List of pre-Islamic Arabian deities
Alphabetical list
Table:
Name

Image

Description

'Amm

'Amm is the moon god of Qataban. His attributes include the lightning bolts. Amm is served by the judge-god Anbay and has the Semitic goddess Asherah as his consort. Qatabanians are also known as Banu Amm, or "children of Amm".

'Athtar

'Athtar is the god associated with the planet Venus and was the most common god to south Arabian cultures.

'Awf

'Awf is a deity whose name means "the great bird", suggesting a totemic origin.[4]

A'im

A'im is a god who was worshipped by the Azd of al-Sarah.[5]

A'ra

A'ra is a north Arabian tutelary god known from inscriptions in Bosra. The name implies a holy place or an altar, but its Arabic root also means "to dye". It is implied that many sacrifices (which may include children) were offered to the idol, staining it with blood.[6]

Abgal

Abgal is a tutelary god worshipped by nomads, including bedouins,[7] and a tutelary god of the Arabs of the Palmyra region. His name is found in inscriptions dating to the times of the Palmyrene Empire, but none in Palmyra itself.[8]

Abirillu

Abirillu is a god mentioned in an Assyrian inscription.[9]

Almaqah

Almaqah was the chief-god of the Sabaeans. Associated with the bull's head and vines, he was regarded as the progenitor of the Sabaeans, and his worship spread to the Ethiopian kingdoms of Dʿmt and Kingdom of Aksum.

Amm-Anas

Amm-Anas is a god worshipped by the Khawlin. According to the Book of Idols, the Khawlin would offer a portion of their livestock property and land products and give one part to Amm-Anas and the other to God.[10] While no epigraphic evidence of this god is known, the existence of Amm-Anas cannot be ruled out as his name is present in the personal name of a Khawlanite leader.

Anbay

Anbay is a god of justice worshipped in Qataban, alongside Haukim, as gods of "command and decision".

Arsu

Ashar

Ashar is one of the nomadic gods of the Arabs during the Palmyrene Empire period, along with Azizos, Ma'n, Abgal, Sa'd, and Mun'im.

Asira

Asira is named in an inscription listing the deities of Tayma.

Atarquruma

Atarquruma is a god worshipped by the Qedarites mentioned in an Assyrian inscription.[9] He probably originated as a form of Athtar, who in Saba was associated with Kurum, thought to be a hypostasis or a consort of Athtar.

Atarsamain

Atarsamain is a deity of uncertain gender, worshipped among the Qedarites, and was associated with Venus.

Athtar Shariqan

Athtar Shariqan is a form of Athtar who was invoked as an avenger against enemies. The word "Shariqan" means "the Eastern One". The worship of this god has spread to the Central Arabian kingdom of Kindah, where his name appears in Qaryat al-Fawt.

Bajir

Bajir is a minor god of the Azd.

Basamum

Basamum is a god worshipped in South Arabia whose name may be derived from Arabic basam, or balsam, a medicinal plant, indicating that he may be associated with healing or health.[11][12] One ancient text relates how Basamum cured two wild goats/ibexes.[11]

Dai

Dai is named in an Assyrian inscription.[9]

Datin

Datin is a god primarily known from inscriptions in northern Arabia, but his function is unknown.[13]

Dhat-Badan

Dhat-Badan is a goddess of the oasis, worshipped in tree-circled pools.

Dhat Anwat

Dhat Anwat is a tree deity worshipped by the Quraysh.

Dhu al-Kaffayn

Dhu al-Kaffayn is, according to the Book of Idols, a god worshipped by the Daws, specifically the banu-Munhib ibn-Daws. His name means "he of the two palms".[14]

Dhu-Ghabat

Dhu-Samawi

Dhu-Samawi, literally "the Heavenly One", is a god who probably originated from northern Arabia, but also found worship in south Arabia. The Bedouin would offer votive statuettes of camels, to ensure well-being of their herds. The Amir tribe also worshipped this god, and in inscriptions Dhu-Samawi was regarded as the "god of Amir".

Dhul Khalasa

Dhul Khalasa is a god worshipped by the Bajila and the Khatham tribes, and was reportedly worshipped as a "god of redemption". His temple became known as the Kaaba of Yemen.

Dushara

Dhu al-Shara/Dushara is a mountain god worshipped primarily by the Nabataeans as their chief-god, and also by the Banū al-Hārith ibn-Yashkur ibn-Mubashshir clan of the Azd. Probably originating as an aspect of Ruda, he is associated with the Sun and the planet Mercury.

Al-Fals

Al-Fals is a god who, according to the Book of Idols, is associated with animals, and that animals roaming in the territory of his idol would become a property of the god.[15] Primarily worshipped by the Tayy tribe, his idol and sanctuary was said to be located on the Jabal Aja.[15]

Haubas

Haubas is an oracular deity of the Sabaeans. The deity's gender varies from area to area; in places where the deity is female, she is regarded as the consort of Athtar.

Haukim

Haukim is a god of law and justice, worshipped alongside Anbay as gods of "command and decision".

Hawl

Hawl was probably a moon god, as his name may have alluded to the lunar cycle. He was worshipped in Hadhramawt.

Hilal

Hilal is a god of the new moon.

Hubal

Hubal is a god associated with divination. His idol stood in the Kaaba, and his rituals were in the form of throwing divination arrows before the idol, in cases of virginity, death and marriage.[16] He is worshipped by many tribes, including the Quraysh, who controlled access to the idol. Hubal's name also appears in a Nabataean inscription in Mada'in Saleh, along with Dushara and Manat.

Isaf and Na'ila

Isaf and Na'ila are a pair of deities, a god and a goddess, whose cult was centered near the Well of Zamzam. Islamic tradition gave an origin story to their idols; a couple who were petrified by Allah as they fornicated inside the Kaaba.

Al-Jalsad

Kahl

Kahl is the patron god of the Kindah kingdom whose capital was Qaryat al-Faw.[17] The town was called Dhat Kahl after him. His name appears in the form of many inscriptions and rock engravings on the slopes of the Tuwayq, on the walls of the souk of the village, in the residential houses and on the incense burners.

Al-Kutbay

Al-Kutbay is a god of writing worshipped by the Nabataeans.

Al-Lat

Al-Lat is a goddess associated with fertility and war. Her cult was spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula and as far as Palmyra. She was equated with Athena, the Greek goddess of war. In the Hejaz region, she was especially worshipped by the Banu Thaqif of Ta'if, and she was also worshipped by the Nabataeans of North Arabia. There is also evidence of her worship in South Arabia and Qedar, with her name being attested in inscriptions. In Islamic tradition, her worship was ended with the destruction of her shrine in Ta'if.

Manaf

Manaf is a god, described by Muslim scholar At-Tabari as "one of the greatest deities of Mecca", although little information is available about him. It is said that women would keep his idol away during menstruation. Some scholars suggest that Manaf might be a solar god.[18]

Manāt

Manāt is the goddess of fate, destiny and death. In Nabataean and Latin inscriptions she was known as Manawat. She is an ancient goddess, predating both Allāt and Al-'Uzzá. She was associated with Dushara and Hubal, and was equated with the Greek goddess Nemesis. She became the chief goddess of both the Banu Aws and Banu Khazraj, the two polytheistic tribes of Yathrib (Medina). In Islamic tradition, her worship was ended with the destruction of her shrine in the shore of al-Qudayd.

Mun'im

Mun'im, rendered in Greek as Monimos, is one of the nomadic gods of the Arabs during the Palmyrene Empire period, along with Azizos, Ma'n, Abgal, Sa'd, and Ashar.

Nasr

Nasr is a god worshipped by the Himyarites and, according to the Book of Idols, was worshipped in a place called Balkha.[19] The tribe of Rabi`ah worshipped the god Nasr.[20]

Nuha

Nuha is a goddess associated with the Sun. She was also associated with emotions, as described in various inscriptions in Najd, Saudi Arabia.

Nuhm

Qaynan

Qaynan is a Sabaean god, and based on etymology, might be a god of smiths.

Quzah

Quzah is a weather and a mountain god, as well as a god of the rainbow, worshipped by the people of Muzdalifah. His attribute is the bow and arrows of hailstones.[21] He was probably syncretized with the Edomite god Qos and became known as qaws quzah.[22]

Ruda

Ruda is an important solar god in North Arabia. He is named in an Assyrian inscription as Ruldaiu and is frequently mentioned in Thamudic and Safaitic inscriptions. Dushara may have originated as a form of Ruda.

Sa'd

Sa'd is a god of fortune worshipped by the Banu Kinanah tribe. His idol was a tall stone situated in the desert, and animals were sacrificed there for blessings.

Sa'd

Another god by the name of Sa'd is worshipped by the nomads of Palmyra along with Abgal, Ashar and others.

Salm

Shams

Shams/Shamsum is a female solar deity, possibly related to the Canaanite Shapash and the broader middle-eastern Shamash. She was the dominant goddess of the Himyarite Kingdom, and possibly still revered in some form by the Bedouin for several centuries afterward.[23][24][25][26]

Shay al-Qawm

Shay al-Qawm is the god associated with war and the night worshipped by the Nabataeans. He is described as a god "who drinks no wine, who builds no home". The Lihyanites also worshipped him.

Shingala

Shingala was named in an inscription listing the deities of Tayma.

Su'ayr

Su'ayr is an oracular god of the 'Anazzah tribe.

Suwa'

Suwa' is a god worshipped by the Hudhayl tribe.

Syn

Syn was the chief-god of the Hadhramites. His role is disputed; while he may be connected to the Moon, and by extension, the Semitic god Sin (Sumerian Nanna), his symbol is the eagle, a solar symbol.

Ta'lab

Ta'lab is a moon god primarily worshipped by the Sum'ay, a Sabaean federation of tribes, and he was also associated with pastures. He had an important temple in Riyam.

Theandrios

Theandrios is the Greek name of a god worshipped by the Arab tribes of Mount Hermon.

Al-Uqaysir

Al-Uqaysir is a god whose idol stood in Syria. According to the Book of Idols, his adherents include the tribes of Quda'a, Banu Lakhm, Judhah, Banu Amela, and Ghatafan. Adherents would go on a pilgrimage to the idol and shave their heads, then mix their hair with wheat, "for every single hair a handful of wheat."[27]

Al-‘Uzzá

Al-'Uzzá is a goddess associated with might, protection and love. Equated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite, she was an important goddess of the Nabataeans, and a temple dedicated to her was set up at Petra. In the Hejaz, she became the chief goddess of the Quraysh, and a shrine housing three trees once stood in Nakhla. In pre-Islamic poetry, she was invoked as a symbol of beauty. In South Arabia, she was known as Uzzayān and she was associated with healing. In Islamic tradition, her worship was ended with the destruction of her shrine in Nakhla.

Wadd

Wadd is the national god of the Minaeans and he was also associated with snakes. According to the Book of Idols, the Kalb worshipped him in the form of a man and is said to have represented heaven, and his idol reportedly stood at Dumat al-Jandal.

Al-Ya'bub

Al-Ya'bub is a god that belonged to the Jadilah clan of Tayy, who according to the Book of Idols abstained from food and drink before him.[28] It is said that the clan originally worshipped a different idol until the tribe Banu Asad took it away from them.[28]

Ya'uq

Ya'uq is a god worshipped by the Khaywin.

Yaghūth

Yaghūth is a god worshipped by the Madhhij, a Qahtanite confederation. The people of Jurash in Yemen also worshipped him.

Yatha

Yatha is a god associated with salvation. His name means "Savior".

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