George Sale, The Koran, commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed, translated into English immediately from the original Arabic; with Explanatory Notes, taken from the most approved Commentators. To which is prefixed A Preliminary Discource (1734)

introduced; for as they multiplied, and the territory of Mecca grew too strait for them, great numbers were obliged to seek new abodes; and on such migrations it was usual for them to take with them some of the stones of that reputed holy land, and set them up in the places where they fixed; and these stones they at first only compassed out of devotion, as they had accustomed to do the Caaba. But this at last ended in rank idolatry, the Ismaelites forgetting the religion left them by their father so far, as to pay divine worship to any fine stone they met with ¹.

Their notions of a future state.
Some of the pagan Arabs believed neither a creation past, nor a resurrection to come, attributing the origin of things to nature, and their dissolution to age. Others believed both; among whom were those who when they died, had their camel tied by their sepulchre, and so left without meat or drink to perish, and accompany them to the other world, left they should be obliged, at the resurrection, to go on foot, which was reckoned very scandalous ². Some believed a metempsychosis, and that of the blood near the dead person’s brain, was formed a bird named Hâmah, which once in a hundred years visited the sepulchre; tho’ others say, this bird is animated by the soul of him that is unjustly slain, and continually cries Oscûni, Oscûni, i.e. give me to drink, meaning of the murtherer's blood, till his death be revenged; and then it flies away. This is expresly forbidden by the Korân to be believed ³.

I might here mention several superstitious rites and customs of the ancient Arabs, some of which were abolished, and others retained by Mohammed; but I apprehend it will be more convenient to take notice of them hereafter, occasionally, as the negative or positive precepts of the Korân, forbidding or allowing such practices, shall be considered.

Let us now turn our view from the idolatrous Arabs, to those among them, who had embraced more rational religions.

The Magian religion embraced by some of their tribes,
The Persians had, by their vicinity and frequent intercourse with the Arabians, introduced the Magian religion among some of their tribes, particularly that of Tamim ⁴, a long time before Mohammed, who was so far from being unacquainted with that religion, that he borrowed many of his own institutions from it, as will be observed in the progress of this work. I refer those who are desirous to have some notion of Magism, to Dr. Hyde’s curious account of it ⁵; a succinct abridgement of which may be read with much pleasure, in another learned performance ⁶.