the arrows, was a mystic tradition which came from some guy who smoked too much of desert grass. They had 3 arrows in a basket, one had the word YES, other had the word NO, and the third one was 50-50. So if the third one came up, it meant you had to cast the arrows again until you got a definitive Yes or No and add some side-penalty. So if the 50-50 option came up more than 10 times, the magician was getting a nice bonus. Anyway, major decisions were made with the help of these arrows. The “Priests” would cast them for the decisions after conferring with their mystic imaginary God of arrow casting (who probably was named Luc -EeD- Raw)

Imagine this, you are a trader with 5 kids, and business is bad. And you go to the priest to ask for divine help. Islamic wisdom says, Call onto Allah. But then, it was easier to have faith in a guy who sits in the Kabah and casts arrows than believe in something you haven’t seen right?? Well that is what Faith is. And that is what the Arabs lacked then.

So you, the trader tell the priest, “Holy Dude, my business is messed up. Halp !!!”

The priest, says, “Sure thing, give me a donation” (wait where’ve we heard that before)

And he would draw arrows, and say, “Arrite, sacrifice your third son at the altar of so-n-so god and your business will pick up”

And trust me, if you really were the trader back then, you’d do it. Else you’d be annoying the God. And trusting the religious hack like you did, you knew you didn't want that.

Here’s a few more small points you might want to consider.

You have about 50 camel right? You’re a millionaire in Arab terms. And one day, one camel of yours, whom you have lovingly named Camel, grazes into another guy’s land. I mean, come on, Camel doesn’t know which grass belongs to who right?? No lane departure warning on the ships of the deserts back then. Camels gotta eat. So what happens, War breaks out.

No seriously I kid you not. War would break out between the guy and me because my Camel had a snack in his yard and our entire clans are at it now!! 

Jokes apart, The society had come to such a despicable position where it was considered a major shame to have a daughter as a first born in your home. Among some, it was considered a matter of pride to bury your infant alive.

Take a moment and imagine the monstrosity of this event.

Imagined?? You see what I mean here. You see why this period was called the Jahilliyah (The Barbaric era)??

You waged wars with someone who pricked your inflated ego with a pinch because the social norm dictated it.

You didn’t bend down to pick your fallen brother because the social norm dictated it.

You enslaved POWs in your home to bathe you and cloathe you and literally worship you because the social norm dictated it.

You sacrificed your kids at the altars of man made laws because social norm dictated it.

You usurped the properties of orphans and widows because the it showed how big a daredevil you were, which you had to show off, because the social norm dictated it.

You sold women in marriages to each other because social norms dictated it.

You didn’t give women any rights of inheritance and treated them like a trade-able commodity

You didn’t let women live, killed them at birth................because the social norm dictated it.

So yeah The society in Makkah was shambles. And thats when Allah decided it was time.

Then he sent the Best of the Best to sort it all out!

- To be Continued