Jahiliyyah

Jahiliyyah (Arabic: ‏جَاهِلِيَّة‎ jāhilīyah [d͡ʒæːhɪˈlɪj.jæ], "ignorance") is a polemical Islamic / Arabic term that refers to the period of time and state of affairs in Pre-Islamic Arabia before the advent of Islam in 609 CE. It usually refers to the Age of Ignorance. The term jahiliyyah may be derived from the verbal root jahala (جهل), "to be ignorant or stupid, to act stupidly". Alternatively, it is an abstract noun derived from jāhil, referring to barbarism.

In modern times, various Islamic thinkers have used the term to criticize what they see as the un-Islamic nature of public and private life in the Muslim world. For Islamist scholars like Muhammad Rashid Rida, Abul A'la Maududi, and others, Jahiliyyah refers to secular modernity and modern Western culture. In his works, Maududi asserted that modernity is the "new jahiliyyah." Sayyid Qutb viewed jahiliyyah as a state of domination of humans over humans, as opposed to their submission to God. Radical groups have justified armed struggle against secular regimes as a jihad against jahiliyyah.

Islamic historians state that female infanticide was common in seventh-century Arabia. However, the information in the sources may have been greatly exaggerated in order to criticize the Age of Ignorance, both for religious concerns and for other reasons. (See also:Women in pre-Islamic Arabia and Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia)

The time of Fatrah and the time of Jahiliyyah are fairly similar concepts in Islam, although there are some minor differences. Generally speaking, the concept of Fatrah refers to those whom the message of God was not or could not be transmitted, typically due to time or location. Meanwhile, Jahiliyyah refers to those who might have had the option of following monotheism (Hanif) as per their knowledge, but chose not to, due to ignorance, pride, or similar reasons.