"Eye" imagery in many forms is associated with the goddess
Al-ʻUzzā, likeHubal, was called upon for protection by the pre-IslamicQuraysh. "In 624 at the 'battle called Uhud', the war cry of the Qurayshites was, "O people of Uzzā, people of Hubal!".[1] Al-‘Uzzá also later appears inIbn Ishaq's account of the allegedSatanic Verses.[2]
Over her [an Arab] built a house calledBuss in which the people used to receiveoracular communications. The Arabs as well as theQuraysh used to name their children "‘Abdu l-ʻUzzā". Furthermore, al-ʻUzzā was the greatest idol among theQuraysh. They used to journey to her, offer gifts unto her, and seek her favours throughsacrifice.[6]
TheQuraysh used to circumambulate theKa‘bah and say,
This last phrase is said to be the source of the so-calledSatanic Verses; the Arabic termal-gharānīq is translated as "most exalted females" by Faris in theBook of Idols, but he annotates this much-arguedhapax legomenon in a footnote as "lit. Numidian cranes."
Each of the three goddesses had a separate shrine nearMecca. The most prominent Arabian shrine of al-ʻUzzā was at a place called Nakhlah near Qudayd, east of Mecca towardaṭ-Ṭā’if; three trees were sacred to her there (according to a narration through al-'Anazi Abū-‘Alī in theKitāb al-Aṣnām.)
She was the Lady ‘Uzzayan to whom a South Arabian offered a golden image on behalf of his sick daughter, Amat-‘Uzzayan ("the Maid of ‘Uzzayan")
‘Abdu l-‘Uzzá ["Slave of the Mightiest One"] was a favourite proper name before the advent ofIslam.[7] The name al-‘Uzzá appears as an emblem of beauty in late paganArabic poetry quoted by Ibn al-Kalbī, and oaths were sworn by her.
Susan Krone suggests that the identities of al-‘Uzzá andal-Lāt were fused in central Arabia uniquely.[8]
On the authority of‘Abdu l-Lāh ibn ‘Abbās, at-Tabari derivedal-ʻUzzā fromal-‘Azīz "the Mighty", one of the 99 "beautiful names of Allah" in his commentary on Qur'an 7:180.[citation needed]
Shortly after theConquest of Mecca, Muhammad began efforts to eliminate the last cult images reminiscent of pre-Islamic practices.
He sentKhalid ibn Al-Walid duringRamadan 630 AD (8 AH) to a place called Nakhlah, where the goddess al-ʻUzzā was worshipped by the tribes of Quraish and Kinanah. The shrine's custodians were fromBani Shaiba. Al-ʻUzzā was considered the most important goddess in the region.
Khalid destroyed the first one, returned to Muhammad to report. Muhammad replied, asking whether something eventful happened, which Khalid denied. The same thing happened after cutting down the second tree. When Khalid was about to destroy the last tree, a woman with wild hair appeared, who is called "al Uzza" by al-Sulami the custodian of al-Uzza, and ordered to kill Khalid. Khalid struck the woman down with his sword, and chopped her head off at which she fell down in a pile of ashes. Khalid went on to kill Sulami and cut the last tree. When he returned to Muhammad, Muhammad is supposed to have said that the woman was al-Uzza, and she shall never be worshiped again.[9]
According toEaston's Bible Dictionary,Uzza was agarden in whichManasseh andAmon were buried (2 Kings 21:18, 26). It was probably near the king's palace inJerusalem, or may have formed part of the palace grounds. Manasseh may have acquired it from someone of this name. Another view is that these kings were culpable of idolatry and drew the attention ofEzekiel.[10]
^Elias, J.J. (2014).Key Themes for the Study of Islam. London, UK: Oneworld Publications.
^Provan, Iain W. (1988). Hezekiah and the Books of Kings: A Contribution to the Debate about the Composition of the Deuteronomistic History. (Volume 172 of Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft) Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 136n13.ISBN9783110849424. Retrieved 6 June 2016.Google Books
Burton, John (1977).The Collection of the Qur'an (the collection and composition of the Qu'ran in the lifetime of Muhammad). Cambridge University Press.
