Among the many deities worshipped in the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam, Manāt holds a singular place. She is part of the feminine triad mentioned in the Qur’an [53:19–20], alongside al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā. Her cult, attested well before Islam, was primarily centered between Mecca and Yathrib (later Medina), where her main sanctuary stood at al-Mushallal, on the Red Sea coast. The tribes of al-Aws and al-Khazraj, who would later dominate the Medinan scene, revered her as their tutelary goddess.
