Before the rise of
Islam
at the hands of Prophet Mohamed , the
Arabs
were idolaters and their holy city was Mecca . In Mecca , there was the ancient and most revered shrine of the Kabba , where a sacred black stone (that was believed to have been given by an angel to Prophet Abraham) was preserved . To this Mecca Shrine , pilgrimages were (and are still) flowing from the most remote parts of Arabia .
Polytheism was the prevailing religion of Arabia . Each tribe (and consequently each city) had its own special gods and goddesses , temples and distinct forms of worship . In Mecca , which was considered the centre of their national life , there were 360 idols in the Kabba Shrine representing all the gods and goddesses worshipped by the
Arabs
. There were still many followers of other faiths . The Jews and the Christians were to be found in great numbers in some parts of the Peninsula .
At that time , there was much unrest in Arabia . This Southern land experienced conditions similar to those which Judea witnessed at the time of the appearance of Christ . There were many seekers after God , people who were dissatisfied with the old idolatry and had
the readiness to embrace a higher faith .
Such was the religious condition of the tribes of Arabia about the beginning of the seventh century of our era . Then , from among them appeared a prophet under whose teachings the followers of all idolatrous worships were led to give assent to a single and simple creed . They were animated by a great enthusiasm that drove them forth from their deserts upon a career of conquest which could not be strayed , until they had overrun the fairest portions of the Roman and Persian Empires and given a new religion to a large part of the human race , numbering no less then three hundred millions of them .
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