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The daughters of Allah.
We read that the moon
Allah was a male deity. Did this Allah have a wife or a female partner?
This question will infuriate many diehard believers of Islam. But
historical evidences, especially epigraphical proof is too compelling to
reject. From the cuneiform writings of the Sumerian (of
Babylon
), it stands out that Allah did have a consort (a wife, perhaps) and her
name was Lilith. The conjecture
is that Allat was the product of union of Allah and Lilith. Allat
resembled Lilith, her mother, who is depicted in the Sumerian epigraphs
with two huge breasts and a gigantic vulva. Phillip Hitti, in his
authoritative book, History of the
Arabs shows the image of Allat in a bronze coin of the Nabateans (Hitti,
2002, p. 86). This image of Allat has the striking resemblance of the
goddess Saraswati,
the Hindu goddess of learning. It
is also possible that the other two daughters of Allah; namely; Uzza and
Manat were from Lilith, or possibly from other concubines of Allah.
These goddesses are referred to in the Qur’an as the daughters (Satanic
verses, 53:19‑20)
of Allah. When Muhammad was utterly disappointed with the meager success
of his mission, he sought reconciliation with the Pagan Quraysh. He
extolled these three daughters of Allah and wanted their exalted blessing.
However, Muhammad was quick to recognize his folly and claimed that all
Prophets, at times, were inspired by the Satan.
Then he cancelled those verses from the Qur’an. Those verses were
15:19‑23. Let us read the verses, as they are currently in the
Qur’an:
015.019
YUSUFALI: And the earth We have spread out (like a
carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein
all kinds of things in due balance.
015.020
YUSUFALI: And We have provided therein means of
subsistence,- for you and for those for whose sustenance ye are not
responsible.
015.021
YUSUFALI: And there is not a thing but its (sources and)
treasures (inexhaustible) are with Us; but We only send down thereof in
due and ascertainable measures.
015.022
YUSUFALI: And We send the fecundating winds, then cause
the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in
abundance), though ye are not the guardians of its stores.
015.023
YUSUFALI: And verily, it is We Who give life, and Who
give death: it is We Who remain inheritors (after all else passes away).
We might wonder: these verses have nothing to do with Allat, Uzza or
Manat. How could they be called satanic verses? The answer to this enigma
is that these are the latest verses which Muhammad had implanted in the
Qur’an after Allah rebuked him for being under the influence of Satan.
Muhammad duly complied with Allah’s instruction. He replaced the
original verses with these new verses. So what were the original
verses?—we might be curious to know.
According to William Montgomery Watt, one of the most distinguished
writers of Muhammad’s biography and Islamic history, the original verses
of 15:19‑23 ran thus (Watt, 1999, p.21; also see ibn Ishaq, 2001,
pp. 165‑166):
Have
you considered Allat and al-‘Uzza
And Manat, the third, the other?
Those are the swans exalted;
Their intercession is expected;
Their likes are not neglected.]
Hisham al-Kalbi, the author, of Kitab
al-Asnam (The Book of Idols), writes about these three daughters of
Allah:
Allat:
She stood in al-Taif. She was more recent than Manah. She was a cubic
rock. ‘Attab ibn Malik of the Thaqif was her keeper. They built an
edifice over her. The Quraysh and all Arabs used to worship her and name
their children after her. She stood on the left side of the present mosque
at Taif. Verse 53:19
mentions her. Mughirah ibn Shu’bab destroyed her and burnt her temple to
the ground.
Ibn‑Hajar, swearing by Allah said, “By Allat and ‘Uzza and those
who in them believe, and by Allah verily He is greater than both” (ibn
al–Kalbi, 1952, p. 15).
Uzza:
Uzza is more recent than Allat or Manah. The Arabs named their children
after her.
Zilim ibn As’ad introduced al–Uzza. She was situated in a valley in
Nakhlat called Hurad–to the right of the road from
Mecca
to al-Iraq, above Dhat-Irq. Zilim built a house over her calling it Buss.
People received divine messages there. Children were named—Abd-al-Uzza.
She was the greatest among the Quraysh. They used to seek her favors
through sacrifice. Muhammad had offered a sacrifice, a white sheep to al-Uzza.
The Quraysh circumambulated Ka’ba saying:
By
Allat and al-Uzza,
And Manah, the third idol besides
Verily they are the most exalted females
Whose intercession is sought.
These verses were abrogated and replaced by verses 53:19–20
and 17:75–76.
Allat, al-Uzza and Manah were called the daughters of Allah.
Al-Uzza had a place of sacrifice called al-Ghabghab. Arabs used to
sacrifice cattle there. After sacrifice they used to divide the meat among
those present at the ceremony. The Quraysh venerated her above all other
idols (ibn al–Kalbi, 1952, p. 17).
Having watched a Television documentary on the ruins of Arabia Petra,
situated at north-western
Saudi Arabia
, it is my conjecture that the Meccan goddess Uzza probably resembled Kali,
the Hindu goddess of destruction.
Manah (alternative spelling of Manat):
It was the most ancient idol. The Arabs named their children after it. She
was at Qudayd, between
Medina
and
Mecca
. They used to sacrifice before her—particularly Aws and Khazraj as well
as the inhabitants of
Medina
and
Mecca
. At the end of pilgrimage, when about to return home, people would set
out to the place of Manah, shave their heads and stay there for a while.
The pilgrimage was not complete until they visited Manah.
Manah is mentioned in 53:20.
She was the goddess of the Hudhayl and the Khuza’ah. Ali demolished her,
took all her treasures and took them to Muhammad—two swords—presented
to Manah by al-Harith ibn Abi-Shamir al-Ghaassan, the king of Ghassan.
These swords were called Mikhdam and Rasub. Muhammad gave these two swords
to Ali. Dhu-al-Faqr was one of these swords. It was the sword of Ali.
However, another version of this destruction story says that Ali found
these two swords in the temple of al-Fals, the idol of Tayyi (ibn al-Kalbi,
1952, pp. 13–14).
Here are a few more comments on the three daughters of Allah: Allat, Uzza
and Manat.
Allat was the goddess of war, Uzza, the goddess of sacrifice and Manat,
the goddess of destiny or fate (Walker, 2004, p. 45).
Allat was connected with the moon, Uzza with the planet Venus and Manat
with the star Sirius (Ibid, p. 46).
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