Kitab al-Asnam
- Author died
- 204 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya
Kitab al-Asnam (The Book of Idols) is an early historical work on pre-Islamic Arabian paganism composed by the Iraqi genealogist and historian Abu al-Mundhir Hisham ibn Muhammad ibn al-Sa'ib al-Kalbi (d. 204 AH / 819 CE) .
Subject and Content
The work provides a detailed historical and ethnographic survey of polytheism in pre-Islamic Arabia, focusing primarily on the deities and cultic practices observed by the tribes of the Hijaz, Najd, and northern Arabia . It traces the origin of idolatry from biblical times—narrating accounts of early veneration among the descendants of Adam—through its historical introduction into the Arabian Peninsula .
Ibn al-Kalbi documents individual idols, their physical descriptions, their geographical locations, their custodians (sadana), the tribes that venerated them, the rituals and sacrifices performed around them, and their eventual destruction following the advent of Islam and the conquests directed by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ . Among the prominent idols described are al-Lat, al-'Uzza, Manat, Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq, Nasr, Isaf, Na'ila, Dhu al-Khalasa, and al-Fals . In addition to individual idols, the text examines major pre-Islamic sacred precincts and temples, including the Ka'ba, Ka'bat Najran, Ka'bat Sindad, al-Qullays, Rida', and Ri'am, supporting its historical reports with citations of pre-Islamic and early Islamic poetry .
Transmission and Preservation
The text was transmitted through the Iraqi scholar Ali ibn al-Sabbah ibn al-Furat, who read the work with Ibn al-Kalbi in 201 AH . The transmission subsequently passed through figures including al-Marzubani and reached the philologist Abu Mansur al-Jawaliqi, who transcribed an authoritative manuscript copy based on Ibn al-Furat's lineage .
While several early monographs on pre-Islamic idols by authors such as al-Jahiz were lost, Ibn al-Kalbi's treatise survived as the primary specialized work on the subject . Later medieval scholars drew heavily on it; most notably, Yaqut al-Hamawi relied directly on al-Jawaliqi's autograph copy to incorporate extensive excerpts into his geographical encyclopedia Mu'jam al-Buldan . Other scholars, such as Ibn al-Jawzi in Talbis Iblis and Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi in Khizanat al-Adab, cited and cross-referenced its material .
Modern Recovery and Editions
A unique surviving manuscript copy of the text was discovered by the Egyptian scholar Ahmad Zaki Pasha, who edited the treatise and prepared comprehensive analytical indexes for it . His edition was first published at al-Matba'a al-Amiriyya in Cairo in 1333 AH / 1914 CE under the auspices of the Committee for the Revival of Arabic Literature (later integrated into the Literary Section of Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya), and a second edition appeared in 1925 CE .
The work has seen multiple printings and translations, including a German edition and translation by Rosa Klinke-Rosenberger published in Leipzig in 1941 CE, as well as an English translation and French studies .
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