Pre-Prophethood
Religious Conditions

Great religions of the world had spread the light of faith, morality and learning in the ages past. However, by the sixth century AD, so completely were their scriptures and teachings distorted that had the founder or the Prophet of any one of them returned to Earth, he would unquestionably have refused his own religion and denounced its followers as apostates and idolaters.

Judaism had, by then, been reduced to an amalgam of dead rituals and sacraments without any spark of life left in it. Also, being a religion upholding a strong racial identity, it never had a message for other nations or for the good of the humanity at large.

Through mysticism and magic many polytheistic ideas and customs again found their way among the people, and the Talmud confirms the fact that idolatrous worship is seductive. The Babylonian Gemara (popular during the sixth century and often even preferred to Torah by the orthodox Jews) illustrates the state of the sixth century Jews' intellectual and religious understanding. It contains jocular and imprudent remarks about God and many absurd and outrageous beliefs and ideas, which lack not only sensibility but also inconsistency with the Jewish faith in monotheism.

Christianity had fallen prey, in its very infancy, to the misguided fervor of its overzealous evangelists, unwarranted interpretation of its tenets by ignorant church fathers and iconolatry of its gentile converts to Christianity. The doctrine of Trinity, which came to have the first claim to the
Christian dogma by the close of the fourth century, has been thus described in the New Catholic Encyclopedia.

"It is difficult, in the second half of the 20th century to offer a clear, objective, and straightforward account of the revelation, doctrinal evolution, and theological elaboration of the mystery of the
Trinity.
Trinitarian discussion, as envisioned by Roman Catholics as well as other sectors, presents a somewhat unsteady silhouette. Two things have happened. There is an arrangement on the part of the exegetes and
Biblical theologians, including a constantly growing number of Roman Catholics that one should not speak of Trinitarianism in the New Testament without serious qualification.
There is also the closely parallel agreement on the part of the historians of the Trinitarian dogma and systematic theologians that when one does speak of an unqualified Trinitarianism, one has moved from the period of Christian origins to, say, the last quadrant of the 4th century.
It was only then that what might be called the definitive Trinitarian dogma 'one God in three persons' became thoroughly assimilated into Christian life and thought."

Tracing the origin of pagan customs, rites, festivals and religious services of the pagans in
Christianity, another historian of the Christian church gives a graphic account of the persistent endeavor of early Christians to ape the idolatrous nations. Rev. James Houston Baxter, Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the University of St. Andrews writes in The History of Christianity in the Light of Modern Knowledge:

"If paganism had been destroyed, it was less through annihilation than through absorption. Almost all that was pagan was carried over to survive under a Christian name. Deprived of demi-gods and heroes, men easily and half-consciously invested a local martyr with their attributes and labeled the local statue with his name, transferring to him the cult and mythology associated with the pagan deity. Before the century was over, the martyr cult was universal, and a beginning had been made of that imposition of a deified human being between God and man which, on the one hand, had been the consequence of Arianism, and was, on the other, the origin of so much that is typical of medieval piety and practice. Pagan festivals were adopted and renamed: by 400, Christmas Day, the ancient festival of the sun, was transformed into the birthday of Jesus."
By the time sixth century reared its head, the antagonism between Christians of Syria, Iraq and Egypt on the question of human and divine natures of Christ had set them at one another's throat. The conflict had virtually turned every Christian seminary, church and home into a hostile camp, each condemning and berating the other and thirsting after its adversary's blood. Men debated with fury upon shadows or shades of belief and staked their lives on the most immaterial issues, as if these differences meant a confrontation between two antagonistic religions or nations. The Christians were, thus, neither inclined nor had time to settle matters in proper their perspective and smother the ever-increasing viciousness in the world for the salvation of humanity.
In Iran, from the earliest times, the Magi worshipped four elements (of which fire was the chief object of devotion) in the oratories or fire temples for which they had evolved a whole mass of intricate rituals and commandments. In actual practice, the popular religion included nothing save the worship of fire and adoration of Huare-Kishaeta or the Shining Sun. Certain rituals performed in a place of worship were all that their religion demanded, for, after which they are free to live as they desired. There was nothing to distinguish a Magi from an unconscientious, perfidious fellow!
Arthur Christiensen writes in L'Iran les Sassanides:
"It was incumbent on the civil servants to offer prayers four times a day to the sun besides fire and water. Separate hymns were prescribed for rising and going to sleep, taking a bath, putting on the sacred cord, eating and drinking, sniffing, hair dressing, cutting of the nails, excrement and lighting the candle which were to be recited on each occasion with the greatest care. It was the duty of the priests to compound, purify and tend the sacred fire, which was never to be extinguished, nor water was ever allowed to touch fire. No metal was allowed to rust, for metals, too, were revered by their religion."
All prayers were performed facing the sacred fire. The last Iranian Emperor, Yazdagird III, once took an oath, saying: "I swear by the sun, which is the greatest of all gods". He had ordered those who had renounced Christianity to reenter their original faith and should publicly worship the sun in order to prove their sincerity. The principle of dualism, the two rival spirits of good and evil, had been upheld by the Iranians for such a long time that it had become a mark and symbol of their national creed. They believed that Ormuzd creates everything good, and Ahriman creates all that is bad. These two are perpetually at war and the one or the other gains the upper hand alternately. The Zoroastrian legends described by the historians of religion bear remarkable resemblance to the hierarchy of gods and goddesses and the fabulousness of Hindu and Greek mythology.
Buddhism, extending from India to Central Asia, had been converted into an idolatrous faith. Wherever the Buddhists went they took the idols (of the Buddha with them) and installed them there. Although the entire religious and cultural life of the Buddhists is overshadowed by idolatry, the students of religion have grave doubts whether Buddha was a nihilist or a believed in the existence of God. They are surprised how this religion could at all sustain itself in the absence of any faith or conviction in the primal being.
In the sixth century A.D., Hinduism had exceeded every other religion in the number of gods and goddesses. During this period, 33 million gods were worshipped by the Hindus. The tendency to regard everything which could do harm or good as an object of personal devotion was at its height and this had given a great encouragement to stone sculpture with novel motifs of decorative ornamentation.
Describing the religious condition of India during the reign of Harsha (606-648), a little before the time when Islam made its debut in Arabia, a Hindu historian, C. V. Vaidya, writes in his History of Mediaeval Hindu India.
"Both Hinduism and Buddhism were equally idolatrous at this time. If anything, Buddhism perhaps beat the former in its intense idolatry. That religion started, indeed, with the denial of God, but concluded by making Buddha himself as the Supreme God. Later developments of Buddhism conceptualized other gods like the Bodhisatvas and the idolatry of Buddhism, especially in the Mahayana school was firmly established. It flourished in and out of India so much that the word for an idol in the Arabic has come to be Buddha itself."
C. V. Vaidya further says:
"No doubt idolatry was at this time rampant all over the world. From the Atlantic to the Pacific the world was immersed in idolatry; Christianity, Semitism, Hinduism and Buddhism vying, so to speak, one with another in their adoration of idols." (History of Ancient India,Vol. I, p.101)
The Arabs had been the followers of Abrahamic religion in the olden times and had the distinction of having the first House of God in their land. But the distance of time from the great patriarchs and Prophets of yore and their isolation in the arid deserts of the peninsula had given rise to an abominable idolatry. Such adoration closely approximated to the Hindus' zeal for idol-worship in the sixth century A. D. In associating partners to God they were not behind any other polytheistic people. Having faith in the companionship of lesser gods with the Supreme Being in the direction and governance of the universe, they held the belief that their deities possessed the power to do them good or harm, or give them life or death.
Idolatry in Arabia had reached its peak, where every region and every clan or rather every house had a separate deity of its own. Three hundred and sixty idols had been installed within the Ka'ba and its courtyard - the house built by Abraham ('alaihi salaam) for the worship of the One and only God. The Arabs actually paid divine honors not merely to sculptured idols but venerated all types of stones and fetish---angels, jinn and stars were all their deities. They believed that the angels were daughters of God and the jinn His partners in divinity and thus both enjoyed supernatural powers whose mollification was essential for their well-being.

Thank God the noisemakers have not got here.

Hehehehe. It means you want them to come and am sure they will

'and whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted and in the hereafter he will be one of the losers' Quran 3:85

I am still happy they have not come here. Are you not Abuzola, at least we will be able to educate ourselves without interference.

Is this what you teach yourselves?, imagine a world where other religions teach this?

'and he whom Allah guides, he is led aright, but he whom He sends astray, for such you will find no helper/protector besides Him and We shall gather them together on the Day of resurrection on their faces, blind, dumb, and deaf, their abode will be hell, whenever it abates, We shall increase for them the fierceness of the fire' ' Quran 17:97

With mohammed mistaken Mary, the mother of Jesus for Miriam, Aaron's sister, I wonder why your claim to islam been a true religion stands, as your holy book was not even sure who the mother of Jesus was.

And what about the satanic verses? how can satan be ministering to the prophet of a self-styled true religion?

And what about the killings, the paedophilia, the numerous wives and concubines, marrying of a step-daughter in law, how can the prophet of the only true religion be enmeshed in such dirty controversies?

Repent ye! Jesus loves you all

What a daft, ur querry where addressed here, but ur foolishness won't make you see

Maryam (mary) Sister Of Aaron (harun) : The Truth Unveil https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=333080.0;wap2

The query was never addressed there. None of you could bring out a plausible excuse for mohammed mistaking Mary for Miriam.

I hope there is a full macarooni in the bowl, because in all of Quran, there is no Miriam. If you find any, please bring it forward, otherwise, you are just making empty noise.

Maryam is completely different and separate from your Miriam. We know Maryam from Quran as the mother of Jesus, a woman honored by calling her sister of Haruun!

I am honored when my mother calls me olu-ara Ode (Ode Remo, that is), and you know what; I have never gone there. How could I have been Olu of a place I dont implement "any" authority on?

How will mohammed mention Miriam in the koran when he was mistaking her for Mary?

If I am writing a history book and I am mistaking 'olabowale' for 'oluwole', then there will be no need mentioning olabowale at all in my writing.

That was the simple logic mohammed used.

Won't you ever quit making this noise, Nezan?

^^ If you are tired of my noise, why dont you avoid any thread you see my post on? am sure you are fond of commenting on almost all my posts immediately you see them. Are you obsessed with me?

Didn't you know?

^^ Ok na, make we see.

nezan must you exhibit ur illiteracy always ? how can maryam be miriam or sun be son. silence is the best answer for a fool

Nezan is a very cunning somebody, he has a peculiar way of creating nuisance, he hardly pursues a matter to an end before he runs away. He does not show seriousness for a seriuos discussion. Between him and Sleeky I do not know who is more cantankerous. Nezan one of these days you and I will have a seriuos discussion. Won't you like it? Nezan Nezan how is Abuja?

nezan must you exhibit your illiteracy always ?

An undergraduate, who hasnt got a degree yet, calling a person about to complete his PhD illiterate, somebody who is well educated than some of his lecturers. What ever happened to our moral values . . . . ?

how can maryam be miriam or sun be son. silence is the best answer for a fool

. . . . . or Jesus be isa, or Yahweh be allah, e.t.c. See foolishness

Nezan is a very cunning somebody, he has a peculiar way of creating nuisance

Every non-muslim on this forum is a nuisance to you?

he hardly pursues a matter to an end before he runs away. He does not show seriousness for a seriuos discussion. Between him and Sleeky I do not know who is more cantankerous

You muslims have a peculiar way of going round and round if you are boxed into a corner. Ask Muhsin and he will tell you how we have been able to argue things to a logical conclusion.

Nezan one of these days you and I will have a seriuos discussion.

And who told you I am afraid of arguments?

Nezan:

You muslims have a peculiar way of going round and round if you are boxed into a corner. Ask Muhsin and he will tell you how we have been able to argue things to a logical conclusion.

Here is Muhsin; what'z up, dude? Hope you are doing just fine.

@muhsin, I will start doing fine when you join me in Christianity

Nezan you are such a nuisance, unanimously jesus is isa, yahyah is john, nobody disputes it except illiterate like you,

Maryam is an arabic meaning 'Beloved',

^^ That still does not explain why mohammed was mistaking Mary for Miriam

'ALLAH has set a seal on their (unbeliever) hearts and on their hearing and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be a great torment' Quran 2:7

abuzola has suddenly resorted to chanting koranic verses

Perhaps you will ponder