The eagle continued, "All forms of Iblis's deception are caused by rejecting intellect and relying solely on the senses. Through this, Iblis invited many people to worship images and made their intellects totally dysfnctional. He convinced some that idols were the gods themselves. Others - with some intellect- rejected this idea, so he deceived them to think that worshiping these idols only gets them nearer to the Creator. Allah says,
Canary asked,"How Iblis's deception of idol worshipers began?" Eagle said, "Muhammad lbn al-Sa'ib al-Kalbi said, 'The way that idols were first worshiped when Adam, alayhissalam, died, the sons of Shith lbn Adam set his body inside a cave in mount "Buth" which was where Adam frst descended. It is the most fertile mountain on earth.' lbn 'Abbas, radhiyallahu 'anhu, said, 'The children of Shith used to visit Adam's body in the cave to glorify it and ask for Allah's mercy upon it. A man fom the children of Qabil said, 'O children of Qabil! The children of Shith have something which they glorify and revolve around, while you have nothing of the sort.' So Satan carved a statue for them to venerate. They were the first to commit this act.'اَلَا لِلّٰہِ الدِّیۡنُ الۡخَالِصُ ؕ وَ الَّذِیۡنَ اتَّخَذُوۡا مِنۡ دُوۡنِہٖۤ اَوۡلِیَآءَ ۘ مَا نَعۡبُدُہُمۡ اِلَّا لِیُقَرِّبُوۡنَاۤ اِلَی اللّٰہِ زُلۡفٰی ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ یَحۡکُمُ بَیۡنَہُمۡ فِیۡ مَا ہُمۡ فِیۡہِ یَخۡتَلِفُوۡنَ ۬ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یَہۡدِیۡ مَنۡ ہُوَ کٰذِبٌ کَفَّارٌ"Unquestionably, for Allah is the pure religion. And those who take protectors besides Him [say], "We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allah in position." Indeed, Allah will judge between them concerning that over which they differ. Indeed, Allah does not guide he who is a liar and [confirmed] disbeliever." - [QS.39:3]
Muhammad lbn al-Sa'ib al-Kalbi said, ' Wadd, Suwa, Yaghuth, Ya'uq and Nasr, were righteous men. They all died within one month so their relative mourned them. One of the children of Qabil said, 'O people! I am able to make five statues to look just like the deceased, except that I will not be able to blow spirits into them. They agreed, so he sculpted five statues for them, and the relatives of each of the five persons used to glorify and revolve around the statue of their relative. The generation that came afer this one glorifed the statues even more. Then members of the third generation said, 'Our predecessors only glorifed these statues because they were hoping for them to intercede with Allah, so they worshiped them, and the matter became more serious and their kufr became worse. Allah, the Mighty and the Majestic, sent Prophet Idris, alayhissalam, to call them to His path, but they called him a liar, so Allah lifted him to a high place. Kufr became severer until Allah sent Nuh, alayhissalam, as a messenger at the age of four hundred and eighty years old. He invited them to Allah (the Mighty and the Majestic) for one hundred and twenty years, but they disobeyed him and called him a liar. Allah ordered him to make the Ark. He was six hundred years old when he got on it and many people drowned. Nuh stayed alive for three hundred and fifty years after that. The total number of years between Adam and Nuh was two thousand and two hundred years. The flood drifed the idols to the land of Juddah and when the water receded, the wind brought sand to cover the idols unti it covered it.'
Malik Ibn Harithah said that he saw the statue of Wadd. He said that his father used to send him with milk and tell him, "Give it to your lord to drink." He said, "I later saw Khalid lbn al-Walid smashing it to small pieces." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) sent Khalid lbn al-Walid, radhiyallahu 'anhu, after the battle of Tabuk to destroy this idol, but the children of 'Abd Wadd and the children of 'Amir tried to prevent him from doing so. He fought and defeated them then brought down the statue and smashed it.
Al-Kalbi said, 'I asked Malik lbn Harithah to describe the statue of Wadd for me in detail as if I were looking at it. He said, "He was as large a man as could be. He had two robes engraved on him, one was on his top part of his body and the other on his lower part. He had a sword on his side, a bow on his shoulder and a spear with a banner attached to it. He also had a sack with his arrows in it.'
The tribe of Muqar lbn Nizar accepted the call of 'Amr lbn Luhay, so he give the statue Suwaa' to al-Harith lbn Tamim. He set it in the land of Ruhat, so the remaining members of Muqar worshiped the statue.The mean Wadd is love.
And the tribe of Mithhij also accepted the call of 'Amr, so he gave Yaghuth to An'am lbn 'Amr al-Muradi. He set it in Akamah, Yeman, to be worshiped by members of Muthhij and its allies. And the tribe of Hamdan also accepted the call of 'Amr, so he gave Ya'uq to Malik Ibn Marthad Ibn Jashm. He set it in a vilage by the name Jaywan, to be worshiped by members of Hamdan and its allies from Yeman. And the tribe of Himyar also accepted the call of 'Amr, so he gave Nasr to Ma'di Karib. He set it a place called Balkha' fom the land of Saba', to be worshiped by members of Himyar and its allies. They continued to worship it until Dhu'l-Nuwas made them Jews. All of these idols continued to be worshiped unti Allah sent the Prophet (ﷺ) and he (ﷺ) ordered them to be destroyed."
Canary asked, "Who is this 'Amr ibn Luhayy?" Eagle said, "Muhammad Al-Kalbi said, 'When Isma'il, alayhissalam, resided in Makkah, he was granted many offspring to the point that they filled Makkah and exiled the Giants fom it. They became so many that wars and conflicts happened among them. Some of them left Makkah in search for sustenance and used to take with them stones from Makkah out of love and respect, and as souvenirs. They used to circumbate around these stones just like they did the Ka'bah. At that point, they did not worship the stones, and continued to visit Makkah for Hajj and 'Umrah as was the heritage of their forefthers, Ibrahim and Isma'il. With time, they began worshiping those stones and came up with a religon other than that of Ibrahim and Isma'il.
They worshiped idols and referred to the ways of nations previous to them. They dug up the idols that the people of Nuh had worshipped, but continued to practice some teachings of Ibrahim and Isma'il such as respecting the Ka'bah, revolving around it, Hajj and 'Umrah, standing on 'Arafah, and Muzdalifah, sacrifcing cattle and reciting the declaration of intentions fr Hajj and 'Umrah. The first to change the religion of Isma'il and set up the statues was 'Amr Ibn Luhayy, the father of Khuza'ah. He was able to take control over the Ka'bah by force. One day, he became sick and was advised to visit a hot water funtain in Sham. He went there, bathed in it and became well. He noticed that the people of Sham worshiped idols. He inquired, "What are these?" They responded, "We use these statues to pray for rain and victory over the enemy." He asked that they give him a few idols, so they did. He brought them back to Makkah and set them around the Ka'bah. This was how Arabs began practicing idol worship. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The Hellfre was raised for me (to see it). In it, I saw 'Amr Ibn Lu}ayy, a short reddish man. He was dragging his intestines. I asked: 'who is this?' I was informed, 'This is 'Amr Ibn Luhayy, the first to establish (the system of Bahirah, Wasilah, Sa'ibah, and Ham.' He changed the religon of Isma'il and called Arabs to worship idols."
The most ancient idol was Manat. It was erected on the Red Sea shore between Makkah and Madinah. Arabs used to glorify it, and the tribes of Al-Aws, Al-Khazraj and whoever used to settle in Madinah or Makkah and their surroundings used to glorify, sacrifce and give gifts to it. No tribes glorifed it more than Al-Aws and AlKhazraj. These two tribes used to perform all Hajj rituals just as other people did, except that they did not used to shave their heads until they reached Manat. Then they used to stay there for a while, believing that their Hajj would not be complete otherwise. Manat belonged to the tribes of Hudhayl and Khuza'ah. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) sent 'Ali, radhiyallahu 'anhu, to destroy it in the 8t year After Hijr of the conquest.
Arabs adopted al-Lat as a goddess as well. It was located in Ta'if and was more recent than Manat. It was a cubical rock and its servants were from the tribe of Thaqif. They established a house around it. Quraysh and all Arabs continued to glorify it until Thaqif embraced Islam. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) sent al-Mughirah lbn Shu'bah, radhiyallahu 'anhu, to destroy and burn it.
More recent to al-Lat was a goddess by the name al-'Uzza. lbn 'Abbas said, 'Al-'Uzza was a female devil who used to frequent three samurah tree in the vale of Nakhlah. After liberating Makkah, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) sent Khalid lbn al-Walid to it. When Khalid approached the trees, he fund a woman with untidy hair who had her hands on her shoulders. Behind her was her servant Dubayyah al-SulamI.' Khalid said (poetry), "You are worthy of rejection (kufr) not glorifcation, for I have witnessed that Allah has humiliated you." Then he struck her on her head, killed her servant and cut off the trees. When he informed the Prophet (ﷺ) of what had happened, he (ﷺ) said, 'That was al-'Uzza, there shall bu no other 'Uzza for Arabs.'
Quraysh also had idols inside the Ka'bah and around it. The greatest idol to them was Hubal. It was made fom red ruby in the form of a human with his left hand broken off. Quraysh later made a hand of gold to complement the broken hand. The first to erect it inside Ka'bah was Khuzaymah lbn Mudrikah lbn Ilyas lbn Muqar. In front of it were seven cups. Inside one of the cups was written "Truthful" and inside the other was written "(falsely) Assosiated". When they used to doubt the legitimacy of a child, they used to give Hubal a gift and draw between both cups. If the outcome wa "Truthful" they would associate him with the father, and if the outcome was "(falsely) Assocated" they would reject the child. They used to do something similar when approaching a major endeavour. During the battle of Uhud, Abu Sufyan said, "Be high Huba!', meaning: may your religion be high. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) responded: "Allah is higher and more revered."
Arabs also had two idols: Isaf and Na'ilah. Ibn 'Abbas said, 'lsaf was a man fom the tribe of Jurhum who was in love with a woman fom the same tribe, Na'ilah. They both came to perform Hajj and committed fornication near the Ka'bah. As a punishment from Allah, they were transformed into two rocks. Later they were set near the Ka'bah for them to be an example to others. Later people worshipped them along with the other idols around the Ka'bah.
Another one of those idols was Dhu'l-Kalasah. It was a large white rock with a crown like carving on it. It was located between Makkah and Yeman glorifed by the tribes of Khath'am and Bajilah. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) told Jarir, "Would you relieve me fom Dhu'l-Kalasah?" So he fought its worshippers, destroyed the house that was built around it and burnt it.
The tribe of Daws worshiped an idol named Dhu'l-Kaffayn. After they embraced Islam, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) sent al-Tufayl Ibn 'Amr, radhiyallahu 'anhu, to burn it. BanI al-Harith Ibn Yashkur adopted an idol named Dhu'l-Shara, and other tribes had al-Aqyasir, Nuhm, Su'ayr and al-Fals.
Each household in Makkah had a idol for them to worship. When one of them began a journey, the last thing he would do was to wipe on the statue. And when he returned, the first thing he would do was to wipe on it. Those who did not own houses would erect a rock and circumbated around it. These types of idols were called al-Ansab.
When one of them used to rest on the travel paths, they used to take four stones, and make the best loking one their lord. The other three would be used to support his spot. When resuming the travel, he would leave all four rocks behind, and take four new rocks at the next rest spot.
When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) became victorious over Makkah, he used his bow to stab the idols surrounding the Ka'bah in their eyes and faces; saying,
Then he ordered the idols to be pushed on their faces, then to be removed from the Masjid and burnt.وَقُلْ جَآءَ ٱلْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ ٱلْبَٰطِلُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلْبَٰطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا"And say, 'Truth has come, and falsehood has departed. Indeed is falsehood, [by nature], ever bound to depart.'" - [QS.17:81]
lblis deceived the people of Jahiliyyah with regards to their worship of idols. The worst form of his deception was for them to imitate their forefathers without contemplating proper proofs. lblis deceived others from Jahiliyyah days to become secular. They denied the Creator and resurrection. Others believed in the Creator, but denied messengers and resurrection, and others claimed angels to be Allah's daughters. Others were swayed to Judaism and Zoroastrianism, such as the tribe of Tamim.
Arabs had another misconception. They believed that if they tied a horse next to a dead person's grave until the horse died, then he would be resurrected riding the horse. Otherwise, he would be resurrected walking.
Most of these continued on polytheism, and only a few adhered to monotheism and rejected the idols; of these few were Quss and Zayd. The people of Jahilliyyah kept introducing innovations, in many
things, such as Al-Nasa', which was to make the sacred months unsacred for practical reasons, and vise versa. Since the days of lbrahim, alayhissalam, Arabs considered it a sin to wage war during the four sacred months. However, if they needed to wage war during that period, they used to declare it lawful to do so and to assign the month of Safar to be sacred that year in place of the month they had made unsacred.
They used to allow males to inherit, not females. And whenever one of them died, the nearest relative had the right to marry his wife. They also believed in al-Bahira, if a camel bore five times successively, the fifth time a female, they would slit its ear, and it was unlawful for the women to ride. Al-Saibah, a camel allowed to go free, being neither ridden nor milked. Al-Wasilah, a lamb, which bore seven times, and whether the seventh was male or female, they would say: 'it has joined (wasalat) its brother' and would not be slaughtered, and was to be used by men only to the exclusion of women; but when it died both men and women were allowed to drink fom its milk. Al-Ham, a male camel which had siren ten times; after which they would say. 'he has protected (hama) his loins,' and it would be let loose for their idols, and not employed in carrying.
They claimed that Allah ordered them to do all of this.
Iblis further persuaded them to kill their children, so that one of them would kill his daughter and feed his dog. And also he deceived the Arabs to believe that: had Allah wiled, we would not have taken partners. The meaning is: had He not approved of our shirk, He would have prevented us fom it. They attached themselves to Allah's Will and neglected His Commands. Allah's Will encompasses all creatures, and His Command does not encompass all that He wils. So no one is allowed to use Allah's will as an excuse once the order has been decreed.
Many indeed are the foolish doctrines which they invented. It would be waste of time to record, and does not require the trouble of refutation.
Look at how Satan has deceived these people. He took away their intellects and caused them to carve their gods with their own hands. Allah, the Mighty and the Majestic, condemned their idols in the best way,
It is, as if Allah is pointing to humans saying, you all walk, hold things, see and hear. However, idols are unable to do so. They are inanimate objects. So how could the superior human in animal form, worship the inferior inanimate object?اَلَہُمۡ اَرۡجُلٌ یَّمۡشُوۡنَ بِہَاۤ ۫ اَمۡ لَہُمۡ اَیۡدٍ یَّبۡطِشُوۡنَ بِہَاۤ ۫ اَمۡ لَہُمۡ اَعۡیُنٌ یُّبۡصِرُوۡنَ بِہَاۤ ۫ اَمۡ لَہُمۡ اٰذَانٌ یَّسۡمَعُوۡنَ بِہَا ؕ قُلِ ادۡعُوۡا شُرَکَآءَکُمۡ ثُمَّ کِیۡدُوۡنِ فَلَا تُنۡظِرُوۡنِ"Do they have feet by which they walk? Or do they have hands by which they strike? Or do they have eyes by which they see? Or do they have ears by which they hear? Say, [O Muhammad], "Call your 'partners' and then conspire against me and give me no respite." - [QS.7:195]
If they only had contemplated well they would have realised that Allah created, and He was not created, He composed but was not composed, and everything was reliant on Him and He relied on nobody. A person must worship that which created him, not that which he created. Their assumption that idols have the ability to intercede with Allah was nothing but a mirage that is baseless. And Allah knows best. And Allah knows best.
[The Fire Worshipers]
