Islam teaches that Mecca was a major and flourishing tradehub in the time of Muhammad even tho theres no historical proof of such
Quranic sources such as Sahih al-Bukhari Book 56 Hadith 186 it describes the massive scale of the caravan and specific goods (silver) being traded by Abu Sufyan and his men with Syria ; The History of al-Tabari in volume VI, Muhammad at Mecca, he provides more detail on The "Ilaf" (trade pacts) with the Ghassanids and the Byzanrines that supposedly made Mecca a hub ; The Qu'ran 106:1-4 it says "For the accustomed securitate of the Quraysh— Their accustomed securitate in the caravan of winter and summer— Let them worship the Lord of this House, Who had fed them, [saving them] from hunger and made them safe, [saving them] from fear.".
The historical problem with all of these is that none of these descriptions appear in non-Muslim records from the 600s. For example, Roman (Byzantine) records of trade in the 6th century mention the "Saracens" and various towns, but never mention a massive trade hub at Mecca or a "Hashim" getting trade permits from The Emperor and on top of that theres neither any archeological proof of major trade in the area.
Another narrative this damages is the very structural foundation for the entire story of Muhammad's mission. If Mecca was just a small, isolated village, many of the core themes of the Quran and the Sira (biography) would lose their meaning.
considering the narrative explains:
- the "Great Tempation" and the Quran frequently condemning arrogance, greed, and the neglect of the poor (ex: Surah Al-Humazah or Surah At-Takathur). The logic is that if Mecca were a poor, subsistence-level village, the critique of "piling up wealth" requires a plutocracy (rule by The rich) for Muhammad to act as a social reformer.
2.Justification of the "Miracle" of the Quran as in Islamic tradition, Muhammad was an "unlettered" man in a city of sophisticated, wordly merchants. The logic assumes that by placing him in a Umm al-Qura (Mother of cities) that interactiv with Christians, Jews and Persians through trade, the barrative sets up the challange of how can a man from this merchant environment produce a book tha surpassed all the poets and rhetoricians of the most important city in Arabia?
3.The conflict with the Quraysh which were depicted as the most powerful tribe in Arabia cause of their control of the Kaaba and the Trade. The logic suggests that if Mecca was an international hub, then the Quraysh were international players. This makes Muhammad's eventual victory over them a sort of David vs Goliath story on a global scale. If Mecca were insignifiant, his conquest of it would seem like a minor tribal skirmish reather than a world-changing event
As my second argument to solidify my proof ill present archeological facts. Unlike other Arabian cities like Tayma and Dedan which have thousands of rock inscriptions dating back to The 8th century B.C, Mecca has no known pre-islamic inscriptions mentioning its name or its kings. A major tradehub should of left behind whats called a "trash layer" composed of foreign coins, Roman pottery or other time resistent luxury objects, which none have been found in the pre-islamic strata of Mecca. And the lack of contemporary maps suggest that it was insignifiant, whereas other Arabian towns like Yathrib (Medina) were well documented by the Greek and Roman geographers.
Archaeologists and historians like Patricia Crone point out that the Hadiths and the Sira describe the city as having olive trees, grapes, and lush vegetation. Archaeologically, the soil around Mecca is hyper-arid desert with very low rainfall. Olives, în particular, do not grow in that climate as they requite a Mediterranean enviorment like that of Jordan or Syria; Based also on The available water resources (the Zamzam well), modern estimates by historians like Majied Robinson suggest Mecca's actual population in the time of Muhammad was likely only around 550 people which is by population standards a tiny desert settlement and not a global hub
Im open for debate