andsupported by tribal-pride. Their undisputed motto was: “ ﺎﻣوﻠظﻣ وأ ﺎﻣﻟﺎظ كﺎﺧأ رﺻﻧا— Support your  brother  whether he is an oppressor or oppressed” in its literal meaning; they disregarded the Islamic  amendment which states that supporting an oppressor brother implies deterring him from  transgression.
Avarice for leadership, and keen sense of emulation often resulted in bitter tribal warfare despite  descendency from one common ancestor. In this regard, the continued bloody conflicts of Aws and
Khazraj, ‘Abs and Dhubyan, Bakr and Taghlib, etc. are striking examples.
Inter-tribal relationships were fragile and weak due to continual inter-tribal wars of attrition. Deep  devotion to religious superstitions and some customs held in veneration, however, used to curb their  impetuous tendency to quench their thirst for blood. In other cases, there were the motives of, and  respect for, alliance, loyalty and dependency which could successfully bring about a spirit of rapport,  and abort groundless bases of dispute. A time-honoured custom of suspending hostilities during the  prohibited months (Muharram, Rajab, Dhul-Qa‘dah, and Dhul-Hijjah) functioned favourably and  provided an opportunity for them to earn their living and coexist in peace.
We may sum up the social situation in Arabia by saying that the Arabs of the pre-Islamic period were  groping about in the dark and ignorance, entangled in a mesh of superstitions paralyzing their mind  and  driving them to lead an animal-like life. The woman was a marketable commodity and regarded as a  piece of inanimate property. Inter-tribal relationships were fragile. Avarice for wealth and involvement  in futile wars were the main objectives that governed their chiefs’ self-centred policies.
THE ECONOMIC SITUATION:
The economic situation ran in line with the social atmosphere. The Arabian ways of living would  illustrate this phenomenon quite clearly. Trade was the most common means of providing their needs  of  life. The trade journeys could not be fulfilled unless security of caravan routes and inter-tribal peaceful  co-existence were provided – two imperative exigencies unfortunately lacking in Arabia except during  the prohibited months within which the Arabs held their assemblies of ‘Ukaz, Dhil-Majaz, Mijannah and  others.
Industry was alien to the Arabian psychology. Most of available industries of knitting and tannage in
Arabia were done by people coming from Yemen, Heerah and the borders of Syria. Inside Arabia there  was some sort of farming and stock-breeding. Almost all the Arabian women worked in yarn spinning  but even this practice was continually threatened by wars. On the whole, poverty, hunger and  insufficient clothing were the prevailing features in Arabia, economically.
ETHICS:
We cannot deny that the pre-Islam Arabs had such a large bulk of evils. Admittedly, vices and evils,  utterly rejected by reason, were rampant amongst the pre-Islam Arabs, but this could never screen off  the surprise-provoking existence of highly praiseworthy virtues, of which we could adduce the  following:
1. Hospitality: They used to emulate one another at hospitality and take utmost pride in it. Almost  half of their poetry heritage was dedicated to the merits and nobility attached to entertaining  one’s guest. They were generous and hospitable on the point of fault. They would sacrifice their  private sustenance to a cold or hungry guest. They would not hesitate to incur heavy bloodmoney  and relevant burdens just to stop blood-shed, and consequently merit praise and eulogy.
2. In the context of hospitality, there springs up their common habits of drinking wine which was  regarded as a channel branching out of generosity and showing hospitality. Wine drinking was a  genuine source of pride for the Arabs of the pre-Islamic period. The great poets of that era never  forgot to include their suspending odes the most ornate lines pregnant with boasting and praise  of drinking orgies. Even the word ‘grapes’ in Arabic is identical to generosity in both  pronunciation and spelling. Gambling was also another practice of theirs closely associated with  generosity since the proceeds would always go to charity. Even the Noble Qur’ân does not play  down the benefits that derive from wine drinking and gambling, but also says,
“And the sin of them is greater than their benefit.” 2:219
3. Keeping a covenant: For the Arab, to make a promise was to run into debt. He would never  grudge the death of his children or destruction of his household just to uphold the deep-rooted  tradition of covenant-keeping. The literature of that period is rich in stories highlighting this  merit.
4. Sense of honour and repudiation of injustice: This attribute stemmed mainly from excess  courage, keen sense of self-esteem and impetuosity. The Arab was always in revolt against the