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'''Al-Lat''' may refer to: *[[Al-Lāt]], pre-Islamic Arabian goddess who was one of the three chief goddesses of Mecca *[[al-Lat (Dune)]], ancient name for the Sun in Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' universe {{disambig}}
[[File:Allat.jpg|thumb|'''Al-Lāt''' on a camel. Bas-relief from [[Taif]], [[Saudi Arabia]], around 100 AD]]
'''{{transl|ar|DIN|Al-Lāt<ref name="al-Lāt">{{cite web
|url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/331228/al-Lat
|title = al-Lāt
|author = Encyclopædia Britannica
|publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica Inc
}}
</ref>
}}'''({{lang-ar|اللات}}, sometimes transcribed as "Allāt" or "Allat" by christian apologists<ref name="Is Hubal The Same As Allah?">{{cite web
|url = http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Sources/Allah/hubal.html
|title = Is Hubal The Same As Allah?
|author = M S M Saifullah & ʿAbdullah David
|publisher = © Islamic Awareness
}}
</ref>) was a [[Pre-Islamic Arabia]]n [[goddess]] who was one of the three chief goddesses of [[Mecca]]. She is mentioned in the [[Qur'an]] ([[Sura 53]]:19), and some pre-Islamic Arabs considered her as one of "Al-Gharaniq"<ref name="Gods, goddesses, and mythology, Volume 11">{{cite web
|url = http://books.google.fr/books?id=LerKCvsyE6EC&pg=PA139&dq=Gods,+goddesses,+and+mythology+al-gharaniq&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=QKZ-T_WEHuGT0QXTh6yWBw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
|title = Gods, goddesses, and mythology, Volume 11
|author = C. Scott Littleton
|publisher = Marshall Cavendish Corporation
}}
</ref> (which means "the Cranes"), but also as a "daughter of [[God]]"<ref name="Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1">{{cite web
|url = http://books.google.fr/books?id=9I62BcuPxfYC&pg=PA438&lpg=PA438&dq=tabari+%22daughters+of+god%22&source=bl&ots=4WNzUrj-aR&sig=pRnNT_pIcgiQJCfC1igEQzSKstk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VaN-T4_9HOrG0QXCiuX7Bg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=tabari%20%22daughters%20of%20god%22&f=false
|title = Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1
|author = David Adams Leeming
|publisher = ABC-Clio
}}
</ref>, along with [[Manāt]] and [[al-‘Uzzá]].

The shrine and temple dedicated to al-Lāt in [[Taif]] was demolished by [[Abu Sufyan ibn Harb]], on the orders of [[Muhammad]], during the [[Expedition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb]], in the same year as the Battle of Tabuk<ref name="Tabari 25 Sep 1990 46">{{citation|title=The last years of the Prophet (translated by Isma'il Qurban Husayn)|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=XxG8BsHNw-MC&pg=PA46| first=Al|last=Tabari|year=25 Sep 1990|publisher=State University of New York Press
|isbn=978-0887066917|page=46}}</ref> (which occurred in October 630 AD).<ref name="Hawarey">{{cite book|last=Hawarey|first=[http://mosab.hawarey.org/ Dr. Mosab]|title=The Journey of Prophecy; Days of Peace and War (Arabic)|url=http://www.islamic-book.net/ar/Rihlat-Alnobowwah.htm|publisher=Islamic Book Trust |year=2010}}Note: Book contains a list of battles of Muhammad in Arabic, English translation available [http://military.hawarey.org/military_english.htm here], and archive of page [http://www.webcitation.org/5zLhjeYyz here]</ref><ref name="Muir August 1878 207">{{citation|title=The life of Mahomet (Full free digitized version)|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YTwBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA207|first=William|last=Muir|year=August 1878|publisher=Kessinger Publishing Co|page=207}}</ref> The destruction of the idol was a demand by Muhammad before any reconciliation could take place with the citizens of Taif who were under constant attack.<ref name="Muir August 1878 205">{{citation|title=The life of Mahomet (Full free digitized version)|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YTwBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA205|first=William|last=Muir|year=August 1878|publisher=Kessinger Publishing Co|page=205}}</ref>

==Descriptions==
[[File:Allat Palmyra RGZM 3369.jpg|right|thumb|Bas-relief of '''al-Lāt''' from [[Palmyra]], shown with a palm branch and a lion]]
[[File:Allat-Minerva.jpg|thumb|'''Al-Lāt'''-[[Minerva]]. Statue of the 2nd century AD from [[As-Suwayda]], [[Syria (Roman province)]]. [[National Museum of Damascus]]]]
Especially in older sources, ''al-Lāt'' is an alternative name of the [[Mesopotamia]]n goddess of the [[underworld]],<ref name="Maspero">[http://www.fullbooks.com/The-World-s-Greatest-Books-Vol-XI-1.html The Dawn of Civilisation], by: [[Gaston Maspero]]</ref><ref name="Assyria">[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28072/28072-h/28072-h.htm «A History Of Art In Chaldæa & Assyria»] Georges Perrot, Professor in The Faculty of Letters, Paris; Member of The Institute, and Charles Chipiez. New York, 1884.</ref> now usually known as [[Ereshkigal]]. She was reportedly also [[Religion in Carthage|venerated in Carthage]] under the name [[Allatu]].<ref>Encyclopedia of Gods, Michael Jordon, Kyle Cathie Limited, 2002</ref>

The goddess occurs in early [[Safaitic]] graffiti (Safaitic ''han-'Ilāt'' "the Goddess") and the [[Nabataean]]s of [[Petra]] and the people of [[Hatra]] also worshipped her, equating her with the Greek [[Athena]] and [[Tyche]] and the Roman [[Minerva]]. She is frequently called "the Great Goddess" in Greek in multi-lingual inscriptions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Healey|first=John F.|authorlink=|title=The Religion of the Nabataeans: A Conspectus|series=Religions in the Graeco-Roman World|volume=136|year=2001|publisher=Brill|location=Boston|isbn=90-04-10754-1|pages=107–119
|chapter=4}}</ref> According to [[Julius Wellhausen|Wellhausen]], the Nabataeans believed al-Lāt was the mother of [[Hubal]] (and hence the mother-in-law of [[Manah|Manāt]]).

The Greek historian [[Herodotus]], writing in the 5th century BC, considered her the equivalent of [[Aphrodite]]:{{quote|The [[ancient Assyrians|Assyrians]] call Aphrodite ''Mylitta'', the [[Arabians]] ''al-Ilat'', and the [[Persian people|Persians]] ''[[Mitra]]''. In addition that deity is associated with the Indian deity [[Mitra (Vedic)]]. The persian and Indian deity were developed from the proto-indo-iranian deity known as *[[mitra]].<ref>[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]] I:131)</ref>}} According to Herodotus, the ancient Arabians believed in only two gods:{{quote|They believe in no other gods except [[Dionysus]] and the Heavenly Aphrodite; and they say that they wear their hair as Dionysus does his, cutting it round the head and shaving the temples. They call Dionysus, ''[[Orotalt]]''; and [[Aphrodite]], ''al-Ilat''.<ref>[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]] III:38</ref>}}
[[File:Nemesis Allat and dedicater-MBA Lyon-IMG 0557.JPG|left|thumb|Bas-relief: [[:en:Nemesis (mythology)|Nemesis]], '''Al-Lāt''' and the dedicator. Courtesy of the [[:en:Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon|Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon]]]]
In the [[Qur'an]], she is mentioned along with [[al-‘Uzzá]] and [[Manāt]] in [[Sura 53]]:19–23. The tribe of {{transl|ar|DIN|ʿĀd}} of [[Iram of the Pillars]] is also mentioned in [[Al-Fajr (sura)|Sura 89]]:5–8, and archaeological evidence from Iram shows copious inscriptions devoted to her for the protection of a tribe by that name.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Healey|first=John F.|authorlink=
|coauthors=
|editor=
|others=
|title=The Religion of the Nabataeans: A Conspectus
|origdate=
|origyear=
|origmonth=
|url=
|accessdate=|edition=
|series=Religions in the Graeco-Roman World
|volume=136
|year=
|month=|publisher=Brill|location=Boston|isbn=90-04-10754-1|oclc=|doi=|chapter=4|chapterurl=|quote=|ref=|page=111}}</ref>

Al-Lāt is also explicitly attested from early Islamic records discussing the pre-Islamic period. According to the ''Book of Idols'' (''{{transl|ar|DIN|Kitāb al-ʾAṣnām}}'') by [[Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi|Hishām ibn al-Kalbi]], the pre-Islamic Arabs believed al-Lāt resided in the [[Kaaba|{{transl|ar|DIN|Kaʿbah}}]] and also had an idol inside the sanctuary:{{quote|Her custody was in the hands of the Banū Attāb ibn Mālik of the [[Thaqif|Thaqīf]], who had built an edifice over her. The [[Quraysh (tribe)|Quraysh]], as well as all the Arabs, venerated al-Lāt. They also used to name their children after her, calling them ''Zayd al-Lāt'' and ''Taym al-Lāt''. [...] Al-Lāt continued to be venerated until the [[Thaqif|Thaqīf]] embraced Islam, when the Apostle of God dispatched al-Mughīrah ibn-Shu‘bah, who destroyed her and burnt her [[temple]] to the ground.<ref>{{Harvnb|Faris|1952|pp=14–15}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1332 Oxfordislamicstudies.com]</ref><ref>Mify narodov mira 1984. Article: al-Lāt</ref>

==Demolition of statues and shrine==
{{Main|Expedition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb}}
[[File:Palmyra,Al-Lat T.jpg|miniatur|left|thumb|Roman temple of '''al-Lāt''', [[Palmyra]], [[Syria]]]]
The shrine and temple dedicated to al-Lāt in [[Taif]], was demolished by [[Abu Sufyan ibn Harb]], on the orders of [[Muhammad]], during the [[Expedition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb]], this occurred in the same year as the Battle of Tabuk<ref name="Tabari 25 Sep 1990 46"/> (which occurred in October 630 AD<ref name="Hawarey"/> ). Muhammad sent Abu Sufyan with a group armed men to destroy the Idol al-Lat (also referred to as al-Tagiyyah) that was worshipped by the citizens of Taif.<ref name="Muir August 1878 207"/>The destruction of the idol was a demand by Muhammad before any reconciliation could take place with the citizens of Taif who were under constant attack and suffering from a blockade by the Banu Hawazin, led by Malik, a convert to Islam who promised to continue the war against the citizens of the city which was started by Muhammad in the [[Siege of Taif]].<ref name="Muir August 1878 205"/>

==Bibliography==
*''Strong's Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary of Bible Words''
*Georgii Wilhelmi Freytagii : ''Lexicon Arabico-Latinum''. Librairie du Liban, Beirut, 1975.

==See also==
{{Fertile Crescent myth (Arabian)}}
*[[Khaabou]]
*[[Satanic Verses]]
*[[Thaqif and Islam]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | author=Ibn al-Kalbī (Translation and Commentary by Nabih Amin Faris)|title=Book of Idols, Being a Translation from the Arabic of the Kitāb al-Asnām |year=1952| publisher=Princeton University Press| id=Library of Congress #52006741|ref={{harvid|Faris|1952}}}}
* {{cite book | author=Herodotus (Translated by David Grene)| title=The History|year=1987| publisher=Chicago University Press | isbn=0-226-32770-1}}
* ''The Book of Idols (''Kitāb al-Asnām'')'' by Hishām Ibn al-Kalbī
* [http://www.muslim.org/islam/allah.htm Allah, the unique name of God]
* [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=1:chapter=131 Herodotus 1:131 online ]
* [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=3:chapter=8 Herodotus 3:8 online]
* [http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/MH_LM/year_of_deputations_and_abu_bakrs_leadership.htm Sunni account] from witness-pioneer.org
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1332 "Lat, al-" in Oxford Islamic Studies Online]
* [http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.555267&lon=38.262248&z=19&l=0&m=s&v=9 Temple of al-Lāt on the map]

{{DEFAULTSORT:al-Lāt}}
[[Category:Arabian goddesses]]
[[Category:Goddesses]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern mythology]]

[[ar:اللات]]
[[bg:Ал-Лат]]
[[de:Al-Lat]]
[[dv:އައްލާތު]]
[[es:Al-Lat]]
[[fr:al-Lāt]]
[[id:Lātta]]
[[it:al-Lāt]]
[[ms:al-Lāt]]
[[nl:al-Lāt]]
[[ja:アッラート]]
[[pl:Al-Lat]]
[[pt:Al-Ilat]]
[[ru:Ал-Лат]]
[[sq:al-Lāt]]
[[te:అల్లాత్]]
[[uk:Ал-Лат]]

Revision as of 09:53, 6 April 2012

Al-Lat may refer to: *Al-Lāt, pre-Islamic Arabian goddess who was one of the three chief goddesses of Mecca *al-Lat (Dune), ancient name for the Sun in Frank Herbert's Dune universe

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