Chief of the Prophets — Page 6
Chapter One 6 tribe was independent with its chieftain. These tribes considered it a disgrace to bow their heads before any other tribe. The diet and attire of the Arabian people was quite simple and primitive. Most people moved around like nomads with their tents and other necessary provisions on the backs of their camels and lodged wherever they found pastures and water. Because of an abundance of camels and goats, they very often consumed milk with dates. Tharīd was also a popular food of the Arabs that was prepared by soaking bread in a soup. Because of their uncivilized and barbaric lifestyle, attire generally consisted only of a piece of cloth around the waist with a shirt being worn only by a few elites. The bed generally consisted of a date palm mat, although the upper class people living in towns and cities owned wooden beds. The ancient Arabian poets have very clearly sketched this way of life in their poetry. Trading usually consisted of an exchange of commodities but the dirham and auqiyya, two silver coins were also used. One auqiyya was equivalent to 40 dirhams. A gold coin was called a dinar. The measuring scale for commodities was a ‘handful’. Trade and Poetry Trading was the most common occupation in Arabia. During the time of Muḥammad sa , the trading caravans of the Quraish of Makkah would regularly go north towards Syria in the summer and south towards Yemen during the winter. In Arabia, large fairs were held at different places during the year, which were attended by traders and poets from distant places. In addition to poetry and trade, these fairs had an abundance of amusement and entertainment. ‘Ukāẓ in Ḥijāz, San‘ā’ in Yemen, Al- Mushaqqar in Bahrain, Dummatul-Jandal near Syria, and Wajā in Oman were particularly famous for these fairs.