InIslam,the termsḥanīf(SING;Arabic:حنيف,lit. 'a renunciate [ofidolatry]') andḥunafā'(PLUR;حنفاء) are primarily used to refer topre-Islamic Arabianswho wereAbrahamic monotheists.These people are regarded favorably for shunningArabian polytheismand instead solely worshipping theGod of Abraham,[1]thus setting themselves apart from what is calledjahiliyyah.However, they were not associated withJudaismorChristianity;instead exemplifying what they perceived as the unaltered beliefs and morals ofAbraham.The word is found 12 times in theQuran:10 times in the singular form and twice in the plural.[2]According to Muslim tradition,Muhammadhimself was aḥanīf(before hemet the angel Gabriel) and a direct descendant of Abraham's eldest sonIshmael.[3]Likewise, allIslamic prophets and messengersbefore Muhammad—that is, those affiliated with Judaism and/or Christianity, such asMosesandJesus—are consideredḥunafā'to underscore theirGod-given infallibility.[3]
Etymology
editThe termḥanīfcomes from the Arabicrootḥ-n-fmeaning "to incline, to decline"[4]or "to turn or bend sideways"[5]from theSyriacroot of the different meaning “to deceive, to turn pagan, to lead into paganism”. The Syriac word refers to pagans and deceivers.[4][6][7][8]The Arabic is defined as "true believer, orthodox; one who scorns the false creeds surrounding him/her and profess the true religion" by The Arabic-EnglishDictionary of Modern Written Arabic.[5]
According toFrancis Edward Peters,in verse3:67of theQuranit has been translated as "upright person" and outside the Quran as "to incline towards a right state or tendency".[9]According toW. Montgomery Watt,it appears to have been used earlier byJewsandChristiansin reference to "pagans"and applied to followers of an oldHellenizedSyrianandArabianreligion and used to taunt early Muslims.[10]
Michael Cookstates "its exact sense is obscure" but the Quran "uses it in contexts suggestive of a pristine monotheism, which it tends to contrast with (latter-day) Judaism and Christianity". In the Quranḥanīfis associated "strongly with Abraham, but never withMosesorJesus".[11]The unique association of ḥanīf with Abraham underscores his foundational role in the development of monotheistic faith and his exemplary status in the Islamic tradition.
Oxford Islamic Studies online definesḥanīfas "one who is utterly upright in all of his or her affairs, as exemplified by the model of Abraham"; and that prior to the arrival of Islam "the term was used [...] to designate pious people who accepted monotheism but did not join the Jewish or Christian communities."[12]
Others translateHanīfiyyahas the law of Ibrahim; the verbtaḥannafaas "to turn away from [idolatry]". Others maintain that theḥanīffollowed the "religion of Ibrahim, thehanif,the Muslim[.] "[10]It has been theorized by Watt that theverbaltermIslam,arising from theparticipleform ofMuslim(meaning "surrendered to God" ), may have only arisen as an identifying descriptor for the religion in the lateMedinan period.[10]
Historicity
editAccording to theEncyclopædia Britannica,"there is no evidence that a trueḥanīfcult existed inpre-Islamic Arabia."[13][additional citation(s) needed]
A Greek source from the 5th century CE,The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen,speaks of how "Abrahamhad bequeathed a monotheist religion "to theArabs,who are described being descended "fromIshmaelandHagar"and adhering to certain practices of theJews,such asshunning pork consumption.[14]
Sozomen,a 5th-century Roman lawyer and historian of theChristian Church,is thought to have been a native ofGaza City[15]and a native speaker ofArabic[citation needed]Therefore, according toIbn Rawandi,he provides a "reliable source" that Arabs—at least in northwestArabia—were familiar with the idea there were pre-Islamic "Abrahamic monotheists (ḥanīf) [...] whether this was true of Arabs throughout the [Arabian] peninsula it is impossible to say. "[14]
Yehuda Nevo, a revisionist Islamic historian which has called into question several aspects of the traditional islamic narrative, interprets the Hanif movement as part of a broader pre-Islamic monotheistic trend in Arabia that eventually morphed into what he names Mohammadian Islam following the Islamic conquests[16].
List of Arabian monotheists
editThis sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(November 2011) |
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "some of Muḥammad's relatives, contemporaries, and early supporters were calledhanifs"[13]– examples includingWaraqah ibn Nawfal,"a cousin of the Prophet’s first wife,Khadija bint Khuwaylid,[13]and Umayyah ibn Abī aṣ-Ṣalt, "an early 7th-century Arab poet".[13]
According to the website "In the Name of Allah", the termḥanīfis used "twelve times in the Quran", but Abraham/Ibrahim is "the only person to have been explicitly identified with the term." He is mentioned "in reference to"ḥanīfeight times in the Quran.[17]
Among those who are thought to have beenḥunafā'are:[citation needed]
- All theprophets and messengersafter Abraham according to Islamic tradition
- Muhammad
- Old Najranites
- Seven Sleepers
- Sa'id bin Zayd
- Khaled bin Sinan
- Hashim ibn Abd Manaf
- Umayya ibn Abi as-Salt
The four friends inMeccafromibn Ishaq's account:
- Zayd ibn Amr:rejected both Judaism and Christianity[9]
- Waraqah ibn Nawfal:was aNestorian priestand patrilineal third cousin toMuhammad.He died before Muhammad declared his Prophethood.[9]
- Uthman ibn al-Huwayrith:travelled to theByzantine Empireand converted to Christianity[9]
- Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh:early Muslim convert who emigrated to theKingdom of Aksum.[9]
Ḥanīfopponents of Islam from Ibn Isḥāq's account:
- Abū 'Amar 'Abd Amr ibn Sayfī: a leader of the tribe ofBanu AwsatMedinaand builder of the "Mosque of the Schism" mentioned in the Quranic verse9:107and later allied with theQurayshthen moved toTa'ifand ontoSyriaafter subsequentearly Muslim conquests.[9]
- Abu Qays ibn al-Aslaṭ[9]
See also
edit- Banu Khuza'a
- Noahidism,similar concept with Judaism
- Abrahamites
- Monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia
- Perennial Philosophy
- People of the Book
- Prisca theologia,equivalent concept in esoteric Christianity
- Rahmanism
- Urmonotheismus
Notes
edit- ^Köchler 1982,p. 29.
- ^Bell, Richard (1949). "Muslim World, Volume XXIX, 1949, pp. 120-125".Muslim World.XXIX:120–125.
- ^abSee:
- Louis Jacobs (1995), p. 272
- Turner (2005), p. 16
- ^abLane, 1893
- ^abWehr, Hans.Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic.p. 210.Retrieved28 October2019.
- ^"The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon".cal.huc.edu.Retrieved2023-12-06.
- ^"The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon".cal.huc.edu.Retrieved2023-12-06.
- ^J. Payne Smith (Mrs. Margoliouth),A Compendious Syriac Dictionary(Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1903) p. 149 [from sedra.bethmardutho.org, tagged by Aron M. Tillema, accessed on Dec. 06, 2023].
- ^abcdefgPeters 1994,pp. 122–124.
- ^abcWatt 1974,pp. 117–119.
- ^Cook, Michael (1983).Muhammad.Oxford University Press. p. 39.ISBN0192876058.
- ^"Hanif".Oxford Islamic Studies Online.Archived fromthe originalon June 2, 2018.Retrieved28 October2019.
- ^abcd"Hanif".britannica.Retrieved23 February2020.
- ^abIbn Rawandi, "Origins of Islam", 2000:p.112
- ^Crone,Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam,1987:p.190-91
- ^https://archive.org/details/yehuda-d.-nevo-judith-koren-crossroads-to-islam-the-origins-of-the-arab-religion/mode/2uppage 199
- ^"hanif".In the Name of Allah.Retrieved28 October2019.
References
edit- Ambros, Arne A; Procháczka, Stephan (2004).A Concise Dictionary of Koranic Arabic.Reichert.
- Crone, Patricia (1987).Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam(PDF).Princeton University Press. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2016-05-28.Retrieved2020-02-23.
- Hawting, G. R.(1999).The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam: From Polemic to History.Cambridge University Press.
- Ibn Warraq, ed. (2000). "2. Origins of Islam: A Critical Look at the Sources".The Quest for the Historical Muhammad.Prometheus. pp.89–124.
- Kaltner, John (1999).Ishmael Instructs Isaac: An Introduction to the Qu'ran for Bible Readers.Liturgical Press.ISBN0-8146-5882-2.
- Köchler, Hans,ed. (1982).Concept of Monotheism in Islam & Christianity.International Progress Organization.ISBN3-7003-0339-4.
- Peters, F. E.(1994).Muhammad and the Origins of Islam.SUNY Press.ISBN0-7914-1875-8.
- Watt, William Montgomery(1974).Muhammad: prophet and statesman.Oxford University Press US.ISBN0-19-881078-4.
