Muhammad, the Qur'an and Islam
The Christians
The intermittent persecutions of Nestorians and Monophysites, resulting
from the Councils of Ephesus (431 AD) and Chalcedon (451 AD), not only
brought refugees to, but also seem to have spawned new missionary
activities on the Arabian peninsula. In the 6th century, Christianity was
slowly making its way to central Arabia and the Hijaz (which is roughly
composed of the area around Mecca and Medina). There were Arab
Christians among the Taghlib, Bakr and Ijl (near Mesopotamia), among^10 the Tayy, Thalaba and Qudaa (in the center of Arabia), among^11 the Hanifa (in Yamama), the Kinda (in Duma; i.e. Dumat al-Jandal),^1213 and among the Judham andUdhra (who had settled along the trade routes from
Wadi al-Qura to Syria). Christian bishops were known to hav^14 e been at
Tayma', Duma and Ayla (which is near Elat).^15
Christianity among the Arabs in the north and west was best established in
the tribes of the Ghassanids and the Lakhmids. The Ghassanids originally
came from Yemen, had settled near Damascus and accepted Christianity in
about 490 AD. They were predominantly Monophysite and gene^16 rally
allies with Byzantium. The Lakhmids dwelt in al-Hira, which was not far
from Kufa in southern Iraq. Politically, they were vassals of the Persians
and as such were in almost constant armed conflict with the Ghassanids
throughout the 6th century. The Nestorians had a monastery and a bishop in
al-Hira as early as 410 AD and seem to have remained more influ^17 ential
there than the Monophysites. Although the Persians favored^18
Zoroastrianism and persecuted the Nestorians, these, nevertheless, were
able to propagate Christianity within the Persian sphere of influence to
Oman, Bahrain, and Yemen. The last Lakhmid king Numan III wa^1920 s converted in about 593 AD by a Nestorian bishop. Al-Hira h^21 ad developed into an Arabic literary center in the 6th century and was pro^22 bably at least instrumental in introducing the art of writing to the Arab tribes of the peninsula. For at least some syncretistic Arab Christians o^23 f southern Iraq, it seems that Allah of the Kaba in Mecca was held on equal terms with
Jesus.^24
It appears that Christianity was first established in Yemen sometime
between the 5th and 6th centuries and was then spread to the Ha^25 dramawt
along the southern coast. Owing to its proximity to Abyssinia and trade
with al-Hira, Yemenite Christianity, whose centers were in Najran and
San`a' came under the influence of both Monophysites and Nestorians.