Al-‘Uzzá
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Al-ʻUzzā ( ar, العزى or Old Arabic l ʕuzzeː was one of the three chief
goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
es of
Arabian religion Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia included indigenous Arabian polytheism, ancient Semitic religions, Christianity, Judaism, Mandaeism, and Iranian religions such as Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism, and rarely Buddhism. Arabian polytheism, the ...
in pre-Islamic times and she was worshiped by the pre-Islamic Arabs along with
al-Lāt Al-Lat ( ar, اللات, translit=Al-Lāt, ), also spelled Allat, Allatu and Alilat, is a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess worshipped under various associations throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula, including Mecca where she was worshipped alongs ...
and
Manāt ( ar, مناة  pausa, or Old Arabic manawat; also transliterated as ') was a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess worshiped in the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. She was among Mec ...
. A stone cube at Nakhla (near
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
) was held sacred as part of her cult. She is mentioned in Qur'an 53:19 as being one of the goddesses who people worshiped. Al-ʻUzzā, like
Hubal In Arabian mythology, Hubal ( ar, هُبَل) was a god worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia, notably by the Quraysh at the Kaaba in Mecca. The god's idol was a human figure believed to control acts of divination, which was performed by tossing ar ...
, was called upon for protection by the pre-Islamic
Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
. "In 624 at the ' battle called Uhud', the war cry of the Qurayshites was, "O people of Uzzā, people of
Hubal In Arabian mythology, Hubal ( ar, هُبَل) was a god worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia, notably by the Quraysh at the Kaaba in Mecca. The god's idol was a human figure believed to control acts of divination, which was performed by tossing ar ...
!". Al-‘Uzzá also later appears in
Ibn Ishaq Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār (; according to some sources, ibn Khabbār, or Kūmān, or Kūtān, ar, محمد بن إسحاق بن يسار بن خيار, or simply ibn Isḥaq, , meaning "the son of Isaac"; died 767) was an 8 ...
's account of the alleged
Satanic Verses The Satanic Verses are words of "satanic suggestion" which the Islamic prophet Muhammad is alleged to have mistaken for divine revelation. The verses praise the three pagan Meccan goddesses: al-Lāt, al-'Uzzá, and Manāt and can be read in ear ...
. The temple dedicated to al-ʻUzzā and the statue was destroyed by Khalid ibn al Walid in Nakhla in 630 AD."He sent Khalid bin Al-Waleed in Ramadan 8 A.H", Witness-Pioneer.com


Cult of al-‘Uzzá

According to the ''
Book of Idols __NOTOC__The ''Book of Idols'' ('), written by the Arab scholar Hisham ibn al-Kalbi (737–819), describes gods and rites of pre-Islamic Arab religions. The text is critical of pre-Islamic Arabian religion and decries the state of religious corrupt ...
'' (''Kitāb al-Aṣnām'') by Hishām ibn al-Kalbī :The
Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
used to circumambulate the Ka‘bah and say, ::By
al-Lāt Al-Lat ( ar, اللات, translit=Al-Lāt, ), also spelled Allat, Allatu and Alilat, is a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess worshipped under various associations throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula, including Mecca where she was worshipped alongs ...
and al-ʻUzzā, ::And al-Manāt, the third idol besides. ::Verily they are ''al-gharānīq'' ::Whose intercession is to be sought. This last phrase is said to be the source of the so-called
Satanic Verses The Satanic Verses are words of "satanic suggestion" which the Islamic prophet Muhammad is alleged to have mistaken for divine revelation. The verses praise the three pagan Meccan goddesses: al-Lāt, al-'Uzzá, and Manāt and can be read in ear ...
; the Arabic term is translated as "most exalted females" by Faris in the ''
Book of Idols __NOTOC__The ''Book of Idols'' ('), written by the Arab scholar Hisham ibn al-Kalbi (737–819), describes gods and rites of pre-Islamic Arab religions. The text is critical of pre-Islamic Arabian religion and decries the state of religious corrupt ...
'', but he annotates this much-argued term in a footnote as "lit. Numidian cranes." Each of the three goddesses had a separate shrine near
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
. The most prominent Arabian shrine of al-ʻUzzā was at a place called Nakhlah near Qudayd, east of Mecca toward aṭ-Ṭā’if; three trees were sacred to her there (according to a narration through al-'Anazi Abū-‘Alī in the ''Kitāb al-Aṣnām''.) ''‘Abdu l-‘Uzzá'' Slave of the Mightiest One"was a favourite proper name before the advent of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. The name al-‘Uzzá appears as an emblem of beauty in late pagan
Arabic poetry Arabic poetry ( ar, الشعر العربي ''ash-shi‘ru al-‘Arabīyyu'') is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but oral poetry is believed to predate that. Arabic poetry ...
quoted by Ibn al-Kalbī, and oaths were sworn by her. Susan Krone suggests that the identities of al-‘Uzzá and
al-Lāt Al-Lat ( ar, اللات, translit=Al-Lāt, ), also spelled Allat, Allatu and Alilat, is a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess worshipped under various associations throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula, including Mecca where she was worshipped alongs ...
were fused in central Arabia uniquely. On the authority of ‘Abdu l-Lāh ibn ‘Abbās, at-
Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
derived ''al-ʻUzzā'' from ''al-‘Azīz'' "the Mighty", one of the 99 "beautiful names of Allah" in his commentary on Qur'an 7:180.


Destruction of temple

Shortly after the
Conquest of Mecca The Conquest of Mecca ( ar, فتح مكة , translit=Fatḥ Makkah) was the capture of the town of Mecca by Muslims led by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in December 629 or January 630 AD ( Julian), 10–20 Ramadan, 8 AH. The conquest marked t ...
, Muhammad began efforts to eliminate the last cult images reminiscent of pre-Islamic practices. He sent
Khalid ibn Al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career in ...
during
Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
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 from Banu Shaiban. Al-ʻUzzā was considered the most important goddess in the region.
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
Muslim historian Ibn al-Kalbī ( CE) tells how
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
ordered Khālid ibn al-Walīd to kill the pre-Islamic Arabian goddess al-ʿUzzā, who was supposed to inhabit one of three trees: : 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.


Influence in other religions


Uzza the garden

According to ''
Easton's Bible Dictionary The ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', better known as ''Easton's Bible Dictionary'', is a reference work on topics related to the Christian Bible, compiled by Matthew George Easton. The first edition was published in 1893, and a revised edition ...
'', Uzza was a
garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...
in which
Manasseh Manasseh () is both a given name and a surname. Its variants include Manasses and Manasse. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh (died 1944), Singaporean rice and opium merchant and hotelier * Jacob Manasseh (die ...
and
Amon Amon may refer to: Mythology * Amun, an Ancient Egyptian deity, also known as Amon and Amon-Ra * Aamon, a Goetic demon People Momonym * Amon of Judah ( 664– 640 BC), king of Judah Given name * Amon G. Carter (1879–1955), American pu ...
were buried (2 Kings 21:18, 26). It was probably near the king's palace in
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, 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 of
Ezekiel Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is acknow ...
.


As an angel

In
Judaic Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, monotheism, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots ...
and
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
lore, a deity name similar to Semyazza currently is claimed as a cognate of ''Uzza''. ''Uzza'' also has been used as an alternative name for the angel
Metatron Metatron ( ''Meṭāṭrōn'', ''Məṭaṭrōn'', ''Mēṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭaṭrōn'', ''Meṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭṭaṭrōn'') or Mattatron ( ''Maṭṭaṭrōn'') is an angel in Judaism mentioned three times in the Talmud in a few br ...
in the ''Sefer ha-heshek''. More commonly he is referred to as either the
seraph A seraph (, "burning one"; plural seraphim ) is a type of celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Chr ...
''
Samyaza Samyaza ( he, שמחזי; arc, שמיחזה; el, Σεμιαζά; ar, ساميارس, '), also Shemhazai, Azza, Uzza, or Ouza, is a fallen angel of apocryphal Abrahamic traditions and Manichaeism who ranked in the heavenly hierarchy as the leade ...
'' or as one of the three guardian angels of
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
(
Rahab Rahab (; Arabic: راحاب, a vast space of a land) was, according to the Book of Joshua, a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city by hiding two men who had been sent to scout the city ...
,
Mastema Mastema ( he, מַשְׂטֵמָה ''Mastēmā''; gez, መሰቴማ ''Mesetēma''), or Mansemat, is the fallen archangel who appears in the Book of Jubilees. He pleads with God to permit the demon spirits of the dead Nephilim remain on earth so ...
, and Duma) who harried the Jews during the
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...
. Under the name ''Semyaza'', he is the seraph in legend tempted by Ishtahar into revealing the explicit name of God, and was thus burned alive and hung head down between heaven and earth as the constellation Orion. In the 3rd ''Book of Enoch'' and in the ''
Zohar The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...
'' he is one of the
fallen angel In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said R ...
s punished for cohabiting with human women and fathering the
anakim Anakim ( ''ʿĂnāqīm'') are mentioned in the Bible as a race of giants, descended from Anak. According to the Old Testament, the Anakim lived in the southern part of the land of Canaan, near Hebron (Gen. 23:2; Josh. 15:13). states that they i ...
. ʻUzzā is also identified with Abezi Thibod ("father devoid of counsel") who in early Jewish lore is also used as another name for ''
Samael Samael ( he, סַמָּאֵל, ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom/Poison of God"; ar, سمسمائيل, ''Samsama'il'' or ar, سمائل, label=none, ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic ...
'' and ''
Mastema Mastema ( he, מַשְׂטֵמָה ''Mastēmā''; gez, መሰቴማ ''Mesetēma''), or Mansemat, is the fallen archangel who appears in the Book of Jubilees. He pleads with God to permit the demon spirits of the dead Nephilim remain on earth so ...
'', referring to a powerful spirit who opposed
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
, and shared princedom of Egypt with
Rahab Rahab (; Arabic: راحاب, a vast space of a land) was, according to the Book of Joshua, a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city by hiding two men who had been sent to scout the city ...
, and who eventually drown in the
Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
.
Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...
(1967), p. 4.


See also

*
Manāt ( ar, مناة  pausa, or Old Arabic manawat; also transliterated as ') was a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess worshiped in the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. She was among Mec ...
*
Al-Lat Al-Lat ( ar, اللات, translit=Al-Lāt, ), also spelled Allat, Allatu and Alilat, is a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess worshipped under various associations throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula, including Mecca where she was worshipped alongs ...
*
Ushas Ushas (Vedic Sanskrit: / ') is a Vedas, Vedic goddess of dawn in Hinduism. She repeatedly appears in the Rigvedic hymns, states David Kinsley, where she is "consistently identified with dawn, revealing herself with the daily coming of light to t ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *


External links


"Those Are The High Flying Claims":
A Muslim site on Satanic Verses story

including al-ʻUzzā

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Uzza Arabian goddesses Fertility goddesses Stellar goddesses Middle Eastern mythology
Uzza ''Uzza'' is a monotypic genus of seed bugs in the tribe Drymini, erected by William Lucas Distant William Lucas Distant (12 November 1845 Rotherhithe – 4 February 1922 Wanstead) was an English entomologist. Biography Early years Distan ...
History of Saudi Arabia Love and lust goddesses