53.19 – Have you seen al-Lāt, and al-‘Uzzā, and Manāt . . . ?

According to Muslim tradition, al-Lāt, al-‘Uzzā, and Manāt were three gods worshiped by idolaters in Mecca. Early Muslim commentators and historians explained verses 19–25 by telling the story of the “satanic verses” (see al-Ṭabarī, History, 6:107–12). The story is that Muhammad wished to gain the favor of the Meccans, so he proclaimed that the Meccans may hope for the intercession of these gods. Gabriel then informed Muhammad that these words were not revealed by Allah but were cast into him by Satan. Mention of Satan casting words into the minds of messengers and prophets is found in 22.52–54, which is the other passage associated with the “satanic verses” story in Muslim commentaries.

In the book Before Orthodoxy, Shahab Ahmed presented translations of fifty different versions of the “satanic verses” story from early Muslim commentaries. Ahmed wondered why – since virtually all Muslims during Islam’s first two centuries believed the story to be historical – it has since 1800 become practically impossible for Muslims to consider it true. A handy translation of Zamakhsharī’s discussion of 22.52 and 53.19 in the fifth Islamic century (twelfth century AD) is included in Helmut Gätje’s The Qur’án and its Exegesis.