Banatallah: The Moon goddess of the Pagan of ancient Arabia.

Ibn Sa'd and at-Tabari says that on one occasion Satan interfered after Prophet Muhammad received a revelation. And that happened while Sura an-Najm revealed. It is said, the Prophet was in the Ka'ba while that Sura was being revealed, and he felt inspired to utter two verses which declared that the three goddesses al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat could be revered as intermediaries between God and man. The revelation starts as-

"He also saw him (Gabriel) at another descent,
By the Lote-tree at the furthest boundary,
Near to which is the Paradise of rest.
When the Lote-tree covered that which it covered,
His sight turned not aside, neither did it wander.
And verily he beheld some of the greatest Signs of his Lord".

"And see ye not Lat and Uzza, and Manat the third besides?"-and when the prophet recited upto this, Satan cast on his tongue the following verses deleting a part of revelation-

"These are the exalted Gharaniq,
And verily their intercession is to be hoped for."

And then when he reached the last verse- "So prostrate to Allah and worship [Him]" -he prostate accordingly as it was said.

Banatallah

at-Tabari records- When the Prophet recited: "These are the exalted Gharaniq [high-flying cranes]; verily their intercession is to be hoped for." and the Quraish, those were present there heard this, they rejoiced and were happy and delighted at the way in which he had spoken of their gods, and they listened to him, while the Muslims, having complete trust in their Prophet with respect to the message which he brought from God, did not suspect him of error, illusion or mistake. When he came to the prostration, having completed the sura, he prostrated himself and the Muslims did likewise....

The polytheists of the Quraish and others who were in the Ka'ba likewise prostrated themselves because of the reference to their gods which they heard, so that there was no one in the mosque, believer or unbeliever, who did not prostrate [except an old man who took a handful dust and touches it to his forehead and said, "This is sufficient for me."] himself... Then they all dispersed from the mosque. The Quraish left delighted at the mention of their gods." -[see Tabari, Annals 1.1192-1193 = Tabari VI: 108-109].

The Quraish was particularly devoted to Allah- the moon god, and especially to Banatallah- Allah's three daughters al-Lat, al-Uzza, and al-Manat as they were viewed as intercessors between the people and Allah." And Muhammad always denied them. But now, he admits that they were exalted Females. 

The Quraish were delighted with this new revelation, [which in al-Kalbi's words was the traditional invocation made by the Quraish to the goddesses as they circumambulated the Ka'ba (Faris 17). and the Gharaniq were probably cranes which were thought to fly higher than any other bird], as Muhammad has given their 'goddesses' a delicate compliment, ... They spread the good news throughout the city: 'Muhammad has spoken of our gods in splendid fashion". or in other ways "He alleged in what he recited that they are the exalted Gharaniq whose intercession is approved"-[Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 166]. Hadiths related to this incident are as follows-

"The Apostle of Allah repeated them (the verses), and he went on reciting the whole of Sura and then fell in prostration, and the people (the Quraish) fell in prostration with him". -[Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, vol. 1, p. 237].

And,
Narrated by Abdullah bin Masud: The Prophet recited Sura an-Najm (103) at Mecca and prostrated while reciting it and those who were with him did the same except an old man who took a handful of small stones or earth and lifted it to his forehead and said, "This is sufficient for me." Later on, I saw him killed as a non-believer. -[Bukhari, V2, 19:173. see also Bukhari, Vol-2, Book 19, No. 177].

Banatallah- the daughters of Allah:
They were- al-Lat, al-Uzza, and al-Manat. where, al-Uzza, whose name means "The Mighty One", the Goddess of the Morning Star; al-Lat, the Mother, whose name means simply "The Goddess", as al-Lah simply means "The God"; and Manat, Crone-goddess of Fate or Time. Sometimes, the three of them are referred to as the daughters of al-Lah; But they considered al-Manat and al-Lat are the daughters of al-Uzza.

al-Lat:
‘Within these _________of white,
al-Lat, place your protective light.
Where’er these _________s are placed around,
Your safety and presence shall abound.’

--al-Lat, whose name is a contraction of al-Illahat, "the Goddess", is mentioned by Herodotus as Alilat, whom he identifies with Aphrodite. She is sometimes also equated with Athena, and is called "the Mother of the Gods", or "Greatest of all". She is a Goddess of Springtime and Fertility, the Earth-Goddess who brings prosperity. She and al-Uzza were sometimes confused, and it seems that as one gained in popularity in one area the other's popularity diminished. She had a sanctuary in the town of Ta'if, east of Mecca, and was known from Arabia to Iran. Her symbol is the crescent moon, and the gold necklace she wears is, from a pendant identified to her. As a Fertility-Goddess, she bears a sheaf of wheat; and in Her hand, she holds a small lump of frankincense, as Her emblem is found carved on many incense-holders.

al-Lat according to the Book of Idols (Kitab al-Aṣnam) by Hisham ibn al-Kalbi, resided in the Kaʿba and also had an idol inside the sanctuary: Her custody was in the hands of the Banu Attab ibn Malik of the Thaqīf, who had built an edifice over her. The Quraish, as well as all the Arabs, venerated al-Lat. They also used to name their children after her, calling them Zayd al-Lat and Taym al-Lat.

al-Lat was a white stone with inscriptions on. There was a house built around al-Lat in at-Ta'if with curtains, servants and a sacred courtyard around it. The people of at-Ta'if, the tribe of Thaqif and their allies, worshiped al-Lat. They would boast to Arabs, except the Quraish, that they had al-Lat. ibn Jarir said, "They derived al-Lat's name from Allah's Name, and made it feminine. It was reported that al-Lat is pronounced al-Lat because, according to Abdullah bin Abbas, Mujahid, and ar-Rabi` bin Anas, al-Lat was a man who used to mix Sawiq [Sawiq is a king of baking bread that made off with a mixture of dates and flour] with water for the pilgrims. When he died, they remained next to his grave and worshiper of him.'

al-Uzza:
al-Uzza, "the Strong One", was one of the most venerated Arab Deities, and the Goddess of the morning and evening star, Venus. She had a temple at Petra, and may well have been the patron Goddess of that city. Isaac of Antioch [a writer of the 5th century CE] calls Her Beltis ["Lady", a title shared by many other Semitic Goddesses], and Kaukabta, "the Star". He also says that women would invoke al-Uzza from the rooftops, a form of worship appropriate to a Star Goddess. St. Epiphanius of the 4th century CE calls her the mother of Dusares, the local mountain God, calling her by the title Chaamu or Chalmous, meaning "young girl or virgin". She has connections with the acacia tree, and her sanctuary at Nakhlah had three acacias in which She was believed to descend. She has much in common with Ishtar and Astarte as Morning and Evening Star Goddesses—they all have aspects of both Love and War Goddess, and big cats were sacred to them. She is shown armed as a Bellatrix, standing before an acacia tree, with a caracal, or desert lynx. She was associated by the Greeks with their Aphrodite Urania, "Heavenly Aphrodite".

According to ibn Jarir, "Uzza, the name for their idol al-Uzza from Allah's Name al-Aziz. al-Uzza was a tree on which the idolators placed a monument and curtains, in the area of Nakhlah, between Makkah and at-Ta'if. The Quraish revered al-Uzza.'' During the battle of Uhud, Abu Sufyan said, "We have al-Uzza, but you do not have al-`Uzza.'' Rasulullah replied, "Allah is Our Supporter, but you have no support.'

al-Manat:
On the way to Medina, not very far from Mecca and in the area of Mushallal near Qudayd. She is Ruler of Fate, Luck, and Fortune, and her name derived from the Arabic word maniya, “fate, destruction, doom, death”, or menata, “part, portion, that which is allotted”. She is a very ancient deity and her cult was widespread, though she was particularly worshipped as a black stone at Quidaid, near Mecca.

She is connected with the great pilgrimage [The tribes of Khuz'ah, Aws and Khazraj used to revere Manat. They used to announce Hajj to the Ka'ba from next to Manat], as her sanctuary was the starting point for several tribes.

The Aws and the Khazraj, as well as those Arabs among the people of Yathrib and other places who took to their way of life, were wont to go on pilgrimage and observe the vigil at all the appointed places, but not shave their heads. At the end of the pilgrimage, however, when they were about to return home, they would set out to the place where Manāt stood, shave their heads, and stay there a while. They did not consider their pilgrimage completed until they visited Manat.—[Book of Idols, pp 12–14]

She is known from Nabatean inscriptions, and tombs were placed under her protection, asking her to curse violators. She is accordingly a Goddess of Death, and Maniya [Death personified] is mentioned in poetry as actively bringing a person to her grave, holding out the cup of death. She is shown as an old woman with a cup, and the symbols at the bottom of her gown spell her name in Sabaic, M-n-t. The waning moon is shown over her head as the symbol of the Crone-Goddess of Death.

Since the Quraish considered the Banatallah divine beings, they believed that the Qu'ran had placed them on the same level as God Himself. Thinking that Muhammad had accepted their goddesses as having equal status to Allah, the pagan Quraish bowed down to make the Salat with the Muslims and the bitter dispute seemed at an end. Because the Qu'ran appeared to have endorsed the piety of their fathers and to have abandoned its monotheistic message, they no longer saw Islam as a Sacrilegious Threat that could bring a catastrophe on the people of Mecca......
Muslims were saved from oppression. 

Then after ten days Gabriel came and corrected where Muhammad made mistakes. He said- “O Muhammad, what have you done! You have recited to the people something which I have not brought you from God, and you have spoken what He did not say to you.” -[Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 166].

Gabriel recite the whole sura [chapter] to Muhammad-

 "Are yours the males and His the females?
That indeed were an unfair division!

They are but names which ye have named, ye and your fathers, for which Allah hath revealed no warrant. They follow but a guess and that which (they) themselves desire. And now the guidance from their Lord hath come unto them.-[an-Najm 53:19-23].

"...................And how many angels there are in the heavens whose intercession will not avail at all except [only] after Allah has permitted [it] to whom He wills and approves.

Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter name the angels female names, And they have thereof no knowledge. They follow not except assumption, and indeed, assumption avails not against the truth at all. So turn away from whoever turns his back on Our message and desires not except the worldly life". -(53:26-29)

"..............Then which of the favors of your Lord do you doubt? This [Prophet] is a Warner like the former Warners. The Approaching Day has approached. Of it, [from those] besides Allah, there is no remover. Then at this statement do you wonder? And you laugh and do not weep While you are proudly sporting? So prostrate to Allah and worship [Him]".-(53:55-62)

Hearing all of these, Muhammad became afraid, then to comfort him, Gabriel brought these revelations and recite to him- "And their purpose was to tempt thee away from that which We had revealed unto thee, to substitute in our name something quite different; (in that case), behold! they would certainly have made thee (their) friend! And had We not given thee strength, thou wouldst nearly have inclined to them a little. In that case, We should have made thee taste an equal portion (of punishment) in this life, and an equal portion in death: and moreover thou wouldst have found none to help thee against Us!" -[17:73-75].

"But the ones who strove against Our verses, [seeking] to cause failure - those are the companions of Hellfire. And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he spoke [or recited], Satan threw into it [some misunderstanding]. But Allah abolishes that which Satan throws in; then Allah makes precise His verses. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.[That is] so He may make what Satan throws in a trial for those within whose hearts is disease and those hard of heart. And indeed, the wrongdoers are in extreme dissension. And so those who were given knowledge may know that it is the truth from your Lord and [therefore] believe in it, and their hearts humbly submit to it. And indeed is Allah the Guide of those who have believed to a straight path. -[22:51-54]

The above verses state that Satan [Jinn Iblis] able to read Human mind and can add something to their thinking even able to delete something from their mind. And he is not faithful in his promise- "I will mislead them all. Except, among them, Your chosen servants." he promised to God when God cast him out from the Heaven. And now we came to know that he did not keep his promise. How does he? When we find that he made a false promise to Adam-Eve to seduce them to eat the forbidden fruits in the Garden of Eden, saying, "I am yours one of the benevolent?"

Now, though Prophet Muhammad is the best of Mankind, yet he is Human not an Angel. And surely the Prophet knows better the limitations of Human. So he admitted his mistakes and recited full sura to the Quraish. Consequently, the two verses that Satan cast in were expunged from the sura and replaced by others which declared that the three goddesses were figments of the Arabs' imagination and deserved no worship at all. (Muhammad: A Western Attempt to Understand Islam, Karen Armstrong, Chapter 6: the Satanic verses, p 108-133, 1991)

The Quraish were very angry with this. They announce everywhere- 'Muhammad has gone back on what he said about the status of our gods relative to God, changed it and brought something else' or they say, ‘He again criticized our goddess".
Muslims were under oppression twice as before. 

Destruction of Banatallah:
Soon after the Conquest of Mecca, Muhammad began to dispatch expeditions on errands aiming at eliminating the last symbols reminiscent of Jaheliyya practices.

al-Manat:
Muhammad bin Ishaq said that ...Manat was near the coast, close to the area of Mushallal in Qudayd. The Prophet sent Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb or Ali ibn Abi Talib to demolish it.

al-Uzza:
He sent Khalid bin al-Walid in Ramadan 8 A.H. to Nakhlah to demolish the idol of the goddess al-Uzza that worshipped by the Quraish and Kinanah tribes, and guarded by custodians from Banu Shaiban. Khalid, at the head of thirty horsemen, arrived at the spot and destroyed the idol. Upon his return, prophet asked him if he had seen anything else there, to which Khalid replied, "No". 
The prophet said, "Go back and finish your mission, for you have not finished it".

Khalid went back and when the custodians who were also its servants of al-Uzza saw him, they started invoking by calling al-Uzza! When Khalid approached it, he found a naked black woman whose hair was untidy and who was throwing sand on her head. Khalid killed her with the sword and went back to the Messenger of Allah, who said to him, "That was al-Uzza!" -[al-Sunan al-Sughra, as referenced in Tafsir ibn Kathir]

And,
According to ibn Hisham, ibn-'Abbas said: al-Uzza was a she-devil which used to frequent three trees in the valley of Nakhlah. When the Prophet captured Mecca, he dispatched Khalid ibn-al-Walid saying, "Go to the valley of Nakhlah; there you will find three trees. Cut down the first one."

Khalid went and cut it down. On his return to report, the Prophet asked him saying, "Have you seen anything there?"
Khalid replied and said, "No."
The Prophet ordered him to return and cut down the second tree.

He went and cut it down. On his return to report the Prophet asked him a second time, "Have you seen anything there?"
Khalid answered, "No."
Thereupon the Prophet ordered him to go back and cut down the third tree.

When Khalid arrived on the scene he found an Abyssinian woman with dishevelled hair and her hands placed on her shoulder[s], gnashing and grating her teeth. Behind her stood Dubayyah al-Sulami who was then the warden of al-Uzza...

Turning to the woman, he dealt her a blow which severed her head in twain, and lo, she crumbled into ashes. He then cut down the tree and killed Dubayyah the warden, after which he returned to the Prophet and reported to him his exploit.

Thereupon the Prophet said, "That was al-Uzza. But she is no more. The Arabs shall have none after her. Verily she shall never be worshipped again."-[The Book of Idols, By Hisham Ibn-al-Kalbi, pages 25-26] 

al-Lat:
Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated, "al-Lat belonged to the tribe of Thaqif in the area of at-Ta'if. Banu Mu'attib were the custodians of al-Lat and its servants.'' I saw that the Prophet sent al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah and Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb to destroy al-Lat. al-Mughirah ibn-Shu‘bah, destroyed her and burnt her temple to the ground and collected all the ornaments Lat weared.

Then when al-Lat was destroyed and burnt to the ground, Aws ibn-Hajar says to those who used to swear by al-Lat:

"By al-Lat and al-'Uzza and those who in them believe,
And by Allah, verily He is greater than both."-[al-Aghani vol x pp. 6-8; al-Shi'r w-al-Sh'ara', pp.99-102.]

And Shaddad ibn-'Arid al-Jushami said warning the Thaqif saying-

"Come not to al-Lat, for God hath doomed her to destruction;
How can you stand by one which doth not triumph?
Verily that which, when set on fire, resisted not the flames,
Nor saved her stones, is inglorious and worthless.
Hence when the Apostle in your place shall arrive
And then leave, not one of her votaries shall be left."-[Buldan vol iv pp 337-338; cf. Sirah, p.871]

Later, the ornaments that collected from al-Lat was spent to pay the blood debt of Orwa and al-Aswad by the order of the Prophet.

The End.
Not Yet Verified.

Picture:  Wikipedia,

# A man said, "If this is the story then how you explain that the Qur'an says it cannot be tampered with and that Satan cannot interfere with the revelation process?."

@ I said, do you actually understand what it meant by revelation process and what its length ie. from where the revelation process starts and where it ends?

The revelation process starts from the Mother Book and ends at the Heart of the Prophets. But what came out from the mouth of the prophets not within the revelation process that Qur'an means as it says-

Certainly, Qur'an is an honored [book], In a Book well-guarded, None shall touch it save the purified ones.-[56:77-79]. [It is written] on honoured leaves, Exalted, purified, (Written) by the hands of scribes- [those are] Honourable and Pious and Just. - [80:13-16]

And surely it is in the original of the Book with Us, truly elevated, full of wisdom.-[43:4] With truth have We sent it down, and with truth hath it descended.-[17:105]

Ramadhan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (Between right and wrong)-[2:185] Certainly, it's the Word brought by an honored Messenger [Gabriel], [69:39]

Do you not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other than Allah, you would surely have found therein Much discrepancy. -[4:81] The Satans have not come down with this (Revelation): it behoves them not, and they have not the power to do (it). Surely they are far removed from the hearing of it. -[26:210-212]

ie. whole Qur'an taken from the Mother Book spreaded in the sky of 4th Universe before the prophethood of Muhammad and then Gabriel brought down the verses to Muhammad as and when necessary basis for a period of 23 years-6 months. So it was necessary to protect Qur'an so that Jinns, the spirited creature may not hear the verses before it sent down to Muhammad. Because, before Qur'an sent down from the Unseen World to the materialistic world, Jinns used to sit in some place of the lower heaven (sky) in positions for hearing the conversation of the Angels. It is because there were men from mankind who sought refuge in men from the Jinn. Thus Qur'an says-

"....a group of the Jinn listened [reciting Qur'an] and said, 'Indeed, we have heard an amazing Qur'an. It guides to the right course, and we have believed in it. And we will never associate with our Lord anyone.And [it teaches] that exalted is the nobleness of our Lord; He has not taken a wife or a son And that our foolish one has been saying about Allah an excessive transgression. And we had thought that mankind and the jinn would never speak about Allah a lie.

And there were men from mankind who sought refuge in men from the jinn, so they [only] increased them in burden. And they had thought, as you thought, that Allah would never send anyone [as a messenger]. And we have sought [to reach] the heaven but found it filled with powerful guards and burning flames. And we used to sit therein in positions for hearing, but whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him. [72:1-9] And these verses certified by God as-

--Indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment of stars And as protection against every rebellious devil, [So] they may not listen to the exalted assembly [of angels] and are pelted from every side Repelled; and for them is a constant punishment Except one who snatches [some words] by theft, but they are pursued by a burning flame, piercing [in brightness].-[37:6-10]

And certainly this is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds. The Faithful Spirit [Gabriel] has descended with it, upon the Messengers heart .... -[26:192-193]

Do you believe this? Qur'an says- "You will not believe in it until you see the grievous Penalty;"  -[26:201]

Humans are created free willed, yet Satan able to control them. Do you not see the strength of his words when he said to God-

"Tell me, is this he whom Thou hast honored above me? If Thou shouldst respite me to the day of resurrection, I will most certainly cause his progeny to perish except a few.’-[17:62] When one say so? Only when one has the power to do such.

And God know very well what Iblis could do to His servants. And it was already planned earlier and recorded in the Mother Book before the birth of Iblis. None but the Prophets every detail of their deeds even every words they will say in their earthly life already been recorded. But it was not known to Iblis. So God told him the truth, He said to him, "Indeed, over My servants there is for you no authority. And sufficient is your Lord as Disposer of affairs."-[17:65] So Satan immediately corrected himself with an oath, "My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them on earth, and I will mislead them all. Except, among them, Your chosen servants." -[15:39-40] But God knows he is a lair, Qur'an says,

And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he spoke [or recited], Satan threw into it [some misunderstanding]. But Allah abolishes that which Satan throws in; then Allah makes precise His verses. And Allah is Knowing and Wise. -[22:52]

--This means Jinns are able to read Human mind and they can add to their thinking, even able to delete something from their mind, even he is not faithful in his promise as he- "I will mislead them all. Except, among them, Your chosen servants." did not keep this promise which he made to God. How do he keep his promise, when we find that he made a false promise to Adam-Eve to seduce them to eat the forbidden fruits in the Garden of Eden, saying, "I am yours one of the benevolent".

But God keeps his promise, what Satan threw into, He abolishes that, then He makes precise His verses"  

The Questioner then asked me, "How do you know that none but the Prophets every details ie.their deeds and words are already been recorded?"

I said, Human are created as free willed that means their deeds and words were not recorded in the Mother Book. Two angels recorded those during their life time. But for the case of Prophets, those already recorded earlier and thus God says to Iblis- "Indeed, over My servants there is for you no authority. And sufficient is your Lord as Disposer of affairs."-[17:65] Again we have another proof from this Verse-

"If not for a decree from Allah that preceded, you would have been touched for what you took by a great punishment".-[8:68] 
Do you know the context?