zahra mohagheghian
Abstract
Al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat are among the Arabian ideas which are mentioned in the Quran and which, throughout history, have been studied by many scholars. While the common idea is that ...
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Al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat are among the Arabian ideas which are mentioned in the Quran and which, throughout history, have been studied by many scholars. While the common idea is that these goddesses are “daughters of Allah” or “Banat Allah,” in the vast majority of the early Islamic sources, such a identifiation is not attributed to them and even the daughters of Allah have mostly been specified as angels. This study examines the nature of these goddesses and their relationship with the idea of "daughters of Allah". Considering pre-Quranic sources as well as the verses of the Quran, this study conducts a critical reading of the early Islamic literature.The most important questions are as follows: who are al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat? How are they introduced in pre-Quranic sources, the Quran, and the early Islamic sources? What is the relationship between these Arabian goddesses and the idea of "daughters of Allah" in each of these sources? And how these sources help us to understand the nature of these deities? The findings of this study indicate that although the Arabian goddesses are not referred to as "daughters of Allah" in the Quran and pre-Quranic sources, given the contradictions and differences in the early Muslims Material, this belief can be considered possible among pre-Islamic Arabs.
