KUR’ÂN’IN, NÜZÛL DÖNEMİ PUTPEREST ARAPLARI İÇİN KAYNAKLIĞI ÜZERİNE

On the Usability of the Quran as a Source for the Pagan Arabs in the Period of its Revelation

The Quran is the most significant source for the period of its revelation and any other source which is older and more authentic than the Quran does not exist whatsoever. However, the information about the pagans in the Quran should be considered carefully due to the fact that the Quran is not a book of history and that a conflicting situation arose in the time when the pagans adopted negative attitudes against Islam. It is not possible to make precise historical narratives about the time of Jahiliyya solely relying on the Quran. For it does not contain sufficient information to allow us to describe its own time. Further, it aims to narrate neither the life of the Prophet nor the time of its own revelation. Nevertheless, it may shed light on the characteristics of religion, language, culture, economic and social life, and traditions in the period of the revelation.