Al-ûUzzá or al-ûUzzà(, ) was one of the three chief goddesses of Arabian religion in pre-Islamic times and she was worshipped by the pre-Islamic Arabs along with Al-Lat and ManÃÂt. A stone cube at Nakhla (near Mecca) was held sacred as part of her cult. She is mentioned in as being one of the goddesses whom people worshiped.
Al-ûUzzÃÂ, like Hubal, was called upon for protection by the pre-Islamic Quraysh. "In 624 at the 'battle called Uhud', the war cry of the Qurayshites was, "O people of UzzÃÂ, people of Hubal!". Al-âÂÂUzzá also later appears in Ibn Ishaq's account of the alleged Satanic Verses.
The temple dedicated to al-ûUzzàand the statue was destroyed by Khalid ibn al Walid in Nakhla in 630 AD.
According to the Book of Idols (KitÃÂb al-Aá¹£nÃÂm) by HishÃÂm ibn al-Kalbë
This last phrase is said to be the source of the so-called Satanic Verses; the Arabic term al-gharÃÂnëq is translated as "most exalted females" by Faris in the Book of Idols, but he annotates this much-argued hapax legomenon in a footnote as "lit. Numidian cranes."
Each of the three goddesses had a separate shrine near Mecca. The most prominent Arabian shrine of al-ûUzzàwas at a place called Nakhlah near Qudayd, east of Mecca toward aá¹Â-ṬÃÂâÂÂif; three trees were sacred to her there (according to a narration through al-'Anazi Abà «-âÂÂAlë in the KitÃÂb al-Aá¹£nÃÂm.) âÂÂAbdu l-âÂÂUzzá ["Slave of the Mightiest One"] was a favourite proper name before the advent of Islam. The name al-âÂÂUzzá appears as an emblem of beauty in late pagan Arabic poetry quoted by Ibn al-Kalbë, and oaths were sworn by her.
Susan Krone suggests that the identities of al-âÂÂUzzá and al-LÃÂt were fused in central Arabia uniquely.
On the authority of âÂÂAbdu l-LÃÂh ibn âÂÂAbbÃÂs, at-Tabari derived al-ûUzzàfrom al-âÂÂAzëz "the Mighty", one of the 99 "beautiful names of Allah" in his commentary on Qur'an 7:180.
Shortly after the Conquest of Mecca, Muhammad began efforts to eliminate the last cult images reminiscent of pre-Islamic practices.
He sent Khalid ibn Al-Walid during Ramadan 630 AD (8 AH) to a place called Nakhlah, where the goddess al-ûUzzàwas worshipped by the tribes of Quraish and Kinanah. The shrine's custodians were from Bani Shaiba. Al-ûUzzàwas considered the most important goddess in the region.
Arab Muslim historian Ibn al-Kalbë ( CE) tells how Muhammad ordered KhÃÂlid ibn al-Walëd to kill the pre-Islamic Arabian goddess al-ÿUzzÃÂ, who was supposed to inhabit one of three trees:
According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, Uzza was a garden in which Manasseh and Amon were buried (2 Kings 21:18, 26). It was probably near the king's palace in Jerusalem, or may have formed part of the palace grounds. Manasseh may have acquired it from someone of this name. Another view is that these kings were culpable of idolatry and drew the attention of Ezekiel.