In the absence of painting and sculpture...

In the absence of painting and sculpture, they had cultivated their language as a fine art and were justly proud of its enormous power of expression. Accordingly, the poets and orators who could make an effective and aesthetic use of its wonderful resources were held in especially high esteem among them. Judging by the evidence furnished by the pre‑Islamic poets, polemical pas­sages in the Qur'an and the later Islamic literature, idolatry based on poly­theism prevailed throughout ancient Arabia.

Almost every tribe had its own god, which were the centre of its religious life and the immediate object of its devotion. The ancient Arabs, however, at the same time believed in the existence of a Supreme God, whom they called Allah. But this belief was rather vague and their faith in Him was correspondingly weak. They might invoke Allah in time of danger, but as soon as the danger was over they forgot all about Him.

They also recognized and worshipped a large number of other subordinate gods along with Him, or at least thought that they would inter­cede for them with Him. Three deities in particular, viz., al‑`Uzza, al‑Manat, and al‑Lat, were accorded special veneration as the daughters of Allah. It was this association of subordinate deities with Allah which is technically known as shirk (association of gods with Allah) and which was condemned by the Prophet as an unpardonable sin.

Shirk was held in special abhorrence, as it obscured belief in the oneness of God. The innumerable deities, which the pagan Arabs worshipped, form a long series and are the subject of a monograph, written by ibn al‑Kalbi, who flourished in the second century of the Islamic era and is counted among the leading authorities on Arabian antiquity.[^1] A few of them have been incidentally mentioned in the Qur'an also. These Arabian deities, which were of diverse nature, fell into different Cate­gories.

Some of them were personifications of abstract ideas, such as jadd (luck), sa'd (fortunate, auspicious), rida' (good‑will, favour), wadd (friendship, affection), and manaf (height, high place). Though originally abstract in character, they were conceived in a thoroughly concrete fashion. Some deities derived their names from the places where they were venerated. Dhu al­-Khalasah and Dhu al‑Shara may be cited as examples of this kind.

The heavenly bodies and other powers of nature, venerated as deities, oc­cupied an important place in the Arabian pantheon.