What is Jahiliyyah?

In the language of pre-Islamic times, ignorance (Jahl) meant submission to emotion, not intellect. From this comes the saying of Amr ibn Kulthum: "Let no one act ignorantly towards us lest we act more ignorantly than the ignorant." Thus, ignorance focused on behavior contrary to reason, and social relations based on injustice were causes of backwardness. Jahiliyyah (the Age of Ignorance) can be defined as the period preceding Islam, in which recklessness, transgression, injustice, and oppression prevailed, and which was characterized by traits, among them what is stated in the hadith: "Do not wail, and do not display yourselves as in the first Jahiliyyah."