Surah Nooh (71) — Ayah 23

(Ayah 23) ➊ {وَ قَالُوْا لَا تَذَرُنَّ اٰلِهَتَكُمْ … :} In nine hundred and fifty years, Allah knows best how many generations perished and how many new ones were born, but every predecessor kept instructing the next, both in life and at the time of death, that beware! Never ever abandon the worship of Wadd, Suwa’, Yaghuth, Ya’uq, and Nasr at the word of Nuh. These were the five idols that the people of Nuh worshipped. Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said: “These five were the names of righteous men from the people of Nuh. When they died, Satan inspired their people’s hearts to set up idols in the gatherings where they used to sit, and to give those idols their names. So they did so, but at that time they were not worshipped, until when those who had set up the idols as memorials died and knowledge was lost, then the idols began to be worshipped.” [ بخاري، التفسیر، باب: « ودا ولا سواعا…» : ۴۹۲۰ ] From this narration, it is understood that the real cause of idol worship was exaggeration in love for elders and making their statues and installing them. Among the other reasons for the prohibition of images in Shariah, this is also a very significant one. In the same narration of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) mentioned above, it is stated that these same idols that were among the people of Nuh later came into Arabia. “Wadd” was the idol of the Kalb tribe in Dumah al-Jandal, “Suwa’” was for Hudhayl, “Yaghuth” was for the Murad tribe and then (its branch) Banu Ghutayf, who lived near Saba in the valley of Juraf. “Ya’uq” was for Hamdan, and “Nasr” was for Himyar, who were the descendants of Dhu’l-Kala’. [ بخاري، أیضًا ]
Here, a question arises: after such a great flood in which all the polytheists were drowned, how did those idols remain and how did their worship start again? The answer is that man naturally has a desire to know the conditions of those before him, and thus the science of history is a result of this desire. It appears that the later generations heard from the believers who survived with Nuh (peace be upon him) about the piety and marvels of those elders. As time passed and ignorance prevailed, Satan caused them to unearth those same idols as ancient relics or to make imaginary statues of those elders, just as the Christians have made imaginary statues of Messiah and Mary (peace be upon them), and thus their worship began again. In any case, it is established that in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the worship of these five idols was practiced and their shrines existed, as mentioned in the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them). In Arabia, names like Abd Wadd and Abd Yaghuth are also found.

➋ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Waqidi states that {’’وَدّ‘‘} was in the form of a man, ‘Suwa’’ in the form of a woman, ‘Yaghuth’ in the form of a lion, ‘Ya’uq’ in the form of a horse, and ‘Nasr’ in the form of a bird, but this is rare. The well-known view is that all were in human form, and the reason for the beginning of their worship as mentioned supports this.” (Fath al-Bari) The statement of Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) is certainly correct regarding the idols of the time of Nuh (peace be upon him), but later, when imaginary idols were made, it is possible that they were made in the forms of these animals, as is commonly found among polytheist nations. (And Allah knows best)

➌ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the closing of those doors through which shirk could enter, to protect the Muslim Ummah from shirk. The trial of grave worship begins with building structures and mosques over graves, and the beginning of idol worship is with making images and statues, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade both these things and ordered that raised graves be leveled and every image be erased. Abu al-Hayyaj al-Asadi said that Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: [ أَلَا أَبْعَثُكَ عَلٰی مَا بَعَثَنِيْ عَلَيْهِ رَسُوْلُ اللَّهِ صَلَّی اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ؟ أَنْ لَا تَدَعَ تِمْثَالًا إِلَّا طَمَسْتَهُ وَلَا قَبْرًا مُشْرِفًا إِلَّا سَوَّيْتَهُ ] [مسلم، الجنائز، باب الأمر بتسویۃ القبر : ۹۶۹ ] “Shall I not send you on the same mission as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me? That you do not leave any statue without obliterating it, nor any raised grave without leveling it.”

23. 1. These were the people of Noah’s (AS) nation whom they used to worship, and their fame became so widespread that even in Arabia they continued to be worshipped. These five were the names of righteous men from the nation of Noah (AS). When they died, Satan told their devotees to make their images and keep them in their homes and shops so that their memory would remain fresh and, by remembering them, they too would continue to do good deeds like them. When those who kept these images passed away, Satan led their descendants into polytheism by telling them that their forefathers used to worship those whose images were hanging in their homes. Thus, they began to worship them (Sahih Bukhari).

And they said: 'Never leave your gods, nor abandon Wadd, nor Suwa', nor Yaghuth, nor Ya'uq, nor Nasr [14].'

[14]
How the Idols of the People of Nuh Became Prevalent in Arabia:

For the explanation of this verse, consider the following hadith: Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: The idols that were worshipped among the people of Nuh (peace be upon him) later came to Arabia. Wadd was the idol of the Kalb tribe, which was in Dumah al-Jandal. Suwa‘ was the idol of the Hudhayl tribe. Yaghuth was first the idol of the Murad tribe, then of Banu Ghutayf, and it was in Jawf near the city of Saba. Ya‘uq was of the Hamdan tribe, and Nasr was of the Himyar tribe, who were the descendants of Dhi al-Kala‘ (the king). These were the names of some righteous people among the people of Nuh (peace be upon him). When they died, Satan suggested to them that they should make statues at the places where these people used to sit (as memorials) and give them the same names as those elders. At that time, they were not worshipped. But when those people passed away, the later generations did not have that understanding, and they began to worship them. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]

Here, a question arises: the idol worshippers or all the polytheists of the people of Nuh (peace be upon him) were drowned in the flood of Nuh, and those who remained were all believers and monotheists, so how did the worship of these same idols start again later? The answer is that just as Satan deceived the ancestors of the surviving monotheists and gradually led them to worship those righteous people, the same trick of Satan succeeded later as well. The monotheists narrated the story of the flood of Nuh and its reason to their children. After a few generations, people developed reverence for those same idols because of which the punishment had come upon the people of Nuh.