They were the first people ever to associate partners with Allah and to worship idols. For that reason Allah sent Noah to them; he was the first messenger commissioned to forbid idolatry, as has already been clarified in the story of Noah.(1)

The Almighty says:
“Do not abandon your gods! Do not abandon Wadd or Suwāʿ, nor Yaghūth, Yaʿūq, or Nasr. They have already led many astray …” (Sūrat Nūḥ 71:23–24)

Ibn ʿAbbās said: “These were righteous men from among Noah’s people. When they died, their community kept to their graves; when a long time had passed, they ended up worshipping them.” We have already given a full account of how this came about, so there is no need to repeat it here.

Ibn Isḥāq(2) and others relate that, after the Arabs had altered the religion of Ishmael, these idols passed into their hands. Wadd belonged to Banū Kalb ibn Wabra ibn Taghlib ibn Ḥulwān ibn ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥāf ibn Quḍāʿah and was set up at Dūmat al-Jandal.

Suwāʿ was venerated by Banū Hudhayl ibn Ilyās ibn Mudrika ibn Muḍar and was erected at a place called Ruhāṭ.(4)

Yaghūth was worshipped by Banū Anʿum of Ṭayyʾ and by the people of Jurash from Madhḥij; it stood in Jurash.(5)

Yaʿūq was erected in the land of Hamdān in Yemen for Banū Khaywān, a branch of Hamdān.(6)

Nasr was set up in the land of Ḥimyar for a tribe known as Dhū al-Kalāʿ.(7)

Ibn Isḥāq adds: The tribe of Khawlān had in their territory an idol called ʿAm Anas.(8) They would allot to it a share of their livestock and crops, apportioning between it and Allah, as they imagined. Whatever of Allah’s share happened to fall into ʿAm Anas’s portion they left for him, but whatever of ʿAm Anas’s share fell into Allah’s portion they put back with ʿAm Anas. Concerning them Allah revealed: “They assign to Allah a share of what He has produced of crops and livestock …” (Sūrat al-Anʿām 6:136).

He also reports that the Banū Milkān ibn Kinānah ibn Khuzaymah ibn Mudrika had an idol called Saʿd—an upright stone standing in the open wilderness of their land. A man from among them once came with his camels intending to tether them to it and seek its blessing, as he claimed. When the camels saw the idol—which was a place where blood was poured out—and as they were grazing beasts not used for riding, they bolted in every direction. Their owner became furious, picked up a stone and hurled it at the idol, saying, “May Allah deprive you of blessing! You have scattered my camels.” He then went off in pursuit of them, and when he had gathered them together he said: