"I was told by Malik ibn-Harithah al-Ajdari that he himself had seen Wadd, and that his father was wont to send him to it with some milk saying, “Offer it unto thy god to drink.” Malik added, “I used to drink the milk myself.’ He also said, “I also saw it after Khalid ibn-al-Walid had destroyed it and smashed it into pieces.”"

"He sent Sa’d b. Zayd al-Ashhali to Manāt in al-Mushallal and he pulled it down."

"When the Prophet captured Mecca, he dispatched Khalid ibn-al-Walid saying, “Go to the valley of Nakhlah; there you will find three trees. Cut down the first one.” Khalid went and cut it down. On his return to report, the Prophet asked him saying, “Have you seen anything there?” Khalid replied and said, “No.” The Prophet ordered him to return and cut down the second tree. He went and cut it down. On his return to report the Prophet asked him a second time, “Have you seen anything there?” Khalid answered, “No.” Thereupon the Prophet ordered him to go back and cut down the third tree. When Khalid arrived on the scene he found an Abyssinian woman with dishevelled hair and her hands placed on her shoulder[s], gnashing and grating her teeth. Behind her stood Dubayyah al-Sulami who was then the custodian of al-’Uzza. When Dubayyah saw Khalid approaching, he said: “O thou al-’Uzza! Remove thy veil and tuck up thy sleeves; Summon up thy strength and deal Khalid an unmistakable blow. For unless thou killest him this very day, Thou shalt be doomed to ignominy and shame.” Thereupon Khalid replied: “O al-’Uzza! May thou be blasphemed, not exalted! Verily I see that God hath abased thee.” Turning to the woman, he dealt her a blow which severed her head in twain, and lo, she crumbled into ashes. He then cut down the tree and killed Dubayyah the custodian, after which he returned to the Prophet and reported to him his exploit. Thereupon the Prophet said, “That was al-’Uzza. But she is no more. The Arabs shall have none after her. Verily she shall never be worshipped again.”"

"The Quraysh as well as the rest of the Arabs continued to venerate Manah until the Apostle of God set out from Medina in the eighth year of the Hijrah[16], the year in which God accorded him the victory[17]. When he was at a distance of four or five nights from Medina, he dispatched ‘Ali to destroy her. ‘Ali demolished her, took away all her [treasures], and carried them back to the Prophet."

"He sent Sa’d b. Zayd al-Ashhali Manāt in al-Mushallal and he pulled it down. And he sent “Amr b. al-As to the idol of Hudhayl-Suwa-and he pulled it down. Amr used to say: I reached the idol and also the gatekeeper. He said. What do you want? I said, “To bring down Suwā.” He said. “What do you intend with it?” I said. “The Messenger of God commanded me.” He said, “You will not be able to bring it down.” I said. “Why?” He replied, “It will prevent you.” Amr said, “Until now you are in the wrong! Woe unto you. Can it hear or see?” Amr said: I drew close to it and broke it. I commanded my companions and they pulled down the house of its treasury. They did not find anything in it.” Then he said to the gatekeeper, “What do you think?” He replied, “I submitted to God.”"

"When one's end is another's beginning."

"I was afraid this day would come. No mother desires such a life for her daughter, for the way of the warrior is perilous."

"Do not rely on your eyes alone. There are things that even they cannot see."

"The day of ruin's nigh. I can hear them. The spirits mourn. The legend will repeat."

"The dark clouds in the far sky are an ill omen. If this should continue, this city will be shrouded in darkness."

"To become a warrior, you must swear to always act bravely and fight to protect all peace-loving people at the peril of your own life."

"It is a book so vast that it is not necessary to have read it, for it is a part of our memory."

"I'd like every single Arab to read One Thousand and One Nights. They [would] learn a lot from them, especially [because] these stories were written away from the influence of religion. It's interesting to see how we were open, how we had a dialogue with each other, how we wanted to understand, how we respected each other. There was a great dignity, and I'd like this to be restored again."

"[M]y auntie, Tití, who was the reader in the family, gave me a picture book version of “The Arabian Nights,” and I was smitten. Scheherazade, the young heroine, was a girl who looked Dominican, dark eyed, dark hair, olive skin. Then, the whole idea of a girl saving her life and that of all women in the kingdom and transforming a cruel sultan by telling stories. That book put a luminous bit of information in my head: that stories have power, that they can transform you and save you."

"A library of books is the fairest garden in the world, and to walk there is an ecstasy."

"Maslamah ibn Dinar said: "Each pleasure that does not forward the soul to God is not so much as a pleasure as a calamity.""

"The proverb says: "Each man envies, the strong openly, the weak in secret.""

"When I was alive I was dust which was, But now I am dust in dust I am dust which never was."

"Scheherazade...possessed courage, wit, and penetration, infinitely above her sex. She had read much, and had so admirable a memory, that she never forgot any thing she had read. She had successfully applied herself to philosophy, medicine, history, and the liberal arts; and her poetry excelled the compositions of the best writers of her time. Besides this, she was a perfect beauty, and all her accomplishments were crowned by solid virtue."

"Open Sesame!"

"Who'll change old lamps for new ones?"

"I discovered fantasy and eroticism in One Thousand and One Nights, which I read in Lebanon at age fourteen. At that time and in that place, girls didn't have much social life aside from school and family; we didn't even go to the movies. My only escape from a troublesome family life was reading. My stepfather had four mysterious leather volumes in his locked closet, forbidden books that I was not supposed to see because they were “erotic.” Of course I found a way to copy the key and get in the closet when he was not around. I used a flashlight, could not mark the pages, and read quickly, skipping pages and looking for the dirty parts. My hormones were raging and my imagination went wild with those fantastic tales. When critics call me a Latin America Sheherazade I feel very flattered!"

"On the black road of life think not to find Either a friend or lover to your mind; If you must love, oh then, love solitude, For solitude alone is true and kind."

"I hope that Allah will not make me immortal, for death is His greatest gift to any true believer."

"Sinbad: Brad Pitt"

"Luca: Jim Cummings"

"Li: Chung Chan"

"Marina: Catherine Zeta-Jones"

"Jed: Conrad Vernon"

"[to Marina] Indeed, signorina. Only the most foolish of captains would dare sail through this."

"Jin: Raman Hui"

"[About Sinbad] He's so cute. And so gullible."

"[to Sinbad] Repressed?! I'll show you repressed!"

"Enough talking! Time for some screaming."

"Kale: Dennis Haysbert"

"[while it is cold and Kale is bare-chested] Woah! Get a shirt on before you poke someone's eye out!"

"[to Marina] Yes, we've done this sort of thing before, no, there is no other way, and yes, you have my permission to stand there quietly while I give you a free lesson in sailing."

"[About a sailor on Proteus' ship who was spat up by the sea monster and kept fighting] Give that guy a raise!"

"Honestly, you are the most boorish, pig-headed man I've ever met."

"Are you crazy! I saved your life!"

"[to Eris] You're wrong about him! You don't know what's in his heart!"

"[to Sinbad, heartbroken] I can't watch you die! [whispers] I love you."

"[Has just impersonated Sinbad attacking the guard in charge of the Book of Peace] I love playing pretend."

"[At the edge of the world] We are going to die!"

"Eris: Michelle Pfeiffer"

"Grum and Chum: Andrew Birch"

"Pray to the gods. We may be meeting them soon."

"Give that guy a raise."

"Proteus: Joseph Fiennes"

"See, in the hands of an expert, a good knife has 1,001 uses."