Preface
List of Maps and Illustrations
Introduction
Arabia a11d her people-The Qur' tin and its compilation
-Sources of information on tlte subject-! slamic literature
-Jewish literawre -C lassiCtll literatzeres-Archaological

disco;,eries-Hamd,ini -Inscriptio" of Hisn Ghurab-
Kalbi-Ibn Hislu"im-Siebuhr-D.G. Hogarth-Extracts

from tlu: Encyclopoedia. Britannica and Air Philby's The
Empty Qu:utcr Oil disc;overies a.nd antiquities of Arabia

BOOK I
GEOGRAPHY OF ARABIA

CHAPTER 1-Introductory

Derivation of the term •Arab-Different theories-
Sources of geographical knowledge of Arabia

CHAPTER 2-Arabia on the Basis of the Old
Testament (2500-500 B.c.)
The name "Arabia"-Divisions and towns-Original
tribes of Arabia
CHAPTER 3-Arabia of Classical Scholars

(500-200 B.C.)

Homer-Herodotus-Botmdaries and divisions of Arabia
-A list of Ar,1bia1z towns aml tribes according to the
Greeks
CHAPTER 4-Arabia During the Qur'anic

Period

Land of Arabia-Area and boundaries-Physical

featMes~Products-Provinces and towns of Arabia-
Arabian Syria, or Arabia Petra-Arabian •Iraq, or

Arabia Deserta

Pages
''-Vlll
Xll
1-28

31-32

33-37

38-43

4+-56

X A GEOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE QUR' AN

BOOK II

THE PEOPLES OF THE QUR' AN
CHAPTER 5-lntroductory
Different classifications of the human race-Biblical
di·vision of manki11d after the Deluge of Noah-The
Semitic people
CHAPTER 6-The Original Home of the

Semites

European theories-Arabs' view-Arabia the birthplace
of the Semites-Refutation of other theories
CHAPTER 7-The :Migration of the Semites ...
The migration of the Arabs to Babylon, Assyria,
Egypt a11d Pl11211icia in 3000 B.C. and then to some
other co1tntries in 1500 B.c.-Quotations from European
and Arab scholars-Genealogy of the peoples of the
Qur'iin according to the Old Testament
CHAPTER 8-The First Chain of the

Semites

Umam-i-Bii'idah (the destroyed race)- •Arab-i-•Aribah

(unmixed Arabs)-The •Ad-The Thamiul-The ]urha-
mites-The Lakhmids-The Tasm -The ]adfs-Quota-
tions from the Qur' iin

CHAPTER 9-The 'Ad
The tum •Ad-The p"iod of the •Ad-Their original
. home-Their kingdoms
CHAPTER 10-The Arabs outside Arabia
The •Ad in Babylon-Arabs' and Persians' evidence
-Biblical references:-Archaological researches;-The •Ad
in Egypt-Arabs' and Egyptians' evidence-Biblical

evidence -Modern discoveries-The Hyksos Kings-
Quotations from European and Arabian works-The •Ad

in Assyria, Persia, Phcenicia, Carthage, Greece and Crete -Th~ Qur'iinic accotmt of the •Ad-The destructi_on of
the •Ad-The survival of the be/ie1:ers among the •Ad

59-61

62-68

69-72

73-75

76-77

78-99

CONTENTS xi
BOOK III

THE PEOPLES OF THE QUR' AN (Continued)
THE ARABS IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY
CHAPTER 11-Introductory 103
The 'Ad II-The Tlzamiid-Tlzc ]urhamites"-The
Tasm and Jadis-Thc Minarans-Tizc Li}Jyanitc'S
CHAPTER 12-The • Ad II 104-1 OS
L11qman -Pre-Islamic e-.~idencc-Rcferences in the
Qur'ii1t-Prophet Hiid (Heber) --Arclza:ological cv£dence
CHAPTER 13-The Thamiid 109-117
The Qur'iinic account of the Thamiid-Prophet :;;ali~~
-The destruction of the Tlzamzld-The smvival I'Jj
the believers (known as the Thamiid ll)-Referenccs in
classical literatures
CHAPTER 14-The J urhami tes 118-120
Past history-Different views-Relation with Prophet
Ishmael-Erection of the Ka'balz-.Muslim period
CHAPTER 15-The Tasm and Jadis 121-123
Their original home -Hamdiini's view-Roman invasion
-Muslim period
CHAPTER 16-The Minaeans 124-133
The iotr'n !If a• in-Biblical er·idence-Ref!!rences in

Greek literature- Arabs' view-Arclza:ological researches-
Mi1taean period-Differe11t theories-Quotations a11d

evidences-Minaean inscriptions-Different stages of
Minae-m mle-Colonies-Rise and fall-A list of
Jllinac.m kings-Ifamzah l~falziini's view-Rise of the
Sabci1115
CHAPTER 17-The Lil)yanites
Their home -Inscriptions at al-' Ul,i-Quotations from
the Encyclop:cdia of Islam-Herodotus-Persian Emperor Cambyses- Pliny
General Index
Bibliographical Index

134-136

137-1+1
142-143

LIST OF. MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
t. The Holy ·Ka 'bah
2. Arabia
3. The Land of the Qur'an
4. The 'Ad, United
5. The •Ad, Divided

... .
Frontispiece
Facing page
56
72
136
136

Curiously enough, no serious attempt has been made
to ·write a book on the geographical and historical
background of the Qur'll.n with a view to proving
the authenticity of the Qur'lnic accounts and refuting
the unjustified criticisms that have been levelled by
the missionaries of non-Muslim faiths against the
Qur'an. The only solitary exception is my learned

teacher • Allll.mah Sayyid Sulaiman N ad vi's Jty4..;ul-
Quy'an, in Urdu, published in 1915, which is based

on the most authoritative and reliable sources. For
my part I had long cherished the desire to write a

book on the subject in English for the English-know-
ing public. But after a careful consideration I came

to the conclusion that I could not do better than
assimilate the contents of that book and supplement
them by extracts and quotations from other sources
that have since come to light.
The most difficult task in respect of ancient history ·
is the fixing of periods and identification of names.
Hence some principles should be borne in mind.

A. Fixation of Time. It is essential froin the view-
point of modern history that periods of different

peoples and tribes of Arabia should be ascertained.
But the difficulty is that, so far as ancient history of

Arabia is concerned, we have three sources of infor-
mation only, and they are inadequate. These are : · (i) The Old Testament, which is marked by its

brevity and lack of details.
(ii) Arabian traditions, which do not mention dates.
(tii) Engraved tablets and monuments, which help

us to know the dates of the dt>aths and con-
quests of some Arab 11 onarchs only. ·

VI ·A GEOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE QUR' AN
Generally, when we are to fix the period of any

prehistoric nation we are to depend on its contem-
porary nations and individuals whose dates are

known. Another method of ascertaining the dates is
that we are to presume that four generations cover
the peric>d of one century. In this connection it must
be noticed that the date of the existence of a nation
may not necessarily be identical with the period ·of its
rise to fame, for instance, the Banii Qal)tln flourished
after Moses, but it does not follow that they .had not
come into existence· earlier. Thousands of natiClns
sprang up and lived in the world unknown for a long
time,. and then for some reason or other some of these
rose to power and glory. It is natural that first the
individuals come into being, then they develop into a
family, then into a society, and finally evolve into a
nation.
B. 1 dtntiftcation of N,ames To understand the
home and nationality of an early people we have to
find the connection between the names of historical
persons and tho ;e of their places of residence, or
between the languages of two peoples, or between the
names of persons and those of gods. The similarity
between the names of persons and those of their places
enables us to ascertain the name of their countries,·
:J.nd the harmony between the' l;1nguages of two
nations points to their . common origin. The first
method of research is very helpful, particularly with
regard to the ancient geography of the Semitic towns,
because the Semitic race's generally named towns and
villages after their inhabitants. John Forster, who
wrote Historical Geography of Arabia in the middle
of the eighteenth century, has successfully utilised this
principle, though in some places his conclusions are
only hypothetical and open to objections.
C. Harmony in Names and Languages Every
nation has som~ peculiar forms of n~tmes. The Hindus,
Muslims, Jews and Christians have all their own

peculiar ways of naming the individuals of their com-
munity. Hence when we find that two nations have

certain resemblances in names of men and places, we
may presume that they belong to the same branch
of the human race. Similarly, religious similarity and
linguistic affinity bet~een two nations bear testimony
to their common origin.
N.B.-(1) The 'Ad, Thamud, Saba, Jurham, etc.,
are very often assumed to be the names of persons,

but in reality they are the names of tribes and peo-
ples. For example, if we come to know that the first

Arab kingdom was founded by Saba, it does not
mean that any individual bearing the name of "Saba"
founded the kingdom, but that the members of the
Sabrean tribe did it (in Arabic generally the first
part of genitive phrase is omitted, and so the word
"Saba" stands for Banu Saba, i.e. descendants of
Saba). Similarly, if we find that the 'Ad liv~d for a
thousand years, it means that the tribe of 'Ad lived
for a thousand years and not any individual of that
name.
(2) Owing to the passage of time and . variations
in languages some names have assumed different
forms in different languages, and· consequently we
may be misled to think that these names refer to
different persons. If we compare the same names, as
they are found in Arabic, Greek and other European
Janguases, we shall be struck with the differences
that have crept into them. Not to speak of the names
of ancient peoples mentioned in the Qur'an, Muslim
philosophers and thinkers who liYed in comparatively
recent times have been given different names in
European languages, which do not bear any apparent
resemblance to the original names, e.g. Abu 'Ali
Sina has been westernised into Avicenna, Ibn Rushd
into A verroes, Ibn Haitham into Alhazem and Abu!
Qasim into Albucasis. Similarly, the Hebrew

..

viii A GEOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE QUR'AN
••Yoktan" bas been Hellenised into "Joktan" and
Arabicised into ''Qal}!!n," and the Hebrew "Yerah"
has been changed to "Jerah" in Greek and "Ya'rub"
in Arabic. Such examples can easily be multiplied.