أَخْبَرَنَا هَارُونُ بْنُ مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ الْمُؤَدِّبِ، عَنِ الْأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي مَوْلَايَ أَنَّ أَهْلَهُ بَعَثُوا مَعَهُ بِقَدَحٍ فِيهِ زُبْدٌ وَلَبَنٌ إِلَى آلِهَتِهِمْ قَالَ فَمَنَعَنِي أَنْ آكُلَ الزُّبْدَ لِمَخَافَتِهَا قَالَ فَجَاءَ كَلْبٌ فَأَكَلَ الزُّبْدَ وَشَرِبَ اللَّبَنَ ثُمَّ بَالَ عَلَى الصَّنَمِ وَهُوَ إِسَافٌ وَنَائِلَةُ. قَالَ هَارُونُ: كَانَ الرَّجُلُ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ إِذَا سَافَرَ حَمَلَ مَعَهُ أَرْبَعَةَ أَحْجَارٍ ثَلَاثَةً لِقِدْرِهِ وَالرَّابِعَ يَعْبُدُهُ وَيُرَبِّي كَلْبَهُ وَيَقْتُلُ وَلَدَهُ
Reported to us by Harun bin Mu`awiyah from Ibrahim bin Sulaiman Al Mu`addib from Al A’mash from Mujahid: That he heard his former slave say that his family entrusted him with a container filled with butter and milk to be offered to their gods, He said: My family forbade me from eating this butter our of fear of these gods ; then came a dog, who ate the butter and drank milk from the container and peed on the statues namely the statue of Isaf and Naila. Harun said: In the days of ignorance when a man wanted to travel he would carry four stones, three of them to support / erect a cauldron (cooking container) and the fourth for him to worship, or to train his dog, or to kill their child.
Grade: ‘Isnad Hasan’.
Note: Imam Darmi is the sole narrator of this hadith.
Hisham ibn al-Kalbi an Arab genealogist handed down the legend of Isaf and Naila in his Book of Idols as follows:
They set out to perform the pilgrimage. Upon their arrival in Mecca they entered the Ka’bah. Taking advantage of the absence of anyone else and of the privacy of the Sacred House, Isaf committed adultery with her in the sanctuary. Thereupon they were transformed into stone, becoming two miskhs.
Kitab Al-Asnam , PAGE 7 OF ENGLISH TRANSLATION