The Nature of Arab Unity Before Islam

The Construction of the Umma: From Global Consciousness to an Aspirational Global Society

“…82 The few Arab states in the northern part of Arabia had been acting as dependencies to larger political institutions, the Byzantines and the Sassanids, as can be seen in the case of the Ghassanid kingdom that owed fealty to the Byzantine empire or the Lakhmid kingdom, which was the vassal of the Sassanid empire. 83 These kingdoms' existence had been influenced by the whims of the great empires, evident in how Khusrau II abolished the Lakhmid kingdom of Hira in 602 and replaced the Lakhmid king with a Persian governor. 84 Unlike the Ghassanids and Lakhmids who maintained close relationships with the great powers, the Quraysh tribe that inhabited Mecca sought relative independence from them.…”

From barriers to bridges: An investigation on Saudi student mobility (2006–2009)

“…While the country was only identified as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as recently as the 18th Century (CE), it has long existed as part of an ancient trading route extending from the north of the Arab Peninsula (Syria [Al-Sham]) to the south in Yemen (von Grunebaum 1963;Ricks 1970). Mecca was considered the central trading point where tribes gathered to exchange their goods, and the Arabic language was used as the trade language for bartering purposes (von Grunebaum 1963;Endress 2002). Figure 1 provides a map showing the Arab Peninsula and the greater Middle East region.…”

The Quranic concept of Ummah

“…8 This sentiment formed the basis of the Arab 'kulturnation', and, as von Grunebaum has observed, "racial pride of the Arab does not seem to have suffered by the realization of his political and civilizational backwardness in comparison with his Greek and Persian speaking neighbours." 9 Arab identity was not, however, the only identity of a person within that society, nor was it the supreme identity in the society. Von Grunebaum rightly points out that it was identity of the individual as a tribe member that enjoyed the supreme loyalty of these persons.…”