Peace be upon him.

Yet traces of this same idolatry survive in the Far East, among the peoples of Cathay and the Turks. There they fashion colossal statues in the likeness of Nimrod, drape strings of prayer-beads around their own necks, chant praises in Nimrod’s name, and curse Abraham, the Friend of the Most Merciful.

When a party of such men reached Damascus in 699 AH, one of them was seen performing the five prescribed prayers while simultaneously glorifying Nimrod. Many of their so-called philosophers—both their scholars and their devotees—do likewise: they keep up the five daily prayers, yet worship the sun, the moon, or other celestial bodies. Groups of this sort are to be found in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and elsewhere.

The cause of their persistence is that, from time to time, they experience phenomena like those that once appeared to the pagans who worshipped stars and idols: devils would enter an image, speak to its worshippers, disclose hidden matters, and instruct them in what to do; the devotees would then petition them for the fulfillment of their needs.

Allah, Exalted is He, says:
“Indeed, they call upon nothing but female deities besides Him; in truth they call upon none but a rebellious devil.” (Q 4:117)

Ibn ʿAbbās said, “In every idol there was a devil who would appear to the caretakers and speak to them.” Ubayy ibn Kaʿb added, “With every idol is a female jinn.”

Thus, when the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—sent Khālid ibn al-Walīd to demolish al-ʿUzzā, which stood near ʿArafāt, an old woman with dishevelled hair came forth from it. The Prophet said, “This is the she-devil of al-ʿUzzā; al-ʿUzzā has despaired of ever being worshipped in the land of the Arabs.” Khālid then declared:
“O ʿUzzā, denial—not glorification—is yours; I have seen that Allah has abased you.”

Al-Lāt, for its part, was located near al-Ṭāʾif, while Manāt, the third of them, stood at Qudayd on the coastal route.