E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Isaf.
An Arabian idol in the form of a man, brought from Syria, and placed in Es-Safa, near the temple of Mecca. Some say Isaf was a man converted into stone for impiety, and that Mahomet suffered this one “idol” to remain as a warning to his disciples.
