Pre-Islamic Arab's Perception of Warfare

As part of Arabs’ history, Ayyām al-ʿArab has always been a focus of attention for the historians studying the history of Islam and Arabs. However, their main concern has been literary and rhetorical aspects and they have been less concerned with the concept and phenomenon of battles among the nomad Arab tribes. This is while against the backdrop of geographical conditions and the dominant Pre-Islamic tribal system of Arabian Peninsula, battles were perceived as an integral reality of the Arabs’ social life. Studying the sociological contexts of Pre-Islamic battles, known as Ayyām al-ʿArab, and aiming at filling the existing research gap, this paper attempted to study the issue of warfare as Pre-Islamic Arabs perceived it. The hypothesis of this study is that it seems Arabs, beyond having an economic view of warfare, to secure their livelihoods, sought other purposes in battles. They considered warfare not as a form of banditry but as a popular sport in which the tribe's heroes enjoyed high positions. In addition, they sought hegemony, honor and dignity, courage, chivalry and eventually their salvation in it.