I have often wondered why Ghazni Muhammad should single out the Somnath Temple,an Abode and Temple of Shiva in Gujrat.
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An idol of her was also likely among the 360 idols in the Kaaba. According to Ibn al-Kalbi, when worshipers would circumambulate the Kaaba, they would chant her name along with that of her sisters, al-Lat and al-Uzza, seeking their blessings and interception.[12]
The attack on Somnath temple in India in 1024 by Mahmud of Ghazni may have been inspired by the belief that an idol of Manat had been secretly transferred to the temple.[20] According to the Ghaznavid court poet Farrukhi Sistani, who claimed to have accompanied Mahmud on his raid, Somnat (as rendered in Persian) was a garbled version of su-manat referring to the goddess Manat. According to him as well as a later Ghaznavid historian Abu Sa’id Gardezi, the images of the other goddesses were destroyed in Arabia but the one of Manat was secretly sent away to Kathiawar (in modern Gujarat) for safe keeping. Since the idol of Manat was an aniconic image of black stone, it could have been easily confused with a lingam at Somnath. Mahmud is said to have broken the idol and taken away parts of it as loot and placed so that people would walk on it. In his letters to the Caliphate, Mahmud exaggerated the size, wealth and religious significance of the Somnath temple, receiving grandiose titles from the Caliph in return’
Source.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manat_(goddess)
Manat was also thought to watch over graves, as indicated by a tomb inscription reading “And may Dushara and Manat and Qaysha curse anyone who sells this tomb or buys it or gives it in pledge or makes a gift of it or leases it or draws up for himself any document concerning it or buries in it anyone apart from the inscribed above”.[2]
- 1025: Somnath: Mahmud sacks the temple and is reported to have personally hammered the temple’s gilded Lingam to pieces, and the stone fragments are carted back to Ghazni, where they are incorporated into the steps of the city’s new Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque) in 1026. He places a new king on the throne in Gujarat as a tributary. His return detours across the Thar Desert to avoid the armies of Ajmerand other allies on his return.( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmud_of_Ghazni )
Islamic sources indicate that Ghazni Muhammad believed that an Idol of Manat was spirited away to Somnath ,India from Mecca when the idols at Mecca’s were destroyed at the behest of The Prophet.
The information.
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Contrary to what we have been taught,Arabia indeed had Religion and street culture before the advent of The Prophet.
The Pre Islamic Arabia had a Religion and they had a Pantheon of Gods ,whose legends have been borrowed from Hinduism.
Arabia was influenced by Sumrerian Culture and Religious practices.
Sumerian culture in turn was influenced by Vedic and Tamil culture.
Among the host of Goddesses were three,Al-Uzza,Al-Lat and Manat.
Pre Islamic Goddesses Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, Manat
Image Credit. https://www.booksfact.com
The Prophet Muhammad destroyed around 300 Idols in Mecca.
These included the Navagrahas and Saraswathi.
The three Goddesses mentioned above are from the Hindu Trinity of Goddesses Saraswathi,Lakshmi and Durga.
Please read my articles on Mithraism around the world.
Will be writing on these Arabian Gods and Goddesses in detail.
‘The Goddesses Al-Uzza, Al-Lat and Menat formed a triad in pre-Islamic Arabia. They were widely worshipped: from Nabatean Petra in the North to the legendary Kingdoms of Arabia Felix in the South, including Saba, the Biblical Sheba; as far east as Iran and Palmyra; and the three of them were very popular Goddesses in Mecca at the time of Mohammed. From left they are: Al-Uzza, whose name means “The Mighty One”, the Goddess of the Morning Star; Al-Lat, the Mother, whose name means simply “The Goddess”, as Al-Lah simply means “The God”; and Manat, Crone-goddess of Fate or Time. Sometimes the three of them are referred to as the daughters of Al-Lah; sometimes Manat and Al-Lat are considered daughters of Al-Uzza.(. Image and quote from. http://www.thaliatook.com/AMGG/arabtriple.php )
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The pre-Islamic Arabs believed Manāt to be the goddess of fate. The followers prayed to her for rains and victory over enemies. She was considered the wife of Hubal.There are also connections with Chronos of Mithraism and Zurvan mythology. The Book of Idols describes her:
The most ancient of all these idols was Manāt. The Arabs used to name [their children] ‘Abd-Manāt and Zayd-Manāt. Manāt was erected on the seashore in the vicinity of al-Mushallal in Qudayd, between Medina and Mecca. All the Arabs used to venerate her and sacrifice before her. The Aws and the Khazraj, as well as the inhabitants of Medina and Mecca and their vicinities, used to venerate Manāt, sacrifice before her, and bring unto her their offerings… The Aws and the Khazraj, as well as those Arabs among the people of Yathrib and other places who took to their way of life, were wont to go o
n pilgrimage and observe the vigil at all the appointed places, but not shave their heads. At the end of the pilgrimage, however, when they were about to return home, they would set out to the place where Manāt stood, shave their heads, and stay there a while. They did not consider their pilgrimage completed until they visited Manāt.
— Book of Idols, pp 12–14
The attack on Somnath Temple in India in AD 1024 by Mahmud of Ghazni may have been inspired by the belief that an idol of Manat had been secretly transferred to the temple.According to the Ghaznavid court poet Farrukhi Sistani, who claimed to have accompanied Mahmud on his raid, Somnat (as rendered in Persian) was a garbled version of su-manat referring to the goddess Manat. According to him as well as a later Ghaznavid historian Gardizi, the images of the other goddesses were destroyed in Arabia but the one of Manat was secretly sent away to Kathiawar (in modern Gujarat) for safe keeping. Since the idol of Manat was an aniconic image of black stone, it could have been easily confused with a Shiva lingam at Somnath. Mahmud is said to have broken the idol and taken away parts of it as loot and placed so that people would walk on it. In his letters to the Caliphate, Mahmud exaggerated the size, wealth and religious significance of the Somnath temple, receiving grandiose titles from the Caliph in return.
Reference and citation.
Thapar, Romila (2004), Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History, Penguin Books India, pp. 45–51, ISBN 1-84467-020-1
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manāt#cite_ref-10
- Ibn al-Kalbī; (author) and Nabih Amin Faris (translator & commentary) (1952): The Book of Idols, Being a Translation from the Arabic of theKitāb al-Asnām. Princeton University Press. LCCN 52-6741.
- Grunebaum, G. E. von (1970). Classical Islam: A History 600 A.D. – 1258 A.D.. Aldine Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-202-15016-1.
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