Quzaḥ () is a pre-Islamic

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

god of weather, worshiped by the people of

Muzdalifah Muzdalifah () is an open and level area near Mecca in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia that is associated with the ("Pilgrimage"). It lies just southeast of Mina, on the route between Mina and Arafat. In Pre-Islamic times the Hums being the ...

. The pre-Islamic rite of the Ifada celebrated after the

September equinox The September equinox (or southward equinox) is the moment when the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward. Because of differences between the calendar year and the tropical year, the September equinox may occur from ...

was performed facing the direction of Quzah's sanctuary. A lasting reference to Quzah is the term ''qaws Quzaḥ'' (), "Bow of Quzah", which became the Arabic term for

rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

.J. Bartlett, ''Edom and the Edomites'', p. 201.

References

{{Reflist Arabian gods Sky and weather gods Rainbow deities