Robin, Christian Julien (2006). "South Arabia, Religions in Pre-Islamic". In McAuliffe, Jane Dammen (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. Vol.V. Leiden: Brill Publishers. doi: 10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00189. ISBN 90-04-14743-8. Mir, Mustansir (2006). "Polytheism and Atheism". In McAuliffe, Jane Dammen (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. Vol.IV. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. doi: 10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00151. ISBN 978-90-04-14743-0. Evidence from surviving inscriptions suggests that each of the southern kingdoms had its own pantheon of three to five deities, the major deity always being a god. [80] For example, the pantheon of Saba comprised Almaqah, the major deity, together with ' Athtar, Haubas, Dhat-Himyam, and Dhat-Badan. [80] The main god in Ma'in and Himyar was 'Athtar, in Qataban it was Amm, and in Hadhramaut it was Sayin. [80] 'Amm was a lunar deity and was associated with the weather, especially lightning. [81] One of the most frequent titles of the god Almaqah was "Lord of Awwam". [82] Al-Lāt, Al-‘Uzzá and Manāt were common names used for multiple goddesses across Arabia. [28] [40] [41] [42] [43] G. R. Hawting states that modern scholars have frequently associated the names of Arabian goddesses Al-lāt, Al-‘Uzzá and Manāt with cults devoted to celestial bodies, particularly Venus, drawing upon evidence external to the Muslim tradition as well as in relation to Syria, Mesopotamia and the Sinai Peninsula. [44] Bukharin, Mikhail D. (2009). "Mecca On The Caravan Routes In Pre-Islamic Antiquity". In Marx, Michael; Neuwirth, Angelika; Sinai, Nicolai (eds.). The Qurʾān in Context: Historical and Literary Investigations into the Qurʾānic Milieu. Texts and Studies on the Qurʾān. Vol.6. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp.115–134. doi: 10.1163/ej.9789004176881.i-864.25. ISBN 978-90-04-17688-1. ISSN 1567-2808. S2CID 127529256.

Fahd, T. (2012). "Manāf". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. J.; Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nded.). Brill. doi: 10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_4901. ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4. Holes, Clive (2001), Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary, Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-10763-2 The most common offerings were animals, crops, food, liquids, inscribed metal plaques or stone tablets, aromatics, edifices and manufactured objects. [75] Camel-herding Arabs would devote some of their beasts to certain deities. The beasts would have their ears slit and would be left to pasture without a herdsman, allowing them to die a natural death. [75] In South Arabia, beginning with the Christian era, or perhaps a short while before, statuettes were presented before the deity, known as slm (male) or slmt (female). [59]Smart, J. R. (2013) [1996], Tradition and Modernity in Arabic Language and Literature, Psychology Press, ISBN 978-0-7007-0411-8 In another beheading scene the executioner, dressed in white robes, raises the sword above his head and brings it down in just one sweep.

According to the Book of Idols, descendants of the son of Abraham ( Ishmael) who had settled in Mecca migrated to other lands carried holy stones from the Kaaba with them, erected them, and circumambulated them like the Kaaba. [9] This, according to al-Kalbi led to the rise of idol worship. [9] Based on this, it may be probable that Arabs originally venerated stones, later adopting idol-worship under foreign influences. [9] The relationship between a god and a stone as his representation can be seen from the third-century Syriac work called the Homily of Pseudo-Meliton where he describes the pagan faiths of Syriac-speakers in northern Mesopotamia, who were mostly Arabs. [9] Healey, John F.; Porter, Venetia (2003), Studies on Arabia in Honour of G. Felix, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-851064-2 Saudi Arabia Uncovered, produced by Hardcash Productions, airs on ITV on Tuesday March 22 at 10.40pm. Most ReadOutside Petra, other deities were worshipped; for example, Hubal and Manat were invoked in the Hejaz, and al-Lat was invoked in the Hauran and the Syrian desert. The Nabataean king Obodas I, who founded Obodat, was deified and worshipped as a god. [147] They also worshipped Shay al-Qawm, [148] al-Kutba', [141] and various Greco-Roman deities such as Nike and Tyche. [149] Maxime Rodinson suggests that Hubal, who was popular in Mecca, had a Nabataean origin. [150] Nike holding up a bust of Atargatis, crowned as Tyche and encircled by the signs of the zodiac. Amman Museum copy of Nabataean statue, 100 AD.