Breaking of the Idols
After accepting Islam, Hazrat Mu‘az (ra) bin Jabal, along with the youth of Banu Salama, broke the idols of their tribe.
(Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd-ul-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 5, Mu‘az(ra) bin Jabal [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2003] 187) (Ibn Sa‘d, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3, Mu‘az(ra) bin Jabal wa min Sa‘ir Bani Salamah [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1990] 437-438) (Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah, Vol. 6 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1995] 107-108) (Sheikh Shah Moinuddin Ahmad Nadvi, Siyar al-Sahabah, Vol. 3, Mu‘az(ra) bin Jabal [Karachi, Pakistan: Dar al-Isha‘ah, 2004] 497)
Hazrat Amr (ra) bin Jamooh placed an idol made out of wood in his home. He named it Manaat and would show great respect to it and revere it. On the occasion of the second Bai‘at [pledge] at Aqabah, some youths from Banu Salama also pledged their allegiance. Among them was Hazrat Mu‘az (ra) bin Jabal and also Mu‘az (ra), the son of Amr [bin Jamooh] who also pledged his allegiance.
Hazrat Amr (ra) bin Jamooh’s son devised a plan to call his father towards Islam. He would take the idol of Hazrat Amr (ra), which he had placed in his home, and throw it into a pit or a pile of rubbish. Some of the youths would assist him in this, including Hazrat Mu‘az (ra) bin Jabal. Nevertheless, he threw the idol into the pit of rubbish one day. Amr (ra) found it, brought it back home and said, “If I come to know who is doing this to my idol, I will punish him severely.”
The following day, these young men did the same with the idol and it was once again lying face down in the pit. He once again picked it up and brought it back. The third day, he cleaned the idol again and placed it in his home, but this time, he hung his sword around the idol and said, “By God! I am not aware of who is doing this to you, but I am leaving a sword with you so that you may protect yourself. You now have a sword.”
The following day, Hazrat Amr (ra) noticed that the idol was once again not in its place and found it in that very pit nearby, tied to the neck of a dead dog. Seeing this, he was taken aback and became extremely concerned and was compelled to ponder over the fact that the idol he considered to be a god and had placed in his home did not even have the strength and power to protect itself even with a sword by its side; how then could it possibly protect him? Furthermore, it was lying around the neck of a dead dog. Thus, he deeply reflected on how this could possibly be a god. Nevertheless, this incident was the cause for his inclination towards Islam and later accepting Islam.
(Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 4, Amr bin al-Jamuh [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2003] 195)