Idolatry in Islam and in Mecca

Read how there are numerous remnants of pre-Islamic idolatry in the modern Islam. Most of them are connected with the pilgrimage to Mecca

Are you a Muslim, who has completed the pilgrimage to Mecca or is considering doing so? If you are such a person, this article is for you.

This article deals with the early stages of Islam, and how they relate to idolatry. It is something that many sincere Muslims may deny, saying that there is no idolatry in Islam. However, it is noteworthy that the Fifth Pillar of Islam, the pilgrimage to Mecca, contains several aspects related to idolatry. It is about features that were already characteristic of the ancient religion of the Arabs before the time of Islam and Muhammad. They have been inherited as such into modern Islam.

If you don't believe this, you should read the following lines. Do you really worship only one God or are you actually a supporter and follower of ancient idolatry when you perform the pilgrimage to Mecca or your prayers are directed towards it? Connections with past idolatry and current pilgrimage practice include, for example, things appearing in the list.

• Pilgrimage destination is Mecca

• Walking around temple many times

• Kissing or touching black stone

• Worshippers of heathen gods in Mecca called themselves Hanifs

• Sacrificing animals

• Walking to Mt. Arafat

• Visiting hills of Safa and Marwa

The destination of the pilgrimage is Mecca. Mecca being the destination of pilgrimage comes from earlier practices. This custom was by no means born through Muhammad, but idolaters and Arabs also had a habit of making pilgrimages to the same city on the Arabian Peninsula. They participated in the cult observances at the Kaaba Temple and in the worship of the 360 idols in the temple. What the current pilgrimage has in common, among other things, is that the object of their pilgrimage was the same, they were called hanifs and they too performed almost the same parts of the pilgrimage as there are today. Modern activities related to Mecca are clearly similar to those of ancient times.

The same development in the past continued until Muhammad, who himself had been the guardian of the sanctuary at a time when there were still 360 idols, decided to close the city to all but adherents of the Islamic faith. It happened in the year 630, but still after this, Muhammad retained the old religion and idolatry rituals - functions that have survived to this day.

Sahih Bukhari, a collection of hadith, confirms how Islam's own tradition refers to idolatry in the Kaaba temple. There were 360 idols that were worshipped:

Before the time of Muhammad, the idolatry of the Arab tribes had focused on the cube-shaped shrine of the Kaaba in Mecca. Islam’s own tradition confirms that 360 gods were worshiped in Mecca: “Abdullah bin Masud said,‘ When the Prophet arrived in Mecca, there were 360 idols around the Kaaba ’” (Sahih Bukhari) (1)

Walking around the temple of Kaaba. The first connection with old idolatry was the pilgrimage to Mecca. The second point of similarity is walking around the temple of Kaaba. When today Muslims circle the Kaaba seven times, this was also part of ancient idolatry and pilgrimage: even then people circled the temple, paid respect to it and kissed the black stone on one side of it. These are things that resemble the current pilgrimage to Mecca. Thus, you who, perform these acts of pilgrimage, are following the manners of the past idolaters, which have been transferred as such to modern Islam.

In addition, other historical references describe how people elsewhere toured other temples and stones, such as the Kaaba Temple. This has been alluded to, at least, by Greek historians. The following quote shows how the same custom was common in ancient idolatry.

People of Quraish took as their god a god named Hubal, who stood on the edge of the well inside the temple of the Kaaba Temple. They also worshiped Isaf and Na'ila next to Zamzam, the place where they sacrificed...

Arabs adopted, in addition to Kaaba, taghuts or temples that they respected. These were temples they revered like the Kaaba and had their own doorkeepers and caretakers. The Arabs gave them offerings as they did to the Kaaba and circled around them as they did around the Kaaba. They also slaughtered animals close to these places. (2)

Kissing the black stone. One confluence between the former idolatry and the current pilgrimage to Mecca is the kissing and touching of the black stone in the Kaaba temple. Also the Arabs in the old days used to kiss this stone and worship it as a god a long time before the days of Muhammad. The black stone was the most honored object in the ancient temple and the focus of polytheistic worshipping. The Bedouins also worshipped it along with other stones long before the time of Islam and Muhammad. So it is quite curious that the Muslims these days kiss a stone that was previously used in idolatry. How can you act like this as a Muslim if the black stone was the central object of ancient idolatry? Why do you continue the old tradition of idolatry?

Before Islam, the Arabs worshipped numerous gods, and their religion probably resembled the belief of the earlier Semite nations. (…) The Most important actively worshipped divinities were goddesses Allat, al-Uzza, and Manat who were probably regarded as the daughters of Allah, even though the pre-Islamic world of gods had not arranged itself into a clear pantheon.

(…) In addition to commonly worshipped gods, each tribe seems to have had their own divinities. The god of Mecca was possibly a less well known (moon) god Hubal who according to tradition was worshipped in the temple of Kaaba before the birth of Islam.

In addition to actual gods, holy stones, springs, and trees were worshipped. Worshipping of stones has been very typical for pre-Islamic Bedouins, also the Greek sources have mentioned this. The stones may have been formed naturally or be roughly outlined. The Bedouins worshipped both solid stones and stones they carried with them. The black stone of Kaaba was also worshipped already in the pre-Islamic period. (3)

The Kaaba temple and its black stone are thus an important part of Islamic religious practice. It is also evident from the fact that Muslims pray facing to Mecca. Is this related to the belief that a black stone could act as a mediator of prayer? If this is assumed, or if the direction of prayer matters, it leads to regarding Mecca and the black stone as objects of idolatry. Or isn't that the case? This is also different from the usual Christian prayer, where we can simply tell God our concerns (Phil 4: 6: Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.). It doesn't matter the direction of the prayer.

Why then do Muslims accept the kissing of a black stone and other acts resembling idolatry? This is hard to understand. The following quote tells more about the subject. Islam's own tradition says that all current rituals such as the pilgrimage to Mecca, Ramadan, circling the Kaaba, kissing the black stone, running between Saf and Marwa, stoning Satan and drinking from the Zamzam spring are of pagan origin:

After circling the Kaaba seven times, the worshippers hurried to the statues symbolizing Satan outside of Mecca and stoned them. To this ritual was also closely associated with running seven times between the mountains Safa and Marw. They were near the main mosque of Mecca. The distance between the mountains is four hundred meters.

The Koran proves that this running ritual was in effect before Islam. When Muslims wonderingly asked Muhammad why they had to follow this pagan custom, he received an answer from Allah:

Behold! Safa and Marwa are among the Symbols of Allah. So if those who visit the House (Kaaba) in the Season or at other times, should compass them round, it is no sin in them. (Suura 2:158)

Large number of people thus gathered to Mecca to worship the gods placed inside or around the building that was covered with black cloth. Every tribe or individual who arrived in the city was allowed to choose a god they liked best from Kaaba. These pilgrimages provided a good income for the Quraish-tribe, who, as members of the largest tribe in Mecca, cared for and oversaw the shrine (…)

There has been much speculation about why Muhammad left those pagan customs to Islam. One reason may have been that he left them to live to please the Quraish tribe, for these rituals did not directly threaten Islam or deny Allah. When the Quraish people also converted to Muslims after the conquest of Mecca, they, as caretakers of the Kaaba, received pretty money annually from the pilgrims who arrived in Mecca. Knowledge of the pagan origins of current rituals can be an embarrassing truth for those who want to deny the testimony given by history. (4)

Black stone and connection to moon worship. It was noted above that the kissing of the black stone and other current customs of Islamic pilgrimage appeared in idolatry long before Muhammad. Muhammad accepted these pagan customs as part of the Islamic practice of religion.

One connection to the past is also the sign of the moon. The peoples of the Middle East used to worship the moon, sun, and stars. A lunar sickle has been found on thousands of altars, earthenware, vessels, amulets, earrings, and other artifacts. It refers to the prevalence of lunar worship. The idolaters in Mecca also believed that the black stone had been dropped from the sky by the moon god Hubal (see previous quotations!). However, this view was later changed by Muhammad himself, because he believed that the stone was sent by the angel Gabriel from Paradise and that the stone was originally white but changed into black because of the sins of the people. Was Muhammad right or is it only an ordinary meteorite that fell to Earth? It is impossible to prove this now.

The next quote continues on the same topic, namely the worship of the black stone, and how this stone was believed to have originated from the moon, and that the moon god Hubal dropped it from the sky. On the roofs of today's mosques, the moon sickle is still used, which reminds of past idolatry; such as the kissing of the black stone and other methods of pilgrimage.

Unlike the Persians who – taught by Zoroastrian – worshipped the Sun as the residence of the Highest Being and connected good with light and fire, and bad with dark, the Arabs of those days generally worshipped the Moon. To a Persian who lived in the land of high mountains, the heat from the Sun may have been welcomed but to an Arab of the desert plains, the Sun was a killer and the Moon brought dew and darkness after the boiling heat and dazzling light. According to a heathen legend, it was believed that Hobal, the God of the Moon dropped the black meteorite stone of Kaaba from Heaven. It was deemed holy long before Islam, and was worshipped by pilgrims and travelers who believed that the Moon was also a god. (5)

Yet another quote on the same topic. It shows how the main religion of the peoples of the Middle East was connected to the worship of the moon, the sun and the stars. When the crescent moon is now on the roof of many mosques, it is a reference to past idolatry:

Al-Hadis (Book 4, Chapter 42, No. 47) contains the astonishing statement of Muhammad: “Abu Razin al-Uqaili narrated: I asked: O Messenger of Allah: Does everyone on the Day of Resurrection see their Lord in His open form? ‘Yes,’ he replied. I asked: What is the sign of this in His creation? They said: Oh Abu Razin. Isn’t it that each of you sees the moon in full moonlight in bare form.” This verse gives an indication that the moon was a symbol of Allah. Research has shown that:

• Allah was an Arab idol for centuries. “He is the Lord of you and of your fathers (Surah 44: 8). The God of the Arabs and their ancestors was by no means the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, YHVH Yahweh, but Allah

• The moon was a symbol of Allah.

• Allah was called the God of the Moon.

(…) Scholars of Western religions agree with the Bible that the main religion of the peoples of the Middle East was associated with the worship of the moon, sun, and stars.

Thousands of altars, earthenware, vessels, amulets, earrings, and other artifacts found by ancient scholars have the sickle of the moon. It speaks of widespread worship of the moon.

The texts of the clay tablets found in the archaeological excavations contain descriptions of the victims given to the moon. One may ask why the sickle of the moon still stands on the roofs of mosques today. The symbol of God was, of course, placed on the roofs in the same way that Christians put the cross in their churches as a symbol of the salvation made by Christ.

Because lunar worship was common throughout the Middle East, Arabs were also lunar worshipers. A shrine, Kaaba, was also built for the Moon God. It housed a special object of worship, the black stone fallen from the Moon, which Muhammad kissed during the conquest of Mecca. (6)

Prayer direction towards Mecca. What about Islamic worship and the direction of prayer? Today, Muslims direct their prayers towards Mecca and may even have compasses purchased for this purpose. They allow them to accurately check the direction of the prayer so that it is directed towards Mecca. The Koran, for example, tells about the subject in verses 2:142-151. They mention how the direction of prayer was changed in this direction during Muhammad's time.

However, the question is, why do you, as a Muslim, direct you prayer to a past idolatry place or make a pilgrimage there and perform the same steps of worship that the ancient idolaters performed? Isn't there an obvious contradiction here? How can you present yourself as a servant of one God if you follow the same idolatrous habits that the past idolaters did?

Muhammad's revelation of the three goddesses. The above was discussed about idolatry in Mecca and the pilgrimage there. It was noted how black stone kissing, the circumvention of the Kaaba, and other forms of idolatry performed in Mecca were common even before the time of Islam. Muhammad accepted them as such into modern Islam. Therefore, the same idolatry forms are still practiced. As a Muslim, it is good for you to ask yourself, are you engaging in the same kind of idolatry during the pilgrimage to Mecca that the ancient idolaters practiced centuries ago?

Then we move on to another matter related to Muhammad and idolatry. It is about the so-called from the satanic verses, i.e. the Koran passage 53:19,20. We'll explore that next.

According to tradition, these verses, which describe three goddesses worshipped by the Arabs (Allat, al-Uzza, and Manat), originally included a reference describing these goddesses as some kind of mediators. In other words, these verses that Muhammad received encouraged people to turn to heathen gods. Because of these verses, the residents of Mecca were ready to confess that Muhammad was the Prophet. They are believed to have been in the following form. The deleted passage has been marked in bold:

Have you seen Allat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third? "These are sublime beings and their intercession can be hoped for."

What is noteworthy about this is that it is not an invention of outsiders, but has been referred to by Islam’s own early sources. These early sources and their authors did not deny Muhammad's status as a prophet. It has been referred to by such pious Muslims as Ibn Ishag, Ibn Sa’d, and Tabari, as well as by the later author of the Qur’anic commentary Zamakhshari (1047-1143). It is very hard to believe that they would have told about the case if they had not considered it genuine. The same thing is explained in the following quote, which refers to a commentary by an imam on the Qur’an. It shows how this passage in the Qur’an was changed because Muhammad soon received a new revelation to the contrary. It also shows the fact how the Qur’an is completely based on the revelations and words received by Muhammad. Significantly, some former disciples could not accept Muhammad’s first revelation and therefore began boycotting him.

Imam El-Syouty explains the Sura 17:74 of the Koran in his commentary as follows: "According to Muhammad, the Son of Kaab, the kinsman of Karz, the prophet Muhammad read Sura 53 until he came to the passage, which said, 'Have you seen Allat and Al-Uzza (heathen gods)... ' In this passage, the devil himself made Muhammad say that the Muslims can worship these heathen gods and ask them for intercession. And so from the words of Muhammad, a verse was added to the Koran.

The Prophet Muhammad was very sad because of his words, until God encouraged him with a new one, "Also as always before, when we have sent messenger or prophet, has Satan put his own wishes along them, but God wipes away it, what Satan has got mixed for them, and then he confirms his own mark. God is knowing, wise.” (Sura 22:52.)

Because of this Sura 17:73-74 says: "And surely they had purposed to turn you away from that which We have revealed to you, that you should forge against Us other than that, and then they would certainly have taken you for a friend. And had it not been that We had already established you, you would certainly have been near to incline to them a little;" (7)

The following quote speaks of the same subject, satanic verses. It shows that this matter is not an invention of outsiders, but has been referred to by Islam’s own early sources and how Muhammad was inclined to accept idolatry. The authors did not deny the value of Muhammad as a prophet:

The case of the Satanic Verses has naturally been a strong cause for embarrassment for muslims throughout centuries. Indeed, it shadows Muhammad’s whole claim of him being a prophet. If Satan was once able to put words in Muhammad’s mouth and made him think they were messages from Allah, then who is to say that Satan did not use Muhammad as his spokesman during other times as well?

… It is difficult to understand, how and why such a story would have been fabricated, and also how and why such devoted muslims like Ibn Ishag, Ibn Sa’d and Tabari, as well as the later writer of the annotation of the Koran, Zamakhsari (1047-1143) – from whom it is relly difficult to believe that he would have said so if he didn’t trust the sources – thought that it was genuine. Here, as well as in other areas, the evidence of the early Islamic sources are indisputably strong. Athough the events can be explained in another light, those, who wish they could make the instance of the Satanic Verses go away, cannot deny the fact that these elements of Muhammed’s life are not inventions of his enemies, but the information about them came from people, who really believed Muhammed to be a prophet of Allah. (8)

What can be concluded from the above? We can see that Muhammad was a flawed human being. He bowed before the people as he accepted the verses which advocated the worship of three idols and that they could be appealed to. Islam's own early sources refer to Muhammad's actions, so it is not an invention of malicious outsiders.

Muhammad was also behind the fact that the ancient practice of idolatry, which had been practiced in Mecca for centuries, was transferred almost in similar form to Islam. This included the things mentioned above, such as making the pilgrimage to Mecca, people circumambulating the temple, kissing or touching the black stone, sacrificing animals, walking to Mount Arafat, and visiting the hills of Safa and Marwa. Muhammad confirmed all these ancient idolatrous practices.