allat

Allat, also transliterated Al-Lat, is a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess worshipped in the western Arabian Peninsula. In the late pre-Islamic polytheistic milieu, she was regarded as one of the major female deities, alongside Al-Uzza and Manat. The attributes attributed to Allat vary by source, but she is commonly associated with fertility, motherhood, and prosperity. She was reportedly worshipped at sanctuaries in or near Ta’if, with an idol connected to her cult, and she was also venerated in other parts of the Mecca region.

The name Allat is the definite form of Lat, understood in ancient sources as referring to a goddess rather than as a generic title. In Islamic and later Christian sources, Allat is treated as a specific deity rather than a general term for goddess. In Islamic scripture, she is named among the pagan gods opposed by the Prophet Muhammad. The Qur’an mentions Al-Lat together with Al-Uzza and Manat as deities worshipped by the idolaters, in passages that critique polytheism (for example, Qur’an 53:19–23). Historical accounts indicate that the cult declined during and after the early Islamic conquests, with the associated temples and idols eventually falling out of use.

Scholars view Allat as emblematic of the broader pre-Islamic Arabian religious landscape, illustrating how multiple local cults coexisted and how the advent of Islam reshaped religious practice in the peninsula. The figure remains a notable example of the prominent goddesses venerated in late pre-Islamic Arabia and of the transition to monotheism in the region.