Uzza

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`Uzza (en árabe ‫)عزى‬: en la Arabia preislámica era una de las tres hijas del dios supremo.

El nombre de esta deidad puede encontrarse transcrito también como Ozza, a veces con
anteposición del artículo árabe al-. La palabra pertenece a la misma raíz que `izza: "gloria"
y significa "Poderosa". Sobre el significado de su nombre encontramos otra acepción
además de la mencionada; significa «la más querida» según Jairath Al-Saleh en su libro
"Ciudades fabulosas, príncipes y yinn de la mitología árabe"(1990/28).

Las hermanas de esta deidad eran la diosa Al-Zuhara y la diosa Al-lat. En general Uzza es
asociada a Al-Zuhara (diosa del amor y la belleza), pero se cree que está más vinculada con
Al-lat ya que a veces Uzza y Al-lat conformaban una trinidad junto con Manat o el dios
Hubal. A menudo Uzza y Al-lat recibían cuIto juntas

`Uzza, Al-lat y Manat eran las tres diosas protectoras de La Meca. Además, Uzza era la
diosa principal de la tribu de los kuraischitas, a la vez que deidad de la tribu de Kenauah y
diosa de una parte de la tribu de Salim.. Cuando iban a luchar, los clanes de los kuraischitas
llevaban réplicas de Al-lat y Uzza a fin de infundirles valor y devoción a los guerreros.

Aparentemente se trataba de una diosa cruel a la cual sólo aplacaba el derramamiento de

sangre, tanto humana como animal.

`Uzza aparece citada como sinónimo de belleza en la poesía preislámica.

Su santuario principal estaba en un lugar llamado Najla, situado al este en el camino de la

ciudad de Taif. También en la ciudad de la Meca Uzza tenía un templo y un hima, donde,
adornada de piedras preciosas, se le ofrecían dádivas de oro y plata.

El culto a `Uzza parece proceder de Petra, donde era una versión nabatea de la diosa de la
fertilidad presente en varias mitologías (Venus, Afrodita, Isis...). Según algunos autores la
tribu de Ghatafan adoraba bajo este nombre a la acacia o el endrino espinoso de Egipto. El
primero que consagró este árbol para usos religiosos fue Dhalem. Le erigió un pequeño
templo llamado Boss construido de modo que daba un sonido particular cada vez que
alguno entraba en él. En el año 8 de la Hégira, Khaled, hijo de Walid, destruyó y quemó por
orden de Mahoma el templo y el ídolo o árbol sagrado.
La destrucción del Templo de Uzza a manos de Khaled
[editar]

Tras la victoria del profeta Mahoma sobre la tribu de los kuraischitas, tanto AI-Iat como
'Uzza fueron destruidas. Se dice que Khalid,considerado gran héroe musulmán, fue a
demoler el templo de 'Uzza, y lo primero que hizo fue talar las tres palmeras que le estaban
consagradas a la diosa. Cuando golpeó la última de ellas con la espada apareció ante él un
demonio femenino negro, de pelo enmarañado, que, rechinando los dientes, le amenazó. El
sacerdote que custodiaba el templo corrió en ayuda de su diosa, pero aparentemente Khalid
era demasiado fuerte y dio muerte tanto al demonio como al sacerdote. A continuación hizo
pedazos la efigie y redujo el templo a ruinas de forma que el poder de la diosa en aquella
tierra quedó destruido para siempre.

Uzza y sus hermanas en el Islam [editar]

Las tres diosas hermanas fueron admitidas durante un breve momento en el islam como
divinidades menores intercesoras ante Dios, según se puede leer en unos famosos
versículos del Corán. Sin embargo, Mahoma se retractó inmediatamente de esos versículos
aduciendo que no le habían sido revelados por Dios sino inspirados por Satanás. Se trata de
los famosos versículos satánicos.

Al-Uzza ("The Most Mighty") is a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess, the virgin warrior and
youngest in the triad of goddesses with Menat ("Time", the Death or Fate goddess,
sometimes--I think erroneously--called the Goddess of the Full Moon, since the Moon in
Arabia was masculine) and Al Lat (whose name means "The Goddess", as Al Lah means
"The God"). They survived (a bit) even into Islam, where they are called in the Koran the
three daughters of Allah. The three were worshipped as uncut aniconic stones, and the
"idols" of Al-Uzza and Al Lat were two of the 300+ pagan statues at the Ka'aba that were
destroyed by Mohammed. She is a star-goddess, associated with the planet Venus, and was
honored by the Koreishites (incidentally Mohammed's tribe) as one of their highest
goddesses. She was reputed to accept human sacrifices, though that comes from Islamic
sources, who likely were not unbiased when writing about the "barbarous ways" of the
competition.

Originally Sabean (the culture of the Kingdom of Saba or Sheba in the south of Arabia,
present-day Yemen), worship of Al-Uzza spread all over Arabia. She had a sanctuary in a
valley on the road from Mecca, comprising three acacia trees in which She was said to
descend. Some scholars believe She may even have been the patron deity of Mecca itself.

The Greeks connected Her with their Urania ("The Heavenly", an epithet of Aphrodite, as
well as the name of a Muse) and with Caelistis, a Moon Goddess and the Roman name for
the Carthaginian's Tanit. Al-Uzza is also sometimes identified with Isis. Other sources link
Her with Minerva/Athene which would make Her the virgin warrior goddess. Herodotus
says the supreme goddess of the Arabs was Urania, who he says was called Alilat (i.e., Al
Lat), and indeed Al-Uzza was sometimes confused with Al Lat, leading some scholars to
wonder if Al Lat and Al-Uzza are different regional names for the same goddess.

Al-Uzza is a member of the Nabatean zodiac and has been called the Mistress of Heaven.
She seems to be the premier goddess worshipped in their capital city, the famous Petra,
located in present-day Jordan. Petra was a major stop on the spice roads and was a very
wealthy city. The tombs or temples there are carved out of the living rock, and the only way
into the city is through a dramatic tunnel-like narrow gorge, nearly a mile long, that
suddenly opens on to the city. (If this sounds familiar, it's because Petra was used as one of
the locations in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".)

Al-Uzza is also the goddess who guards ships on ocean voyages. Though Arabia is a land
of deserts and nomads, the Nabateans did make ocean voyages to trade. In this aspect She is
symbolized by the dolphin, whose habit of swimming alongside ships made them guardians
and protectors. Felines are also sacred to Her, and the Temple of the Winged Lions at Petra
may well be Hers.

Al-Uzza represents confidence, vigilance and preparation. She is fiercely protective, and is
a strong ally in an approaching battle.

Alternate spelling: Al Uzza, al-'Uzza, El-'Ozza, Uzza, Izza.

Also called: Sa'ida 'Uzza ("Blessed Uzza"), as-S'ida ("The Blessed")

For another version of Al-Uzza, with Al-Lat and Manat, go here.

Al-‘Uzzá
Al-Uzzá (Arabic: ‫ )العزى‬was one of the three chief goddesses of Arabian religion in
pre-Islamic times and was worshiped as one of the daughters of Allāh (not to be
confused with the Abrahamic Allah the God worshiped by Muslims) by the pre-
Islamic arabs along with Allāt and Manāt. Al-‘Uzzá was also worshipped by the
Nabataeans, who equated her with the Greek goddess Aphrodite Ourania (Roman
Venus Caelestis). A stone cube at aṭ-Ṭā’if (near Mecca) was held sacred as part of her
cult. She is mentioned in the Qur'an Sura 53:19 as being one of the female idols that 
people worshiped (Islam condemns Idol worship and emphasises the divinity of
God).

Al-‘Uzzá, 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 Uzzā, people of
Hubal!"[1] Al-‘Uzzā also later appears in Ibn Ishaq's account of the Satanic Verses.


 [edit] At Petra
The first known mention of al-‘Uzzá is from the inscriptions at Dedan, the capital of the
Lihyanite Kingdom, in the fourth or third century BC. She had been adopted alongside
Dushara as the presiding goddess at Petra, the Nabataen capital, where she assimiliated
with Isis, Tyche, and Aphrodite attributes and superseded her sisters.[2] During the 5th
century Christianity became the prominent religion of the region following conquest by
Barsauma.[3]

[edit] Cult of al-‘Uzzá

It is now problematic to get a glimpse of the deities of pre-Islamic Arabia. Origins of deities
have to be suggested with caution, but inscriptions related to al-‘Uzzá among the
Nabataeans at Petra have been interpreted to associate al-‘Uzzá with the planet Venus.

According to the "Book of Idols" (Kitāb al-Aṣnām) by Hishām ibn al-Kalbī (N.A. Faris
1952, pp. 16-23)

Over her [an Arab] built a house called Buss in which the people used to receive oracular
communications. The Arabs as well as the Quraysh were wont to name their children
"‘Abdu l-‘Uzzá". Furthermore, al-‘Uzzá was the greatest idol among the Quraysh. They
used to journey to her, offer gifts unto her, and seek her favours through sacrifice.[4].
The Quraysh were wont to circumambulate the Ka‘bah and say,
By al-Lāt and al-‘Uzzá,
And al-Manāt, the third idol besides.
Verily they are al-gharānīq
Whose intercession is to be sought.

This last phrase is said to be the source of the aforementioned Satanic Verses; the Arabic
term is translated as "most exalted females" by Faris in the text, but he annotates this much-
argued term in a footnote as "lit. Numidean cranes."

The Kitāb al-Aṣnām offers additional detail on the "three exalted cranes" ibn Isḥaq says
were deleted from the Qur'an: "These were also called "the Daughters of Allah" and were
supposed to intercede before Allah."

It is unclear whether these goddesses were always regarded as the daughters of God, or had
originally been called daughters of some other deity; the "Book of Idols" says that each of
the three's worship was introduced at a different period, suggesting that they may not
originally even have been sisters.

Each of the three goddesses had a separate shrine near Mecca. The most prominent Arabian
shrine of al-‘Uzzá was at a place called Nakhlah near Qudayd, east of Mecca towards aṭ-
Ṭā’if; three trees were sacred to her there (according to a narration through al-'Anazi
Abū-‘Alī in the Kitāb al-Aṣnām.)
She was the Lady ‘Uzzayan to whom a South Arabian offered a golden image on behalf of
his sick daughter, Amat-‘Uzzayan ("the Maid of ‘Uzzayan")

‘Abdu l-‘Uzzá ["Slave of the Mightiest One"] was a favourite proper name at the rise of
Islam. (Hitti 1937). The name al-‘Uzzá appears as an emblem of beauty in late pagan
Arabic poetry quoted by Ibn al-Kalbī, and oaths were sworn by her.[5]

Al-‘Uzzá's possible presence in South Arabia has been thoroughly effaced by time but her
presence has not been obliterated far north at Petra of the Nabataeans, who had deities with
Arabian names early in their history, whom they later associated with Hellenistic gods,
al-‘Uzzá becoming associated with Isis and with Aphrodite [2]. Excavations at Petra since
1974 have revealed a temple, apparently dedicated to Isis/al-‘Uzzá, now named after some
carvings found inside, the Temple of the Winged Lions (Hammond). Inscriptions record the
name of al-‘Uzzá at Petra.

A fragment of poetry by Zayd ibn-'Amr ibn-Nufayl, quoted in the "Book of Idols", suggests
that al-‘Uzzá had two daughters: "No more do I worship al-‘Uzzá and her two daughters.
(Arabic: ‫فل العزى أدين ول ابنتـيهـا‬.)"

Muhammad Mohar Ali writes (2002):

The Arabs had developed a number of subsidiary Ka‘bāt (tawaghit) at different places in
the land, each with its presiding god or goddess. They used to visit those shrines at
appointed times, circumambulate them and make sacrifices of animals there, besides
performing other polytheistic rites. The most prominent of these shrines were those of al-
Lāt at Ta'if, al-‘Uzzá at Nakhlah and al-Manāt near Qudayd. The origins of these idols are
uncertain. Ibn al-Kalbī says that al-Lāt was "younger" ('ahdath) than al-Manawat, while
al-‘Uzzá was "younger" than both al-Lāt and al-Manawat. But though al-‘Uzzá was thus the
youngest of the three; it was nonetheless the most important and the greatest (‘azam) idol
with the Quraysh who, along with the Banū Kinānah, ministered to it.

On the authority of ‘Abdu l-Lāh ibn ‘Abbās, at-Tabari derived al-‘Uzzá from al-‘Azīz "the
Mighty", one of the 99 "beautiful names of Allah" in his commentary on Qur'an 7:180[6].

[edit] Uzza the Garden

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 probably have acquired it from
some one of this name.

[edit] As an Angel
In Judaic and Christian lore Uzza has been also used as an alternative name for the angel
Metatron in the Sefer ha-heshek. More commonly he is referred to as either the seraphim
Semyaza or as one of the three guardian angels of Egypt (Rahab, Mastema, and Duma) that
harried the Jews during the Exodus.[7] As Semyaza in legend he is the seraph tempted by
Ishtahar into revealing the explicit name of God and was thus burned alive and hung head
down between heaven and earth as the constellation Orion.[8] In the 3rd book of Enoch and
in the Zohar he is one of the fallen angels punished for cohabiting with human women and
fathering the anakim.[9] ‘Uzzā is also identified with Abezi Thibod ("father devoid of
counsel") who in early Jewish lore is also used as another name for Samael and Mastema
referring to a powerful spirit who shared princedom of Egypt with Rahab and opposed
Moses to eventually drown in the Red sea.[10]

[edit] References
1. ^ Tawil 1993
2. ^ Jane Taylor, Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans, I.B.Tauris Publishers,
2001, ISBN 1860645089 pg. 130
3. ^ Jane Taylor, Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans I.B.Tauris Publishers,
2001, ISBN 1860645089 pg. 209
4. ^ Jawad Ali, Al-Mufassal Fi Tarikh al-Arab Qabl al-Islam (Beirut), 6:238-9
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi, The Book of Idols, 25
7. ^ Gustav Davidson, A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels,
Scrollhouse, 1967 ISBN 002907052X pg. xiii, xxiv,
8. ^ Gustav Davidson, A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels,
Scrollhouse, 1967 ISBN 002907052X pg. 301
9. ^ Gustav Davidson, A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels,
Scrollhouse, 1967 ISBN 002907052X pg. 18, 65
10. ^ Gustav Davidson, A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels,
Scrollhouse, 1967 ISBN 002907052X pg. 4

 Ambros Arne A 2004: "A Concise Dictionary of Koranic Arabic". Wiesbaden:

Reichert Verlag. ISBN 3-89500-400-6
 Burton, John, The Collection of the Qur'an, Cambridge University Press, 1977: the
collection and composition of the Qu'ran in the life time of Muhammad
 Finegan, Jack, The Archeology of World Religions, Princeton University Press,
1952, pages 482-485, 492
 Hammond, Philip, "An Isisian Model for The Goddess of the 'Temple of the Winged
Lions' at Petra (Jordan)". 1985
  Hitti, Philip K. History Of The Arabs, 1937, pp 96–101
 Kitab al-Asnam in the original Arabic
 Peters, F. E., The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places.
Princeton University Press 1994
 al-Tawil, Hashim, "Early Arab Icons: Literary and Archaeological Evidence for the
Cult of Religious Images in Pre-Islamic Arabia", PhD dissertation, University of
Iowa, 1993 [3]
 Ibn al-Kalbī; (author) and Nabih Amin Faris (translator & commentary) (1952): The
Book of Idols, Being a Translation from the Arabic of the Kitāb al-Asnām."
Princeton University Press. US Library of Congress #52006741
 This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication
now in the public domain.

[edit] External links

 See definition for al-Uzza in Encyclopedia Mythica
 "Those Are The High Flying Claims": A Muslim site on Satanic Verses story
 Nabataean pantheon including Uzza
 Quotes concerning 'Uzza from Hammond and Hitti
 RELIGION OF PAGAN ARABIA