Editing Hubal (section)

== Etymology ==
The name ''Hubal'' may be ultimately derivative of the name [[Baal]] from the [[Canaanite religion|Canaanite pantheon]]. In particular, the name could derive from the [[Aramaic]] ''hu bel'', meaning "he is Baal". The relationship between Hubal and Baal is supported by some additional evidence, including that both were depicted with a missing or broken right hand.<ref>{{Cite book |last=El-Badawi |first=Emran |title=Female Divinity in the Qur'an In Conversation with the Bible and the Ancient Near East |date=2024 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |pages=21–22}}</ref>

[[Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi]]'s ''[[Book of Idols]]'' describes the image as shaped like a human, with the right hand broken off and replaced with a golden hand.<ref name = "pet">Francis E. Peters, ''Muhammad and the origins of Islam'', SUNY Press, 1994, p. 109.</ref> According to Ibn Al-Kalbi, the image was made of red [[agate]], whereas [[Al-Azraqi]], an early Islamic commentator, described it as of "[[cornelian]] pearl".  Al-Azraqi also relates that it "had a vault for the sacrifice" and that the offering consisted of a hundred camels. Both authors speak of seven arrows, placed before the image, which were cast for [[divination]], in cases of death, virginity, and marriage.<ref name = "pet"/>

According to Ibn Al-Kalbi, the image was first set up by [[Khuzayma ibn Mudrika]], but another tradition, recorded by [[Ibn Ishaq]], holds that [[Amr ibn Luhay|Amr ibn Luhayy]], a leader of the [[Banu Khuza'a|Khuza'a]] tribe, put an image of Hubal into the [[Kaaba]], where it was worshipped as one of the chief deities of the tribe.<ref>Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar, ''Muhammad The Holy Prophet'' (1969).</ref> The date for Amr is disputed, with dates as late as the end of the fourth century AD suggested, but what is quite sure is that the Quraysh later became the protectors of the ancient holy place, supplanting the Khuza'a.

A tale recorded by Ibn Al-Kalbi has [[Muhammad]]'s grandfather [[Abdul Mutallib]] vowing to sacrifice one of his ten children. He consulted the arrows of Hubal to find out which child he should choose. The arrows pointed to his son [[Abd-Allah ibn Abd-al-Muttalib|Abd-Allah]], the future father of Muhammad. However, he was saved when 100 camels were sacrificed in his place. According to [[History of the Prophets and Kings (book)|Tabari]], Abdul Mutallib later also brought the infant Muhammad himself before the image.<ref>[[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari]], ''[[History of the Prophets and Kings (book)|The History of the Prophets and Kings]]'', 1:157.</ref>

After defeat by Muhammad's forces at the [[Battle of Badr]], [[Abu Sufyan ibn Harb]], leader of the Quraysh army, is said to have called on Hubal for support to gain victory in their next battle, saying "Show your superiority, Hubal".<ref>A. Guillaume, ''The Life Of Muhammad: A Translation Of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah'', 2004 (18th Impression), op. cit., p. 386.</ref> When Muhammad conquered [[Mecca]] in 630, he broke the statue of Hubal, along with the other 360 images at the Kaaba, and dedicated the structure to the Abrahamic God.<ref>Armstrong, p. 23</ref>