pre-islamic arabia:poetry,tribal rivalry and heroism 7Islam acknowledges individualism and concedes the drive for it,
and for that, it, among other things, assigns a considerable weight
to private ownership. But no harm should be fallen upon others in
pursuit of individualistic interests, and this is a fundamental prereq-
uisite for accepting individualism in Islam. And on the educational
side, Islam teaches and preaches the virtue of self denial, alms giv-
ing and societal caring.
Clanism. Strange as it might seem, clanism was a twin image of
individualism in Arabia. The Bedouin, or the Arabian, had loyalty
to his clansmen in a patriotic fashion. He would defend members
of the clan, as he would be protected by them, and would engage
with them in any war that might be launched by the clan on the
neighbouring ones. The sense of individuality to self and clan seemed
to have developed the feeling of loyalty to the clan and to have
shaped the form of political structure in the Bedouin society. The
clan as a social unit had its own titular head, a sheikh, who was cho-
sen by the members of the clan by virtue of his seniority in age,
experience, wisdom and other personal qualifications and who rep-
resented the clan in relation to other clans, but did not have the
absolute authority in all matters regarding the clan (Œassan, 1959).
In serious judicial matters and in questions of inter-clan conflict he
would have to consult with a council consisting of the heads of the
families in the clan. The sense of individuality, on the other hand,
emphasised by the high regard for personal freedom, made the
Bedouin treat the sheikhon an equal footing. The sheikhwas not a
king, and apart from the peripheral areas of the Persian and Byzantine
empires the leaders of which were given the title kings by these
empires, but in South Arabia such titles were never used by Arabians
in reference to their tribal heads (ibid.).
The two twin forces, individualism and clanism, seem to have
helped establish the basis of democracy in the tribal society. This
democracy was not far away from that of modern times. The sense
of individuality and the feeling of loyalty to the clan also shaped the
economic structure of pre-Islamic Arabians. With the force of indi-
viduality, private property was emphasised, but through the bonds
of clanism matters of common economic concern were observed.
Representing the clan as a whole in a community that lived on com-
mon economic resources, the head of the clan would have to draw
the line between what was regarded as private interest and that