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The concept of Allah as the highest God in pre-Islamic Arabia : a study of pre-Islamic Arabic religious poetry

"The ancient Arabs used poetry not only to entertain themselves in the midst of their harsh life in the Arabian desert, but also to proclaim their cultural values, which were the moral-spiritual and material basis of their nomad society. Composing poetry therefore was almost a sacred rite for them. Its recitation in particular, was a main feature of certain ritual customs held annually during the ''aswa_q'' (sg. ''su_q '', festival) season. The most common themes touched upon were the attributes of which a tribe may have been particularly proud, such as its victories and generosity to the vanquished, the bravery of its heroes in battle and on hard journeys, the beauty of its women and of nature, the genealogy of the tribe, and prayers to the Almighty. Through verse the ancient Arabs expressed how they conceived of their deities, whether, idols representing various gods and goddesses, or Alla_h. These verses make it clearthat Alla_h alone was not represented by any idol, allowing us to infer that He was regardedas superior to other deities. This thesis, therefore, attempts to show how the ancient Arabs expressed through poetry their belief in Alla_h as the Lord of Gods, which was the true nature of their ancestral belief, the ''h&dotbelow;ani_fiyya'', the religion of their forefathers Abraham and Ishmael."

Author(s):  Sayuti, Najmah
Format:  Book
Publisher:  National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada
Publication City:  Ottawa
Date:  [2002]
Source:  Canadian theses = Thèses canadiennes
ISBN:  0612641910