"Hubal" was also the pseudonym of Henryk Dobrzanski, a Polish partisan from World War II

Part of the myth series on
Fertile Crescent
Mesopotamian mythology Ancient Arabian mythology Ancient Levantine mythology
Pre-Islamic Arabian gods
Abgal Aglibol Al-Qaum al-Lāt, al-'Ilāhat Astarte Atargatis (Syrian) Atarsamain Beelshamen Bēl, Baʕl, Bēl-Ć amÄ«n Bes (Egypto-Arabic) Dhu'l-Halasa Dusares, Dhu Sharā' Ēl, Ilāh (NW Semitic) Hubal IĆĄtar, Athtar Malakbel Manāt Manaf NabĆ«, Nebo Nasr Nergal Nuha Orotalt Ruda Shams, Samas SÄ«n, Nanna-Suen Suwa' ʕUzzā Wadd Ya'uq YaghĆ«th Yarhibol/Malakbel demons
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Hubal (Arabic: Ù‡ŰšÙ„â€Ž) was a god worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia, notably at the Kaaba in Mecca. His idol was a human figure, believed to control acts of divination, which were made by tossing arrows in front of the statue. The direction in which the arrows pointed answered questions asked of the idol. Access to the idol was controlled by the Quraysh. Devotees of Hubal fought against Muhammad's followers at the Battle of Badr. After Muhammad entered Mecca in 630, the image of Hubal was removed from the Kaaba.

The origins of the cult of Hubal are uncertain, but the name is found in inscriptions from Nabataea in northern Arabia (across the territory of modern Syria and Iraq). The specific powers and identity attributed to Hubal are equally unclear.

Hubal in Mecca[link]

Hubal most prominently appears at Mecca, where an image of his was worshipped at the Kaaba. According to Karen Armstrong, the sanctuary was dedicated to Hubal, who was worshipped as the greatest of the 360 idols the Kaaba contained, which probably represented the days of the year.^[1]

Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi's Book of Idols describes the image as shaped like a human, with the right hand broken off and replaced with a golden hand.^[2] According to Ibn Al-Kalbi, the image was made of red agate, whereas Al-Azraqi, an early Islamic commentator, described it as of "cornelian pearl". Al-Azraqi also relates that it "had a vault for the sacrifice" and that the offering consisted of a hundred camels. Both authors speak of seven arrows, placed before the image, which were cast for divination, in cases of death, virginity and marriage.^[2]

According to Ibn Al-Kalbi, the image was first set up by Khuzaymah ibn-Mudrikah ibn-al-Ya's' ibn-Mudar, but another tradition, record by Ibn Ishaq, holds that Amr ibn Luhayy, a leader of the Khuza'a tribe, put an image of Hubal into the Kaaba, where it was worshipped as one of the chief deities of the tribe.^[3] The date for Amr is disputed, with dates as late as the end of the fourth century CE suggested, but what is quite sure is that the Quraysh later became the protectors of the ancient holy place, supplanting the Khuza'a.

A tale recorded by Ibn Al-Kalbi has Muhammad's grandfather Abdul Mutallib vowing to sacrifice one of his ten children. He consulted the arrows of Hubal to find out which child he should chose. The arrows pointed to his son Abd-Allah, the future father of Muhammad. However, he was saved when 100 camels were sacrificed in his place. According to Tabari, Abdul Mutallib later also brought the infant Muhammad himself before the image.^[4]

After defeat by Muhammad's forces at the Battle of Badr, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, leader of the Quraysh army, is said to have called on Hubal for support to gain victory in their next battle, saying "Show your superiority, Hubal". ^[5] When Muhammad conquered Mecca in 630, he removed and had destroyed the statue of Hubal, along with the other 360 images at the Kaaba, and re-dedicated the structure to Allah.^[6]

Origins of Hubal[link]

There may be some foundation of truth in the story that Amr travelled in Syria and had brought back from there the cults of the goddesses Ê»Uzzāʌ and Manat, and had combined it with that of Hubal, the idol of the Khuza'a.^[7] According to Al-Azraqi, the image was brought to Mecca "from the land of Hit in Mesopotamia" (HÄ«t in modern Iraq). Philip K. Hitti, who relates the name Hubal to an Aramaic word for spirit, suggests that the worship of Hubal was imported to Mecca from the north of Arabia, possibly from Moab or Mesopotamia.^[8] Hubal may have been the combination of Hu, meaning "spirit" or "god", and the Maob god Baal meaning "master" or "lord". Outside South Arabia, Hubal's name appears just once, in a Nabataean inscription;^[9] there hbl is mentioned along with the gods Dushara (Ű°Ùˆ Ű§Ù„ŰŽŰ±Ű§Ű©) and Manawatu — the latter, as Manat, was also popular in Mecca. On the basis of such slender evidence, it has been suggested that Hubal "may actually have been a Nabataean".^[10] There are also inscriptions in which the word Hubal appears to be part of personal names, translatable as "Son of Hubal" or "made by Hubal".^[11]

Mythological role[link]

The paucity of evidence concerning Hubal makes it difficult to characterise his role or identity in pagan Arabian mythologies. The 19th century scholar Julius Wellhausen suggested that Hubal was regarded as the son of al-Lāt and the brother of Wadd.^[12] Hugo Winckler in the early twentieth century speculated that Hubal was a lunar deity, a view that was repeated by other scholars.^[13] This was derived Ditlef Nielsen's theory that South Arabian mythology was based on a trinity of Moon-father, Sun-mother and the evening star (the planet Venus) envisaged as their son. More recent scholars have rejected this view, partly because it is speculation but also because a Nabataean origin would make the context of South Arabian beliefs irrelevant.^[14]

Mircea Eliade and Charles J. Adams assert that he was "a god of rain and a warrior god. Towards the end of the pre-Islamic era he emerged as an intertribal warrior god worshipped by the Quarysh and the allied tribes of the Kinana and Tihama."^[15] The view that he was a warrior rain god is repeated by David Adams Leeming.^[16]

John F. Healey in The Religion of the Nabataeans (2001) accepts the Nabataean origins of the god, but says there is little evidence of Hubal's mythological role, but that it is possible that he was closely linked to Dushara in some way. The one surviving inscription concerns a religious injunction to placate Hubal and others for violating a tomb.^[11]

In modern culture[link]

Both Islamists and Christian evangelicals have invoked the figure of Hubal in the ideological struggles of the post Cold War era. In Islamism Hubal has been used as a symbol of modern forms of "idol worship". According to Adnan A. Musallam this can be traced to one of the founders of radical Islamism, Sayyid Qutb, who used the label to attack secular rulers such as Nasser, seen as creating "idols" based on un-Islamic Western and Marxist ideologies. In 2001, Osama bin Laden called America the modern Hubal. He referred to allies of America as "hypocrites" who "all stood behind the head of global unbelief, the Hubal of the modern age, America and its supporters"^[17][18] Al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, repeated the phrase ("hubal al-'asr") in describing America, during his November 2008 message following Barack Obama's election to the presidency.^[19] The analogy may have been passed on to Bin Laden by one of his teachers, Abdullah Azzam.^[20]

Conversely, American Evangelicals have invoked Hubal by claiming that the worship of Allah as proclaimed by Muhammad was not a restoration of Abrahamic monotheism, but an adaptation of the worship of Hubal. Robert Morey's 1994 book Moon-god Allah in the Archeology of the Middle East revives Hugo Winckler's identification of Hubal as a moon god, and claims that worship of Allah evolved from that of Hubal, thus making Allah a "moon god" too.^[21] This view is repeated in the Chick tracts "Allah Had No Son" and "The Little Bride". It has been widely circulated in Evangelical and anti-Islamic literature in the United States. In 1996 Janet Parshall asserted that Muslims worship a moon god in syndicated radio broadcasts.^[22] In 2003 Pat Robertson stated, "The struggle is whether Hubal, the Moon God of Mecca, known as Allah, is supreme, or whether the Judeo-Christian Jehovah God of the Bible is Supreme."^[23]

These views have been dismissed by both Muslim and secular religious scholars.^[24][25][26] Farzana Hassan sees these claims as an extension of longstanding Christian Evangelical beliefs that Islam is "pagan" and that Muhammad was an impostor and deceiver,

Literature circulated by the Christian Coalition perpetuates the popular Christian belief about Islam being a pagan religion, borrowing aspects of Judeo-Christian monotheism by elevating the moon god Hubal to the rank of Supreme God, or Allah. Muhammad, for fundamentalist Christians, remains an impostor who commissioned his companions to copy words of the Bible as they sat in dark inaccessible places, far removed from public gaze.^[27]

Notes[link]

Henryk DobrzaƄski
Nickname	Hubal
Born	(1897-06-22)June 22, 1897 JasƂo, Austria-Hungary (now in Poland)
Died	April 30, 1940(1940-04-30) (aged 42) Near Opoczno, Poland
Years of service	1912 - 1940
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	World War I, Polish-Ukrainian, Polish-Bolshevik, World War II
Awards	KrzyĆŒ Walecznych (4) Virtuti Militari (2)

Part of a series on the
Polish Underground State
History of Poland 1939–1945
Authorities Government Administration Parliament Courts
Political organizations Major parties Polish Socialist Party People's Party National Party Labour Party Minor parties Camp of National Unity Democratic Party Jewish Labour Bund Hashomer Hatzair Betar (Zionist youth) Opposition National Radical Camp Polish Workers' Party
Military organizations Armia Krajowa (AK) Service for Poland's Victory (SZP) Armed Struggle (ZWZ) Szare Szeregi National Security Corps (PKB) Mostly integrated with ZWZ-AK Gwardia Ludowa WRN Bataliony ChƂopskie Partially integrated with ZWZ-AK National Military Organization National Armed Forces Camp of Fighting Poland Pomeranian Griffin Konfederacja Narodu Non-integrated but recognizing authority of ZWZ-AK Jewish Combat Organization Jewish Military Union Opposition Military Lizard Union Armia Ludowa
Related topics Cultural activities Education History of Poland during 1939-1945
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Hubal and his partisan unit - winter 1939

Hubal and his partisan unit - winter 1939

Hubal and his partisan unit - winter 1940

Body of Dead Hubal 30 April 1940

Major Henryk DobrzaƄski aka "Hubal" (June 22, 1897 - April 30, 1940) was a Polish soldier, sportsman and partisan. He was the first guerrilla commander of the Second World War in Europe.

Early life and career[link]

Coat of arms of Leliwa

Henryk DobrzaƄski was born on June 22, 1897, in JasƂo, Austria-Hungary to a Polish noble family (Coat of arms of Leliwa), of Henryk DobrzaƄski de Hubal and Maria DobrzaƄska nĂ©e Lubieniecka. In 1912 he joined the "DruĆŒyny Strzeleckie", an underground Scouting organisation. When World War I broke out he volunteered to join JĂłzef PiƂsudski's Polish Legions. He served with distinction in the 2nd Regiment of Uhlans and participated in many battles such as Stawczany and Battle of RaraƄcza. In 1918 after Poland regained its independence he joined the Polish Army.

He took part in the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918 and fought with his cavalry platoon during the Siege of LwĂłw. Later he participated in Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1921. For his bravery he was awarded the Virtuti Militari, the highest Polish military award, and four times the KrzyĆŒ Walecznych, in addition to many other military awards.

After the Peace of Riga he remained in the Polish Army. He became a member of the Polish equestrian team, winning many international competitions. He also took part in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and came fourth at the prestigious Aldershot competition. In his sports career he gained 22 gold, three silver and four bronze medals altogether.

World War II[link]

Shortly before the outbreak of the Polish Defence War of 1939 he was assigned to the 110th reserve Cavalry Regiment as a deputy commander. His unit was to enter combat as a second-line formation, but fast advances of the Wehrmacht made the completion of training impossible. On September 11 it was moved to WoƂkowysk, from where it marched towards Grodno and Augustów Forest. It fought several skirmishes against the German army and took part in the defence of the city against the Red Army.

After two days of heavy fighting against the numerically superior Soviets, on September 20 Grodno was lost and three days later gen. bryg. WacƂaw PrzeĆșdziecki, the commander of the defence of the Grodno area, ordered all his troops to escape to neutral Lithuania. The 110th Regiment was the only unit to disobey this order. The unit joined with the remnants of several routed regiments and fought its way towards the capital Warsaw. The unit got surrounded by the Red Army in the Biebrza river area and suffered serious casualties, but managed to break through the enemy defences. After that, Lt. Col. Jerzy Dąbrowski, the commander of the regiment, decided to disband it. Henryk DobrzaƄski took command of approximately 180 men who decided to continue their march towards besieged Warsaw.

When Warsaw capitulated on September 27, DobrzaƄski faced three choices: evacuate (via Hungary or Romania) to France, disband the unit, or continue the fight. He decided to lead his unit southwards and try to break through to France. Approximately 50 men volunteered to stay in the army, while the rest were allowed to leave. On November 1, 1939, they crossed the Vistula near Dęblin and started their march towards the Holy Cross Mountains. The same day his unit fought the first skirmish against the Germans. After that he decided to stay in the Kielce area with his unit and wait until the Allied relief came, which he expected in the Spring of 1940. He also swore that he would not take off his uniform until after the war.

On October 5, the Battle of Kock ended the resistance of the last major unit of the Polish Army and thus Hubal became the first partisan commander of World War II. Thanks to the support of the local civilian population, the "Separated Unit of the Polish Army" (OddziaƂ Wydzielony Wojska Polskiego), as he named his unit, managed to evade all raids and traps organised by the Germans. However, the German authorities responded with brutal retaliation against the civil population. Because of that the newly-formed ZWZ and the Government Delegate's Office at Home ordered Hubal to disband his unit, but he refused. At the same time he limited his contacts with the civilians so as not to endanger them more than necessary.

In March 1940 his unit completely destroyed a battalion of German infantry in a skirmish near the village of Huciska. A few days later, in an ambush near the village of SzaƂasy, it inflicted heavy casualties on another German unit. To counter this threat the German authorities formed a special 1,000 men strong anti-partisan unit of combined SS-Wehrmacht forces, including a Panzer group. Although the unit of Maj. DobrzaƄski never exceeded 300 men, the Germans fielded at least 8,000 men in the area to secure it.

Death and legacy[link]

Memorial to Henryk DobrzaƄski in Kielce's old cemetery

On April 30, 1940, his staff quarters in a ravine near the village of Anielin (powiat of Opoczno) was ambushed. In an unequal battle DobrzaƄski and most of his men were killed. Germans desecrated his body and showed it at public view in local villages. They then transported it to Tomaszów Mazowiecki and either burnt it or buried it in an unknown location. The remnants of the "Separated Unit of the Polish Army" continued the struggle until June 25, 1940, when it was disbanded.

in 1949, Dobrzanski's son, Louis, emigrated to England and became a property developer. He died in 1992.

In 1966 Henryk DobrzaƄski was posthumously awarded with Golden Cross of the Virtuti Militari and promoted to Colonel. Currently almost 200 organisations and institutions bear his name, including 82 Scouting groups, 31 schools and several military units. There are streets named after him in almost every Polish city. The site of his burial remains unknown.

In 1973 the film Hubal, based on his resistance campaign, was released.

The pseudonym "Hubal" comes from his family coat of arms.

Decorations[link]

Military decorations awarded to Henyrk DobrzaƄski include:

• Order Virtuti Militari Golden Cross (posthumously in 1966)
• Order Virtuti Militari Silver Cross
• Cross of Independence
• Cross of Valour 4 times
• Medal Decade of regained Independence
• Commemorative Medal for War of 1918-1921

Bibliography[link]

• Melchior Wankowicz: Hubalczycy, Warsaw, 1970;
• Marek Szymanski: Oddzial majora Hubala, Warszawa 1999, ISBN 83-912237-0-1;
• Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm: Z miejsca na miejsce. W cieniu legendy Hubala, Warsaw 1986, ISBN 83-904286-6-0;
• Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm: Kaja od Radoslawa, czyli historia Hubalowego krzyza, Warszawa 2006, ISBN 83-7319-975-6;
• Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm: "Dwor w Krasnicy i Hubalowy Demon", Warszawa 2009, PIW, ISBN 978-83-06-03221-5;
• Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm: A Polish Partisan's Story (to be published by Military History Press).

See also[link]

Scouting portal

• Polish contribution to World War II
• Polish Secret State
• List of guerrillas