pre-Islamic

Prior to revelation

Pre-Islamic describes the period, cultures, or practices existing before the rise of Islam in the 7th century CE.

The term appears most often in discussions of Arabian history and religion: pre-Islamic poetry, pre-Islamic Arabia.

It can also describe earlier phases of any region later shaped by Islam: pre-Islamic Persia, pre-Islamic North Africa.

Arabian

Kaaba

Sacred cube in Mecca

idolObject of worship
polytheismBelief in multiple deities
tribalOf a clan

Bedouin · poetry · soothsayer · oracle · pilgrimage · Mecca · divination · jinn · sanctuary · haram

historical

antiquity

Great age, ancient era

ancientVery old indeed
paganNon-mainstream religion follower
polytheisticBelieving in multiple deities

classical · Arabian · Persian · Byzantine · Meccan · caravan · tribal · Hellenistic · Zoroastrian · Manichaean

archaeological

artifacts

Human-made historical objects

inscriptionsWords carved into surfaces
ruinsDecayed structural remains
excavationAct of unearthing

petroglyphs · Petra · Palmyra · temples · tombs · stelae · pottery · coins · bronze · reliefs

religious

polytheism

Belief in multiple deities

paganismNon-monotheistic religious practice
idolatryVeneration of false gods
animismSpirits inhabit all things

Zoroastrianism · Christianity · Judaism · jinn · deities · shrines · sacrifices · divination · astral · oracles

Opposites

temporal relation to Islam's emergence

pre-IslamicIslamic

Of the Muslim religion

Muslim · Quranic · monotheistic · Abrahamic

Family

Islam, Islamic, Islamist, Islamism, Islamists

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