Before the advant of Islam

Arabian polytheism, the dominant form of religion in pre-Islamic Arabia, was based on veneration of deities and spirits. Worship was directed to various gods and goddesses, including Hubal and the goddesses al-Lāt, al-'Uzzā, and Manāt, at local shrines and temples such as the Kaaba in Mecca. Deities were venerated and invoked through a variety of rituals, including pilgrimages and divination, as well as ritual sacrifice. Different theories have been proposed regarding the role of Allah in Meccan religion. Many of the physical descriptions of the pre-Islamic gods are traced to idols, especially near the Kaaba, which is said to have contained up to 360 of them.

Other religions were represented to varying, lesser degrees. The influence of the adjacent Roman and Aksumite civilizations resulted in Christian communities in the northwest, northeast, and south of Arabia. Christianity made a lesser impact in the remainder of the peninsula, but did secure some conversions. With the exception of Nestorianism in the northeast and the Persian Gulf, the dominant form of Christianity was Miaphysitism. The peninsula had been a destination for Jewish migration since Roman times, which had resulted in a diaspora community supplemented by local converts. Additionally, the influence of the Sasanian Empire resulted in Iranian religions being present in the peninsula. Zoroastrianism existed in the east and south, while there is evidence of Manichaeism or possibly Mazdakism being practiced in Mecca.

The pre-Islamic Arabian religions were polytheistic, with many of the deities' names known.Formal pantheons are more noticeable at the level of kingdoms, of variable sizes, ranging from simple city-states to collections of tribes.Tribes, towns, clans, lineages and families had their own cults too. Christian Julien Robin suggests that this structure of the divine world reflected the society of the time.Trade caravans also brought foreign religious and cultural influences.

A large number of deities did not have proper names and were referred to by titles indicating a quality, a family relationship, or a locale preceded by "he who" or "she who" (dhū or dhāt respectively).

The religious beliefs and practices of the nomadic Bedouin were distinct from those of the settled tribes of towns such as Mecca. Nomadic religious belief systems and practices are believed to have included fetishism, totemism and veneration of the dead but were connected principally with immediate concerns and problems and did not consider larger philosophical questions such as the afterlife.Settled urban Arabs, on the other hand, are thought to have believed in a more complex pantheon of deities.While the Meccans and the other settled inhabitants of the Hejaz worshiped their gods at permanent shrines in towns and oases, the Bedouin practiced their religion on the move.

Minor spiritsEdit

In South Arabia, mndh't were anonymous guardian spirits of the community and the ancestor spirits of the family. They were known as 'the sun (shms) of their ancestors'.

In North Arabia, ginnaye were known from Palmyrene inscriptions as "the good and rewarding gods" and were probably related to the jinn of west and central Arabia.Unlike jinn, ginnaye could not hurt nor possess humans and were much more similar to the Roman genius. According to common Arabian belief, soothsayers, pre-Islamic philosophers, and poets were inspired by the jinn.However, jinn were also feared and thought to be responsible for causing various diseases and mental illnesses.

Malevolent beingsEdit

Aside from benevolent gods and spirits, there existed malevolent beings. These beings were not attested in the epigraphic record, but were alluded to in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, and their legends were collected by later Muslim authors.

Commonly mentioned are ghouls. Etymologically, the English word "ghoul" was derived from the Arabic ghul, from ghala, "to seize", related to the Sumerian galla.They are said to have a hideous appearance, with feet like those of an ass.Arabs were said to utter the following couplet if they should encounter one: "Oh ass-footed one just bray away, we won't leave the desert plain nor ever go astray."

Christian Julien Robin notes that all the known South Arabian divinities had a positive or protective role and that evil powers were only alluded to but were never personified.