How did the quranic pagans make a living?

Abstract

This article examines the information given in the Quran, as distinct from the exegetical tradition, on the livelihoods pursued by the mushriku¯n to whom the Messenger was preaching. It finds them to be uniformly described as agriculturalists and seafarers. The purpose of their maritime activity is not usually specified, but on one occasion it is said to be for fishing. The believers, too, are agriculturalists in some passages, but they are more commonly described as traders. There is a wealth of passages depicting them as such, and preaching to them in commercial imagery, in the suras classified by the tradition as Medinese.