urging ˹their followers˺, ‘Do not abandon your idols—especially Wadd, Suwâ’, Yaghûth, Ya’ûq, and Nasr.’71:23

Those ˹elite˺ have already led many astray. So ˹O Lord˺, only allow the wrongdoers to stray farther away.”71:24

Now, have you considered ˹the idols of˺ Lât and ’Uzza,53:19

and the third one, Manât, as well?53:20

Do you ˹prefer to˺ have sons while ˹you attribute˺ to Him daughters?53:21

Then this is ˹truly˺ a biased distribution!53:22

These ˹idols˺ are mere names that you and your forefathers have made up—a practice Allah has never authorized. They follow nothing but ˹inherited˺ assumptions and whatever ˹their˺ souls desire, although ˹true˺ guidance has already come to them from their Lord.53:23

An-Nusub and Al-Ansab were stones that surrounded the Kaaba. Upon them animals would be slaughtered by other than Allah's name. The first person to put up idols in Makkah was Amr bin Luhai Al-Azdi, who brought them from the lands of Ash-Sham (Syria and surrounding regions). These are the most important idols that people worshipped before the advent of Islam: - Isaf and Na ilah, which were located beside the door of the Ka bah. - Al-Uqaisar: the idol of Quda'ah, Lakhm, and 'Amilah; it was located in the highlands of Ash-Sham. - Al-Jalsad: an idol in Hadramawt; the tribe of Kindah worshipped it. - Dhul-Khalasah: it was located in Tubâlah, between Makkah and Yemen. The tribes of Kath'am, Bujailah, Azd As-Surât, and those Arabs who were near them from the sub-tribes of Hawâzin, would glorify [and worship] Dhul-Khalasah. - Dhush-Shara: an idol that belonged to Bani Al-Hârith ibn Mubasshir Al-Azdi. - Dhul-Kaffain: the idol of the Daus tribe. - Suwa': the idol of Hudhail in Madrakah, in the land of Yanbu', near Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah. - Ad-Daizanân (two idols): these two idols belonged to Judhaimah Al-Abrash in Hirah. It is said that Al-Mundhir Al-Akbar placed them at the gate of Al-Hirah. As a test of their loyalty and obedience, people who entered the gate of the city were required to perform prostration before the idols. - 'A'im: the idol of Azd As-Surât. - Al-'Uzza: this idol was placed in Makkah, on the right side of a way that led to Iraq. Al-'Uzza was the most venerated and important of Quraish's idols. - Al-Lât: the idol of At-Ta'if. In its place now stands the minaret of a Masjid in At-Ta'if. - Manât: Of all the idols that belonged to Arabs, Manât is the oldest. It was placed on the shores of the sea, in the direction of Al-Mushallal at Qudaid, which is somewhere between Makkah and Al-Madinah. - Nasr: it was located in Yemen. The Himyar tribe worshiped it in the land of Balkha'. - Hubal: this idol was placed inside of the Ka'bah. - Wadd: the tribe of Kalb worshiped it in Daumatil-Jandal. - Ya'uq: the tribe of Hamdaan worshiped it in the town of Khaiwan, near San'a. - Yaghûth: Madhij, Jurash, and others worshiped this idol.