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1 In the Qu'ran

According to some early Islamic sources, and some Western scholars like William Muir, Muhammad was tricked by the devil into adding a verse in the Qur'an that commanded Muslims to pray to the three goddesses who would intercede with Allah, the "three exalted cranes" (gharaniq). The familiar pagan female trinity was at first accepted without dissent and the passage was considered part of the revealed Qur'an. However some time later, Muhammad received a supplementary revelation from Allah that Muhammad was misled by Satan and the verse should be removed. After repenting of the error, Muhammad was comforted by Allah, in the following suras:

"And their purpose was to tempt thee away from that which We had revealed unto thee, to substitute in our name something quite different; (in that case), behold! they would certainly have made thee (their) friend! And had We not given thee strength, thou wouldst nearly have inclined to them a little. In that case We should have made thee taste an equal portion (of punishment) in this life, and an equal portion in death: and moreover thou wouldst have found none to help thee against Us!" ( Qu'ran 17:73-75)

"Never sent We a messenger or a prophet before thee but when He recited (the message) Satan proposed (opposition) in respect of that which he recited thereof. But Allah abolisheth that which Satan proposeth. Then Allah establisheth His revelations. Allah is Knower, Wise; That He may make that which the devil proposeth a temptation for those in whose hearts is a disease, and those whose hearts are hardened - Lo! the evil-doers are in open schism" ( Qu'ran 22:52-53)

This story was reported by respected Muslim scholars like at-Tabari(838-923 CE) author of voluminous Annals and Ibn Sa’d who wrote biographical and historical accounts of the life of Muhammad. Though Ibn Hisham, whose biography was based on earliest biograhy of Ibn Ishaq, doesn't mention this story. Some Western scholar, like John Burton, also question the authenticity of the story.

Another view is that the tale is no more than a fable.

2 Cult of Uzza

It is not simple now to get glimpses of the deities of pre-Islamic Arabia. Al-Lat, according to recent study of the complicated inspirational evidence, is believed to have been introduced into Arabia from Mesopotamia, and to have been the moon goddess of North Arabia. If this is the correct interpretation of her character, she would be the female counterpart the moon deity of South Arabia, Almaqah , 'Vadd, 'Amm —or SinSin was the name of the lunar god in Babylonia and Assyria. He was also known as Nanna the "illuminer. The two chief seats of Sin's worship were Ur in the south, and Harran to the north. The cult of Sin spread to other centres, at an early period, and tem as he was also called to the north, in SumerSumer (or Shumer Sumeria Shinar, native ki-en-gir formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. Sumerian cuneiform script may pre-date any other form of writing, and dates to no later tha, the difference being only the oppositeness of gender. Mount SinaiFor other places named Mount Sinai, see Mount Sinai (disambiguation Mount Sinai (2,285 meters) is a mountain in the southern Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. In Arabic, the mountain is known as Gebel Musa or Jabal Musa (literally Mount Moses . Biblical Mount Sin (the name being an Arabic feminine form of Sin) would then have been one of the centers of the worship of this northern moon god(dess).

Origins of deities have to be suggested with caution, but al-`Uzza is supposed also to have come from the Sinai, and to have been the goddess associated with the planet Venus. She was worshipped also among the Nabataeans at PetraThis article is about the Jordanian site of Petra. For other meanings see Petra (disambiguation Petra rock in Greek) is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Wadi Araba, the great valley run. As the moon and the Morning Star/Evening Star complement one another in the heavens, so too were Allah and the triad of goddess daughters including al-`Uzza conjoined in religious belief, and so too are the crescent and star present on the flags of Arab countries today.

Other tribes of Medina were more prominent worshippers of the fatal goddess Manat, while the QuraishQuraish (sura) is also the name of a Surah in the Qur'an. Quraish refers to the Meccan tribe that Muhammad belonged to. Ironically, it was his own tribe that was his chief opponent for most of his life. Arab lineages allegedly originate from three groups: of Mecca,the tribe to which Muhammad belonged, paid more reverence to Allat and al-`Uzza. The Quraysh used to chant as they circumambulated the Ka'ba: "Al-Lat, and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the other; indeed these are exalted (or lofty, ‘ula) gharaniq; let us hope for their intercession." (F. E. Peters, The Hajj, pages 3-41).

"The Arabs had developed a number of subsidiary Ka'bas (tawaghit), so to say, at different places in the land, each with its presiding god or goddess. They used to visit those shrines at appointed times, circumambulate them and make sacrifices of animals there, besides performing other polytheistic rites. The most prominent of these shrines were those of Al-Lat at Ta'if, Al 'Uzza at Nakhlah and Manat near Qudayd. The origins of these idols are uncertain. Ibn al-Kalbi says that Al-Lat was "younger" ( 'ahdath) than Manat, while Al-'Uzza was "younger" than both al-Lat and Manat. But though Al-'Uzza was thus the youngest of the three; it was nonetheless the most important and the greatest ( 'azam) idol with the Quraysh who, along with Banu Kinanah ministered to it." (Muhammad Mohar Ali).

A Triple Goddess, including a youngest (Uzza) and a crone carrying the shears of fate, is a widespread primal deity at the oldest levels of religion.

Muhammad came to understand it was his mission from Allah to dispel these pagan practices collectively referred to as jahiliyyah (illiteracy).