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and people who were living in that period and in that culture found
it
Idifficult
to change, their ways thenpand alter their rigid beliefs
completely to a new religion. It was difficult for
I
people to change their whole life completely. *
were not abolished.
polygamy existed in
any number of wives
limiting the number
the same time, but
in detail later.
_While customs which were regarded as acceptable
but were revaluated in Islam. For example.
pre-Islamic Arabia,, a man being free to marry
without limitation. Islam modified this by
of wives to four, so a man can marry four wives at
inder certain conditions. as will be discussed
Pre-Islamic Arab society had special, social and political
conditions which stemmed from, and were in accordance with. the
natural environment, which had a profound influence on women's
lives. Most_areas of the Arabian Peninsula were desert, extending
over the middle of the Peninsula with no rivers-and very little
water. The desert was called Al-Rabl al-Kh7alr (the vacant section);
described in the Cambridge History as that "Empty Q4arter". the
most savage part of the arid area and the most extensive body of
continuous sand in the whole world. 1 There is not a single river
to facilitate transport and communication through the vast expanses
of sun scorched desert. However, there were some small valleve
with oases but these were of little effect in view of the vast
expanse of desert. In the west, this desert was surrounded by a chain
of mountains called al-Saraw; t Mountains. Some areas in the west are
considered to have been dry and, barren. _ An example of such an area
is the"Ifecea. region which. is described in the Qurlan as an
Holt. P. M. Lambton. AtW. Lewis Bernard. The CambridRe istory
:0
Of Islam. Vol. 1. PA
7