The Abbasid Bahja book on the history of Egypt and the Arab nation

The Arabs are an ancient nation that has attained glory and protection that no other nation has attained. They have attained greater greatness and lofty status in the East than what the Roman state achieved in the West. They were of great influence, and their countries are populated with large cities, fine palaces, lavish buildings, majestic fortresses, ancient kingdoms, and great monuments, such as: Naat, Ghamdan, Hakar, Raydan, Baynoon, and countless others.
They have two situations: their situation in pre-Islamic times in their countries and other countries that they owned, such as the Egyptian and African countries and other countries, and their situation in Islam due to the expansion of their conquests and their settlement of the countries in which they established their great kingdoms outside their country, and the dividing line between these two cases is the mission of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.