Before the advent of Islam, people all over the world were sadly impoverished in thought, opinions, and individual and social attitudes. Although such conditions were not the same in all parts of the world, generally speaking, all the people of the world shared superstitious beliefs, intellectual deviations, inhumane social traditions, myths and social and moral conflicts.
Before Islam emerged, the Jews had changed the religion of Prophet Musa / Moses (as) into hidebound dogma and its principles into hollow, lifeless rules and precepts. The spirit of materialism had penetrated into people's lives. Unfortunately, Christianity, which had been presented for the moral rectification and spiritual refinement of the people, was changed in nature by the Christian clergy and became a vehicle for the passionate ambitions of most of them. Since it lacked complete, comprehensive laws and regulations for social systems, it proved unable to provide the people with deliverance and comprehensive guidance.
It was due to such conditions that people all over the world shared superstitious ideas, inhuman social traditions, myths, social and moral conflicts.
The fire of corruption and perdition was raging. Superstitions and false views ruled people in the name of religion! Paganism and the concept of the Trinity had been imposed upon them. Many worshipped idols, fire, cows and stars. This same moral and spiritual corruption and regression, which had spread everywhere, caused dishonesty, darkness and deviations in human societies. Bloodshed, murder, tyranny, and oppression prevailed all over the world. In fact, humanity had been put on the verge of the abyss of total destruction!
Arabia during the dark Pre-Islamic Times (Before Prophet Muhammed (saw))
The people of the Arabian Peninsula suffered from their tribal and pastoral life in the deserts, coupled with blood-thirsty feudalism. The economic crisis resulting from the exploitation of the people by the ruling class and by bands of usurers had robbed human life of its meaning and darkened the horizon of social well-being.
What was lacking was law and justice. The wealthy usurers who engaged in trade in Makkah had amassed enormous amounts of wealth by illegitimate means and exploited the weak and poor classes of society and by overcharging the orphan and the widow. In fact, they increasingly exacerbated anti-human social class differences through usury and oppressive exploitation.
Due to their ignorance, the Arab tribes in those days generally engaged in worshipping natural phenomena. Most shameful of all was their worship of lifeless statues - idols. The House of God, the Kaaba, was used as the idol-temple of the Arabs.
Any one of the indecent, degrading social and moral customs in Arabia at that time was enough to destroy the honour of a whole nation. False beliefs and class differences were strong. The Arabs wrongly believed that only those were superior who descended from the Arab race and had Arab blood! As a matter of fact, the twentieth-century form of nationalism and racism was quite prevalent among the Arabs during the first pagan period.
Murder, bloodshed, drinking, and illegitimate sexual intercourse were quite ordinary and commonplace. Plunder, robbery, savagery, aggression, and treachery were their obvious characteristics, and genocide was considered a sign of bravery and courage. As the Arabs before the time of the Prophet Muhammed (saw) believed the birth of a daughter to be harmful or were either afraid of poverty and destitution, they either killed their innocent daughters or buried them alive. In some cases even the existence of one daughter in a family was considered shameful.
"And do not kill your children for fear of poverty; We give them sustenance and yourselves (too); surely to kill them is a great wrong." (Noble Qur'an 17:31)
Such was the situation and moral conditions of a miserable society out of whose dark horizon came the light of Islam.
There is no doubt that a leader who is himself immoral, unscrupulous, and without praise-worthy human characteristics is unable to rectify human societies and save the people. It is only divine leaders who, inspired by Almighty Allah (SWT), are able to make profound basic transformations in all phases of the people's individual and social life.
Now we must try to understand what kind of person such a leader of the worldwide revolution was and what changes he made in the world. It is crystal clear that a person who not only is not affected by such a corrosive society, but also grieves over it and attempts to combat it, possesses a great divine character and is competent to lead people and guide them onto the path of salvation.
