Abstract:

First of all, the word jahiliyyah (ignorance), which is used by the Quran and is negatively mentioned in four places in the Quran, is dominated by shirk, cruelty and sedition. It refers to the period before the prophet's prophethood. In the Quran, only four aspects of this period are mentioned as jahiliyyah, which are the supposition of ignorance, bigotry of ignorance, the decree of the age of ignorance and the first jahiliyya period (the opening and scattering of women). However, the expression jahiliyyah al-ûlâ caused some questions in the minds: If jahiliyyah al-ûlâ is meant first ignorant, then is there a second or third ignorant? What is meant by the expression ‘first’ or ‘previous jahiliyyah’ and which period of history does it refer to? Are there other periods of ignorance other than the period of ignorance before the Hz. Mohammed’s (pbuh) prophethood? In this study, after mentioning the statements of the commentators about this statement, the ambiguous meaning of this expression was tried to be clarified, especially based on the hadiths, and the possible reasons for the use of the expression with the word ‘tabarroj’ were pointed out. As a result, it was concluded that the expression jahaliyyah al-ûlâ signifies the Mecca period ignorance that they saw and witnessed in the mind of the companions.

Keywords: