Since the diaspora of Ādam’s descendants from the Middle East or East Africa, God has sent messengers and prophets throughout the world to all nations and peoples. Interestingly, the last and final messenger of God was chosen from among the Arab people, a choice that raises some intriguing questions. Why did God select an Arab as the bearer of His unchanged word for all of humanity? Was it a mere coincidence or a deliberate choice with profound significance?
This article will address some of the questions that arise when contemplating the significance of the selection of the last messenger of God.
And while only God knows the full reality, there exist numerous compelling reasons as to why the Last Revelation would be sent among the Arab people. Here, we present ten possible logical explanations for this divine decision.
1
As mentioned at the beginning, there are strong reasons to believe that Ādam (ʿalayhi al-Salām), the father of mankind (250,000–100,000 years ago), descended near the Middle East or East Africa.
This was the fertile belt from the earliest times, centred between the Nile and Euphrates. Would it then not be appropriate that the Final Revelation is revealed at the ‘Birthplace’ of Man on Earth?
It is said that after the fall of Adam and Eve from Heaven, they met on the Hill of ‘Arafat outside Makkah.
2
There is also reason to believe that the closest language to the archetypal language that Ādam (ʿalayhi al-Salām) spoke is Arabic.
Though there is no unequivocal verse or sound hadīth, various companions and scholars have asserted that Arabic is the language of the people of Paradise, where Ādam was created and where he was taught “the names of all things” and Allah knows best. [1]
The Arabic language is often described as a guttural language emanating deep from within, this physiological depth symbolises the depth of the Arabic language which is pure, organic, and self-consistent with a rigorous grammar, not a modern amalgam language like English or Urdu. There are numerous cases of onomatopoeia within Arabic that indicate its ancient root structure.
For the final, enduring message to take an Arabic form and to descend upon the Arabs fulfils the circular, cyclic form of enduring things – to return to where they began and to provide as the pathway to return man to his first heavenly origin.
3
The Middle East or East Africa is geographically the centre of the world, and it forms the crossroads between Africa, Asia, and Europe.
In fact, Makkah is the “antipode to Tematagi”, being the most remote region of the Pacific Ocean, meaning that it may well be the centre of the inhabited world.
It is by no coincidence that the final message, “middle nation” [2], and the final revelation synonymously sits in the geographically middle region of the world.
4
Some of the earliest settled literate civilisations from 10,000–5,000 years ago were Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria, sitting between the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris. These civilisations surrounded the serene and tranquil desert oasis of Makkah.
The ‘valley of Makkah’ is itself surrounded by a mountainous terrain (Jabal Khandama, Jabal al-Noor, Jabal Sa’d, and others) and becomes akin to a protected, calm heart, nourishing the dynamic body of the world.
The historic and geographical significance of the Middle East and East Africa is apparent, but what makes the nature of the Arab, particularly his nomadic roots, relevant to receiving the Final Revelation?
It must be borne in mind that the Arabic language was traditionally confined to the Yemen and the Hijaz. The lands we know today as Iraq, the Levant (Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and parts of Turkey), Egypt, Sudan, East Africa, Libya, and other parts of North Africa spoke Semitic languages such as Akkadian, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Amharic. As these are sister tongues of Arabic, sharing the same proto-Semitic root, the people of these provinces easily adopted the Arabic ‘dialect’ with the spread of Islam.
5
At the time of the revelation, the Arabs of Makkah had relatively recently settled from the Nomadic Bedouin lifestyle of their ancestors.
This meant that their culture and traditions were quite primitive and simple. Thus, this would not cloak or subsume the essential message of Islam with entrenched customs and folklore. Nor was the message (of the One God) clouded or obscured by pre-existing cultural habits.
Despite being devoid of cultural influences, the Last Revelation does resonate with the innate characteristics of the ancient Bedouin. While they are often depicted as rough or unrefined, they also possess a purity and genuineness that is lacking in contemporary civilised society, which is often marked by pretence and artificiality.
6
The Bedouin lifestyles links us to the lifestyle of Ādam and early man.
Abraham, Ismael, Isaac, and Jacob (ʿalayhum al-Salām) were all travellers in this world, not tied to any land or possession.
The Bedouin lifestyle dominates pre-written human history, and the Arabs, of all nations, resembled the historically dominant (most persistent) and unblemished form of life at the time of revelation.
Is it not fitting that the people most suitable to convey God’s word to the world should be travelling peoples?
7
Generally speaking, the Bedouin did not hoard possessions or spend his time in fanciful arts such as architecture, music, or painting. His primary art was language and his sophistication was embedded within the oral tradition and the love of poetry.
He was not only equipped with the skills to interpret the profundity of the words of revelation, now formalised as phonetics, phonology, rhetoric, eloquence, lexicology, and so on, but he also knew that his oral tradition would only survive by its very teaching and dissemination.
What better medium, embedded in culture, than formally learning to spread God’s word?
8
The Bedouin lifestyle was free of worldly attachment.
The versatility of the Bedouin meant that he traditionally possessed no firm home, no land, and few possessions. He was free of this world and had little attachment to this transient life.
This corresponds to the saying of the Prophet (ﷺ):
“Be in this world as though you are a stranger or a wayfarer.” [3]
In addition to…
“Verily, the example of this world and myself is that of a rider who seeks shade under a tree, then he moves on and leaves it behind.” [4]
The Bedouin Arab was thus more able to demonstrate, in practice, that ascetic lifestyle that is far removed from obsessive attachment which is fleetingly material, and detached from overindulgence and the distractions that come from crops, pastures, civilisation, and crowded cities.
As the Bedouin had few worldly possessions, there was little to physically distinguish him from his fellow Bedouin, other than outward strength and resourcefulness, all transient abilities. This, in itself, diminished the establishment of a class or caste structure based on wealth and inheritance. The Bedouin was grossly egalitarian, treating a king as he would a wanderer. He would approach all people.
Moreover, his lack of materialism made him fearless as he would have had so little to lose. Few long-term ambitions or fantasies would have absorbed his life.
The Prophet (ﷺ) would often seek refuge from “cowardice and miserliness” [5] as it would seem that the fear of poverty is one of the main things that lead one to being a coward in a general sense.
9
The Bedouin lived off of nature, exposed to weather, drought, famine, hostile beasts, and disease and was acutely conscious of death and his dependence on God.
There was no delusionary security fallback or veil. The lifestyle was hard (and often painful), with death always close. He lived, knowing that his next breath or meal could have been his last. This made him conscious and to practically manifest the oft-repeated supplication contained in the first chapter of the Qur’ān, which is also the first supplication in the Qur’ān:
“You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help.” [6]
According in Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah,
“Allah revealed 104 books, combining their meanings in the Torah, Gospel, and Qur’ān.
“The meanings of all three books are encapsulated in the Qur’ān … and the meanings of the shorter chapters are in al-Fātiha and all of al-Fātiha in (the verse) ‘You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help.’”
To realise his utter and complete dependency on his Creator, the Bedouin did not need that wake-up call, that cataclysmic event as others do.
His life endlessly presented him with existential threats that kept him awake and dependent on his Lord, aware of the likelihood of meeting Him at any instance. Unlike the ‘civilised man’, his life was neither masked by wearying routine, nor absorbing diversions.
10
The Bedouin was an extrovert, he spoke how he felt. He found no time for introverted delusions or fantasies that gave him the propensity to carry, spread, and enact knowledge. The foremost recipient of the revelation needs such traits to encourage its dissemination.
The Bedouin culture was practical and pragmatic, placing a high value on action and tangible results. For this reason, Bedouins tended to focus on the acquisition and dissemination of useful knowledge and information, rather than on abstract or theoretical discussions and debates. Their nomadic lifestyle and harsh desert environment demanded that they prioritise practical skills and knowledge, such as hunting, navigation, and survival, over intellectual pursuits that may not have had immediate practical applications.
The Bedouin valued simplicity and straightforwardness, which meant that they tended to communicate in a clear and concise manner without unnecessary embellishments or complexities. This approach was reflected in their language, which is characterised by its directness and efficiency.
The passionate character and masculine dynamism of the Bedouin coupled with his egalitarian spirit and absence of cultural baggage, allowed him to marry and settle amongst the people to whom he spread the Message. Not just conveying the Message, but spreading the lineage of the Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions.
These traits within the nomadic Arabs make him an ideal conduit or vehicle for the transmission of the Truth. Many of the early companions travelled far while spreading the Truth and settling and marrying amongst the people they taught. There is no loyalty to land as the home of the believer is Paradise.
Before the Arabs, their cousins (through Ya’qūb [ʿalayhi al-Salām]) were similarly given the Truth to teach mankind. After time, they coveted the land and sought worldly dominion. They eventually betrayed their vocation to teach and spread the Truth, choosing to keep it for themselves and desert the rest of mankind to what they considered would be their damnation. When God’s anger came over them, He gave this warning to those who would better fulfil it, as He says:
“If you still turn away, He will replace you with another people. And they will not be like you.” [7]
By Dr. Najmuddin Hasan (a non-Arab)
Source: Islam21c
Notes
[1] al-Qur’ān, 2:31
[2] al-Qur’ān, 2:143
[3] Bukhari on the authority of Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (radiy Allāhu ‘anhu)
[4] Tirmidhi on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ūd (radiy Allāhu ‘anhu)
[5] Ibn Hibban on the authority of Anas ibn Malik (radiy Allāhu ‘anhu)
[6] al-Qur’ān, 1:5
[7] al-Qur’ān, 47:38
Assalamou alaikom,
Good article, Ibn Khaldoun actually wrote about this, and he gave 4 main reasons for Arabs to be the omma to which the final message was sent: 1) intellectual sharpness (2) ability to learn and preserve the message (3) simplicity of civilization and jurisprudence (closer to fitrah) and (4) insignificant mixing with other nations.
جودة الأذهان، قوة الحوافظ، بساطة الحضارة و التشريع، البعد عن الإختلاط ببقية الأمم