Challenges/Threats to National Security Turkey

Introduction The current civil conflict in Syria that continues to upsurge every day is damaging the good relationship between Turkey and Syria. It is terminating the impressive bond between the Turkey’s ruling party, Adelet ve KalkÄ ±nma Partisi (AKP), and the al-Assad’s government that has existed for almost a decade.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Challenges/Threats to National Security: Turkey specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Turkey’s Prime Minister in cooperation with the Foreign Minister ostracised their previous associate and backed the insurgents, as a way of preventing the revolt from infiltrating into Turkey. This move has led to an upsurge of refugees, military rebels, and opposition leaders, who are deserting the tyrannical authority, into Turkey. Turkey has not only declared its support for the insurgents, but also promised a military intervention if the government continues wi th its violent suppression. Turkish government has lauded support for the revolutionists stating that Syria will greatly benefit from the resistance. Syrian government has disregarded the threats raising the question if these events will prompt Turkey to cease its â€Å"soft power† and initiate hard power as a way of protecting its southern border. From Compulsion to Stabilisation History reveals that Turkey utilised mechanisms of hard power towards Syria when Syria backed the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) thirty years ago. In an attempt to terminate Damascus sponsorship for the military rebels that Ankara had been unable to conquer for years, the Turkish government implemented pressure tactics against Syria on not less than three incidents in the 1980s, as well as 1990s (Bishku 36-53). In the late 1980s, the Turkish government took advantage of the influence they had over the headwaters of Euphrates as well as Tigris to snip a chip on Syria. The anticipation was that Damascus would run out of options and withdraw its support for the PKK because Turkey had fortified its shares on the regional rivers. However, this strategy botched as Syria continued supporting the group. Later in 1992, Turkey applied a second pressure strategy that was also unsuccessful when Ankara ignored retaliation threats on Syria if it continued sheltering PKK. The coercion ultimately inspired a temporary agreement when Damascus decided to remove PKK fighters from Helwe drill site.Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, the leaders of Turkey did not react when Syria allowed PKK to launch a site where 1000 insurgents were drilled in 1993. Turkey also failed in its third effort, when it had to stop its battle with Syria because of the unpredicted outbreak of conflict with Greece (Bishku 36-53). The defining moment came in the fourth effort of Ankara in 1998 when Washington, Tehran, and Cairo supported them. The Turkish government hinted that it would use compulsion in case Damascus refused to comply and continue backing terrorist activities. Ankara established a diplomatic invasive as well as martial campaign to support its coercions (Damla 41-50). These tactics in line with the strong support from Washington enabled Turkey to succeed eventually. Ankara signed the Adana agreement, which that stated, â€Å"PKK training camps in Damascus would be closed and Ãâ€"calan was prohibited from residing in Syria† (Ãâ€"zlem 165). Furthermore, mechanisms to check if Syria observed the agreement’s demands were established. PKK was defeated and the relationship between Syria and Turkey strengthened once again. The economic association between Ankara and Damascus was also re-energised as Turkey and Syria signed a free trade accord, which was to remove the custom taxes (Ãâ€"zlem 163-175). The AKP’s â€Å"Soft Power† Tactic A lthough the early Turkish leaders in the 1990s always aimed at perfecting the link between Syria and Turkey, AKP tried to utilise every available opportunity to improve the relationship between the two countries from 2002. The AKP government proposed a remarkable role for Turkey in the Middle East. AKP agreed that, for them to achieve this goal, they had to acquire elements of â€Å"soft power† in trading, sharing of customs, diplomatic actions, as well as religious kinship whilst refraining from compulsive tactics (Damla 41-50). The soft power approach was exemplified by the then Foreign Minister who stated that Turkey should have a zero conflict policy with its neighbours because of its central location in Afro-Eurasia.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Challenges/Threats to National Security: Turkey specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This geostrategic position would enable Turkey to become a core continent al or even global actor if it maintained good relations with its closest neighbours. AKP’s achievement in establishing good links with Syria as well other Middle East nations hinged firmly on economic and political benefits (Idrees 87-99). AKP decided to use its traditional as well as religious connections with Levant as an instrument of soft power. Since AKP is an Islamic inspired party, it believes that Turkey should be a typical example of justice, equality, as well as economic success witnessed during the Ottoman period. This doctrine has encouraged it to accomplish its goals in the Middle East. In attempt to advance Turkish authority in Middle East, AKP got unforeseen backing from its entertainment industry. Over forty Turkish films have been aired in the Arab countries and they help educate the constituents of Arab world understand how Muslim societies can live liberally (Bishku 36-53). The AKP administration has improved the bilateral relations introduced by the previo us regimes. The Strategic Cooperation Council, which is made of ministers from both Syria and Turkey, held meetings in 2009 to improve the bilateral links. The efforts to perfect the bilateral relations got strong support from a group of organisations, which include investors and company representatives (Saban 5-7). Consequently, the trade volume between Syria and Turkey escalated from $824.1 million to $1.84 billion in 2010, and they anticipated that the amount will rise to $5 billion by the end of 2012 (Bishku 36-53). The boosted relationship between the two countries spread to other states in Middle East, which inspired Bashar al-Assad to request Ankara to intercede in the convert talks between Syria and Israel in 2007. Lebanon also sought the assistance Ankara to help them persuade Damascus and Tehran to stop their diplomatically destabilising tactics towards Lebanon. These incidents disclosed the significant role that Turkey was playing in resolving clashes in the Middle East ( Idrees 87-99).Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Furthermore, Ankara sided with Damascus in several occasions instead of Washington, hence affecting the relationship between the United States and Turkey (Jim 12). For instance, the Turkish tactical interests concurred with those of Syria in several scenarios during Iraq incursion in 2003. The bond between the two countries became even stronger when Assad visited ErdoÄŸan in Turkey. This visit was remarkable because sixty-eight years had passed since the last president of Syria visited Turkey (Saban 5-7). The relationship between the two counties appeared to have a bright future if not for the Arab revolts that began in 2011. Although the soft power applied by AKP was successful in several incidences, it could not control the Syrian regime as it had anticipated and especially during the revolt. The relationship between Syria began to decline at the onset of the revolution (Damla 41-50). Turkey believed that its close rapport with Syria would help convince Assad to stop torturing t he rebels. However, Syria was not prepared to solve its conflict through reforms and instead continued with its brutality. These events prompted ErdoÄŸan to support the rebels (Karen 26-32). Whilst the mutual rapport between Turkey and Syria is deteriorating, a close relationship between the U.S. and Turkey is developing. Turkey has been holding consistent talks with the U.S. intended to resolve the Syrian conflict. The two governments have agreed to use compulsion against Syria. Turkey has recently threatened to impose sanctions against Syria (Karen 26-32). Syria has also retorted asserting that it might re-introduce PKK. Ankara has also displayed its direct support for the militants by establishing camps, which shelter fleeing army officers and refugees. Allegations indicate that AKP has withdrawn its support for Assad because of Syrian Muslim Brotherhood (SMB). SMB has promised to adopt Turkish governance policies after assuming power. Turkey sees this indication as a good oppo rtunity to perfect its relations with the country (Idrees 87-99). Conclusion Though the ongoing revolts have negatively affected Turkey-Syria relations, Turkey still has a regional authority in the Middle East. Clearly, the conflict in Syria is having both positive and negative impact in Turkey’s association with states, both regionally and internationally. The revolts in the Middle East as well as the autocratic nature of the Arab potentates make it inappropriate to employ soft power. It is time Turkey in cooperation with foreign forces applied hard power, which was successful three decades ago, to oust the tyrants and restore peace in Syria. Works Cited Bishku, Michael. â€Å"Turkish-Syrian Relations: A Checkered History.† Middle East  Policy 19.3 (2012): 36-53. Print. Damla, Aras. â€Å"Turkish-Syrian Relations Go Downhill.† Middle East Quarterly 19.2 (2012): 41-50. Print. Jim, Zanotti. Turkey: Background and U.S. Relations, 2012. Web. https://www.state.gov / Idrees, Mohammed. â€Å"Turkey and Iran Rivalry on Syria: Alternatives.† Turkish Journal of International Relations 10.1 (2011): 87-99. Print. Karen, Kaya. â€Å"Turkey and the Arab Spring.† Military Review 92.4 (2012): 26-32. Print Ãâ€"zlem, Tà ¼r. â€Å"Turkish-Syrian Relations – Where Are We Going?† UNISCI Discussion  Papers 23 (2010): 163-175. Print. Saban, Kardas. â€Å"Syrian Uprising Tests Turkey’s Middle East Policy.† Eurasia Daily  Monitor 8.90 (2011): 5-7. Print. This essay on Challenges/Threats to National Security: Turkey was written and submitted by user Neil T. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Role of The Manager

Role of The Manager A manager's role is to lead his/her organization to a clearly stated objective ( Mission Statement ). In doing so he/she must channel all his resources in a precise and organized way to work toward those goalsThe meaning of the word 'Manager' or 'Management'A Manager is a person with administrative power or controli.e.: manager of an actor or Manager of an international football team.A Manager is a person who gets people to do what is wanted, when it'swanted, the way it's wanted because THEY want to do it ( Evans ). This basically indicates the skill of getting people 'willingly' do designated work/tasks.A Manager is the supervisor of people/employees.A Manager is a person whose job it is to identify restrictions on their output and remove them in order to get the task in hand done more efficiently.Ensures that work standards are applied e.g.:Global Project Manager travleinga Production Line.A Manager is an individual that has any role in an organisation whereThe occupant is authoris ed to get part of his/her work done through subordinates for whose work he/she remains wholly responsible for ( Evans )A Manger is a person who manages a business or organisationor institution.Management is the process of getting things done efficiently and effectively, through and with other people. Efficiently is doing the given tasks right and to the correct and expected standards - inputs and outputs. Effectively means doing the correct tasks and achieving the desired results/goals.Management is the act, manner or the practice of managing and controlling something i.e.: business, budgets, and people.Management is the process of achieving objectives within a changing environment by having the correct balance of efficiency and effectiveness. It is also being able to obtain the most from available...

When DIY Bites You in the Butt

When DIY Bites You in the Butt We are an industrious lot. We want to know how someone did what he did successfully, so we can do it, too . . . or do it better. Or do it ourselves instead of buying the other guys product. Or do it ourselves to save money . . . or to maintain creativity as our own instead of splitting its ownership. Its called DIY, or do-it-yourself, and we cant stand not to try doing it ourselves if it means more benefits for us. I love to bake. I hate recipes that have boxed mixes or tell me to save time As writers, we fight that battle uphill to publish a book. How hard can it be to format that manuscript in Word? How difficult can a cover be? Surely I can learn how to upload books. We read directions, study what others have done, then grit our teeth, determined to do it ourselves. Then invariably, after weve erred, redone and cursed our mistakes, we reach a point where we ask ourselves and our friends: It doesnt look bad for me doing it myself, does it? And right there youve compromised your storys future. Youve cobbled together what others do for a living. Youve decided to settle for less than professional. You think others wont notice, because they havent learned what youve learned, and tried what youve tried. When youve poured your soul into writing, you need to equally pour your soul into its proper publication. You have two choices when doing anything in life: 1) Take the time to become an expert at it, or 2) Hire the expert. Just know that anything in between is settling. When it comes to baking a cake, Ill settle for my Milky Way Cake from scratch. Its meant to be rustic, gooey and not exactly straight around the edges. But when I need a cake for someones 50th anniversary, believe me, Im hiring someone wholl give me the presentation needed to respect the grand auspiciousness of the occasion.

Module title Construction of race in polotics Essay

Module title Construction of race in polotics - Essay Example because all the really big questions had been settled."1 Fukuyama concludes that this does not "mean that the natural cycle of birth, life, death would end, that important events would no longer happen," but rather, "that there would be no further progress in the development of underlying principles and institutions, because all the really big questions had been settled."2 Samuel B Huntington responded that the really biggest question had yet to be debated. â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations† is the issue that will be the big question in the future. Huntington asserts that,â€Å"the great. divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural.† He acknowledges that â€Å"nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs,† but in future their conflicts will â€Å"occur between nations and groups of civilizations†. Following from these assumptions he concludes that â€Å"the fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.†3 Fukuyama took the very narrow view that the end of the struggle between between capitalism/liberal-democracy and communism/command economy was over with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and that that was the defining conflict of the evolution of human society. It is either a hyperbolic or a foolish suggestion. Huntington proposes that the epic struggle of the twentieth century has imply been displaced by this centurys theme, the clash and conflict between rival cultures. â€Å"A civilization is a cultural entity, â€Å" Huntington writes.4 It is a meta-entity, â€Å"the highest cultural grouping of people and the broadest level of cultural identity people have short of that which distinguishes humans from other species.†5 The taxonomy of civilizations takes into consideration history, language, culture, tradition and, most important, religion. Huntington also points out that there is an objective and a subjective aspect to civilizations. The objective elements of society are the five

CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE - Assignment Example There are two primary conditions that are significantly associated with the situation in which the heart fails. They include systolic heart and diastolic heart failure (UCSF Medical Center 2015). Moreover, CHF is said to be a condition that occurs gradually and may take the time to be noticed. A reflection on CHF will help in understanding the signs and symptoms, as well as staging. The staging will focus on New York Heart Association (NYHA) classifications as well as the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) risk stages of patients. There are various signs and symptoms of CHF. The first significant sign of the condition is challenges of breathing also known as dyspnea (American Heart Association, 2015). The challenges of breathing are common when one is engaging in any activity. However, it may occur during rest or while sleeping, and it may be sudden to a level of waking ones up (American Heart Association, 2015). Sometimes one may experience challenges of breathing while lying flat. Moreover, one may wake up tired and feel unsettled. All these challenges are associated with the blood returning to the pulmonary veins as the heart is unable to maintain the supply (American Heart Association, 2015). The other major thing is coughing or wheezing that occurs for a long time. It is characterized by the production of white or pink blood-tinged mucus (American Heart Association, 2015). The reason for this characteristic is the presence of fluids in the lung. In addition, their body has excess fluid also known as edem a. The symptom is characterized by swelling mostly in the feet, ankles, legs, as well as weight gain (American Heart Association, 2015). The symptom is caused by retention of fluid in various tissues and also by inability if the kidney to discharge waste. The affected individual also feels tired. Tiredness is evident in all task one carries in a day. The reason for tiredness is the

Introduction Speech Outline Essay Example for Free

Introduction Speech Outline Essay Purpose Statement: To persuade my audience that true personal power is developed through our humane treatment of ourselves and our fellow man. Thesis Statement: To understand personal power, it’s important to look at how we treat ourselves. Are we critical of ourselves? Unforgiving? Do we have low self-esteem or confidence? Attention Getter Overview of main points: â€Å"All suffering is caused by mankind’s great inhumanity to one another. Hello, I am Tonya, and today I am going to talk to you about accountability, responsibility, and change. ARC is the ark of a life that is built upon a stable foundation. I. First main point written in complete sentence When we think of being accountable, we often think of others accountability and not ourselves. Being accountability for our actions and not blaming others is the very first step to developing personal power. Accountability in this instance means being aware that something is wrong or amiss in our lives, and not ignoring it. It’s identifying the problem, or our wrong actions II. Second main point in complete sentence. Responsibility is the second step in the development of personal power, not only do we have to be accountable, we also have to accept responsibility for our thoughts, words, and the subsequent actions that take place as a result of them. Responsibility is accepting the problem or our negative actions and finding productive, efficient, and effective ways to deal with them. III. Third main point in complete sentence. Once we have identified the problem or wrong action, and accepted it, then we are ready for step number three†¦Change. Change. We are changing moment by moment each and every day. We are either changing for the best or for the worst. That’s not what we are speaking about here. When I say â€Å"change†, I am talking about a deliberate action, which will bring about a deliberate manifestation. True change comes about once we make a choice. Conclusion: Accountability, Responsibility, and Change these are the points on which a person can build their pyramid of personal power. If we are willing to be accountable, accept responsibility, and change when necessary, there is nothing that we cannot achieve; and we will be co-creators within the social structures of Life. We will always be a part of the solution, rather than being a part of the problem. Today, I challenge you to apply these three principles to your life and soon you will be living a life full of purpose, and fulfill your call to Greatness. Bibliography Shepherd, Tonya â€Å"Needless Suffering† Accessed May 9, 2014 http://ltbtd.blogspot.com/2014/05/needless-suffering.html

Literature: Tool For The Masses To Grasp And Form Opinions On A Subject :: essays research papers

Literature: Tool For The Masses to Grasp and Form Opinions on A Subject Over the centuries, one of the most important tools available to protesting groups was literature. Some of the most famous protest literature in the world has its roots in American history. For example, some great American authors of protest literature include Thomas Paine, Thomas Nast, John C. Calhoun, and Martin Luther King. Through eloquent, sometimes subtle means, these authors became the spokesmen for their particular protest movements. Thomas Paine was an English-born man who seemed to stir controversy wherever he traveled. Paine's forceful yet eloquent prose made him a hero for the three great causes to which he devoted his life; the American Revolution, religious reform, and the natural rights of man. At the age of 37, Paine strove for the fabled shores of America, determined to forget his past. He made the acquaintance of Benjamin Franklin, and settled in Philadelphia. There, Paine was eventually hired into the profession of editor for the Pennsylvania Magazine. He published a series of minor essays, but his first important work was an essay written for the Pennsylvania Journal in which Paine openly denounced slavery. This was Paine's first foray into the world of protest literature, and it clearly whet his appetite. Paine soon became fascinated with the ongoing hostility in Anglo-American relations, and, much to the dismay of his publisher, could not seem to think of anything but. Therefore, in late 1775, Paine had begun what was to become a 50-page Pamphlet known as Common Sense. In this work, Paine stated that: Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a Government, which we might expect in a country without Government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer. Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of paradise (Fast 6). This very biting and controversial stance is what characterized Paine's writing. He went on to dismiss the King as a fool, and stated that natural ability is not necessarily related to heredity. Paine argued that the colonies existed only for British profit, and that the colonies must unite quickly if they were ever to form a single nation. This latter argument was more than likely influenced by Franklin's famous "Join or Die" cartoon. Finally, Paine argued that the only way to gain the rights desired by the colonists and help from outside powers was

Pakistan Study

Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar) By Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri CONTENTS Location and nature of Arab Tribes Location of the Arabs Arab Tribes Rulership and Princeship among the Arabs Rulership in Yemen Rulership in Heerah Rulership in Geographical Syria Rulership in Hijaz T he Reasons of this war have been illustrated in three versions Rulership in Pan-Arabia The political situation Religions of the Arabs The Religious situation Aspects of Pre-Islamic Arabian Society Social life of the Arabs The Economic Situation The Lineage and Family of Muhammad (Peace be upon him)The prophetic Family Muhammad’s Birth and Forty years prior Prophethood His Birth B abyhood B ack to his passionate Mother To His compassionate Grandfather Bahira, the Monk The Sacrilegious wars Al-Fudoul confederacy Muhammad’s Early Job His Marriage to Khadijah Rebuilding Al-Ka‘bah and the Arbitration Issue A Rapid Review of Muhammad’s Biography before commissioning of the Prophethood In the Shade of the Message and Prophethood In the Cave of Hira’ Gabriel brings down the Revelation Interruption of Revelation Once more, Gabriel brings Allah’s RevelationS ome details pertinent to the successive stages of Revelation Proclaiming Allah, the All-High; and the Immediate Constituents Phases and stages of the call The First Stage Strife in the Way of the Call Three years of Secret Call The Early Converts As-Salat (the Prayer) T he Quraishites learn about the Call The Second Phase, Open Preaching First Revelation regarding the Preaching Calling the Closest Kinspeople On Mount As -Safa Shouting the Truth and the Polytheists’ Reaction An Advisory Council to debar Pilgrims from Muhammad’s Call Attempts made to check the Onward March of Islam Persecutions The House of Al-Arqum The First Migration to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) Quraish’s Machination against the Emigrants Once more Quraish approaches Abu Talib The Tyrants’ Decision to kill th e Prophet (Peace be upon him) The Conversion of Hamzah bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib The Conversion of ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab Q uraish’s Representative negotiates with the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) Abu Talib assmbles Bani Hashim and Bani Al-Muttalib General Social Boycott A Pact of Injustice and Aggression The Final Phase of the Diplomacy of Negotiation The Year of Grief Abu Talib’s DeathK hadijah passes away to the Mercy of Allah H is Marriage to Sawdah (May be please with her) in Shawwal, the tenth year of Prophethood Factors inspiring patience and perserverance The Third Phase Calling unto Is lam beyond Makkah Islam being introduced to Arabian Tribes and Individuals Hope inspiring Breezes from the Madinese Marriage of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) to Aisha (May Allah be please with her) Al-Isra’ and Al-Mir‘raj The First ‘Aqabah Pledge The Muslim Envoy in Madinah T he Second ‘Aqabah Pledge The Vanguard of Migration (in the Caus e of Allah) In An-Nadwah (Council) HouseThe Parliament of Quraish Migration of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) Life in Madinah The First Phase †¦ The Status Quo in Madinah at the Time of Emigration A New Society being built A Charter of Islamic Alliance A Cooperation and Non-Aggression P act with the Jews The Prophet on the Battlefield Pre-Badr Missions and Invasions The Battle of Badr – The First Decisive Battle in the History of Islam Reason of the Battle Some Significant Instances of Devotion Reaction in Makkah Madinah receives the News of Victory The Battle of Badr in its Qur’anic Context The Military Activities between Badr and UhudAl-Kudr Invasion An Attempt on the Life of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) Invasion of Bani Qainuqa‘ T he Qainuqa‘ Jews breach the Covenant As-Sawiq Invasion Dhi Amr Invasion Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf, killed 3 The Invasion of Buhran Z aid bin Harithah leads a Compaign on the Trade Routes of Quraish The Battle of Uhud A Consultation Assembly for a Defence Plan Dividing the Islamic Army into phalanxes and Departure to the Battlefield Para ding the Army P assing the Night between Uhud and Madinah The Rebellion of ‘Abdullah bin Ubai and his Followers The Remainder of the Islamic Army are on the Move to UhudThe Defence Plan The Messenger of Allah (Peace b e upon him) implants the Spirit of Bravery among his Armed Forces Recruitment of the Makkan Army Political Manoeuvres of Quraish T he effort of Quraishite women at waging the Zeal of Men T he Combat A ssassination of Asadullah (the Lion of Allah) Hamzah bin ‘Abdul Muttalib Bringing the Situation under Control From his wife’s lap to Sword -fights and Sorrows The Contribution of the Archers squad to the Battle. The Archers’s Fatal Mistake The Most Awkward Hour in the Messenger’s Life Multilation of the Martyrs Burial of the Martyrs Hamra’ Al-Asad InvasionT he Observations of the Noble Qur’an on the Battle o f Uhud L essons and Moralities Military Platoons and Missions between the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of the Confederates Abi Salamah Mission An Errand led by ‘Abdullah bin Unais The Event of Ar-Raji‘ The Tragedy of Ma‘una Well Bani An-Nadeer Invasion The Invasion of Najd The Invasion of Badr, the Second The Invasion of Doumat Al-Jaudal Al-Ahzab (the Confederates) Invasion Invading Banu Quraiza Military Activities continued Bani Lihyan Invasion E xpeditions and Delegations continued Bani Al-Mustaliq (Muraisi‘) Ghazwah Sha‘ban 6 Hijri The treacherous Role of the HypocritesP rior to the Bani Al-Mustaliq Ghazwah T he wicked Role they played in the Course of the Ghazwah of Bani Al-Mustaliq The Slander Affair Delegations and Expeditions following Al-Muraisi‘ Ghazwah Al-Hudaibiyah Treaty (Dhul Qu‘dah 6 A. H. ) Al-Hudaibiya Treaty: Socio Political Impact The Second Stage A N ew Phase of Islamic Action T he Prophet’s Plans to spread the Mes sage of Islam to beyond Arabia A Deputation to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) L etter to the Vicegerent of Egypt, called Muqawqas A Letter to chosroes, Emperor of Persia The Envoy to Caesar, King of Rome 4 A Letter to Mundhir bin Sawa, Governor of BahrainA Letter to Haudha bin ‘Ali, Governor of Yamama A Letter to Harith bin Abi Shamir Al-Ghassani, King of Damascus A Letter to the King of ‘Oman, Jaifer, and his Bother ‘Abd Al-Jalandi P ost-Hudaibiyah Hostilities Dhu Qarad Invasion The Conquest of Khaibar (in Moharram, 7 A. H. ) The Actual operation begins T he Second Part of Khaibar Conquered N egotiations Distribution of Spoils Sporadic Invasions The Expedition called Dhat-ur-Riqa‘ (in the year 7 A. H. ) T he Compensatory ‘Umrah (Lesser Pilgrimage) The Battle of Mu’tah Dhat As-Salasil Compaign Khadrah Campaign T he Conquest of Makkah Pre-conquest EventsP reparations for the Attach on Makkah, and the Prophet’s Attempt at imposing a News Black-out The Third Stage Hunain Ghazwah The Enemy’s march and their Encampment at Awtas T he war-experienced Man wongs the Leader’s Judgement R econnoitering the Weapons of the Messenger of Allah(Peace be upon him) R econnoitering the Enemy’s Weapons The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) leaves Makkah for Hunain The Islamic Army stunned the Archers and the Attackers Muslims’ return to the Battlefield, and the fierceness of the Fight R everse of Fortunes and the Enemy’s utter Defeat Hot pursuit of the Enemy Ta’if CompaignThe Distribution of the Booty at al-Ji‘ranah The Helpers (Al-Ansar) are furious at the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) Arrival of the Hawazin Delegation Lesser Pilgrimage (Al-‘Umrah ) to Makkah and leaving for Madinah M issions and Platoons After the Conquest T he Platoons The Invasion of Tabuk in Rajab, in the year 9 A. H. The underlying Reasons G eneral News about the Byzantines and Ghassanide Preparations for W ar P articular News about the Byzantine and Ghassanide preparations for War The Muslim Army is leaving for Tabuk The Army of Islam at Tabuk Returning to Madinah T he People Who lagged BehindThe Invasion of Tabuk and its Far-Reaching Ramifications The Qur’anic Verses Relating to this Invasion Some Important Events that featured that Year Abu Bakr performs the Pilgrimage A Meditation on the Ghazawat People embrace the Religion of Allah in Large Crowds T he Delegations The Success and Impact of the Call The Farewell Pilgrimage 5 The Last Expeditions The Journey to Allah, the Sublime Symptoms of Farewell T he Start of the Disease T he Last Week F ive days before death F our days before his death A Day or Two prior to Death A Day before his Death The Last day Alive T he Prophet (Peace be upon him) breathes his LastThe companions’ concern over the Prophet’s Death Umar’s Attitude Abu Bakr’s Attitude B urial and Farewell Preparations to his Honourable Body The Prophetic Household The Prophet (Peace be upon him), Attributes and Manners Beauty of creation The perfection of Soul and Nobility 6 Location and Nature of Arab Tribes Beyond a shadow of doubt, the biography of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) manifestedly represents an exhaustive embodiment of the sublime Divine Message that he communicated in order to deliver the human race from the swamp of darkness and polytheism to the paradise of light and monotheism.An image, authentic as well as comprehensive, of this Message is therefore only attainable through careful study and profound analysis of both backgrounds and issues of such a biography. In view of this, a whole chapter is here introduced about the nature and development of Arab tribes prior to Islam as well as the circumstantial environment that enwrapped the Prophet’s mission. LOCATION OF THE ARABS: L inguistically, the word â€Å"Arab† means deserts and waste barren land well-nigh waterless and treeless.E ver since the dawn of history, the Arabian Peninsula and its people have been called as such. The Arabian Peninsula is enclosed in the west by the Red Sea and Sinai, in the east by the Arabian Gulf, in the south by the Arabian Sea, which is an extension of the Indian Ocean, and in the north by old Syria and part of Iraq. The area is estimated between a million and a million and a quarter square miles. Thanks to its geographical position, the peninsula has always maintained great importance..Considering its internal setting, it is mostly deserts and sandy places, which has rendered it inaccessible to foreigners and invaders, and allowed its people complete liberty and independence through the ages, despite the presence of two neighbouring great empires. Its external setting, on the other hand, caused it to be the centre of the old world and provided it with sea and land links with most nations at the time. Thanks to this strategic position the Arabian Peninsula had become the centre for trade, culture, religion and art. ARAB TRIBES:Arab kinfolks have been divided according to lineage into three groups: Perishing Arabs: The ancient Arabs, of whose history little is known, and of whom were ‘Ad, Thamud, Tasam, Jadis, Emlaq, and others. Pure Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ya‘rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan. They were also called Qahtanian Arabs. Arabized Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ishmael. They were also called ‘Adnanian Arabs. The pure Arabs – the people of Qahtan – originally lived in Yemen and comprised many tribes, two of which were very famous: 1. Himyar: The most famous of whose septs were Zaid Al-Jamhur, Quda‘a and Sakasic. . Kahlan: The most famous of whose septs were Hamdan, Anmar, Tai’, Mudhhij, Kinda, Lakhm, Judham, Azd, Aws, Khazraj and the descendants of Jafna — the kings of old Syria. Kahlan septs emigrated from Yemen to dwell in the different parts of the Arabian Peninsula prior to the Great Flood (Sail Al-‘Arim of Ma’rib Dam), due to the failure of trade under the Roman pressure and domain on both sea and land trade routes following Roman occupation of Egypt and Syria. Naturally enough, the competition between Kahlan and Himyar led to the evacuation of the first and the settlement of the second in Yemen.THE EMIGRATING SEPTS OF KAHLAN CAN BE INTO FOUR GROUPS: 1 . Azd: Who, under the leadership of ‘Imran bin ‘Amr Muzaiqba’, wandered in Yemen, sent pioneers and finally headed northwards. Details of their emigration can be summed up as follows: 7 2. Tha‘labah bin ‘Amr left his tribe Al-Azd for Hijaz and dwelt between Tha‘labiyah and Dhi Qar. When he gained strength, he headed for Madinah where he stayed. Of his seed are Aws and Khazraj, sons of Haritha bin Tha‘labah. Haritha bin ‘Amr, known as Khuza‘a, wandered with his folks in Hijaz until they came to Mar Az-Zahran.Later, they conquered the Haram, and settled in Makkah after having driven away its people, the tribe of Jurhum. ‘Imran bin ‘Amr and his folks went to ‘Oman where they established the tribe of Azd whose children inhabited Tihama and were known as Azd-of-Shanu’a. Jafna bin ‘Amr and his family, headed for Syria where he settled and initiated the kingdom of Ghassan who was so named after a spring of water, in Hijaz, where they s topped on their way to Syria. 2. Lakhm and Judham: Of whom was Nasr bin Rabi‘a, father of Manadhira, Kings of Heerah. 3.Banu Tai’: Who also emigrated northwards to settle by the so- called Aja and Salma Mountains which were consequently named as Tai’ Mountain s. 4. Kinda: Who dwelt in Bahrain but were expelled to Hadramout and Najd where they instituted a powerful government but not for long , for the whole tribe soon faded away. †¢ Another tribe of Himyar, known as Quda‘a, also left Yemen and dwelt in Samawa semidesert on t he borders of Iraq. The Arabized Arabs go back in ancestry to their great grandfather Abraham (Peace be upon him) from a town called â€Å"Ar† near Kufa on the west bank of the Euphrates in Iraq.Excavations brought to light great details of the town, Abraham’s family, and the prevalent religions and social circumstances. It is known that Abrahaml (Peace be upon him) eft Ar for Harran and then for Palestine, which he made headquarters for his Message. He wandered all over the area. When he went to E gypt, the Pharaoh tried to do evil to his wife Sarah, but Allah saved her and the Pharaoh’s wicked scheme recoiled on him. He thus came to realize her strong attachment to Allah, and, in acknowledgment of her grace, the Pharaoh rendered his daughter Hagar at Sarah’s service, but Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham as a wife.Abraham returned to Palestine where Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. Sarah became so jealous of Hagar that she forced Abraham to send Hagar and her bab y away to a plantless valley on a small hill in Hijaz, by the Sacred House, exposed to the wearing of floods coming right and left. He chose for them a place under a lofty tree above Zamzam near the upper side of the Mosque in Makkah where neither people nor water was available, and went back to Pale stine leaving with his wife and baby a leather case with some dates and a pot of water.Not before long, they ran out of both food and water, but thanks to Allah’s favour water gushed forth to sustain them for sometime. The whole story of Zamzam spring is already known to everybody. Another Yemeni tribe – Jurhum the Second – came and lived in Makkah upon Hagar’s permission, after being said to have lived in the valleys around Makkah. It is mentioned in the Sahih Al-Bukhari that this tribe came to Makkah before Ishmael was a young man while they had passed through that valley long before this event. Abraham used to go to Makkah every now and then to see his wif e and son.The number of these journeys is still unknown, but authentic historical resources spoke of four ones. Allah, the Sublime, stated in the Noble Qur’an that He had Abraham see, in his dream, that he slaughtered his son Ishmael, and therefore Abraham stood up to fulfill His Order: †¢ â€Å"Then, when they had both submitted themselves (to the Will of Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (or on the side of his forehead for slaughtering); and We called out to him: â€Å"O Abraham! You have fulfilled the dream (vision)! † Verily!Thus do we reward the Muhsinun (good-doers, who perform good deeds totally for Allah’s sake only, without any show off or to gain praise or fame, etc. and do them in accordance to Allah’s Orders). Verily, that indeed was a manifest trial — and We ransomed him with a great sacrifice (i. e. a ram)† [37:103-107] 8 It is mentioned in the Genesis that Ishmael was thirteen years older than his brot her Ishaq. The sequence of the story of the sacrifice of Ishmael shows that it really happened before Ishaq’s birth, and that Allah’s Promise to give Abraham another son, Ishaq, came a fter narration of the whole story.This story spoke of one journey – at least – before Ishmael became a young man. Al-Bukhari, on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, reported the other three journeys; a summary of which goes as follows: When Ishmael became a yo ung man, he learned Arabic at the hand of the tribe of Jurhum, who loved him with great admiration and gave him one of their women as a wife, soon after his mother died. Having wanted to see his wife and son again, Abraham came to Makkah, Ishmael’s marriage, but he didn’t find him at home. He asked Ishmael’s wife about her husband and how they were doing.She complained of poverty, so he asked her to tell Ishmael to change his doorstep. Ishmael understood the message, divorced his wife and got marri ed to the daughter of Mudad bin ‘Amr, chief of the tribe of Jurhum. Once more, Abraham came to see his son, but again didn’t find him at home. He asked his new wife the same previous question, to which she thanked Allah. Abraham asked her to tell Ishmael to keep his doorstep (i. e. to keep her as wife) and went back to Palestine. A third time, Abraham came to Makkah to find Ishmael sharpening an arrow under a lofty tree near Zamzam.The meeting, after a very long journey of separation, was very touching for a father so affectionate and a so dutiful and righteous son. This time, father and son built Al-Ka‘bah and raised its pillars, and Abraham, in compliance with Allah’s Commandment, called unto people to make pilgrimage to it. By the grace of Allah, Ishmael had twelve sons from the daughter of Mudad, whose names were Nabet, Qidar, Edbael, Mebsham, Mishma’, Duma, Micha, Hudud, Yetma, Yetour, Nafis and Qidman, and who ultimately formed twelve tribes in habiting Makkah and trading between Yemen, geographical Syria and Egypt.Later on, these tribes spread all over, and even outside, the peninsula. All their tidings went into oblivion except for the descendants of Nabet and Qidar. The Nabeteans – sons of Nabet – established a flourishing civilization in the north of Hijaz, they instituted a powerful government which spread out its domain over all neighbouring tribes, and made Petra their capital. Nobody dared challenge their authority until the Romans came and managed to eliminate their kingdom. After extensive research and painstaking investigation, Mr.Sulaiman An-Nadwi came to the conclusion that the Ghassanide kings, along with the Aws and Khazraj were not likely to be Qahtanians but rather Nabeteans. Descendants of Qidar, the son of Ishmael, lived long in Makkah increasing in number, of them issued ‘Adnan and son Ma‘ad, to whom ‘Adnanian Arabs traced back their ancestry. ‘Adnan is the twenty-f irst grandfather in the series of the Prophetic ancestry. It was said that whenever Prophet Muhammad Oai Caaa Uaia ? Oaa spoke of his ancestry he would stop at ‘Adnan and say: â€Å"Genealogists tell lies† and did not go farther than him.A group of scholars, however, favoured the probability of going beyond ‘Adnan attaching no significance to the aforementioned Prophetic Hadith. They went on to say that there were exactly forty fathers between ‘Adnan and Abraham (Peace be upon them). Nizar, Ma‘ad’s only son , had four sons who branched out into four great tribes; Eyad, Anmar, Rabi‘a and Mudar. These last two sub-branched into several septs. Rabi‘a fathered Asad, ‘Anazah, ‘Abdul Qais, and Wa’il’s two sons (Bakr and Taghlib), Hanifa and many others. Mudar tribes branched out into two great divisions: Qais ‘Ailan bin Mudar and septs of Elias bin Mudar.Of Qais ‘Ailan were the Banu Saleem, Banu Hawazi n, and Banu Ghatafan of whom descended ‘Abs, Zubyan, Ashja‘ and Ghani bin A‘sur. Of Elias bin Mudar were Tamim bin Murra, Hudhail bin Mudrika, Banu Asad bin Khuzaimah and septs of Kinana bin Khuzaimah, of whom came Quraish, the descendants of Fahr bin Malik bin An-Nadr bin Kinana. Quraish branched out into various tribes, the most famous of whom were Jumah, Sahm, ‘Adi, Makhzum, Tayim, Zahra and the three septs of Qusai bin Kilab: ‘Abdud-Dar bin Qusai, Asad bin ‘Abdul ‘Uzza bin Qusai and ‘Abd Manaf bin Qusai. Abd Manaf branched out into four tribes: ‘Abd Shams, Nawfal, Muttalib and Hashim. It is, however, from the family of Hashim that Allah selected Prophet Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib bin Hashim (Peace be upon him). Prophet Mu hammad (Peace be upon him) said: †¢ â€Å"Allah selected Ishmael from the sons of Abraham, Kinana from the sons of Ishmael, Quraish from the sons of Kinana, Hashim from the sons of Quraish and He selected me from the sons of Hashim. † Al-‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib quoted the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) as saying: 9 †¢ Allah created mankind and chose me from the best whereof, He chose the tribes and selected me from the best whereof; and He chose families and selected me from the best whereof. I am the very best in person and family. † Having increased in number, children of ‘Adnan, in pursuit of pastures and water, spread out over various parts of Arabia. The tribe of ‘Abdul Qais, together with some septs of Bakr bin Wa’il and Tamim, emigrated to Bahrain where they dwelt. Banu Hanifa bin Sa‘b bin Ali bin Bakr went to settle in Hijr, the capital of Yamama. All the tribes of Bakr bin Wa’il lived in an area of land which ncluded Yamama, Bahrain, Saif Kazima, the sea shore, the outer borders of Iraq, Ablah and Hait. Most of the tribe of Taghlib lived in the Euphrates area while some of them lived with Bakr. Banu Tamim lived in Basra semi-desert. Banu Saleem lived in the vicinity of Madinah on the land stretching from Wadi Al-Qura to Khaibar onwards to the eastern mountains to Harrah. Thaqif dwelt in Ta’if and Hawazin east of Makkah near Autas on the road from Makkah to Basra. Banu Asad lived on the land east of Taima’ and west of Kufa, while family of Tai’ lived between Banu Asad and Taima’. They were five -day-walk far from Kufa.Zubyan inhabited the plot of and between Taima’ and Hawran. Some septs of Kinana lived in Tihama, while septs of Quraish dwelt in Makkah and its suburbs. Quraish remained completely disunited until Qusai bin Kilab managed to rally their ranks on honourable terms attaching major prominence to their status and importance. 10 RULERSHIP AND PRINCESHIPAMONG THE ARABS W hen talking about the Arabs before Islam,we deem it necessary to draw a mini-picture of the history of rulership, princeship, sectarianism an d the religious dominations of the Arabs, so as to facilitate the understanding of emergent circumstances when Islam appeared.When the sun of Islam rose, rulers of Arabia were of two kinds: crowned kings, who were in fact not independent; and heads of tribes and clans, who enjoyed the same authorities and privileges possessed by crowned kings and were mostly independent, though some of whom could have shown some kind of submission to a crowned king. The crowned kings were only those of Yemen, Heerah and Ghassan. All other rulers of Arabia were non-crowned. RULERSHIP IN YEMEN: T he folks of Sheba were one of the oldest nations of the pure Arabs, who lived in Yemen. Excavations at â€Å"Or† brought to light their existence twenty ive centuries B. C. Their civilization flourished, and their domain spread eleven centuries B. C. It is possible to divide their ages according to the following estimation: 1. The centuries before 650 B. C. , during which their kings were called  "Makrib Sheba†. Their capital was â€Å"Sarwah†, also known as â€Å"Khriba†, whose ruins lie in a spot, a day’s walk from the western side of â€Å"Ma’rib†. During this period, they started building the â€Å"Dam of Ma’rib† which had great importance in the history of Yemen. Sheba was also said to have h ad so great a domain that they had colonies inside and outside Arabia. . From 650 B. C. until 115 B. C. During this era, they gave up the name â€Å"Makrib† and assumed the designation of â€Å"Kings of Sheba†. They also made Ma’rib their capital instead of Sarwah. The ruins of Ma’rib lie at a distance of sixty miles east of San‘a. 3. From 115 B. C. until 300 A. D. During this period, the tribe of Himyar conquered the kingdom of Sheba and took Redan for capital instead of Ma’rib. Later on, Redan was called â€Å"Zifar†. Its ruins still lie on Mudawwar Mountain near the town of â⠂¬Å"Yarim†. During this period, they began to decline and fall.Their trade failed to a very great extent, firstly, because of the Nabetean domain over the north of Hijaz; secondly, because of the Roman superiority over the naval trade routes after the Roman conquest of Egypt, Syria and the north of Hijaz; and thirdly, because of the inter-tribal warfare. Thanks to the three above -mentioned factors, families of Qahtan were disunited and scatteredout. 4. From 300 A. D. until Islam dawned on Yemen. This period witnessed a lot of disorder and turmoil. The great many and civil wars rendered the people of Yemen liable to foreign subjection and hence loss of independence.During this era, the Romans conquered ‘Adn and even helped the Abyssinians (Ethiopians) to occupy Yemen for the first time in 340 A. D. , making use of the constant intra -tribal conflict of Hamdan and Himyar. The Abyssinian (Ethiopian) occupation of Yemen lasted until 378 A. D. , whereafter Yemen regained it s independence. Later on, cracks began to show in Ma’rib Dam which led to the Great Flood (450 or 451 A. D. ) mentioned in the Noble Qur’an. This was a great event which caused the fall of the entire Yemeni civilization and the dispersal of the nations livin g therein. In 523, DhuNawas, a Jew, despatched a great campaign against the Christians of Najran in order to force them to convert into Judaism. Having refused to do so, they were thrown alive into a big ditch where a great fire had been set. The Qur’an referred to this event: †¢ â€Å"Cursed were the people of the ditch. † [85:4] This aroused great wrath among the Christians, and especially the Roman emperors, who not only instigated the Abyssinians (Ethiopians) against Arabs but also assembled a large fleet which helped the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) army, of seventy thousand warriors, to effect a second conquest of Yemen in 525 A. D. under the leadership of Eriat, who was granted rulership over Ye men, a position he held until he was assassinated by one of his army leaders, Abraha, who, after reconciliation with the king of Abyssinia, took rulership over Yemen and, later on, deployed his soldiers to demolish AlKa‘bah, and , hence, he and his soldiers came to be known as the â€Å"Men of the Elephant†. 11 After the â€Å"Elephant† incident, the people of Yemen, under the leadership of Ma‘dikarib bin Saif Dhu Yazin Al-Himyari, and through Persian assistance, revolted against the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) invaders, restored independence and appointed Ma‘dikarib as their king.However, Ma‘dikarib was assassinated by an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) he used to have him around for service and protection. The family of Dhu Yazin was thus deprived of royalty forever. Kisra, the Persian king, appointed a Persian ruler over San‘a and thus made Yeme n a Persian colony. Persian rulers maintained rulership of Yemen until Badhan, the last of them, embraced Islam in 638 A. D. , thus terminating the Persian domain over Yemen. RULERSHIP IN HEERAH: Ever since Korosh the Great (557-529 B. C. ) united the Persians, they ruledIraq and its neighbourhood. Nobody could shake off their authority until Alexander the Great vanquished their king Dara I and thus subdued the Persians in 326 B. C. Persian lands were thenceforth divided and ruled by kings known as â€Å"the Kings of Sects†, an era which lasted until 230 A. D. Meanwhile, the Qahtanians occupied some Iraqi territories, and were later followed by some ‘Adnanians who managed to share some parts of Mesopotamia with them. The Persians, under the leadership of Ardashir, who had established the Sasanian state in 226 A.D, regained enough unity and power to subdue the Arabs living in the vicinity of their kingdom, and force Quda‘a to leave for Syria , leaving the people of Heerah and Anbar under the Persian domain. During the time of Ardashir, Juzaima Alwaddah exercised rulers hip over Heerah, Rabi‘a and Mudar, and Mesopotamia. Ardashir had reckoned that it was impossible for him to rule the Arabs directly and prevent them from attacking his borders unless he appointed as king one of them who enjoyed support and power of his tribe. He had also seen that he could make use of them against the Byzantine kings who always used to harass him.At the same time, the Arabs of Iraq could face the Arabs of Syria who were in the hold of Byzantine kings. However, he deemed it fit to keep a Persian battalion under command of the king of Heerah to be used against those Arabs who might rebel against him. After the death of Juzaima around 268 A. D. , ‘Amr bin ‘Adi bin Nasr Al-Lakhmi was appointed as king by the Persian King Sabour bin Ardashir. ‘Amr was the first of the Lakhmi kings who ruled Heerah until the Persians appointed Qabaz bin Fairuz in whose reign appeared someone called Mazdak, who called for dissoluteness in social life.Qabaz, and many of his subjects, embraced Mazdak’s religion and even called upon the king of Heerah, Al-Munzir bin Ma’ As-Sama’, to follow after. When the latter, because of his pride and self-respect, rejected their orders, Qabaz discharged him and nominated Harith bin ‘Amr bin Hajar Al-Kindi, who had accepted the Mazdaki doctrine. No sooner did Kisra Anu Shairwan succeed Qabaz than he, due to hatred of Mazdak’s philosophy, killed Mazdak and many of his followers, restored Munzir to the throne of Heerah and gave orders to summon under arrest Harith ho sought refuge with Al-Kalb tribe where he spent the rest of his life. Sons of Al-Munzir bin Ma’ As-Sama’ maintained kingship a long time until An-Nu‘man bin Al-Munzir took over. Because of a calumny borne by Zaid bin ‘Adi Al-‘Abbadi, the Persian king got angry with An-Nu‘man and summoned him to his palace. An -Nu‘man went secretly to Hani bin Mas‘ud, chief of Shaiban tribe, and left his wealth and family under the latter’s protection, and then presented himself before the Persian king, who immediately threw him into prison where he perished.Kisra, then, appointed Eyas bin Qubaisa At-Ta’i as king of Heerah. Eyas was ordered to tell Hani bin Mas‘ud to deliver An-Nu‘man’s charge up to Kisra. No sooner than had the Persian king received the fanatically motivated rejection on the part of the Arab chief, he declared war against the tribe of Shaiban and mobilized his troops and warriors under the leadership of King Eyas to a place called Dhee Qar which witnessed a most furious battle wherein the Persians were severely routed by the Arabs for the first time in history.That was very soon after the birth of Prophet Muhammad Oai Caaa Uaia ? Oaa eight months after Eyas bin Qubaisah’s rise to power over Heerah. After Eyas, a Persian ruler was appointed over Heerah, but in 632 A. D. the authority there returned to the family of Lukhm when Al-Munzir Al-Ma‘rur took over. Hardly had the latter’s reign lasted for eight months when Khalid bin Al-Waleed fell upon him with Muslim soldiers. RULERSHIP IN GEOGRAPHICAL SYRIA:I n the process of the tribal emigrations, some septs of Quda‘a reached the borders of Syria where they settled down. They belonged to the family of Sulaih bin Halwan, of whose offspring were the sons of Duj‘am bin Sulaih known as Ad -Duja‘ima. Such septs of Quda‘a were used by the Byzantines in the defence of the Byzantine borders against both Arab Bedouin raiders and the Persians, and enjoyed autonomy for a considerable phase of time which is said to have lasted for the whole second century A. D. One of their most famous kings was Zyiad bin Al-Habula.Their authority however came to an end upon defeat by the Ghassanides who were consequently granted the proxy rulership over the Arabs of Syria and had Dumat Al-Jandal as their headquarters, which last ed until 12 the battle of Yarmuk in the year 13 A. H. Their last king Jabala bin Al-Aihum embraced Islam during the reign of the Chief of Believers, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him). RULERSHIP IN HIJAZ: Ishmael (Peace be upon him) administered authority over Makkah as well as custodianship of the Holy Sanctuary throughout his lifetime.Upon his death, at the age of 137, two of his sons, Nabet and Qidar, succeeded him. Later on, their maternal grandfather, Mudad bin ‘Amr Al-Jurhumi took over, thus transferring rulership over Makkah to the tribe of Jurhum, preserving a venerable position, though very little authority for Ishmael’s sons due to their father’s exploits in building the Holy Sanctuary, a position they held until the decline of the tribe of Jurhum shortly before the rise of Bukhtanassar.The political role of the ‘Adnanides had begun to gain firmer grounds in Makkah, which could be clearly attested by the fact that upon Bukh tanassar’s first invasion of the Arabs in ‘Dhati ‘Irq’, the leader of the Arabs was not from Jurhum. Upon Bukhtanassar’s second invasion in 587 B. C. , however, the ‘Adnanides were frightened out to Yemen, while Burmia An-Nabi fled to Syria with Ma‘ad, but when Bukhtanassar’s pressure lessened, Ma‘ad returned to Makkah to find none of the tribe of Jurhum except Jursham bin Jalhamah, whose daughter, Mu‘ana, was given to Ma‘ad as wife who, later, had a son by him named Nizar.On account of difficult living conditions and destitution prevalent in Makkah, the tribe of Jurhum began to ill-treat visitors of the Holy Sanctuary and extort its funds, which aroused resentment and hatred of the ‘Adnanides (sons of Bakr bin ‘Abd Munaf bin Kinana) who, with the help of the tribe of Khuza‘a that had come to settle in a neighbouring area called Marr Az -Zahran, invaded Jurhum and frightened them out of Makkah le aving rulership to Quda‘a in the middle of the second century A. D. Upon leaving Makkah, Jurhum filled up the well of Zamzam, levelled its place and buried a great many things in it. Amr bin Al-Harith bin Mudad Al-Jurhumi was reported by Ibn Ishaq, the wellknown historian, to have buried the two gold deer together with the Black Stone as well as a lot of jewelry and swords in Zamzam, prior to their sorrowful escape to Yemen. Ishmael’s epoch is estimated to have lasted for twenty centuries B. C. , which means that Jurhum stayed in Makkah for twenty-one centuries and held rulership there for about twenty centuries. Upon defeat of Jurhum, the tribe of Khuza‘a monopolized rulership over Makkah. Mudar tribes, however, enjoyed three privileges: The First: Leading pilgrims from ‘Arafat to Muzdalifah and then from Mina to the ‘Aqabah Stoning Pillar. This was the authority of the family of Al-Ghawth bin Murra, one of the septs of Elias bin Mudar, who were calle d ‘Sofa’. This privilege meant that the pilgrims were not allowed to throw stones at Al-‘Aqabah until one of the ‘Sofa’ men did that. When they had finished stoning and wanted to leave the valley of Mina, ‘Sofa’ men stood on the two sides of Al-‘Aqabah and nobody would pass that position until the men of ‘Sofa’ passed and cleared the way for the pilgrims.When Sofa perished, the family of Sa‘d bin Zaid Manat from Tamim tribe took over. The Second: Al-Ifadah (leaving for Mina after Muzdalifah) on sacrifice morning, and this was the responsibility of the family of Adwan. The Third: Deferment of the sacred months, and this was the responsibility of the family of Tamim bin ‘Adi from Bani Kinana. Khuza‘a’s reign in Makkah lasted for three hundred years, during which, the ‘Adnanides spread all over Najd and the sides of Bahrain and Iraq, while small septs of Quraish remained on the sides of Makka h; they were Haloul, Harum and some families of Kinana.They enjoyed no privileges in Makkah or in the Sacred House until the appearance of Qusai bin Kila b, whose father is said to have died when he was still a baby, and whose mother was subsequently married to Rabi‘a bin Haram, from the tribe of Bani ‘Udhra. Rabi‘a took his wife and her baby to his homeland on the borders of Syria. When Qusai became a young man, he returned to Makkah, which was ruled by Halil bin Habsha from Khuza‘a, who gave Qusai his daughter, Hobba, as wife. After Halil’s death, a war between Khuza‘a and Quraish broke out and resulted in Qusai’s taking hold of Makkah and the Sacred House.THE REASONS OF THIS WAR HAVE BEEN ILLUSTRATED IN THREE VERSIONS: †¢ The First: Having noticed the spread of his offspring, increase of his property and exalt of his honour after Halil’s death, Qusai found himself more entitled to shoulder responsibility of rulership over Ma kkah and custodianship of the Sacred House than the tribes of Khuza‘a and Bani Bakr. He also advocated that Quraish were the chiefs of Ishmael’s descendants. Therefore he consulted some men from Quraish and Kinana concerning his desire to evacuate Khuza‘a and Bani Bakr from Makkah. They took a liking to his opinion and supported him. 13The Second: Khuza‘a claimed that Halil requested Qusai to hold custodianship of Al-Ka‘bah and rulership over Makkah after his death. The Third: Halil g ave the right of Al-Ka‘bah service to his daughter Hobba and appointed Abu Ghabshan Al-Khuza‘i to function as her agent whereof. Upon Halil’s death, Qusai bought this right for a leather bag of wine, which aroused dissatisfaction among the men of Khuza‘a a nd they tried to keep the custodianship of the Sacred House away from Qusai. The latter, however, with the help of Quraish and Kinana, managed to take over and even to expel Khuza‘a comple tely from Makkah.Whatever the truth might have been, the whole affair resulted in the deprivation of Sofa of their privileges, previously mentioned, evacuation of Khuza‘a and Bakr from Makkah and transfer of rulership over Makkah and custodianship of the Holy Sanctuary to Qusai, after fierce wars between Qusai and Khuza‘a inflicting heavy casualties on both sides, reconciliation and then arbitration of Ya‘mur bin ‘Awf, from the tribe of Bakr, whose judgement entailed eligibility of Qusai’s rulership over Makkah and custodianship of the Sacred House, Qusai’s irresponsibility for Khuza‘a’s blood shed, and imposition of blood money on Khuza‘a.Qusai’s reign over Makkah and the Sacred House began in 440 A. D. and allowed him, and Quraish afterwards, absolute rulership over Makkah and undisputed custodianship of the Sacred House to which Arabs from all over Arabia came to pay homage. Qusai brought his kinspeople to Makkah and allocated it to them, allowing Quraish some dwellings there. An-Nus’a, the families of Safwan, Adwan, Murra bin ‘Awf preserved the same rights they used to enjoy before his arrival.A significant achievement credited to Qusai was the establishment of An -Nadwa House (an assembly house) on the northern side of Al-Ka‘bah Mosque, to serve as a meeting place for Quraish. This very house had benefited Quraish a lot because it secured unity of opinions amongst them and cordial solution to their problem. QUSAI HOWEVER ENJOYED THE FOLLONG PRIVILEGED OF LEADERSHIP AND HONOUR: 1 .Presiding over An -Nadwa House meetings where consultations relating to serious issues were conducted, and marriage contracts were announced. 2. The Standard: He monopolized in his hand issues relevant to war launching. 3. Doorkeeping of Al-Ka‘bah: He was the only one eligible to open its gate, and was responsible for its service and protection. 4. Providing water for the Pilgrims: This means that he used to fill basins sweetened by dates and raisins for the pilgrims to drink. . Feeding Pilgrims: This means making food for pilgrims who could not afford it. Qusai even imposed on Quraish annual land tax, paid at the season of pilgrimage, for food. It is noteworthy however that Qusai singled out ‘Abd Manaf, a son of his, for honour and prestige though he was not his elder son (‘Abd Ad -Dar was), and entrusted him with such responsibilities as chairing of An-Nadwa House, the standard, the doorkeeping of Al-Ka‘bah, providing water and food for pilgrims.Due to the fact that Qusai’s deeds were regarded as unquestionable and his orders inviolable, his death gave no rise to conflicts among his sons, but it later did among his grand children, for no sooner than ‘Abd Munaf had died, his sons began to have rows with their cousins — sons of ‘Abd Ad -Dar, which would have given rise to dissension and fighting among the whole tribe of Qurais h, had it not been for a peace treaty whereby posts were reallocated so as to preserve feeding and providing water for pilgrims for the sons of ‘Abd Munaf; while An -Nadwa House, the flag and the doorkeeping of Al-Ka‘bah were maintained for the sons of ‘Abd Ad -Dar. The sons of ‘Abd Munaf, however, cast the lot for their charge, and consequently left the charge of food and water giving toHashim bin ‘Abd Munaf, upon whose death, the charge was taken over by a brother of his called Al-Muttalib bin ‘Abd Manaf and afterwards by ‘Abd Al-Muttalib bin Hashim, the Prophet’s grandfather, whose sons assumed this position until the rise of Islam, during which ‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib was in charge. Many other posts were distriamong people of Quraish for establishing the pillars of a new democratic petite state with government offices and councils similar to those of today. Enlisted as follows are some of these posts. 1. Casting the lots for the idols was allocated to Bani Jumah. 2. Noting of offers and sacrifices, settlement of disputes and relevant is sues were to lie in the hands of Bani Sahm. 3.Consultation was to go to Bani Asad. 4. Organization of blood-money and fines was with Bani Tayim. 14 5. Bearing the national banner was with Bani Omaiyah. 6. The military institute, footmen and cavalry would be Bani Makhzum’s responsibility. 7. Bani ‘Adi would function as foreign mediators. RULERSHIP IN PAN-ARABIA: We have previously mentioned the Qahtanide and ‘Adnanide emigrations, and division of Arabia between these two tribes. Those tribes dwelling near Heerah were subordinate to the Arabian king of Heerah, while those dwelling in the Syrian semi-desert were under domain of the Arabian Ghassanide king, a sort of dependency that was in reality formal rather than actual.However, those living in the hinder deserts enjo yed full autonomy. These tribes in fact had heads chosen by the whole tribe which was a demi-government based on tribal solidarity and collective interests in defence of land and property. Heads of tribes enjoyed dictatorial privileges similar to those of kings, and were rendered full obedience and subordination in both war and peace. Rivalry among cousins for rulership, however, often drove them to outdo one another in entertaining guests, affecting generosity, wisdom and chivalry for the sole purpose of outranking their rivals, and gaining fame among people especially poets who were the official spokesmen at the time.Heads of tribes and masters had special claims to spoils of war such as the quarter of the spoils, whatever he chose for himself, or found on his way back or even the remaining indivisible spoils. THE POLITICAL SITUATION: T he three Arab regions adjacent to foreigners suffered great weakness and inferiority. The people there were either masters or slaves, rulers or subordinates. Masters, especially the foreigners, had claim to every advantage ; slaves had nothing but responsibilities to shoulder. In other words, arbitrary autocratic rulership brought about encroachment on the rights of subordinates, ignorance, oppression, iniquity, injustice and hardship, and turning them into people groping in darkness and ignorance, viz. fertile land which rendered its fruits to the rulers and men of power to extravagantly dissipate on their pleasures and enjoyments, whims and desires, tyranny and aggression. The tribes living near these regions were fluctuating between Syria and Iraq, whereas those living inside Arabia were disunited and governed by tribal conflicts and racial and religious disputes. They had neither a king to sustain their independence nor a supporter to seek advice from, or depend upon, in hardships. The rulers of Hijaz, however, were greatly esteemed and respected by the Arabs, and were considered as rulers and servants of the religious centre. Rulership of Hijaz was, in fact, a mixture of secular and official prec edence as well as religious leadership.They ruled among the Arabs in the name of religious leadership and always monopolized the custodianship of the Holy Sanctuary and its neighbourhood. They looked after the interests of A l-Ka‘bah visitors and were in charge of putting Abraham’s code into effect. They even had such offices and departments like those of the parliaments of today. However, they were too weak to carry the heavy burden, as this evidently came to light during the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) invasion. 15 RELIGIONS OF THE ARABS Most of the Arabs had complied with the call of Ishmael (Peace be upon him) , and professed the religion of his father Abraham (Peace be upon him) They had worshipped Allah, professed His Oneness a nd followed His religion a long time until they forgot part of what they had been reminded of.However, they still maintained such fundamental beliefs such as monotheism as well as various other aspects of Abraham’s religion, until the tim e when a chief of Khuza‘a, namely ‘Amr bin Luhai, who was renowned for righteousness, charity, reverence and care for religion, and was granted unreserved love and obedience by his tribesmen, came back from a trip to Syria where he saw people worship idols, a phenomenon he approved of and believed it to be righteous since Syria was the locus of Messengers and Scriptures, he brought with him an idol (Hubal) which he placed in the middle of Al-Ka‘bah and summoned people to worship it. Readily enough, paganism spread all over Makkah and, thence, to Hijaz, people of Makkah being custodians of not only the Sacred House but the whole Haram as well. A great many idols, bearing different names, were introduced into the area. An idol called ‘Manat’, for instance, was worshipped in a place known as Al-Mushallal near Qadid on the Red Sea. Another, ‘Al-Lat’ in Ta’if, a third, ‘Al-‘Uzza’ in the valley of Nakhlah, and so on and so forth. Polytheism prevailed and the number of idols increased everywhere in Hijaz.It was even mentioned that ‘Amr bin Luhai, with the help of a jinn companion who told him that the idols of Noah’s folk – Wadd, Suwa‘, Yaguth, Ya‘uk and Nasr – were buried in Jeddah, dug them out and took them to Tihama. Upon pilgrimage time, the idols were distributed among the tribes to take back home. Every tribe, and house, had their own idols, and the Sacred House was also overcrowded with them. On the Prophet’s conquest of Makkah, 360 idols were found around Al-Ka‘bah. He broke them down and had them removed and burned up. Polytheism and worship of idols became the most prominent feature of the religion of pre -Islam Arabs despite alleged profession of Abraham’s religion. Traditions and ceremonies of the worship of their idols had been mostly created by ‘Amr bin Luhai, and were deemed as good innovations rather than deviations f rom Abraham’s religion.Some features of their worship of idols were: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Self-devotion to the idols, seeking refuge with them, acclamation of their names, calling for their help in hardship, and supplication to them for fulfillment of wishes, hopefully that the idols (i. e. , heathen gods) would mediate with Allah for the fulfillment of people’s wishes. Performing pilgrimage to the idols, circumrotation round them, self-abasement and even prostrating themselves before them. Seeking favour of idols through various kinds of sacrifices and immolations, which is mentioned in the Qur’anic verses: â€Å"And that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An -Nusub (stone-altars)† [5:3] Allah also says: â€Å"Eat not (O believers) of that (meat) on which Allah’s Name has not been pronounced (at the time of the slaughtering of the animal). † [6:121] †¢ Consecration of certain portions of food, drink, cattle, and crops to i dols. Surprisingly enough, portions were also consecrated to Allah Himself, but people often found reasons to transfer parts of Allah’s portion to idols, but never did the opposite. To this effect, the Qur’anic verses go: †¢ â€Å"And they assign to Allah a share of the tilth and cattle which He has created, and they say: ‘This is for Allah according to their pretending, and this is for our (Allah’s so-called) partners. ’ But the share of their (Allah’s so-called) ‘partners’, reaches not Allah, while the share of Allah reaches their (Allah’s so-called) ‘partners’.Evil is the way they judge. † [6:136] 16 †¢ Currying favours with these idols through votive offerings of crops and cattle, to which effect, the Qur’an goes: †¢ â€Å"And according to their pretending, they say that such and such cattle and crops are forbidden, and none should eat of them except those whom we allow. And ( they say) there are cattle forbidden to be used for burden or any other work, and cattle on which (at slaughtering) the Name of Allah is not pronounced; lying against Him (Allah). † [6:138] †¢ Dedication of certain animals (such as Bahira, Sa’iba, Wasila and Hami) to idols, which meant sparing such animals from useful work for the sake of these heathen gods.Bahira, as reported by the well-known historian, Ibn Ish, was daughter of Sa’iba which was a female camel that gave birth to ten successive female animals, but no male ones, was set free and forbidden to yoke, burden or being sheared off its wool, or milked (but for guests to drink from); and so was done to all her female offspring which were given the name ‘Bahira’, after having their ears slit. The Wasila was a female sheep which had ten successive female daughters in five pregnancies. Any new births from this Wasila were assigned only for male people. The Hami was a male camel which produc ed ten progressive females, and was thus similarly forbidden. In mention of this, the Qur’anic verses go: †¢ â€Å"Allah has not instituted things like Bahira ( a she-camel whose milk was spared for the idols and nobody was allowed to milk it) or a Sa’iba (a she camel let loose for free pasture for their false gods, e. g. idols, etc. , and othing was allowed to be c arried on it), or a Wasila (a she-camel set free for idols because it has given birth to a she-camel at its first delivery and then again gives birth to a she-camel at its second delivery) or a Ham (a stallion-camel freed from work for their idols, after it had finished a number of copulations assigned for it, all these animals were liberated in honour of idols as practised by pagan Arabs in the pre Islamic period). But those who disbelieve, invent lies against Allah, and most of them have no understanding. † [5:103] Allah also says: †¢ â€Å"And they say: What is in the bellies of such an d such cattle (milk or foetus) is for our males alone, and forbidden to our females (girls and women), but if it is born dead, then all have shares therein. † [6:139] It has been authentically reported that such superstitions were first invented by ‘Amr bin Luhai.The Arabs believed that such idols, or heathen gods, would bring them nearer to Allah, lead them to Him, and mediate with Him for their sake, to which effect, the Qur’an goes: †¢ â€Å"We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah. † [39:3], and â€Å"And they worship besides Allah things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah. † [10:18] Another divinatory tradition among the Arabs was casting of Azlam (i. e. featherless arrows which were of three kinds: one showing ‘yes’, another ‘no’ and a third was blank) which they used to do in case of serious matters like travel, marriage and the like. If the l ot showed ‘yes’, they would do, if ‘no’, they would delay for the next year.Other kinds of Azlam were cast for water, blood-money or showed ‘from you’, ‘not from you’, or ‘Mulsaq’ (consociated). In cases of doubt in filiation they would resort to the idol of Hubal, with a hundred-came l gift, for the arrow caster. Only the arrows would then decide the sort of relationship. If the arrow showed (from you), then it was decided that the child belonged to the tribe; if it showed (from others), he would then be regarded as an ally, but if (consociated) appeared, the person would retain his position but with no lineage or alliance contract. This was very much like gambling and arrow-shafting whereby they used to divide the meat of the camels they slaughtered according to this tradition.Moreover, they used to have a deep conviction in the tidings of soothsayers, diviners and astrologers. A soothsayer used to traffic in the bus iness of foretelling future events and claim knowledge of private secrets and having jinn subordinates who would communicate the news to him. Some soothsayers claimed that they could uncover the unknown by means of a granted power, while other diviners boasted they could divulge the secrets through a cause-and-effect-inductive process that would lead to detecting a stolen c ommodity, location of a theft, a stray animal, and the like. The astrologer belonged to a third category who used to observe the stars and calculate their movements and orbits whereby he would foretell the future.Lending credence to this news constituted a clue to their conviction that attached special significance to the movements of particular stars with regard to rainfall. The belief in signs as betokening future events, was, of course common among the Arabians. Some days and months and particular animals were regarded as ominous. They also believed that the soul of a murdered person would fly in the wildernes s and would never rest at rest until revenge was 17 taken. Superstition was rampant. Should a deer or bird, when released, turn right then what they embarked on would be regarded auspicious, otherwise they would get pessimistic and withhold from pursuing it.People of pre -Islamic period, whilst believing in superstition, they still retained some of the Abrahamic traditions such as devotion to the Holy Sanctuary, circumambulation, observance of pilgrimage, the vigil on ‘Arafah and offering sacrifices, all of these were observed fully despite some innovations that adulterated these holy rituals. Quraish, for example, out of arrogance, feeling of superiority to other tribes and pride in their custodianship of the Sacred House, would refrain from going to ‘Arafah with the crowd, instead they would stop short at Muzdalifah. The Noble Qur’an rebuked and told them: †¢ â€Å"Then depart from the place whence all the people depart. [2:199] Another heresy, deeply esta blished in their social tradition, dictated that they would not eat dried yoghurt or cooked fat, nor would they enter a tent made of camel hair or seek shade unless in a house of adobe bricks, so long as they were committed to the intention of pilgrimage. They also, out of a deeply-rooted misconception, denied pilgrims, other than Makkans, access to the food they had brought when they wanted to make pilgrimage or lesser pilgrimage. They ordered pilgrims coming from outside Makkah to circumambulate Al-Ka‘bah in Quraish uniform clothes, but if they could not afford them, men were to do so in a state of nudity, and women with only some piece of cloth to hide their groins. Allah says in this concern: †¢ â€Å"O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes), while praying [and going round (the Tawaf of) the Ka‘bah†. [7:31]If men or women were generous enough to go round Al-Ka‘bah in their clothes, they had to discard them after circum ambulation for good. When the Makkans were in a pilgrimage consecration state, they would not enter their houses through the doors but through holes they used to dig in the back walls. They used to regard such behaviour as deeds of piety and god-fearing. This practice was prohibited by the Qur’an: †¢ â€Å"It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc. ) that you enter the houses from the back but Al-Birr (is the quality of the one) who fears Allah. So enter houses through their proper doors, and fear Allah that you may be successful. † [2:189] Such was the religious life in Arabia, polytheism, idolatry, and superstition.Judaism, Christianity, Magianism and Sabianism, however, could find their ways easily into Arabia. The migration of the Jews from Palestine to Arabia passed through two phases: first, as a result of the pressure to which they were exposed, the destruction of the their temple, and taking most of them as captives to Babylon, at the hand of the King B ukhtanassar. In the year B. C. 587 some Jews left Palestine for Hijaz and settled in the northern areas whereof. The second phase started with the Roman occupation of Palestine under the leadership of Roman Buts in 70 A. D. This resulted in a tidal wave of Jewish migration into Hijaz, and Yathrib, Khaibar and Taima’, in particular.Here, they made proselytes of several tribes, built forts and castles, and lived in villages. Judaism managed to play an important role in the pre -Islam political life. When Islam dawned on that land, there had already been several famous Jewish tribes — Khabeer, Al-Musta liq, An-Nadeer, Quraizah and Qainuqa‘. In some versions, the Jewish tribes counted as many as twenty. Judaism was introduced into Yemen by someone called As‘ad Abi Karb. He had gone to fight in Yathrib and there he embraced Judaism and then went back taking with him two rabbis from Bani Quraizah to instruct thpeople of Yemen in this new religion. Judaism found a fertile soil there to propagate and gain adherents.After his death, his son Yusuf Dhu Nawas rose to power, attacked the Christian community in Najran and ordered them to embrace Judaism. When they refused, he ordered that a pit of fire be dug and all the Christians indiscriminately be dropped to burn therein. Estimates say that between 20-40 thousand Christians were killed in that human massacre. The Qur’an related part of that story in Al-Buruj (zodiacal signs) Chapter. Christianity had first made its appearance in Arabia following the entry of the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) and Roman colonists into that country. The Abyssinian (Ethiopian) colonizatio n forces in league with Christian missions entered Yemen as a retaliatory reaction for the iniquities of Dhu Nawas, and started vehemently to propagate their faith ardently.They even built a church and called it Yemeni Al-Ka‘bah with the aim of directing the Arab pilgrimage caravans towards Yemen, and then made an attempt to demolish the Sacred House in Makkah. Allah, the Almighty, however did punish them and made an example of them – here and hereafter. A Christian missionary called Fimion, and known for his ascetic behaviour and working miracles, had likewise infiltrated into Najran. There he called people to Christianity, and by virtue of his honesty and truthful devotion, he managed to persuade them to respond positively to his invitation and embrace Christianity. The principal tribes that embraced Christianity were Ghassan, Taghlib, Tai’ and some Himyarite kings as well as other tribes living on the borders of the Roman Empire. 18Magianism was also popular among the Arabs living in the neighbourhood of Persia, Iraq, Bahrain, Al-Ahsa’ and some areas on the Arabian Gulf coast. Some Yemenis are also reported to have professed Magianism during the Persian occupation. As for Sabianism, excavations in Iraq revealed that it had been popular amongst Kaldanian folks, the Syrians and Ye menis. With the advent of Judaism and Christianity, however, Sabianism began to give way to the new religions, although it retained some followers mixed or adjacent to the Magians in Iraq and the Arabian Gulf. THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION: Such was the religious life of the Arabians before the advent of Islam.The role that the religions prevalent played was so marginal, in fact it was next to nothing. The polytheists, who faked Abrahamism, were so far detached from its precepts, and totally oblivious of its immanent good manners. They plunged into disobedience and ungodliness, and developed certain peculiar religious superstitions that managed to leave a serious impact on the religious and socio -political life in the whole of Arabia. Judaism turned into abominable hypocrisy in league with hegemony. Rabbis turned into lords to the exclusion of the Lord. They got involved in the practice of dictatorial subjection of people and calling their subordinates to account for the least word or id ea.Their sole target turned into acquisition of wealth and power even if it were at the risk of losing their religion, or the emergence of atheism and disbelief. Christianity likewise opened its doors wide to polytheism, and got too difficult to compre hend as a heavenly religion. As a religious practice, it developed a sort of peculiar medley of man and God. It exercised no bearing whatsoever on the souls of the Arabs who professed it simply because it was alien to their style of life and did not have the least relationship with their p

The lottery

The Lottery Research Paper Shirley Jackson was a devoted mother and writer. Jackson didn't fit in well in North Bennington, and the town likely served as the setting for the New England town portrayed in â€Å"The Lottery. † â€Å"The Lottery' caused outrage and controversy when it appeared in the New Yorker in 1948, but many critics now consider it to be Jackson's most famous work. Jackson was sometimes thought to be a witch because of her interested in witchcraft and black magic. Almost all of Jackson's work is reflects horror, hauntings, witchcraft, or psychological unease.She also struggled with both mental and physical illnesses as an adult. Unlike other writers, she found the writing process pleasurable. â€Å"The Lottery' starts off in a town on a normal day with children going around and collecting rocks. The men of the households are called forward to a wooden box to draw slips of paper. When one of the men sees that he has the black dot on his slip, his wife immedi ately starts to argue with how the drawing wasn't fair. The family is brought to the stage where they are to draw their slips of paper. Tess (Mrs.Hutchinson) draws the paper with the black dot and is taken to the center of the town where the town's people take their stones that the children collected earlier hat day. As the villagers close in to primarily take Tess's life, all you can hear are her terrified shrilling screams. Shirley Jackson in her work â€Å"The Lottery' reveals the corrosive factors that result in our blind acceptance of morally questionable traditions that cause social paralysis. â€Å"The Lottery' starts off as a normal day in the village â€Å"it was clear and sunny with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day' Oackson 1).This is ironic because it starts off with this allusion of an enjoyable day but really by the end they end up killing one of their own villagers. Jackson does this to create a less serious atmosphere and reflect he attitudes of the community. Instantly, the boys are collecting rocks used to kill the lottery winner at the end of the story. This is an annual thing that the kids do because they have been raised and taught to do so. Because the kids are gradually and systematically exposed to these series of provoking objects and situations, they have become familiar with their actions making it an annual â€Å"game† for the kids (Linz 1).It has become a â€Å"game† for the kids because in the story it states that, â€Å"they gather together quietly for a while before they broke out into boisterous play' and that they find the smoothest and roundest rocks to stuff in their pockets. † Because the kids are repeatedly exposed to this violence it diminishes the negative affect that was once upon them. They can no longer see it as wrong or feel remorse. They blindly accept this task thats given to them every year and don't question it. The constant exposure to violence results in less physiological reactivit y to other violent actions going on around them (Linz 1).The killing of the villagers is the violence going on. Collecting stones has become a ritual that they believe is right, because it is what they have been raised to do, even though it is wrong. They are Just kids and haven't been taught that it is morally wrong to be killing friends and family. An example is at the end of the story when Mrs. Hutchinson's son was handed a few pebbles to throw at his own mother and didn't hesitate. When they are repeatedly exposed to violence 2). â€Å"Both beamed and laughed Oackson 6). This shows how they still find Joy in the situation even though they are about to kill a member of their family. The story goes on to talk about the families that are attending this so called lottery. The women are described as â€Å"housewives that gossip† Oackson 1) and aren't as authoritative as the men. While the boys are all collecting the stones, the women are â€Å"standing aside talking among th emselves. † In the story â€Å"the women began to call their children, and the children came reluctantly, having called four or five times. † When their father calls to them â€Å"they came quickly' Oackson 1).It is as if their mothers hadn't even said anything. This shows how the men are portrayed as the head of the house and they women more as Just the â€Å"housekeeper. † Their voices are not heard in this part of the story and neither at the end when Mrs. Hutchinson claims that, â€Å"It wasn't fair† and no one does anything about it but continues with the est of the lottery. Women have been known to rarely work outside the house and live their lives caring for their husbands and children while taking care of their home. Most males are prevailed as the dominant gender.The women are seen on a lower status (Gender Prejudice 1). The lottery seems to be run mostly by the men of the town. They are the ones that are in charge of the black box and most of th e ceremony. In the story the women are more resistant to the lottery while the men are the ones in control of it. This results in social paralysis of the town because no one wants to change how the lottery is run or who it's run by. When its time for the drawing, Mr. Dunbar is unable to draw so because he and his wife don't have kids the â€Å"Wife draws for the husband† Oackson 3).This all goes back to the role of the men and women in the village. The women are to produce many children so that it gives their family a better chance of surviving if their spouse is chosen in the first round (Oehlschlaeger 1). Men are the ones that go out and prevail in the business world while their wives stay home all day. When Mrs. Hutchinson arrives late she makes the statement that she â€Å"Thought my old man was out back stacking wood† and that she Wouldn't have me leave m'dishes in the sink Oackson 2),† implying that her husband was doing the hard labor out in the yard while she was inside doing dishes.They mention that most of the ritual has been forgotten over the years. â€Å"The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago Oackson 1). It has become a habit that no one wants to stop. The lottery has become a social paralysis over time, not allowing anyone to step up and want to change or stop what the lottery is doing to their village. No one questions why they still do it and no one even really knows why they do it in the first place. It has lost its significance over the years and become a yearly act that no one has tried to stop.They don't want to make a new box because â€Å"No one wanted to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box Oackson 1). Tradition is a belief that has been passes down from generations, Just like in â€Å"The Lottery. † Traditions are passes on to gain that sense of continuity and bonding through each other. They are supposed to create that special connection between the fam ilies and in this case the town. That's not what it does though, No one knows the significants of the lottery anymore and no one questions ither. Old Man Warner says, â€Å"Pack of crazy fools† to the people that want to give up the lottery.They think that breaking this time-honored tradition would result in them (Tradition 1), such as drawing the paper from the box and having the men draw first then the family. Even though â€Å"So much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded Oackson 2),† they still keep that cultural sense to it. The reverence regularly provided in tradition indicates that people follow it willingly even if they don't know why. â€Å"The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions. † People follow tradition unconsciously because it's what they are taught to do.This is their blind acceptance of the lottery and social paralysis of not wanting to change what they have continued to do for numerous years. T raditions are invoked to preserve the sanctity of the past family rituals. Societies keep traditions for social connectedness and memories (Tradition 3). Throughout the story, â€Å"The Lottery,† Shirley Jackson uses harsh examples of how the village blindly accepts their morally questionable traditions resulting in social paralysis. They don't want to change anything about the lottery even though most of he significance has been lost over the years.There is evidence throughout the story that shows how the people blindly accept what they are doing to their town and do it without question. This all demonstrates how society never changes or grows resulting in the social paralysis of the story. Their is social paralysis going on all around the world. Even in Pakistan there are people refusing to act upon the issue of suicide happening at large rates ( Poverty and Social Paralysis. ) The lottery is Just an example of how some societies refuse to change even though what they are d oing needs to or should be stopped. The Lottery Lisa Marie Shade Prof. Dunn ENG 102-110 August 9, 2012 The Plot Thickens- In Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery†. A good harvest has always been vital to civilizations. After the fields have been prepared and the seeds sown, the farmer can only wait and hope that the proper balance of rain and sun will ensure a good harvest. From this hope springs ritual. Many ancient cultures believed that growing crops represented the life cycle, beginning with what one associates with the end–death. Seeds buried, apparently without hope of germination, represent death.But with the life forces of water and the sun, the seed grows, representing rebirth. Consequently, ancient peoples began sacrificial rituals to emulate this resurrection cycle. What began as a vegetation ritual developed into a cathartic cleansing of an entire tribe or village. By transferring one's sins to persons or animals and then sacrificing them, people believed that their sins would be eliminated, a proce ss that has been termed the â€Å"scapegoat† archetype. In her short story â€Å"The Lottery,† Shirley Jackson uses this archetype to build on man's inherent need for such ritual.To visit upon the scapegoat the cruelties, that most of us seem to have dammed up within us and explores â€Å"the general psychological basis for such cruelty, showing how we tend to ignore misfortunes unless we ourselves are their victims. The Lottery’s [sic. ] then, deals indeed with live issues and with issues relevant to our time. Jackson's realism makes the final terror and shock more effective and also reinforces our sense of the awful doubleness of the human spirit—a doubleness that expresses itself in the blended good neighborliness and cruelty of the community's action. Evans, 112) Jackson weaves seasonal and life-death cycle archetypes, which coincide with vegetation rituals, into the story. The lottery takes place every year when the nature cycle peaks in midsummer, a time usually associated with cheerfulness. The villagers of a small town gather together in the square on June 27, a beautiful day, for the town lottery. In other towns, the lottery takes longer, but there are only 300 people in this village, so the lottery takes only two hours. Village children, who have just finished school for the summer, run around collecting stones.They put the stones in their pockets and make a pile in the square. Men gather next, followed by the women. Parents call their children over, and families stand together. Mr. Summers, a jovial man, who conducts the lottery ceremony, sets the tone of the event with both his name and his mannerisms. But lurking behind him, Mr. Graves quietly assists, his name hinting at a dark undertone. The picnic type atmosphere betrays the serious consequence of the lottery, for like the seed, a sacrificial person must also be buried to bring forth life. Jackson creates balance by assembling Mr.Summers and Mr. Graves to share in t he responsibilities of the ritual: Life brings death, and death recycles life. At one point in the village's history, the lottery represented a grave experience, and all who participated understood the profound meaning of the tradition. But as time passed, the villagers began to take the ritual lightly. They endure it almost as automatons–â€Å"actors† anxious to return to their mundane, workaday lives. Old Man Warner, the only one who seems to recall the seriousness of the occasion, complains that Mr. Summers jokes with everybody.But, even if one does not understand the meaning, the experience provides the individual a place and a meaning in the life of the generations. Because there has â€Å"always been a lottery† (Jackson 216), the villagers feel compelled to continue this horrifying tradition. They do focus, however, on its gruesome rather than its symbolic nature for they still remembered to use stones even after they have forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box (Jackson 218). The reader may conclude that humanity's inclination toward violence overshadows society's need for civilized traditions. Mr.Summers asks whether anyone is absent, and the crowd responds that Dunbar isn’t there. Mr. Summers asks who will draw for Dunbar, and Mrs. Dunbar says she will because she doesn’t have a son who’s old enough to do it for her. Mr. Summers asks whether the Watson boy will draw, and he answers that he will. Mr. Summers then asks to make sure that Old Man Warner is there too. Mr. Summers reminds everyone about the lottery’s rules: he’ll read names, and the family heads come up and draw a slip of paper. No one should look at the paper until everyone has drawn. He calls all the names, greeting each person as they come up to draw a paper.Mr. Adams tells Old Man Warner that people in the north village might stop the lottery; he says that giving up the lottery could lead to a return to living in caves . Mrs. Adams says the lottery has already been given up in other villages, and Old Man Warner says that’s â€Å"nothing but trouble. † (Jackson, 216). The shock value of the long process and all the moments’ one character or another could have realized the nonsense of the ritual and spoke up. When Mr. Summers finishes calling names, and everyone opens his or her papers. Word quickly gets around that Bill Hutchinson has â€Å"got it. Tessie argues that it wasn’t fair because Bill didn’t have enough time to select a paper.Mr. Summers asks whether there are any other households in the Hutchinson family, and Bill says no, because his married daughter draws with her husband’s family. Mr. Summers asks how many kids Bill has, and he answers that he has three. Tess's eagerness to see the lottery through is only paralleled by her desperation to get out of it once it turns out to be her turn. She goes so far as to try to substitute her daughter and s on-in-law for herself, yelling, â€Å"There's Don and Eva†¦ Make them take their chance! Her extreme moral compromise, as she tries to offer up her daughter for the slaughter instead of herself, underlines that this ritual has nothing to do with virtuous martyrdom; Tess is no saint. Her murder is exactly that: a vicious, group killing of a frightened, antiheroic woman. Tessie protests again that the lottery wasn’t fair. Mr. Graves dumps the papers out of the box onto the ground and then puts five papers in for the Hutchinsons. As Mr. Summers calls their names, each member of the family comes up and draws a paper. When they open their slips, they find that Tessie has drawn the paper with the black dot on it.Mr. Summers instructs everyone to hurry up. The villagers grab stones and run toward Tessie, who stands in a clearing in the middle of the crowd. Tessie says it’s not fair and is hit in the head with a stone. Everyone begins throwing stones at her, as even her own children. â€Å"Tessie may be selfish in her reaction, but her claim that the lottery is not fair may still be true. Whereas the common villagers are described as â€Å"taking† their slips, the businessmen â€Å"select† theirs—a subtle implication that the results have been rigged† (Evans, 112-113) Therefore, the base actions exhibited in groups (such as the stoning of Mrs.Hutchinson) do not take place on the individual level, for here such action would be deemed â€Å"murder. † On the group level people classify their heinous act simply as â€Å"ritual. † When Mrs. Hutchinson arrives at the ceremony late, flustered because she had forgotten that today was the day of the lottery. She chats sociably with Mrs. Delacroix. Nevertheless, after Mrs. Hutchinson falls victim to the lottery selection, Mrs. Delacroix chooses a â€Å"stone so large† that she must pick it up with both hands (Jackson 218).Whereas, on the individual level, the two women regard each other as friends, on the group level, they betray that relationship, satiating the mob mentality. The people of the town are caught up in the ritual to such an extent that they have given up any sense of logic. Mob psychology rules their actions. Though they appear to be sane, sensible individuals, when the time of the lottery comes, they abandon their rational nature and revert to the instincts of the herd. This psychological phenomenon is characteristic of humans throughout history.Although Jackson portrays it in its extreme form in this story, the idea that men and women in groups are willing to forgo personal responsibility and act with great cruelty toward others is evidenced in actions such as lynch mobs, racial confrontations, and similar incidents. â€Å"The willingness of people to act irrationally as members of the herd displays aspects that, while unpleasant, are still integral parts of their nature that they must recognize, if they are to keep them in check. † (Mazzeno) A first-time reader of â€Å"The Lottery† often finds the ending a surprise.The festive nature of the gathering and the camaraderie of the townspeople as the lottery is conducted belie the horror that occurs at the conclusion of the tale, is one of the tale’s strongest points. Another strength, however, is â€Å"the skillful way in which Jackson prepares the careful reader for the denouement by including key details so that, on a second reading, one is assured that there is no trick being played on the reader. † (Mazzeno) In comparison to the heavily symbolic figures of Mr. Graves (Death), Mr. Summers (Progress), or Old Man Warner (Tradition), Tess is resolutely anti-symbolic.She's a woman in an apron with soapsuds on her hands, who cracks jokes and wants to join in her community – but, it turns out, they don't want her back. She's the sacrificial lamb for that year, an outsider that the village then violently excludes. Althou gh civilized people may no longer hold lotteries, Jackson's story illustrates that society's tendency toward violence and its tendency to hold onto tradition, yet even meaningless, base tradition, reveal our need for both ritual and belonging.Work Cited Evans, Robert C. â€Å"The Lottery. † Short Fiction: A Critical Companion (1997): 112-119. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Aug. 2012. Hall, Joan Wylie. â€Å"Shirley Jackson (1916-1965). † Columbia Companion To The Twentieth- Century American Short Story (2000): 310-314. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Aug. 2012. Jackson, Shirley. â€Å"The Lottery†. Drama, and Writing Compact sixth ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2011. 213-218. Print Mazzeno, Laurence W. â€Å"The Lottery. † Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Aug. 2012. Yarmove, Jay A. â€Å"Jackson's The Lottery. † Explicator 52. 4 (1994): 242. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Aug . 2012. The Lottery Lisa Marie Shade Prof. Dunn ENG 102-110 August 9, 2012 The Plot Thickens- In Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery†. A good harvest has always been vital to civilizations. After the fields have been prepared and the seeds sown, the farmer can only wait and hope that the proper balance of rain and sun will ensure a good harvest. From this hope springs ritual. Many ancient cultures believed that growing crops represented the life cycle, beginning with what one associates with the end–death. Seeds buried, apparently without hope of germination, represent death.But with the life forces of water and the sun, the seed grows, representing rebirth. Consequently, ancient peoples began sacrificial rituals to emulate this resurrection cycle. What began as a vegetation ritual developed into a cathartic cleansing of an entire tribe or village. By transferring one's sins to persons or animals and then sacrificing them, people believed that their sins would be eliminated, a proce ss that has been termed the â€Å"scapegoat† archetype. In her short story â€Å"The Lottery,† Shirley Jackson uses this archetype to build on man's inherent need for such ritual.To visit upon the scapegoat the cruelties, that most of us seem to have dammed up within us and explores â€Å"the general psychological basis for such cruelty, showing how we tend to ignore misfortunes unless we ourselves are their victims. The Lottery’s [sic. ] then, deals indeed with live issues and with issues relevant to our time. Jackson's realism makes the final terror and shock more effective and also reinforces our sense of the awful doubleness of the human spirit—a doubleness that expresses itself in the blended good neighborliness and cruelty of the community's action. Evans, 112) Jackson weaves seasonal and life-death cycle archetypes, which coincide with vegetation rituals, into the story. The lottery takes place every year when the nature cycle peaks in midsummer, a time usually associated with cheerfulness. The villagers of a small town gather together in the square on June 27, a beautiful day, for the town lottery. In other towns, the lottery takes longer, but there are only 300 people in this village, so the lottery takes only two hours. Village children, who have just finished school for the summer, run around collecting stones.They put the stones in their pockets and make a pile in the square. Men gather next, followed by the women. Parents call their children over, and families stand together. Mr. Summers, a jovial man, who conducts the lottery ceremony, sets the tone of the event with both his name and his mannerisms. But lurking behind him, Mr. Graves quietly assists, his name hinting at a dark undertone. The picnic type atmosphere betrays the serious consequence of the lottery, for like the seed, a sacrificial person must also be buried to bring forth life. Jackson creates balance by assembling Mr.Summers and Mr. Graves to share in t he responsibilities of the ritual: Life brings death, and death recycles life. At one point in the village's history, the lottery represented a grave experience, and all who participated understood the profound meaning of the tradition. But as time passed, the villagers began to take the ritual lightly. They endure it almost as automatons–â€Å"actors† anxious to return to their mundane, workaday lives. Old Man Warner, the only one who seems to recall the seriousness of the occasion, complains that Mr. Summers jokes with everybody.But, even if one does not understand the meaning, the experience provides the individual a place and a meaning in the life of the generations. Because there has â€Å"always been a lottery† (Jackson 216), the villagers feel compelled to continue this horrifying tradition. They do focus, however, on its gruesome rather than its symbolic nature for they still remembered to use stones even after they have forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box (Jackson 218). The reader may conclude that humanity's inclination toward violence overshadows society's need for civilized traditions. Mr.Summers asks whether anyone is absent, and the crowd responds that Dunbar isn’t there. Mr. Summers asks who will draw for Dunbar, and Mrs. Dunbar says she will because she doesn’t have a son who’s old enough to do it for her. Mr. Summers asks whether the Watson boy will draw, and he answers that he will. Mr. Summers then asks to make sure that Old Man Warner is there too. Mr. Summers reminds everyone about the lottery’s rules: he’ll read names, and the family heads come up and draw a slip of paper. No one should look at the paper until everyone has drawn. He calls all the names, greeting each person as they come up to draw a paper.Mr. Adams tells Old Man Warner that people in the north village might stop the lottery; he says that giving up the lottery could lead to a return to living in caves . Mrs. Adams says the lottery has already been given up in other villages, and Old Man Warner says that’s â€Å"nothing but trouble. † (Jackson, 216). The shock value of the long process and all the moments’ one character or another could have realized the nonsense of the ritual and spoke up. When Mr. Summers finishes calling names, and everyone opens his or her papers. Word quickly gets around that Bill Hutchinson has â€Å"got it. Tessie argues that it wasn’t fair because Bill didn’t have enough time to select a paper.Mr. Summers asks whether there are any other households in the Hutchinson family, and Bill says no, because his married daughter draws with her husband’s family. Mr. Summers asks how many kids Bill has, and he answers that he has three. Tess's eagerness to see the lottery through is only paralleled by her desperation to get out of it once it turns out to be her turn. She goes so far as to try to substitute her daughter and s on-in-law for herself, yelling, â€Å"There's Don and Eva†¦ Make them take their chance! Her extreme moral compromise, as she tries to offer up her daughter for the slaughter instead of herself, underlines that this ritual has nothing to do with virtuous martyrdom; Tess is no saint. Her murder is exactly that: a vicious, group killing of a frightened, antiheroic woman. Tessie protests again that the lottery wasn’t fair. Mr. Graves dumps the papers out of the box onto the ground and then puts five papers in for the Hutchinsons. As Mr. Summers calls their names, each member of the family comes up and draws a paper. When they open their slips, they find that Tessie has drawn the paper with the black dot on it.Mr. Summers instructs everyone to hurry up. The villagers grab stones and run toward Tessie, who stands in a clearing in the middle of the crowd. Tessie says it’s not fair and is hit in the head with a stone. Everyone begins throwing stones at her, as even her own children. â€Å"Tessie may be selfish in her reaction, but her claim that the lottery is not fair may still be true. Whereas the common villagers are described as â€Å"taking† their slips, the businessmen â€Å"select† theirs—a subtle implication that the results have been rigged† (Evans, 112-113) Therefore, the base actions exhibited in groups (such as the stoning of Mrs.Hutchinson) do not take place on the individual level, for here such action would be deemed â€Å"murder. † On the group level people classify their heinous act simply as â€Å"ritual. † When Mrs. Hutchinson arrives at the ceremony late, flustered because she had forgotten that today was the day of the lottery. She chats sociably with Mrs. Delacroix. Nevertheless, after Mrs. Hutchinson falls victim to the lottery selection, Mrs. Delacroix chooses a â€Å"stone so large† that she must pick it up with both hands (Jackson 218).Whereas, on the individual level, the two women regard each other as friends, on the group level, they betray that relationship, satiating the mob mentality. The people of the town are caught up in the ritual to such an extent that they have given up any sense of logic. Mob psychology rules their actions. Though they appear to be sane, sensible individuals, when the time of the lottery comes, they abandon their rational nature and revert to the instincts of the herd. This psychological phenomenon is characteristic of humans throughout history.Although Jackson portrays it in its extreme form in this story, the idea that men and women in groups are willing to forgo personal responsibility and act with great cruelty toward others is evidenced in actions such as lynch mobs, racial confrontations, and similar incidents. â€Å"The willingness of people to act irrationally as members of the herd displays aspects that, while unpleasant, are still integral parts of their nature that they must recognize, if they are to keep them in check. † (Mazzeno) A first-time reader of â€Å"The Lottery† often finds the ending a surprise.The festive nature of the gathering and the camaraderie of the townspeople as the lottery is conducted belie the horror that occurs at the conclusion of the tale, is one of the tale’s strongest points. Another strength, however, is â€Å"the skillful way in which Jackson prepares the careful reader for the denouement by including key details so that, on a second reading, one is assured that there is no trick being played on the reader. † (Mazzeno) In comparison to the heavily symbolic figures of Mr. Graves (Death), Mr. Summers (Progress), or Old Man Warner (Tradition), Tess is resolutely anti-symbolic.She's a woman in an apron with soapsuds on her hands, who cracks jokes and wants to join in her community – but, it turns out, they don't want her back. She's the sacrificial lamb for that year, an outsider that the village then violently excludes. Althou gh civilized people may no longer hold lotteries, Jackson's story illustrates that society's tendency toward violence and its tendency to hold onto tradition, yet even meaningless, base tradition, reveal our need for both ritual and belonging.Work Cited Evans, Robert C. â€Å"The Lottery. † Short Fiction: A Critical Companion (1997): 112-119. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Aug. 2012. Hall, Joan Wylie. â€Å"Shirley Jackson (1916-1965). † Columbia Companion To The Twentieth- Century American Short Story (2000): 310-314. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Aug. 2012. Jackson, Shirley. â€Å"The Lottery†. Drama, and Writing Compact sixth ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2011. 213-218. Print Mazzeno, Laurence W. â€Å"The Lottery. † Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Aug. 2012. Yarmove, Jay A. â€Å"Jackson's The Lottery. † Explicator 52. 4 (1994): 242. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Aug . 2012. The lottery The Lottery Research Paper Shirley Jackson was a devoted mother and writer. Jackson didn't fit in well in North Bennington, and the town likely served as the setting for the New England town portrayed in â€Å"The Lottery. † â€Å"The Lottery' caused outrage and controversy when it appeared in the New Yorker in 1948, but many critics now consider it to be Jackson's most famous work. Jackson was sometimes thought to be a witch because of her interested in witchcraft and black magic. Almost all of Jackson's work is reflects horror, hauntings, witchcraft, or psychological unease.She also struggled with both mental and physical illnesses as an adult. Unlike other writers, she found the writing process pleasurable. â€Å"The Lottery' starts off in a town on a normal day with children going around and collecting rocks. The men of the households are called forward to a wooden box to draw slips of paper. When one of the men sees that he has the black dot on his slip, his wife immedi ately starts to argue with how the drawing wasn't fair. The family is brought to the stage where they are to draw their slips of paper. Tess (Mrs.Hutchinson) draws the paper with the black dot and is taken to the center of the town where the town's people take their stones that the children collected earlier hat day. As the villagers close in to primarily take Tess's life, all you can hear are her terrified shrilling screams. Shirley Jackson in her work â€Å"The Lottery' reveals the corrosive factors that result in our blind acceptance of morally questionable traditions that cause social paralysis. â€Å"The Lottery' starts off as a normal day in the village â€Å"it was clear and sunny with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day' Oackson 1).This is ironic because it starts off with this allusion of an enjoyable day but really by the end they end up killing one of their own villagers. Jackson does this to create a less serious atmosphere and reflect he attitudes of the community. Instantly, the boys are collecting rocks used to kill the lottery winner at the end of the story. This is an annual thing that the kids do because they have been raised and taught to do so. Because the kids are gradually and systematically exposed to these series of provoking objects and situations, they have become familiar with their actions making it an annual â€Å"game† for the kids (Linz 1).It has become a â€Å"game† for the kids because in the story it states that, â€Å"they gather together quietly for a while before they broke out into boisterous play' and that they find the smoothest and roundest rocks to stuff in their pockets. † Because the kids are repeatedly exposed to this violence it diminishes the negative affect that was once upon them. They can no longer see it as wrong or feel remorse. They blindly accept this task thats given to them every year and don't question it. The constant exposure to violence results in less physiological reactivit y to other violent actions going on around them (Linz 1).The killing of the villagers is the violence going on. Collecting stones has become a ritual that they believe is right, because it is what they have been raised to do, even though it is wrong. They are Just kids and haven't been taught that it is morally wrong to be killing friends and family. An example is at the end of the story when Mrs. Hutchinson's son was handed a few pebbles to throw at his own mother and didn't hesitate. When they are repeatedly exposed to violence 2). â€Å"Both beamed and laughed Oackson 6). This shows how they still find Joy in the situation even though they are about to kill a member of their family. The story goes on to talk about the families that are attending this so called lottery. The women are described as â€Å"housewives that gossip† Oackson 1) and aren't as authoritative as the men. While the boys are all collecting the stones, the women are â€Å"standing aside talking among th emselves. † In the story â€Å"the women began to call their children, and the children came reluctantly, having called four or five times. † When their father calls to them â€Å"they came quickly' Oackson 1).It is as if their mothers hadn't even said anything. This shows how the men are portrayed as the head of the house and they women more as Just the â€Å"housekeeper. † Their voices are not heard in this part of the story and neither at the end when Mrs. Hutchinson claims that, â€Å"It wasn't fair† and no one does anything about it but continues with the est of the lottery. Women have been known to rarely work outside the house and live their lives caring for their husbands and children while taking care of their home. Most males are prevailed as the dominant gender.The women are seen on a lower status (Gender Prejudice 1). The lottery seems to be run mostly by the men of the town. They are the ones that are in charge of the black box and most of th e ceremony. In the story the women are more resistant to the lottery while the men are the ones in control of it. This results in social paralysis of the town because no one wants to change how the lottery is run or who it's run by. When its time for the drawing, Mr. Dunbar is unable to draw so because he and his wife don't have kids the â€Å"Wife draws for the husband† Oackson 3).This all goes back to the role of the men and women in the village. The women are to produce many children so that it gives their family a better chance of surviving if their spouse is chosen in the first round (Oehlschlaeger 1). Men are the ones that go out and prevail in the business world while their wives stay home all day. When Mrs. Hutchinson arrives late she makes the statement that she â€Å"Thought my old man was out back stacking wood† and that she Wouldn't have me leave m'dishes in the sink Oackson 2),† implying that her husband was doing the hard labor out in the yard while she was inside doing dishes.They mention that most of the ritual has been forgotten over the years. â€Å"The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago Oackson 1). It has become a habit that no one wants to stop. The lottery has become a social paralysis over time, not allowing anyone to step up and want to change or stop what the lottery is doing to their village. No one questions why they still do it and no one even really knows why they do it in the first place. It has lost its significance over the years and become a yearly act that no one has tried to stop.They don't want to make a new box because â€Å"No one wanted to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box Oackson 1). Tradition is a belief that has been passes down from generations, Just like in â€Å"The Lottery. † Traditions are passes on to gain that sense of continuity and bonding through each other. They are supposed to create that special connection between the fam ilies and in this case the town. That's not what it does though, No one knows the significants of the lottery anymore and no one questions ither. Old Man Warner says, â€Å"Pack of crazy fools† to the people that want to give up the lottery.They think that breaking this time-honored tradition would result in them (Tradition 1), such as drawing the paper from the box and having the men draw first then the family. Even though â€Å"So much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded Oackson 2),† they still keep that cultural sense to it. The reverence regularly provided in tradition indicates that people follow it willingly even if they don't know why. â€Å"The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions. † People follow tradition unconsciously because it's what they are taught to do.This is their blind acceptance of the lottery and social paralysis of not wanting to change what they have continued to do for numerous years. T raditions are invoked to preserve the sanctity of the past family rituals. Societies keep traditions for social connectedness and memories (Tradition 3). Throughout the story, â€Å"The Lottery,† Shirley Jackson uses harsh examples of how the village blindly accepts their morally questionable traditions resulting in social paralysis. They don't want to change anything about the lottery even though most of he significance has been lost over the years.There is evidence throughout the story that shows how the people blindly accept what they are doing to their town and do it without question. This all demonstrates how society never changes or grows resulting in the social paralysis of the story. Their is social paralysis going on all around the world. Even in Pakistan there are people refusing to act upon the issue of suicide happening at large rates ( Poverty and Social Paralysis. ) The lottery is Just an example of how some societies refuse to change even though what they are d oing needs to or should be stopped. The lottery The Lottery Research Paper Shirley Jackson was a devoted mother and writer. Jackson didn't fit in well in North Bennington, and the town likely served as the setting for the New England town portrayed in â€Å"The Lottery. † â€Å"The Lottery' caused outrage and controversy when it appeared in the New Yorker in 1948, but many critics now consider it to be Jackson's most famous work. Jackson was sometimes thought to be a witch because of her interested in witchcraft and black magic. Almost all of Jackson's work is reflects horror, hauntings, witchcraft, or psychological unease.She also struggled with both mental and physical illnesses as an adult. Unlike other writers, she found the writing process pleasurable. â€Å"The Lottery' starts off in a town on a normal day with children going around and collecting rocks. The men of the households are called forward to a wooden box to draw slips of paper. When one of the men sees that he has the black dot on his slip, his wife immedi ately starts to argue with how the drawing wasn't fair. The family is brought to the stage where they are to draw their slips of paper. Tess (Mrs.Hutchinson) draws the paper with the black dot and is taken to the center of the town where the town's people take their stones that the children collected earlier hat day. As the villagers close in to primarily take Tess's life, all you can hear are her terrified shrilling screams. Shirley Jackson in her work â€Å"The Lottery' reveals the corrosive factors that result in our blind acceptance of morally questionable traditions that cause social paralysis. â€Å"The Lottery' starts off as a normal day in the village â€Å"it was clear and sunny with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day' Oackson 1).This is ironic because it starts off with this allusion of an enjoyable day but really by the end they end up killing one of their own villagers. Jackson does this to create a less serious atmosphere and reflect he attitudes of the community. Instantly, the boys are collecting rocks used to kill the lottery winner at the end of the story. This is an annual thing that the kids do because they have been raised and taught to do so. Because the kids are gradually and systematically exposed to these series of provoking objects and situations, they have become familiar with their actions making it an annual â€Å"game† for the kids (Linz 1).It has become a â€Å"game† for the kids because in the story it states that, â€Å"they gather together quietly for a while before they broke out into boisterous play' and that they find the smoothest and roundest rocks to stuff in their pockets. † Because the kids are repeatedly exposed to this violence it diminishes the negative affect that was once upon them. They can no longer see it as wrong or feel remorse. They blindly accept this task thats given to them every year and don't question it. The constant exposure to violence results in less physiological reactivit y to other violent actions going on around them (Linz 1).The killing of the villagers is the violence going on. Collecting stones has become a ritual that they believe is right, because it is what they have been raised to do, even though it is wrong. They are Just kids and haven't been taught that it is morally wrong to be killing friends and family. An example is at the end of the story when Mrs. Hutchinson's son was handed a few pebbles to throw at his own mother and didn't hesitate. When they are repeatedly exposed to violence 2). â€Å"Both beamed and laughed Oackson 6). This shows how they still find Joy in the situation even though they are about to kill a member of their family. The story goes on to talk about the families that are attending this so called lottery. The women are described as â€Å"housewives that gossip† Oackson 1) and aren't as authoritative as the men. While the boys are all collecting the stones, the women are â€Å"standing aside talking among th emselves. † In the story â€Å"the women began to call their children, and the children came reluctantly, having called four or five times. † When their father calls to them â€Å"they came quickly' Oackson 1).It is as if their mothers hadn't even said anything. This shows how the men are portrayed as the head of the house and they women more as Just the â€Å"housekeeper. † Their voices are not heard in this part of the story and neither at the end when Mrs. Hutchinson claims that, â€Å"It wasn't fair† and no one does anything about it but continues with the est of the lottery. Women have been known to rarely work outside the house and live their lives caring for their husbands and children while taking care of their home. Most males are prevailed as the dominant gender.The women are seen on a lower status (Gender Prejudice 1). The lottery seems to be run mostly by the men of the town. They are the ones that are in charge of the black box and most of th e ceremony. In the story the women are more resistant to the lottery while the men are the ones in control of it. This results in social paralysis of the town because no one wants to change how the lottery is run or who it's run by. When its time for the drawing, Mr. Dunbar is unable to draw so because he and his wife don't have kids the â€Å"Wife draws for the husband† Oackson 3).This all goes back to the role of the men and women in the village. The women are to produce many children so that it gives their family a better chance of surviving if their spouse is chosen in the first round (Oehlschlaeger 1). Men are the ones that go out and prevail in the business world while their wives stay home all day. When Mrs. Hutchinson arrives late she makes the statement that she â€Å"Thought my old man was out back stacking wood† and that she Wouldn't have me leave m'dishes in the sink Oackson 2),† implying that her husband was doing the hard labor out in the yard while she was inside doing dishes.They mention that most of the ritual has been forgotten over the years. â€Å"The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago Oackson 1). It has become a habit that no one wants to stop. The lottery has become a social paralysis over time, not allowing anyone to step up and want to change or stop what the lottery is doing to their village. No one questions why they still do it and no one even really knows why they do it in the first place. It has lost its significance over the years and become a yearly act that no one has tried to stop.They don't want to make a new box because â€Å"No one wanted to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box Oackson 1). Tradition is a belief that has been passes down from generations, Just like in â€Å"The Lottery. † Traditions are passes on to gain that sense of continuity and bonding through each other. They are supposed to create that special connection between the fam ilies and in this case the town. That's not what it does though, No one knows the significants of the lottery anymore and no one questions ither. Old Man Warner says, â€Å"Pack of crazy fools† to the people that want to give up the lottery.They think that breaking this time-honored tradition would result in them (Tradition 1), such as drawing the paper from the box and having the men draw first then the family. Even though â€Å"So much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded Oackson 2),† they still keep that cultural sense to it. The reverence regularly provided in tradition indicates that people follow it willingly even if they don't know why. â€Å"The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions. † People follow tradition unconsciously because it's what they are taught to do.This is their blind acceptance of the lottery and social paralysis of not wanting to change what they have continued to do for numerous years. T raditions are invoked to preserve the sanctity of the past family rituals. Societies keep traditions for social connectedness and memories (Tradition 3). Throughout the story, â€Å"The Lottery,† Shirley Jackson uses harsh examples of how the village blindly accepts their morally questionable traditions resulting in social paralysis. They don't want to change anything about the lottery even though most of he significance has been lost over the years.There is evidence throughout the story that shows how the people blindly accept what they are doing to their town and do it without question. This all demonstrates how society never changes or grows resulting in the social paralysis of the story. Their is social paralysis going on all around the world. Even in Pakistan there are people refusing to act upon the issue of suicide happening at large rates ( Poverty and Social Paralysis. ) The lottery is Just an example of how some societies refuse to change even though what they are d oing needs to or should be stopped.