Authored by: Hafiz Muhammad Anwar Zahid (ḥafiẓahullāh)
They asked the Prophet ﷺ:
“O Messenger of Allah! What should we do with ‘her lord’ (referring to Lāt)?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“Smash it to the ground.”
They protested:
“No, no! If Lāt finds out that we intend to break and destroy her, she will kill our people.”
At this point, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) interjected:
“ʿAbd Yālīl! How foolish and ignorant you are! Lāt is only a stone.”
Angered by ʿUmar’s words, the Thaqīf delegation said:
“We didn’t come to speak to you, Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb!”
They then turned to the Prophet ﷺ and insisted:
“You yourself arrange for its destruction; we will not do it.”
The Prophet ﷺ agreed and sent a delegation for this mission. It included:
◈ Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb
◈ Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah al-Thaqafī
◈ The commander of the group: Khālid ibn al-Walīd (رضي الله عنه)
When the group reached Ṭāʾif, they began preparing to destroy the idol. At that moment:
✔ Men, women, and children from Banū Thaqīf gathered, including veiled women, who left their homes in fear of what might happen.
✔ They went to a distance—they couldn’t bear to see the destruction of their long-worshipped deity.
Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah took a large axe and said to his companions:
“Shall I show you a spectacle?”
They agreed, and he struck the idol with the axe, letting out a loud scream and fell flat on his face—pretending to have collapsed.
The valley of Ṭāʾif resounded with cheers and chants:
“Lāt has struck down al-Mughīrah! See? We told you she protects herself!”
“Come on now! Try and hit it again—if you dare!”
While the tribe continued with such remarks, suddenly:
Al-Mughīrah rose up, laughing, and declared:
“By Allah! O Banū Thaqīf! I was only mocking you. This wretched idol is nothing but mud and stone.”
Then, he struck the door, shattered it, climbed its structure, and demolished it to the ground.
The keyholder of the idol shrine warned:
“Its foundation will surely become angry and swallow them into the earth!”
Hearing this, Khālid ibn al-Walīd (رضي الله عنه) responded:
“Let me be! I’ll dig up even its foundation!”
He proceeded to uproot its very base, removed its soil, and set it all ablaze.
They took the idol’s ornaments and decorations, and left the site.
Status of the narration: ✖ Weak (Ḍaʿīf) due to lack of sanad
Sources mentioning the event include:
✔ Ibn Isḥāq narrates the story without any chain (isnād).
✔ Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) transmits it from Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah—also without a chain.
Thus, due to the absence of isnād, the story is considered weak and non-verifiable in terms of Hadith science.
❖ Background of the Incident
When the delegation of Banū Thaqīf accepted Islam and pledged allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ, they were still fearful of destroying their idol Lāt, which they had long revered. The people were overcome with superstitious fear, thinking that any harm done to Lāt might bring misfortune upon them.They asked the Prophet ﷺ:
“O Messenger of Allah! What should we do with ‘her lord’ (referring to Lāt)?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“Smash it to the ground.”
They protested:
“No, no! If Lāt finds out that we intend to break and destroy her, she will kill our people.”
At this point, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) interjected:
“ʿAbd Yālīl! How foolish and ignorant you are! Lāt is only a stone.”
Angered by ʿUmar’s words, the Thaqīf delegation said:
“We didn’t come to speak to you, Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb!”
They then turned to the Prophet ﷺ and insisted:
“You yourself arrange for its destruction; we will not do it.”
❖ Destruction of Lāt
The Prophet ﷺ agreed and sent a delegation for this mission. It included:
◈ Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb
◈ Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah al-Thaqafī
◈ The commander of the group: Khālid ibn al-Walīd (رضي الله عنه)
When the group reached Ṭāʾif, they began preparing to destroy the idol. At that moment:
✔ Men, women, and children from Banū Thaqīf gathered, including veiled women, who left their homes in fear of what might happen.
✔ They went to a distance—they couldn’t bear to see the destruction of their long-worshipped deity.
❖ Al-Mughīrah’s Mock Performance
Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah took a large axe and said to his companions:
“Shall I show you a spectacle?”
They agreed, and he struck the idol with the axe, letting out a loud scream and fell flat on his face—pretending to have collapsed.
The valley of Ṭāʾif resounded with cheers and chants:
“Lāt has struck down al-Mughīrah! See? We told you she protects herself!”
“Come on now! Try and hit it again—if you dare!”
While the tribe continued with such remarks, suddenly:
Al-Mughīrah rose up, laughing, and declared:
“By Allah! O Banū Thaqīf! I was only mocking you. This wretched idol is nothing but mud and stone.”
Then, he struck the door, shattered it, climbed its structure, and demolished it to the ground.
❖ Its Final Demise
The keyholder of the idol shrine warned:
“Its foundation will surely become angry and swallow them into the earth!”
Hearing this, Khālid ibn al-Walīd (رضي الله عنه) responded:
“Let me be! I’ll dig up even its foundation!”
He proceeded to uproot its very base, removed its soil, and set it all ablaze.
They took the idol’s ornaments and decorations, and left the site.
❖ Ḥadīth Authentication:
Status of the narration: ✖ Weak (Ḍaʿīf) due to lack of sanad
Sources mentioning the event include:
- Adyān al-ʿArab fī al-Jāhiliyyah by Nuʿmān ibn al-Jārim, p. 50
- Sīrah Ibn Hishām with al-Rawḍ al-Anf by al-Suhaylī, Vol. 4, p. 314
- Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah by Ibn Kathīr: Vol. 5, pp. 33–34
✔ Ibn Isḥāq narrates the story without any chain (isnād).
✔ Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) transmits it from Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah—also without a chain.
Thus, due to the absence of isnād, the story is considered weak and non-verifiable in terms of Hadith science.
