Quote Originally Posted by Ibrahim View Post
well, now that I have some time, I'll enlighten ye:

muroo'ah literally means "manliness"; its basically everything that is supposed to make the ideal ancient arab man. according to it, a man must have:

-pride in his tribe/state/king.
-absolute loyalty to said tribe and tribe's shaikh (leader), or king or state.
-extreme pride in one's self (must be justifiable pride, otherwise its vanity, and not condoned)
-must be a freewheeling spender on his tribe/women/alcohol*, etc (i.e he must have karam, or generosity)
-must be compassionate, up to a point.
-mst be honest and blunt.
-virility
-bravery in combat.
-devotion to the old social order and religion. this is tied into tribal loyalty.
-help those who ask for it, even if they are bad. this is known as ighathatu ulmalhoof.


and that's just a few examples of what a man must be like. much of pre-islamic poetry talks about all of these in varying details; men boasted of fighting for a woman, killing a man who slights the tribe/family, etc, drinking, spending, and generosit. hati' at-ta'i could be considered the ideal pre islamic arab: generous, loyal, and kind to everybody.

wait, did I just describe European romantic chivalry?

*Arabs did put a limit on how much you could drink. drink too much, and you could become a "mufrad", or tribally expelled.
Yep an Arab shouldn't drink more than 11 of cups of wine back then IIRC.

I'd say a lot would vary from culture at this time though. In Saba by the first century BC the clan was everything. The king was... well usefull when foreigners attacked. While the Nabataean in the north were making gods of their kings. Though in general they appear to have been men who tought one should be proud on what he has done, yet be humble at the same time. Making fincancial losses was a crime. And they are described to being very devout and faithfull when it comes to pledges, religion, or king/tribe.