View source for Al-Uzza

{{Short description|Pre-Islamic Arabian goddess}}
{{For-multi|the seed-bug genus|Uzza|biblical character|Uzzah|king of Judah|Uzziah}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Arabian
| name = al-‘Uzzá
| image = Relief of the Arabian goddess Al-Lat, Manat and al-Uzza from Hatra. Iraq Museum.jpg
| caption = 2nd century AD relief from [[Hatra]] depicting the goddess [[al-Lat]] flanked by two female figures, possibly goddesses al-Uzza and Manat. Iraq Museum
| deity_of = Goddess of might and protection
| cult_center = Petra
| abode = 
| planet = 
| symbol = Three trees
| consort = 
| parents = 
| siblings = [[Al-Lat]], [[Manāt]]
| children = 
| army = 
| mount = 
| region = Arabia (Arabian Peninsula)
| festivals = 
| Roman_equivalent = 
| Greek_equivalent = 
| equivalent1_type = 
| equivalent1 = 
}}
{{Fertile Crescent myth (Arabian)}}
'''Al-ʻUzzá''' or '''al-ʻUzzā''' ({{langx|ar|العزى}}, {{IPA|ar|al ˈʕuzzaː|pron}}, {{IPA|mis|al ˈʕuzzeː|label=[[Old Arabic]]:}}) was one of the three chief [[goddess]]es of [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia|Arabian religion]] in pre-Islamic times and she was worshipped by the [[Pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic Arabs]] along with [[Al-Lat]] and [[Manāt]]. A stone cube at [[Nakhla (Saudi Arabia)|Nakhla]] (near [[Mecca]]) was held sacred as part of her cult. She is mentioned in [[Qur'an 53:19]] as being one of the goddesses whom people worshiped.
[[File:Atargatis Petra RGZM 3368.jpg|thumb|"Eye" imagery in many forms is associated with the goddess]]
Al-ʻUzzā, like [[Hubal]], was called upon for protection by the pre-Islamic [[Quraysh (tribe)|Quraysh]]. "In 624 at the '[[Battle of Uhud|battle called Uhud]]', the war cry of the Qurayshites was, "O people of Uzzā, people of Hubal!".<ref>[[#tawil|Tawil]] (1993).</ref> Al-‘Uzzá also later appears in [[Ibn Ishaq]]'s account of the alleged [[Satanic Verses]].<ref>Ibn Ishaq Sirat Rasul Allah, pp. 165–167.</ref>

The temple dedicated to al-ʻUzzā and the statue was [[Expedition of Khalid ibn al-Walid (Nakhla)|destroyed by Khalid ibn al Walid in Nakhla]] in 630 AD.<ref name="google1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA256 |title=The sealed nectar|author=S.R. Al-Mubarakpuri|date=6 October 2020 |page=256 |publisher=Independently Published |isbn=9798694145923 |access-date=2013-02-03}}</ref><ref name="witness-pioneervil">[http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch6s6.html "He sent Khalid bin Al-Waleed in Ramadan 8 A.H", Witness-Pioneer.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927030955/http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch6s6.html |date=2011-09-27 }}</ref>

== Cult of al-‘Uzzá ==
According to the ''[[Book of Idols]]'' (''Kitāb al-Aṣnām'') by [[Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi|Hishām ibn al-Kalbī]]<ref>[[#kalbi|Ibn al-Kalbi]], trans. Faris (1952), pp.&nbsp;16–23.</ref>
{{Blockquote|Over her [an Arab] built a house called ''Buss'' in which the people used to receive [[Oracle|oracular communications]]. The Arabs as well as the [[Quraysh (tribe)|Quraysh]] used to name their children "''‘Abdu l-ʻUzzā''". Furthermore, al-ʻUzzā was the greatest idol among the [[Quraysh (tribe)|Quraysh]]. They used to journey to her, offer gifts unto her, and seek her favours through [[sacrifice]].<ref>Jawad Ali, ''Al-Mufassal Fi Tarikh al-Arab Qabl al-Islam'' (Beirut), 6:238-9</ref>}}
:The [[Quraysh (tribe)|Quraysh]] used to circumambulate the [[Ka'ba|Ka‘bah]] and say,
::By [[al-Lāt]] and al-ʻUzzā,
::And [[Manāt|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 Arabic term ''al-gharānīq'' is translated as "most exalted females" by Faris in the ''[[Book of Idols]]'', but he annotates this much-argued ''[[hapax legomenon]]'' in a footnote as "lit. Numidian cranes."

Each of the three goddesses had a separate shrine near [[Mecca]]. The most prominent Arabian shrine of al-ʻUzzā was at a place called Nakhlah near Qudayd, east of Mecca toward [[Taif|aṭ-Ṭā’if]]; three trees were sacred to her there (according to a narration through al-'Anazi Abū-‘Alī in the ''Kitāb al-Aṣnām''.){{Blockquote|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 of [[Islam]].<ref>[[#hitti|Hitti]] (1937), pp. 96–101.</ref> The name al-‘Uzzá appears as an emblem of beauty in late pagan [[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]] were fused in central Arabia uniquely.<ref name="Krone">{{Cite book | last = Krone | first = Susan | title = Die altarabische Gottheit al-Lat Cited in Arabic Theology, Arabic Philosophy: From the Many to the One |page=96 | publisher = Speyer & Peters GmbH  | location = Berlin |date = 1992 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=g_IJCIT8CdAC&pg=PA96 | isbn=  9783631450925 }}</ref>

On the authority of [[Abdullah ibn Abbas|‘Abdu l-Lāh ibn ‘Abbās]], at-[[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.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

== Destruction of temple ==
{{Main|Expedition of Khalid ibn al-Walid (Nakhla)}}
{{See also|Destruction of the Dhu'l-Khalasa}}
Shortly after the [[Conquest of Mecca]], Muhammad began efforts to eliminate the last cult images reminiscent of pre-Islamic practices.

He sent [[Khalid ibn Al-Walid]] during [[Ramadan (calendar month)|Ramadan]] 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 [[Bani Shaiba]]. Al-ʻUzzā was considered the most important goddess in the region.

[[Arabs|Arab]] Muslim historian [[Hisham ibn al-Kalbi|Ibn al-Kalbī]] ({{circa|737–819}} [[Common Era|CE]]) tells how [[Muhammad]] ordered [[Khalid ibn al-Walid|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.<ref>{{cite book |author=Elias, J.J. |year=2014 |title=Key Themes for the Study of Islam |place=London, UK|publisher=Oneworld Publications}}</ref>

== Influence in other religions ==
=== Uzza the garden ===
According to ''[[Easton's Bible Dictionary]]'', '''Uzza''' was a [[garden]] in which [[Manasseh of Judah|Manasseh]] and [[Amon of Judah|Amon]] were buried (2 Kings 21:18, 26). It was probably near the king's palace in [[Jerusalem]], 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]].<ref>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. {{ISBN|9783110849424}}. Retrieved 6 June 2016. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zZmdCgAAQBAJ&dq=HDB+burial+jerusalem+garden&pg=PA136 Google Books]</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of pre-Islamic Arabian deities]]

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last=Ambros |first=Arne A. |year=2004 |title=A Concise Dictionary of Koranic Arabic |location=Wiesbaden |publisher=Reichert Verlag |isbn=978-3-89500-400-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Berkey |first=Jonathan Porter |title=The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800 |year=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-58813-3 |url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/formationofislam0000berk }}
* {{cite book|last=Burton |first=John |title=The Collection of the Qur'an (the collection and composition of the Qu'ran in the lifetime of Muhammad) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1977}}
* {{cite book|last=Finegan |first=Jack |title=The Archeology of World Religions |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.44705 |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1952 |pages=482–485, 492}}
* {{Citation|last=Peters|first=Francis E.|title=Muhammad and the Origins of Islam|year=1994b|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-1875-8|url=https://archive.org/details/muhammadorigins00pete}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Philip Khuri Hitti |last=Hitti |first=Philip K. |title-link=History of the Arabs (book) |title=History of the Arabs |year=1937}}
* {{cite book|last=Ibn al-Kalbī |first=Hisham |others=Translation and commentary by Nabih Amin Faris |year=1952 |title=The Book of Idols, Being a Translation from the Arabic of the ''Kitāb al-Asnām'' |title-link=Book of Idols |author-link=Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi |publisher=Princeton University Press |lccn=52006741}}
* {{cite book|last=Peters |first=F. E. |title=The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places |url=https://archive.org/details/hajjmuslimpilgri0000pete |url-access=registration |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1994}}
* {{cite thesis|last=al-Tawil |first=Hashim |title=Early Arab Icons: Literary and Archaeological Evidence for the Cult of Religious Images in Pre-Islamic Arabia |degree=PhD |publisher=University of Iowa |year=1993 |url=http://www.uib.no/jais/v002cmt/pavcmt01.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050120003900/http://www.uib.no/jais/v002cmt/pavcmt01.htm |archive-date=2005-01-20 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Polemics/sverses.html "Those Are The High Flying Claims":] A Muslim site on Satanic Verses story
*[http://nabataea.net/gods.html Nabataean pantheon] including al-ʻUzzā
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050316085016/http://www.acacialand.com/deities.html Quotes concerning al-‘Uzzá from Hammond and Hitti]

{{Characters and names in the Quran}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Uzza}}
[[Category:Arabian goddesses]]
[[Category:Oracular goddesses]]
[[Category:War goddesses]]