| Hubal | |
|---|---|
god of divination, the rain, and war | |
| Major cult center | Mecca |
| Symbol | Gold-handed figure, arrows |
| Region | Arabia |
| Consort | Manāt[1] |
| Part of the myth series on Religions of the ancient Near East |
| Pre-Islamic Arabian deities |
|---|
| Arabian deities of other Semitic origins |
In Arabian mythology, Hubal (Arabic: هُبَل) was a God worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia, notably by the Quraysh at the Kaaba in Mecca. The god's icon was a human figure believed to control acts of divination, which was performed by tossing arrows before the statue. The direction in which the arrows pointed answered questions asked to Hubal. The specific powers and identity attributed to Hubal are equally unclear.
Access to the temple of the icon was controlled by the Quraysh tribe. Hubal's devotees fought against followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad during the Battle of Badr in 624 AD. After Muhammad entered Mecca in 630, he destroyed the statue of Hubal from the Kaaba along with the icons of all the other polytheistic gods.