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Suwāʿ (Arabic: سواع) is mentioned in the Qur'an (71:23) as a deity of the time of the Prophet Noah.

And they say: Forsake not your gods, nor forsake Wadd, nor Suwa', nor Yaghuth and Ya'uq and Nasr. (Qur'an 71:23)

Maulana Muhammad Ali of the Ahmadiyya community, adds the following commentary on the passage:

The names of the idols given here are those which existed in Arabia in the Prophet's time, and hence some critics call it an anachronism. According to IʿAb, the idols of Noah's people were worshipped by the Arabs, Wadd being worshipped by Kalb, Suwāʿ by Hudhail, Yaghūth by Murād, Yaʿūq by Hamadān and Nasr by Ḥimyar (B. 65:lxxi, 1). The commentators say that Wadd was worshipped in the form of a man, Suwāʿ in that of a woman, Yaghūth in that of a lion, Yaʿūq in that of a horse and Nasr in that of an eagle (Rz).

The temple dedicated to Suwāʿ was demolished on the orders of Muhammad, in the Raid of Amr ibn al-As, in January 630 AD, 8AH, 9th month, of the Islamic Calendar.

References

1. Maulana Muhammad Ali. The Holy Qur'an, with English Translation and Commentary; 2002 edition (ISBN 0-913321-01-X). The quoted text appears in Ali's footnote on 71:23a (page 1138).
2. List of Battles of Muhammad Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
3. The sealed nectar, By S.R. Al-Mubarakpuri, Pg256
4. "Later, in the same month, ‘Amr bin Al-‘As was sent ", Witness-Pioneer.com Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine

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