The First Emergence of Polytheism

It is said that the first manifestation of shirk in the land of Mecca after Abraham the Close Friend came through ʿAmr ibn Luhayy al-Khuzaʿi—the man whom the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw dragging his intestines through the Fire. He was the first to set loose the saʾiba animals (camels released for idols) and to alter the religion of Abraham.

They relate that he travelled to Syria, where, in the district of al-Balqāʾ, he found idols whose devotees claimed they attracted benefits and warded off harms. He transported those idols to Mecca and thereby introduced the Arabs to polytheism and the worship of images.

The matters Allah and His Messenger have forbidden—polytheism, sorcery, murder, fornication, perjury, the drinking of wine, and all other prohibitions—may appear to the soul to contain some benefit or to repel some harm; and were it not for this, people would never venture to