Manaf (deity)
| Part of the myth series on |
| Religions of the ancient Near East |
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| Pre-Islamic Arabian deities |
| Arabian deities of other Semitic origins |
Manaf (Arabic: مناف Manāf ) was a pre-Islamic Arabian deity. Personal names incorporating the name Manaf such as ‘Abd Manaf show that his cult was widespread among the tribes of Quraysh, Hudhayl, and Tamim.[1] Although al-Tabari calls Manaf "one of the greatest deities of Mecca," very little information is available on the subject.[1] It is sometimes said that women, who normally touched his idol as a token of blessing, kept away from it during menstruation, but T. Fahd notes that this practice was common to all idols according to the available report from Ibn Al-Kalbi.[1] Manaf's name is found in Thamudic, Safaitic, and Lihyanitic inscriptions, and there were altars dedicated to him at Hawran in the Levant and at Volubilis in Morocco.[1]