Kitaab At-Tawheed, Chapter: 7
Whoever Seeks Blessing from a tree, stone or any such thing
Allah , says:
" Have you seen Al-Laat and Al-`Uzzaa? and another, the third, Manaat? What! Is the male sex for you and the female for Him? That would indeed be a most unfair division!" (Qur'an 53:19-22)
Allah , Most High, reviles all idol-worshipping polytheists in general and in particular, those who worship the three idols: Al-Laat, the idol of the people of Taa'if, Al-'Uzza, worshipped by the people of Waadi Nakhlah, and Manaat, the idol of the people of Al-Mushallal, near Al-Qadeed, and He challenges them concerning these idols: Can they benefit them in any way, by bringing good or protecting from harm? Or are they simply names which they have given themselves, not sanctioned by Allah? Allah also reviles their unfair division: That they appoint those whom they despise, especially the weak females, as children for Allah , the Almighty, the All-powerful, while they prefer for themselves sons, embodying the characteristics of manliness, strength and power.
That being the case, if this is injustice to women, then how about Allah ? Allah is far above that which they attribute to Him from sons and daughters.
Benefits Derived From These Verses
1. The obligation to reject the forbidden.
2. The falseness of idol-worship.
3. The obligation to reject the attribution of sons and daughters to Allah.
4. The corruption of the fitrah in the polytheists, who attributed daughters to Allah, even though they despise them for themselves; and they claimed that their idol-worship was only to bring them closer to Allah.
Relevance of These Verses to the Subject of the Chapter
That they prove that the worship of these idols by the polytheists was a means of seeking protection from harm; and anyone who seeks blessing from a tree, a grave or worships any other created thing seeking benefit or protection from harm is imitating them and commits an act of Shirk like them.
Important Note
It has been said concerning Al-Laat that he was a pious man who used to prepare saweeq for the pilgrims to Makkah, and that when he died, they began to worship at the site of his grave.
It was also said that it was a name given to a carved stone; and in reconciling these two statements, we may say that the carved stone was near to the grave (which is often marked with a stone), and the edifice erected covered both of them, thus making them into one object of worship.
Footnotes
1. Al-Laat: Derived from the word: Al-Ilaah, which means: the Deity.
2. Ta`if: A city in the mountains east of Makkah, in present-day Saudi Arabia.
3. Al-'Uzzaa: Derived from the name: Al-'Azeez, which means the Almighty and said to be the name given to a tree in Waadi Nakhlah, which is on the road between Makkah and Ta`if. The pagans had erected a building over it, and covered it with curtains and a gate and it was worshipped by Quraish and the tribe of Banoo Kinaanah.
4. Manaat: Derived from Al-Manaan, which means the Benefector, it was a structure in Al-Mushallal, near to the town of Al-Qadeed; it was worshipped by the tribes of Khazaa'ah, Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj, and they used to use it as a starting point when making pilgrimage to Makkah.
5. Al-Qadeed: A town lying between Makkah and Madinah in present-day Saudi Arabia.
6. Fitrah: The natural state in which we are born, i.e. believing in the Oneness of Allah (swt).
7. Saweeq: A kind of porridge made from wheat or barley.