ibn al-Jaḥsh al-Asdī al-Qurashī iii) ʿUthmān Asadī Qurayshī and iv) Zayd ibn ʿAmr ibn Nufayl. Ibn Qutaybah has identified six such persons.
It emerges from the works of Ibn Saʿd and others that some Arab tribes felt uneasy about their ancestral faith. Prior to accepting Islam and during the jāhiliyyah period Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī had turned into a monotheist. He did not indulge in idolatry.42 The early Muslims belonging to Arab tribes abandoned their ancestral faith. On his acceptance of Islam, ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah of Banū Salīm said that even during his jāhiliyyah phase he regarded others as in error and idolatry as something vain.43 Another report relates at length his disillusion with his earlier faith, affirming as it does his quest for truth. The same had prompted him to draw closer to the Prophet.44
In their quest for truth some followed the Abrahamic faith while others opted for other faiths. The Quraysh Ḥunafā’ followed the best practices of the Abrahamic faith and adhered firmly to monotheism. Their knowledge about other aspects of faith was little. They acted on their conscience. For example, they meditated, focussed on worship and retired to caves. The significant part, however, of their quest was their abandoning their ancestral faith, particularly idolatry. As Ibn Isḥāq reports, among the four Aḥnāf only Zayd ibn ʿAmr ibn Nufayl stuck to his original faith and died a little before the Prophet’s advent. The Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke of him as a community unto himself, for he believed in monotheism, resented dead meat, blood and offerings to idols, opposed child sacrifice and worshipped the Lord of Prophet Abraham.45 Influenced by his father, Saʿīd ibn Zayd was among the first to embrace Islam.
The other three, namely, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, ʿUthmān ibn Ḥuwayrith and ʿUbaydullāh ibn Jaḥsh opted for Christianity. They found it closer to the truth than their ancestral faith. ʿUthmān settled in the Caesar’s court and died there. He wad held in esteem by the Caesar, particularly on account of his Christian faith. The other two accepted Islam later. Waraqah ibn Nawfal turned into a Christian scholar well versed in the Scriptures who wrote books in the Hebrew language. He was familiar with the Bible hence he turned into a supporter of the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him). In view of his endorsement of his Messengership and his pledge to help the cause of Islam, the Prophet (peace be upon him) branded him as a Muslim and monotheist. ʿUbaydullāh accepted Islam. However, on going to Abyssinia he reverted to Christianity and died in the same faith, which was regrettable.46
Christianity in Makkah
Apart from the Ḥunafā’ and adherents of ancestral faith there were Christians too, in Makkah, though few in number. Their presence lent pluralism to local life and society. Some were Christians by birth and followed the same as the faith of their forefathers while some had accepted it as a result of their quest for truth. The latter comprised several members of various Arab tribes and Quraysh families. Among Arab Christians, mention is already made of Waraqah ibn Nawfal, ʿUthmān ibn Ḥuwayrith and ʿUbaydullāh ibn Jaḥsh. Many Abyssinians have also been referred to above.47
Little mention was made in Makkah of Christian dogma. Regarding Waraqah ibn Nawfal there is the oft-quoted report that he identified the revelation sent down to the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him) as the one with which Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) was blessed earlier. He affirmed that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was a genuine Messenger on the ground that his advent is foretold in the Gospels and the Torah. He mentioned in particular the two signs: i) The Prophet (peace be upon him), like every other Messenger, would be forced into emigrating by his own people and ii) as the last resort and by Allah’s leave he would have to wage jihād. Bukhārī has cited the above points on the authority of Waraqah ibn Nawfal.48Both of these prophecies were very significant. For emigration coupled with jihād and fighting signified the spread of Islam and extirpation of the Quraysh. Balādhurī’s report clarifies that Waraqah had stated that the Prophet’s advent was foretold by Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him). He was mentioned pointedly in the Gospels. Waraqah had affirmed also that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would be blessed with Sūrah al-Fātiḥah.
The report about ʿAddās mentions the Prophet Jonah as the Messenger of God. ʿAddās added that at the time of his departure from Ninevah few people recognized the Prophet Jonah. The Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him), however, knew him thanks to the divine revelation to him. He therefore equated the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him) with the Prophet Jonah (peace be upon him) as a genuine Messenger of God who must be obeyed. The above explains why ʿAddās had readily recognized the Prophet as a Messenger of God and professed faith in him.49
Balādhurī recounts a report on the Christian dogma about Gabriel that after Gabriel’s visit to the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him) Khadījah enquired two Christian scholars in Makkah. Waraqah ibn Nawfal readily affirmed that Gabriel is God’s angel who calls on the Messengers. If he had visited the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him), the latter should be taken as God’s Messenger. He expressed his wish to serve the Prophet (peace be upon him). When Khadījah asked ʿAddās about Gabriel, he was astonished. For in a town reeling under idolatry none discussed Gabriel, God’s angel who visited only the Messengers.50 The above report is endorsed also by the report which states that Waraqah had drawn a parallelism between the angel visiting him and the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him).51
The popular Christian belief about the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) is that he is, God forbid, the son of God. However, genuine Christians regarded him no more than as the word of God and His spirit, as is borne out by the debate on this issue in Negus’s court.
According to Imām Bukhārī’s report, Umm Ḥabībah and Umm Salamah had seen a church with images during their stay in Abyssinia. When they recounted it to the Prophet (peace be upon him), he explained that when a pious Christian died, they erected the place of worship at his grave and engraved his image. Such would be reckoned as Allah’s worst creatures on the Day of Reckoning.52 The above clarifies the beginning of idolatry in Christianity, which culminated later in the worship of Mary and the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him). It distorted their monotheistic doctrine and gave rise to the notion of sonship and divinity of the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him).
Reference to some Christian teachings and rituals appears also in Salmān al-Fārsī’s quest for truth. He was drawn to Christianity on observing them in prayer in a church. Gradually he was persuaded of the truth and superiority of this faith. About a practising Christian scholar of Syria he reports: ‘I did not come across anyone more punctual in prayers, concerned about the Hereafter, indifferent to this world and devoted to worship than him.’ He was critical of popular Christianity which was removed far away from the original faith. His mentors practised true Christianity.53
About the Christian mode of worship there appears an interesting report in the context of the Christian delegation of Najrān that had called on the Prophet (peace be upon him). After ʿAṣr prayer they performed their prayer at the Prophet’s mosque, facing eastwards. As the Kaʿbah was declared the Muslims’ qiblah, they faced southwards. The Prophet allowed Christians to pray facing their own qiblah.54 A degenerated Christian scholar of Syria was notorious for usurping others’ belongings, especially charity money. This points to the concept and practice of charity among Christians.
Notions about the Superiority of Christianity and Judaism:
The Makkan Quraysh and their chiefs held the two major faiths – Christianity and Judaism in awe, and regarded these as superior to their own faith. They acknowledged their truth and exalted status. What accounted for it was the Quraysh’s ignorance of and deprivation from the Scripture and divine faith. They were overwhelmed by the religious knowledge possessed by the Christians and Jews and the latter’s conviction that these were the best faiths. Accordingly the Quraysh turned to them in all religious affairs and trusted their opinion. In view of the same impression many Arab seekers of truth had abandoned their ancestral faith and converted to Christianity or Judaism. This is borne out by the account of the three Ḥunafā’. One had even preferred Christianity to Islam. It emerges from the event related to ʿAddās that his Qurayshī masters, ʿUtbah and Shaybah regarded his faith superior to Islam,