I have written on the religious practices in Kaaba are similar to what is practiced in sanatana dharma, Hinduism.
Vedic practices in Islam ,Kaaba
Pre Islamic society borrowed the conceptsl of Hinduism either directly or through the Hitties/Sumeria.
Prophet had destroyed 360 Idols in Kaaba.
There were four Major Deities.
Hubbol,
Al-lat,
Al-Uzza and
Manat.
(Will be writing on these Deities)
Ghazni invaded and destroyed Somnath temple, believing that a an idol of Manat was spirited away to Somnath temple,India.
I am quoting from Islamic source.
My comments are in Itlalics..
Some features of their worship of idols were:
Self-devotion to the idols, seeking refuge with them, acclamation of their names, calling for their help in hardship, and supplication to them for fulfillment of wishes, hopefully that the idols (i.e., heathen gods) would mediate with Allâh for the fulfillment of people’s wishes.Performing pilgrimage to the idols, circumrotation round them, self-abasement and even prostrating themselves before them.
This is Theertha yatra,pradakshina and prarthana of Hinduism.
Seeking favour of idols through various kinds of sacrifices and immolation.
..
Consecration of certain portions of food, drink, cattle, and crops to idols. Surprisingly enough, portions were also consecrated to Allâh Himself, but people often found reasons to transfer parts of Allâh’s portion to idols, but never did the opposite. To this effect, the Qur’ânic verses go:
This is Naivedya and offering Aahuthi.
“And they assign to Allâh a share of the tilth and cattle which He has created, and they say: ‘This is for Allâh according to their pretending, and this is for our (Allâh’s so-called) partners.’ But the share of their (Allâh’s so-called) ‘partners’, reaches not Allâh, while the share of Allâh reaches their (Allâh’s so-called) ‘partners’. Evil is the way they judge.” [6:136]
Carrying favours with these idols through votive offerings of crops and cattle, to which effect, the Qur’ân goes:
Hinduism offers cattle to deities even today.
Dedication of certain animals (such as Bahira, Sa’iba, Wasila and Hami) to idols, which meant sparing such animals from useful work for the sake of these heathen gods. Bahira, as reported by the well-known historian, Ibn Ish, was daughter of Sa’iba which was a female camel that gave birth to ten successive female animals, but no male ones, was set free and forbidden to yoke, burden or being sheared off its wool, or milked (but for guests to drink from); and so was done to all her female offspring which were given the name ‘Bahira’, after having their ears slit. The Wasila was a female sheep which had ten successive female daughters in five pregnancies. Any new births from this Wasila were assigned only for male people. The Hami was a male camel which produced ten progressive females, and was thus similarly forbidden.
….
The Arabs believed that such idols, or heathen gods, would bring them nearer to Allâh, lead them to Him, and mediate with Him for their sake, to which effect, the Qur’ân goes:
“We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allâh.” [39:3], and
“And they worship besides Allâh things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allâh.” [10:18]
‘in whatever Form you worship, all come to me
-Bhagavad Gita.
Akasaath pathitham ……sloka states,
Just as water,whatever be its form,rivers,rivulets,rain…reaches the Ocean finally,whatever Gods/Forms you worship ,all of them reach Me…Krishna.
This is recited thrice everyday by Brahmins while performing Sandhya vandana.Another divinatory tradition among the Arabs was casting of Azlam (i.e. featherless arrows which were of three kinds: one showing ‘yes’, another ‘no’ and a third was blank) which they used to do in case of serious matters like travel, marriage and the like. If the lot showed ‘yes’, they would do, if ‘no’, they would delay for the next year. Other kinds of Azlam were cast for water, blood-money or showed ‘from you’, ‘not from you’, or ‘Mulsaq’ (consociated). In cases of doubt in filiation they would resort to the idol of Hubal, with a hundred-camel gift, for the arrow caster. Only the arrows would then decide the sort of relationship.If the arrow showed (from you), then it was decided that the child belonged to the tribe; if it showed (from others), he would then be regarded as an ally, but if (consociated) appeared, the person would retain his position but with no lineage or alliance contract.
This was very much like gambling and arrow-shafting whereby they used to divide the meat of the camels they slaughtered according to this tradition.
Moreover, they used to have a deep conviction in the tidings of soothsayers, diviners and astrologers. A soothsayer used to traffic in the business of foretelling future events and claim knowledge of private secrets and having jinn subordinates who would communicate the news to him. Some soothsayers claimed that they could uncover the unknown by means of a granted power, while other diviners boasted they could divulge the secrets through a cause-and-effect-inductive process that would lead to detecting a stolen commodity, location of a theft, a stray animal, and the like. The astrologer belonged to a third category who used to observe the stars and calculate their movements and orbits whereby he would foretell the future. Lending credence to this news constituted a clue to their conviction that attached special significance to the movements of particular stars with regard to rainfall.
The belief in signs as betokening future events, was, of course common among the Arabians. Some days and months and particular animals were regarded as ominous. They also believed that the soul of a murdered person would fly in the wilderness and would never rest at rest until revenge was taken. Superstition was rampant. Should a deer or bird, when released, turn right then what they embarked on would be regarded auspicious, otherwise they would get pessimistic and withhold from pursuing it.
This is Prasna,Naimithika and Arul vaaku
People of pre-Islamic period, whilst believing in superstition, they still retained some of the Abrahamic traditions such as devotion to the Holy Sanctuary, circumambulation, observance of pilgrimage, the vigil on ‘Arafah and offering sacrifices, all of these were observed fully despite some innovations that adulterated these holy rituals. Quraish, for example, out of arrogance, feeling of superiority to other tribes and pride in their custodianship of the Sacred House, would refrain from going to ‘Arafah with the crowd, instead they would stop short at Muzdalifah. The Noble Qur’ân rebuked and told them:
“Then depart from the place whence all the people depart.” [2:199]
Another heresy, deeply established in their social tradition, dictated that they would not eat dried yoghurt or cooked fat, nor would they enter a tent made of camel hair or seek shade unless in a house of adobe bricks, so long as they were committed to the intention of pilgrimage. They also, out of a deeply-rooted misconception, denied pilgrims, other than Makkans, access to the food they had brought when they wanted to make pilgrimage or lesser pilgrimage.
They ordered pilgrims coming from outside Makkah to circumambulate Al-Ka‘bah in Quraish uniform clothes, but if they could not afford them, men were to do so in a state of nudity, and women with only some piece of cloth to hide their groins’
This portion reminds me of Tantra ,Kaaplika worship of Shiva, Shakti.
Reference and citation.
https://islamreigns.wordpress.com/2015/12/17/religions-of-the-arabs/
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