Truth About Islam

Was Allah Originally a Moon God?

Examining the Evidence for Hubal and the Origins of Islam

“There is no god but Allah…” — but who was Allah before Muhammad?

The claim that Allah was once a pre-Islamic pagan deity—possibly even a moon god—is one of the most controversial assertions in discussions about Islamic origins. Critics point to archaeological artifacts, pre-Islamic Arabian religion, and historical texts to question the continuity between pre-Islamic Allah and the Qur’anic conception of God. This post cuts through apologetic dismissal to ask:

Was Allah just the latest version of a tribal deity named Hubal—or a stand-in for a moon god?

Let’s examine the evidence, myths, and misconceptions, piece by piece.

🏺 Part I — The Pre-Islamic Arabian Religious Landscape

Before Islam, the Kaaba in Mecca was not a monotheistic shrine. According to Islamic sources themselves:

The Kaaba housed 360 idols (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah).
The Quraysh tribe, Muhammad’s own people, worshipped multiple gods and goddesses, including:
- al-Lat
- al-Uzza
- Manat
- Hubal

These deities were associated with celestial bodies, fertility, and tribal power.

Key Point: The Arabian Peninsula was polytheistic, with deities often linked to stars, planets, the sun, and the moon.

🌙 Part II — Was Allah a Moon God?

This claim gained popularity through critics such as Robert Morey, who asserted that Allah was originally a moon deity. But does that claim hold up under critical examination?

🔎 Supporting Observations:

Crescent Moon Symbol:
- Widely used in Islamic symbolism today (flags, minarets, calendars).
- But adopted post-Islam, likely through Ottoman influence—not from Muhammad’s time.
Allah Among Other Gods:
- Pre-Islamic Arabians recognized Allah as a high god or creator, but not necessarily as the only god.
- The Qur'an confirms this:
  
  “If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they will surely say ‘Allah.’” (Qur’an 31:25)
South Arabian Inscriptions:
- Inscriptions reference gods like Sin (a known moon god), but Allah is not directly equated with Sin.
- “Ilah” or “al-Ilah” was a generic term meaning “the god” — similar to the Hebrew Eloah.

🔥 Verdict on the Moon God Theory:

The "Allah = moon god" claim is oversimplified.
However, Allah was not the monotheistic God of the Bible either—he was one among many deities, later recast as supreme.

🗿 Part III — Who Was Hubal?

🧾 Islamic Sources on Hubal:

Hubal was the chief idol of the Kaaba, brought to Mecca from Syria.
Described as a human figure made of red agate, with a golden hand (al-Azraqi, Kitab Akhbar Makka).
Quraysh consulted Hubal for divination using arrows — essentially a pagan oracle.

Was Hubal Allah?

Some suggest Hubal was Allah’s physical representation, since Muhammad's tribe (Quraysh) called Allah their chief god.
Yet there’s no direct textual proof that Hubal = Allah.
However, both were worshipped at the Kaaba, which raises questions about the continuity of the sanctuary.

Critical Point: Islam retained the Kaaba, its rituals (circumambulation, pilgrimage), and direction of prayer (Qibla) — all features of pagan worship.

📚 Part IV — Islamic Revisions and Narrative Control

When Muhammad claimed prophethood, he didn’t destroy the Kaaba or condemn the sanctuary itself. Instead:

He destroyed all the idols—except the Kaaba, which he redefined as a monotheistic shrine.
He retained:
- The Hajj
- The Black Stone
- The Sa’i between Safa and Marwah (originally pagan rituals)

This suggests continuity, not rupture.

Islam rebranded pre-Islamic structures, giving them new theological meaning while retaining their symbolic power.

🔍 Part V — Linguistic and Historical Clarifications

Arabic “Allah” vs Biblical “El”:

“Allah” = al-Ilah = the god.
Parallels with Semitic languages:
- Hebrew: El, Eloah
- Aramaic: Alaha

Apologists use this to claim Allah is the same God as the Bible. But historical context contradicts this:

Pre-Islamic Allah was part of a pantheon, not a strict monotheistic deity.
The Qur'an itself acknowledges that pagans believed in Allah alongside other gods (Qur’an 39:3).

Conclusion: Linguistic similarity ≠ theological continuity.

🌐 Part VI — Implications for Islam’s Claim of Original Monotheism

Islamic theology claims that Islam is not new, but a restoration of Abrahamic monotheism.

Yet:

There’s no evidence Abraham ever visited Mecca.
The Kaaba was a pagan shrine centuries before Muhammad.
The rituals and terms (e.g., Hajj, Tawaf, Zamzam) predate Islam.

This puts Islam’s foundational claim—that it restored the true faith of Abraham—on shaky historical ground.

❗ Final Analysis: Reinventing a Pagan Past

Was Allah a moon god? Not exactly.
But was Allah—as worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia—a holdover from paganism?
Absolutely.

Muhammad didn’t introduce the name “Allah.” He redefined it. He didn’t demolish the Kaaba; he converted it.

This is a pattern of appropriation, not revelation.

Islam inherited a polytheistic infrastructure and gave it a monotheistic gloss. The result was a religion that erased its origins while preserving its outer shell.