Imru' al-Qais
Most historians in the centuries since Imru' al-Qais' death have been content with the assumption that, as an Arab before the advent of Islam, he was pagan. More recently some researchers have called this view into question, most notably Louis Shaykho (c. 1898), a Jesuit missionary, who insisted that Imru' al-Qais was a Christian. The evidence that Shaykho cites to support his claim consists mostly of a handful of references to Christian practices and symbols in Imru' al-Qais' poems, as well as a few instances of the Arabic word for (the one) God (Allah). Other historians have said that references to Christianity can be explained by the presence of monasteries and missionaries along the northern frontier of the Arabian peninsula, and the fact that many Arabs would have been impressed by these scenes without necessarily converting themselves. It can be explained by the fact that Arabs have been close to Jewish tribes since ancient times, too (Gindibu helped the Kingdom of Judah during the Battle of Qarqar) because of their ethnic similarity and geographic proximity. Others have pointed out that the word "Allah" was in use by the pagan Arabs long before the advent of Islam, and merely referred to the high God (above all the many others).