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Fatwa CenterHow idols of Noah's people arrived in Arabia
Question
assalam alikum bro I was just wondering how did the idols of noahs people fined there way into Arabia where amr bin luhai found them wether noahs flood was global or local because even if it was global everything was meant to be destroyed so I just wondered how did the idiols of noahs people fined there way into Arabia
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
We mentioned in Fatwa 267100 that Noah's flood encompassed the entire earth, as asserted by researching scholars; so please refer to the Fatwa.
As for your question regarding how the idols of the people of Noah reached Arabia to be found later by ‘Amr ibn Luhayy, scholars held two different explanations. First, the idols may have been carried by the flood and then ‘Amr ibn Luhayy found them buried on the coast of Jeddah (in Saudi Arabia). Second, the Arabs may have erected those idols and given them the same names of the idols of Noah's people.
The Haafith Ibn Hajar 
wrote pertaining to the first explanation: "Al-Faakihi narrated on the authority of Ibn Al-Kalbi that he said, '‘Amr ibn Rabee‘ah had a companion among the Jinn; he (the Jinn) once said to him, 'Rise, Abu Thumaamah, and go to the coast of Jeddah where you will find idols. Bring them to Tihaamah and fear none and invite the Arabs to worship them, and they will obey you.' ‘Amr ibn Luhayy went to the coast of Jeddah and found the idols Wadd, Suwaa‘, Yagooth, Ya‘ooq and Nasr buried there. Those idols were worshipped during the lifetime of prophets Noah and Idrees (Enoch), and were carried by the flood there and sand buried them. ‘Amr ibn Luhayy excavated the idols and took them to Tihaamah. During the Hajj season (when tribes from all around Arabia converged in Makkah to perform Hajj), he invited the Arabs to worship them and they welcomed his invitation. ‘Amr ibn Rabee‘ah was also known as ‘Amr ibn Luhayy, as mentioned earlier." [Fat-h Al-Baari]
Shaykh At-Taahir ibn ‘Aashoor said in relation to the second explanation: "The idols of the people of Noah were lost in the flood. Their names, though, were preserved in the memory of those who were saved along with the prophet Noah. They used to teach their young generations what happened to their ancestors for worshipping those idols. The names remained in circulation among ancient Arabs as reported in their traditions. ‘Amr ibn Luhayy Al-Khuzaa‘i was the one to revive idolatry, introducing idol-worshipping into Arabia; he erected statues for worship and gave them the names of the idols of Noah's people in addition to other names." [At-Tahreer wa At-Tanweer]
Allaah Knows best.
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