Goddesses Of Pre-Islamic Arabia

                                             

   I took my shahada in 1996, it was a wonderful feeling to be a Muslimah. I walked away from Al-Islam in 2006. While I was practicing I learned a great deal, and loved the blessing to have studied Islam, but being that I am a person who does not like being confined in a box, and then told when I asked a question to have faith in Allah, or may Allah have forgiveness on you for asking such a question, to me that is not enough. To me that sounds exactly like a Christian telling another Christian to just believe and have faith. There were things that I read in the Quran that I questioned. One of the questions that I had was the mentioning of Al-lat, Al-uzza, and Menat. Why mention these three goddesses if they really had no role in anything? Why mention that Allah had no daughters? So, these where my questions I asked because I wanted to know. It wouldn't be until 2010 that these questions would rise again because I was introduced to the concept of the Triple Goddess. Well, what is the Triple goddess you may ask and what does it have to do with Al-Lat, Al-uzza, and Menat. Let's go back a little.

   Pre-Arabian people were nomadic people. They were farmers and agriculturist, who were a polytheistic people. The three goddesses can be traced as far back as Sumeria.
 

    Before Muhammad tried to introduce monotheism to the people of Arabia every tribe had their own gods and goddesses they worshipped.  “In pre-Islamic days, called the Days of Ignorance, the religious background of the Arabs was pagan, and basically animistic. Through wells, trees, stones, caves, springs, and other natural objects man could make contact with the deity…At  Mekka, Allah was the chief of the gods and THE SPECIAL DEITY OF THE QURAISH, THE PROPHETS TRIBE. Allah had three daughters.” (Van Ess, John, Meet the Arabs, New York, 1943, p.29)

      For Muhammad’s tribe god was Al-ilah (The Great). The Quraish knew god as Al-ilah, which is the contraction for Allah.  The Quraish  were new to Mecca making it there home near the end of the fifth century. According to the story Qusayy, an ancestor of the Quraish tribe, “ had traveled in Syria and brought the three goddesses Al-lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat to the Hijaz and enthroned the Nabatean god Hubal in the Ka’aba. In a campaign that combined trickery and force, the Quraish managed to take control of Mecca and expel the Khuza’ah, its guardian tribe who were considered to have failed their sacred trust.” (http://www.british-israel.ca/Islam.htm)

     The three goddesses were brought to Mecca, but here it is told they were attached to the god Hubal. So, who is this Hubal? Why are the Quraish calling there god Al-ilah, and not Hubal?  At this point I want the reader to bear with me as I make the connection of how the three goddesses existed, and why with the rise of Islam, Muhammad would try to erase the names of these three deities that most of Arabia came to know, love, and worship?

                                                          Who Is Hubal?

    In my research I thought I would just find out some things about these three goddesses, and maybe some of their attributes and be done. That was not the case. It leads me to a god called Hubal, who was the keeper of the Ka’aba. Hubal was considered “The Great.”  In Arabia for the Quraish Al-ilah means, “The Great.”  Hubal is said to go back to the Hebrews and even farther back to the Semitic god Ba’l. “It has been suggested by Pockcock that the word Hubal could be from Hubaal or Hobaal in Hebrew meaning ‘The Lord’ “(http://www.british-israel.ca/Islam.htm)

   “Hubal was associated with the Semitic god BA’L [BAAL] and with Adonis or Tammuz… But Baal’s origins go back even further than this. He goes back to the Babylonians religion!  The religion of Nimrod, see Genesis10.”4  Baal had three daughters. Allah, Hubal, Baal are all the same deity. “Herodotus, world traveler and historian of antiquity, witnessed the mystery religions and its rites in numerous countries and mentions how Babylon was the primeval source from which all systems of idolatry flowed.”  According to Hislop, “The Babylonian god Bel and Baal are one and the same deity. Belus or Bel…As Baal or Beltus with the name of the great male divinity of Babylon…Belus was undoubtly Baal ‘The Lord’…the worship of the ‘Sacred Bel’ the mighty one who died a martyr for idolatry.” (http://www.british-israel.ca/Islam.htm)

“The Quraysh had also several idols in and around the Ka'bah. The greatest of these was Hubal. It was, as I was told, of red agate, in the form of a man with the right hand broken off. It came into the possession of the Quraysh in this condition, and they, therefore, made for it a hand of gold. The first to set it up [for worship] was Khuzaymah ibn-Mudrikah ibn-al-Ya's' ibn-Mudar. Consequently it used to be called Khuzaymah's Hubal.

It stood inside the Ka'bah. In front of it were seven divination arrows (sing. qidh, pl. qidah or aqduh). On one of these arrows was written "pure" (sarih), and on another "consociated alien" (mulsag). Whenever the lineage of a new-born was doubted, they would offer a sacrifice to it [Hubal] and then shuffle the arrows and throw them. If the arrows showed the word "pure," the child would be declared legitimate and the tribe would accept him. If, however, the arrows showed the words "consociated alien," the child would be declared illegitimate and the tribe would reject him. The third arrow was for divination concerning the dead, while the fourth was for divination concerning marriage. The purpose of the three remaining arrows has not been explained. Whenever they disagreed concerning something, or purposed to embark upon a journey, or undertake some project, they would proceed to it [Hubal] and shuffle the divination arrows before it. Whatever result they obtained they would follow and do accordingly.

It was before [Hubal] that 'Abd-al-Muttalib shuffled the divination arrows [in order to find out which of his ten children he should sacrifice in fulfilment of a vow he had sworn], and the arrows pointed to his son 'Abdullah, the father of the Prophet. Hubal was also the same idol which abu-Sufyan ibn-Harb addressed when he emerged victorious after the battle of Uhud, saying:

"Hubal, be thou exalted" (i.e. may thy religion triumph);

To which the Prophet replied:

"Allah is more exalted and more majestic."

Among their idols, the Quraysh also had Isif and Na'ilah. On being transformed into petrified form, they were placed by the Ka'bah in order that people might see them and be warned. Finally, as their origin became remote and, therefore, forgotten, and idol worship came into vogue, they were worshipped with the other idols. One of them stood close to the Ka'bah while the other was placed by Zamzam. Later, the Quraysh moved the one which stood close to the Ka'bah to the side of the other by Zamzam where they sacrificed to both.  (http://www.answering-islam.de/Books/Al-Kalbi/uzza.htm, numbers 58-67)

  Before the adoption of the name Allah as being the Supreme deity of all to have and worship, there was Hubal who at the time was considered the Supreme god of the Quraish, the Chief god of Mecca, as well as the god of the Ka’aba. Hubal was attached with the triune daughters just as Baal had three daughters.  Who were these three women, and why did Muhammad want to get rid of the worship of these goddesses?

                                                     The Triple Goddesses

    These goddesses are briefly spoken of in the Qur’an, which brought my attention to who were they and what part did they really play in Pre-Islamic Arabia. Why even mention them at all if they played no significant roll. The three goddesses are Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat.  The three together represent the Maiden, Mother, and the Crone.    Within the Wiccan religion are the Maiden, Mother, and Crone worshipped.  Many cultures had these there version of the triune goddess, such as the Egyptians, and the Greeks with the three fates.

                                                Al-Lat   (The Mother; The Great)

     In Arabic, Allah means “god.”  Similarly, Al-lat means simply “goddess, “the supreme reality in female form. Al-lat is a mythic figure of great antiquity, one of the trinity of desert goddesses named in the Koran, Al-Uzza and Menat being the others. Like the Greek Demeter, Al-lat represented the earth and its fruits; it follows that she also ruled human generation. Al-lat was worshipped at Ta’if near Mecca in the form of a great uncut block of white granite, which her worshippers addressed as “My Lady” or Rusa (“good fortune”). Women were required to appear before her naked and circle the sacred rock; if these conditions were met, the goddess would grant all requests. Solid as the earth, Al-lat was considered unshakable and immovable.” (Patricia Monaghan, The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines, p. 41)

    Al-lat is also identified with Aphrodite, and at times with Athene. She is associated with springtime, Fertility and one who brings prosperity. “Her symbol is the crescent moon (sometimes shown with the sun disk resting in the crescent), and the gold necklace she wears is a pendant identified to Her. As a Fertility Goddess She bears a sheaf of wheat; and in Her hand She holds a small lump of frankincense.” (The Arab Triple Goddess, www.thaliatook.com/AMGG/arabtrible.html)  The Sheaf of wheat is also associated with the zodiac sign of Virgo.  The Virgin is shown with a sheaf of wheat in one hand and a water pitcher in the other.  Cosmology was not new to the ancient Arabs.

     Arab Historian Hisham Ibn  Al-Kalbi writes of Al-lat, “They then adopted Allat as their goddess. Allat stood in al-Ta'if, and was more recent than Manah. She was a cubic rock beside which a certain Jew used to prepare his barley porridge (sawiq). Her custody was in the hands of the banu-'Attab ibn-Malik of the Thaqif, who had built an edifice over her. The Quraysh, as well as all the Arabs, were wont to venerate Allat. They also used to name their children after her, calling them Zayd-Allat and Taym-Allat.

She stood in the place of the left-hand side minaret of the present-day mosque of al-Ta'if. She is the idol which God mentioned when He said, "Have you seen Allat and al-'Uzza?" It was this same Allat which 'Amr ibn-al-Ju'ayd had in mind when he said:

"In forswearing wine I am like him who hath abjured Allat,
although he had been at one time her devotee."

Likewise it was the same idol to which al-Mutalammis alluded in his satire of 'Amr ibn-al-Mundhirt when he said: "Thou hast banished me for fear of lampoon and satire.
No! By Allat and all the sacred baetyls (ansab),
thou shalt not escape."

Allat continued to be venerated until the Thaqif embraced Islam, when the Apostle of God dispatched al-Mughirah ibn-Shu'bab, who destroyed her and burnt her [temple] to the ground.

In this connection, when Allat was destroyed and burnt to the ground, Shaddid ibn-'Arid al-Jushami' said warning the Thaqif not to return to her worship nor attempt to avenge her destruction:

"Come not to Allat, for God hath doomed her to destruction;
How can you stand by one which doth not triumph?
Verily that which, when set on fire, resisted not the flames,
Nor saved her stones, is inglorious and worthless.
Hence when the Apostle in your place shall arrive
And then leave, not one of her votaries shall be left."

(The Book of Idols, Kitab Al-Asnam, http://www.answering-islam.de/Books/Al-Kalbi/allat.htm)

     During Pre-Islamic Arabia there was a connection to the constellations as well. “Prior to the coming of Mohammed this stone was the focal point for worship of the Goddess, Al-Lut. The Goddess had 7 Priestesses, and pilgrims circled the holy stone-which resembled the vulva- seven times in honor of the seven known planets of the Ancient world. (The Element of Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols, pg. 462)  To this day in Islam all Muslims who can afford it must make Hajj to Mecca.  One of the rites is to circle the Ka’aba seven times, and if able kiss the black stone.  This is one of the traditions of Pre-Islamic Arabia that has remained.

                                                           Al-Uzza (The Maiden)

    Al-Uzza, the goddess who is considered, “Mighty” or “the Strong One.” Her temple was in Petra as she was known as the morning star (Venus).  “Al-Uzza’s worshippers had gathered for generations to revere the sacred stone representing her. Belief in her powers long survived the destruction of her holy place, not dying out until almost 1,000 years had passed. With Al-lat and Menat, this goddess composed the great religious trinity of the Ancient Arabians.” (Patricia Monaghan, The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines, pg.)

    Al-Uzza is associated with the acacia tree, youth, the female principle, and new beginnings. She “presides over birth and death, the changing seasons, the planets and stars.” (The Element of Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols, pg. 387)

      “The person who introduced al-'Uzza was Zilim ibn-As'ad. Her idol was situated in a valley in Nakhlat al-Sha'miyah called Hurad, alongside al-Ghumayr' to the right of the road from Mecca to al-'Iraq, above Dhat-Irq and nine miles from al-Bustin. Over her [Zalim] built a house called Buss in which the people used to receive oracular communications. The Arabs as well as the Quraysh were wont to name their children 'Abd-al-'Uzza. Furthermore al-'Uzza was the greatest idol among the Quraysh. They used to journey to her, offer gifts unto her, and seek her favours through sacrifice.

We have been told that the Apostle of God once mentioned al-Uzza saying, "I have offered a white sheep to al-'Uzza, while I was a follower of the religion of my people."

The Quraysh were wont to circumambulate the Ka'bah and say:

"By Allat and al-'Uzza,
And Manah, the third idol besides.
Verily they are the most exalted females
Whose intercession is to be sought."

These were also called "the Daughters of Allah," and were supposed to intercede before God. When the Apostle of God was sent, God revealed unto him [concerning them] the following:

Have you seen Allat and al-'Uzza, and Manah the third
idol besides? What? Shall ye have male progeny and
God female? This indeed were an unfair partition! These
are mere names: ye and your fathers named them thus:
God hath not sent down any warranty in their regard."

The Quraysh had dedicated to it, in the valley of Hurad, a ravine (shi'b) called Suqam and were wont to vie there with the Sacred Territory of the Ka'bah. Abu-Jundub al-Hudhali (also al-Qirdi), describing a woman with whom he was in love, composed the following verses and mentioned in them a vow which she made to him swearing by al-'Uzza:

"She swore an earnest and solemn oath
By her to whom the vales of Suqam were dedicated:

If thou wouldst not return my clothes, go,
For the rest of my life I would hate thee.
Since it was hard for him to part with umm-Huwayrith,
He became eager to fulfil her desire."

Dirham ibn-Zayd al-Awsi also said:

"By the Lord of al-'Uzza, the propitious,
And by God betwixt whose House [and Suqam] Sarif stands."

She also had a place of sacrifice called al-Ghabghab where they offered their oblations. Hudhali speaks of it in a satire which he composed against a certain man who had married a beautiful woman whose name was Asmr. He said:

"Asmi' was married to the jawbone of a little cow
Which one of the banu-Ghanm' had offered for sacrifice.
As he led it to the Ghabghab of al-'Uzza,
He noticed some defects in its eyes;
And when the cow was offered upon the altar,
And its flesh divided, his portion was foul."

It was customary to divide the flesh of the sacrifice among those who had offered it and among those present at the ceremony.

The Quraysh were wont to venerate her above all other idols. For this reason Zayd ibn-'Amr ibn-Nufayl, who, during the Jahiliyah days, had turned to the worship of God and renounced that of al-'Uzza and of the other idols, said:

"I have renounced both Allat and al-'Uzza,
For thus would the brave and the robust do.
No more do I worship al-'Uzza and her two daughters,
Or visit the two idols of the banu-Ghanm;
Nor do I journey to Hubal and adore it,
Although it was our lord when I was young."

Al-'Uzza continued to be venerated until God sent His Prophet who ridiculed her together with the other idols and forbade her worship. At the same time a revelation concerning her came down in the Koran. This proved very hard upon the Quraysh. Then abu-Uhayhah (Sa'id ibn-al-'As ibn-Umayyah ibn-'Abd-Shams ibn-'Abd-Manaf) was taken sick by what proved to be his last and fatal sickness. As he lay on his deathbed, abu-Lahab came to visit and found him weeping. Thereupon abu-Lahab asked, "What makes you weep O abu-Uhayhah? Is it death which is inevitable?" Abu-Uhayhah replied, "No. But I fear that al-'Uzza will not be worshipped after I depart." Abu-Lahab answered and said, "By God! Al-'Uzza was not worshipped during your lifetime for your sake, and her worship will not be discontinued after you depart because of your death." Abu-Uhayhah then said, "Now I know that I have a successor," and was well pleased with abu-Lahab's intense loyalty to al-'Uzza.

Abu-al-Mundhir said: The Quraysh as well as the other Arabs who inhabited Mecca did not offer to any of the idols anything similar to their veneration of al-'Uzza. The next in order of veneration was Allat and then Manah. Al-'Uzza,

however, received from the Quraysh the exclusive honor of visitation and sacrifice. This, I believe, was because of her close proximity. The Thaqif, on the other hand, were wont to offer Manah the exclusive honor [of visitation and sacrifice], in the same way the Quraysh offered it to al-'Uzza, while the Aws and the Khazraj favored Manah therewith. All of them, though, venerated al-'Uzza. They did not, however, hold the same regard, or anything approaching it, for the five idols which were introduced by 'Amr ibn-Luhayy. These are the five idols which God mentioned in the glorious Koran when He said, "Forsake not Wadd nor Suwa', nor Yaghuth and Ya'us and Nasr." This, I believe, was because of their distance from them.

 (Hisham, The Book of Idols Kitab Al-Asnam, http://www.answering-islam.de/Books/Al-Kalbi/uzza.htm)

                                          

                                                           Manat (The Crone)

     The Crone aspect describes one of wisdom. Manat is the third part of this triune, and one of the oldest among the other two.   “The religion stretched across most of ancient Arabia. Her principal sanctuary was located on the road between Mecca and Medina, at the shrine of Kodail. There she was worshipped in the form of a black uncut stone, destroyed by Mohammed as he struggled to establish his own male-centered religion. Despite the destruction of her shrine, this goddess’ worship long continued. But her people, impressed by the success of the masculine religions around them, changed Menat slightly: from a goddess into a god.” (Patricia Monaghan, The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines, p.215)

      “The most ancient of all these idols was Manah. The Arabs used to name [their children] 'Abd-Manah and Zayd-Manah. Manah was erected on the seashore in the vicinity of al-Mushallal in Qudayd, between Medina and Mecca. All the Arabs used to venerate her and sacrifice before her. [In particular] the Aws and the Khazraj, as well as the inhabitants of Medina and Mecca and their vicinities, used to venerate Manah, sacrifice before her, and bring unto her their offerings.

The children of the Ma'add were followers of a faith which still preserved a little of the religion of Ishmael. The Rabi'ah and the Mudar, too, were followers of a similar faith. But none venerated her more than the Aws and the Khazraj.

Abu-al-Mundhir Hisham ibn-Muhammad said: I was told by a man from the Quraysh on the authority of abu-'Ubaydab 'Abdullab ibn-abi-'Ubaydah ibn-'Ammar ibn-Yasir who was the best informed man on the subject of the Aws and the Khazraj, that the Aws and the Khazraj, as well as those Arabs among the people of Yathrib and other places who took to their way of life, were wont to go on pilgrimage and observe the vigil at all the appointed places, but not shave their heads. At the end of the pilgrimage, however, when they were about to return home, they would set out to the place where Manah stood, shave their heads, and stay there a while. They did not consider their pilgrimage completed until they visited Manah. Because of this veneration of Manah by the Awa and the Khazraj, 'Abd-al-'Uzza ibn-Wadi'ah al-Muzani, or some other Arab, said:

"An oath, truthful and just, I swore
By Manah, at the sacred place of the Khazraj."

(Hisham, The Book of Idols, Kitab Al-Asnam, http://www.answering-islam.de/Books/Al-Kalbi/manah.htm)  This is one of the rites that has stayed in Islam at the end of the pilgrimage, and its not fully complete until the head is shaved, and a sacrifice (of an animal) is performed. Once this is done then the Pilgrimage is considered fully complete.

      She is known as the goddess of fate and time as well as the goddess of death. She was equated with the Graeo-Roman goddess Nemesis. “She was also considered the wife of Hubal…According to Grunebaum in Classical Islam, the Arabic name of Manat is the linguistic counterpart of the Hellenistic Tyche, Dahr, fateful 'Time' who snatches men away and robs their existence of purpose and value. There are also connections with Chronos of Mithraism and Zurvan mythology.  (Manat, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manat)

To Be Continued…