Uzza was a very powerful god equivalent to the planet Venus...

Uzza was a very powerful god equivalent to the planet Venus and was situated in Nakhlah east of Mecca, and was worshipped there It was given much more honour than the other idols. The sanctuary of Uzza took the form of three trees and human sacrifices were offered to it. Manat was the god of predestination, and its original place of worship was a black stone at Qudayd (on the road between Mecca and Medina). It belonged especially to the tribes of Aws and Khazraj[^3].

These gods were female and were like angels. Ba'l was the embodiment of the spirit of wells and underground waters. Sometimes a well with clean, invigorating water became wore- in the dry desert. A cave, when it had connections with the gods and the underground powers, was also sanctified. The temple of Ghabghab in Nakhlah (see above) was in such a place. Dhat Anwat, from which things were hung, was in Nakhlah and in some years the Meccan made pilgrimage there.

Dhu sh-Shard was respected in the form of a heap of black shining cubic stones. The spirit of arable lands was the god of good works and sacrifices had to be made to it. The spirit of barren land was a wicked devil who had to be avoided. They had idols made of wood or metal or stones with no definite form round which they made several turns whenever they went into their houses, and from which they took permission when they went out on a journey and then took with themselves.

The town of Harran where Ibrahim had started his campaign against star-worship, was the centre of the Sabaeans. In this town, stars were the object of veneration. Belief in the stars and in the connection between the movements of the stars and earthly destiny was very strong. Each star was the god of one event. Images of Mars, Jupiter, Venus, etc. were erected in the temples, and they asked for help from them, and sometimes sacrificed them.

The thoughts of the Sabeans sometimes fumed to angels and jinn. The angels were the daughters of god, and were thought to influence events. They imagined that god had a wife who was one of the jinn[^4]. b) In Iran In Iran also many religions were being practised, but the one which most people followed was Zoroastrians, the official religion.

If we accept that Zoroaster was a true prophet who had a religion based on tawhid, we must also acknowledge that his true teachings had been changed by the passage of time. Gradually, they changed their direction and even their form and identity to the benefit of the ruling classes.