Editing Hanif

{{Short description|Islamic term for a pre-Islamic Arabian monotheist}}
{{italic title}}
{{About|the Islamic term for pre-Islamic Abrahamic monotheists|the Islamic school of jurisprudence|Hanafi|other uses}}
{{Broader|Monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia}}

In [[Islam]], the terms '''{{transliteration|ar|ḥanīf}}''' ({{abbr|{{sc|sing}}|singular form}}; {{langx|ar|[[wikt:حنيف|حنيف]]}}, {{Literal translation|a renunciate <nowiki>[</nowiki>of [[Shirk (Islam)|idolatry]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>}}) and '''{{transliteration|ar|DIN|ḥunafā'}}''' ({{abbr|{{sc|plur}}|plural form}}; {{lang|ar|حنفاء}}) are primarily used to refer to [[Pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic Arabians]] who were [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic monotheists]]. Muslims regard these people favorably for shunning [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia|Arabian polytheism]] and instead solely worshipping the [[God in Abrahamic religions|God of Abraham]],{{sfn|Köchler|1982|p=29}} thus setting themselves apart from what is called {{transliteration|ar|[[jahiliyyah]]}}. However, they were not associated with [[Islamic–Jewish relations|Judaism]] or [[Christianity and Islam|Christianity]]; instead exemplifying what they perceived as the unaltered beliefs and morals of [[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]].

The form {{transliteration|ar| hanīf}} appears 10 times in the [[Quran]], and the form {{transliteration|ar|DIN|ḥunafā'}} twice.<ref name="Bell-1949-120">{{cite journal |last1 =Bell |first1 =Richard |title =Muslim World |journal =Muslim World |date=1949 |volume=XXIX |pages=120–125}}</ref> According to Muslim tradition, [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]] himself was a {{transliteration|ar|ḥanīf}} (before he [[Muhammad's first revelation|met the angel Gabriel]]) and a direct descendant of Abraham's eldest son [[Ishmael in Islam|Ishmael]].<ref name=":0">See: 
*Louis Jacobs (1995), p. 272
*Turner (2005), p. 16</ref>
Likewise, Islam regards all [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophets and messengers]] before Muhammad — that is, those affiliated with Judaism and/or Christianity, such as [[Moses in Islam|Moses]] and [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]] — as {{transliteration|ar|DIN|ḥunafā'}}, underscoring their [[Ismah|God-given infallibility]].<ref name=":0" />

==Etymology==
The term {{transliteration|ar|ḥanīf}} comes from the Arabic [[triliteral|root]] {{transliteration|ar|DIN|[[ḥet|ḥ]]-[[nūn|n]]-[[fāʼ|f]]}} meaning "to incline, to decline"<ref name="Lane, 1893">Lane, 1893</ref> or "to turn or bend sideways"<ref name="Wehr-210">{{cite book |last1=Wehr |first1=Hans |title=Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic |page=210 |url=https://archive.org/details/HansWehrEnglishArabicDctionarySearchableFormat/page/n223 |access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref> from the [[Syriac language|Syriac]] root of the different meaning “to deceive, to turn pagan, to lead into paganism”. The Syriac word refers to pagans and deceivers.<ref name="Lane, 1893"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon |url=https://cal.huc.edu/oneentry.php?lemma=xnp%20V&cits=all |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=cal.huc.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon |url=https://cal.huc.edu/oneentry.php?lemma=xnp+N&cits=all |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=cal.huc.edu}}</ref><ref>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].</ref> 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-English ''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic''.<ref name="Wehr-210"/>

According to [[Francis Edward Peters]], in verse {{cite quran|3|67|style=nosup|expand=no}} of the [[Quran]] it has been translated as "upright person" and outside the Quran as "to incline towards a right state or tendency".{{sfn|Peters|1994|pp=122–124}} According to [[W. Montgomery Watt]], it appears to have been used earlier by [[Jews]] and [[Christians]] in reference to "[[paganism|pagans]]" and applied to followers of an old [[Hellenistic religion|Hellenized]] [[ancient Canaanite religion|Syrian]] and [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia|Arabian]] religion and used to taunt early Muslims.{{sfn|Watt|1974|pp=117–119}}

[[Michael Cook (historian)|Michael Cook]] states "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 Quran {{transliteration|ar|ḥanīf}} is associated "strongly with Abraham, but never with [[Moses]] or [[Jesus]]".<ref name="Cook-1983-39">{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Michael |title=Muhammad |date=1983 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0192876058 |page=39}}</ref> 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 defines {{transliteration|ar|ḥanīf}} as "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."<ref name="Hanif-OISO">{{cite web |title=Hanif |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e800 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602131703/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e800 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 2, 2018 |website=Oxford Islamic Studies Online |access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref>

Others translate  {{transliteration|ar|DIN|Hanīfiyyah}} as the law of Ibrahim; the verb {{transliteration|ar|DIN|taḥannafa}} as "to turn away from [idolatry]". Others maintain that the {{transliteration|ar|ḥanīf}} followed the "religion of Ibrahim, the {{transliteration|ar|hanif}}, the Muslim[.]"{{sfn|Watt|1974|pp=117–119}} It has been theorized by Watt that the [[verb]]al term ''Islam'', arising from the [[participle]] form of ''Muslim'' (meaning "surrendered to God"), may have only arisen as an identifying descriptor for the religion in the late [[Muhammad in Medina|Medinan period]].{{sfn|Watt|1974|pp=117–119}}

==Historicity==
According to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], "there is no evidence that a true {{transliteration|ar|ḥanīf}} cult existed in [[pre-Islamic Arabia]]."<ref name="EB-hanif">{{cite web |title=Hanif |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/hanif |access-date=23 February 2020 |website=britannica.com}}</ref>{{Additional citation needed|date=December 2024}}

A Greek source from the 5th century CE, ''The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen'', speaks of how "[[Abraham]] had bequeathed a monotheist religion" to the [[Arabs]], who are described being descended "from [[Ishmael]] and [[Hagar]]" and adhering to certain practices of the [[Jews]], such as [[Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork|shunning pork consumption]].<ref name="IROoI2000:112">[[#IROoI2000|Ibn Rawandi, "Origins of Islam", 2000]]: p.112</ref>

[[Sozomen]], a 5th-century Roman lawyer and historian of the [[Christian Church]], is thought to have been a native of [[Gaza City]]<ref name="PCMTatRoI1987:190-91">[[#PCMTatRoI1987|Crone, ''Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam'', 1987]]: p.190-91</ref> and a native speaker of [[Arabic]]{{Cn|date=October 2024}} Therefore, according to [[Ibn Rawandi]], he provides a "reliable source" that Arabs—at least in northwest [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]]—were familiar with the idea there were pre-Islamic "Abrahamic monotheists ({{transliteration|ar|ḥanīf}}) [...] whether this was true of Arabs throughout the [Arabian] peninsula it is impossible to say."<ref name="IROoI2000:112" />

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.<ref>https://archive.org/details/yehuda-d.-nevo-judith-koren-crossroads-to-islam-the-origins-of-the-arab-religion/mode/2up page 199</ref>

==List of Arabian monotheists==
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2011}}

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "some of Muḥammad's relatives, contemporaries, and early supporters were called {{transliteration|ar|hanifs}}"<ref name="EB-hanif" /> – examples including [[Waraka ibn Nawfal|Waraqah ibn Nawfal]], "a cousin of the Prophet’s first wife, [[Khadija bint Khuwaylid]],<ref name="EB-hanif" /> and Umayyah ibn Abī aṣ-Ṣalt, "an early 7th-century Arab poet".<ref name="EB-hanif" />

According to the website "In the Name of Allah", the term {{transliteration|ar|ḥanīf}} is 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" {{transliteration|ar|ḥanīf}} eight times in the Quran.<ref name="ItNoA">{{cite web |title=hanif |url=http://inthenameofallah.org/Hanif.html |website=In the Name of Allah |access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref>

Among those who are thought to have been {{transliteration|ar|DIN|ḥunafā'}} are:{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

*All the [[prophets and messengers in Islam|prophets and messengers]] after Abraham according to Islamic tradition
*[[Muhammad]]
*[[Najran|Old Najranites]]
*[[Seven Sleepers]]
*[[Sa'id bin Zayd]]
*[[Khaled bin Sinan]]
*[[Hashim ibn Abd Manaf]]
*[[Umayya ibn Abi as-Salt]]

The four friends in [[Mecca]] from [[ibn Ishaq]]'s account:

*[[Zayd ibn Amr]]: rejected both Judaism and Christianity{{sfn|Peters|1994|pp=122–124}}
*[[Waraqah ibn Nawfal]]: was a [[Nestorianism|Nestorian priest]] and patrilineal third cousin to [[Muhammad]]. He died before Muhammad declared his Prophethood.{{sfn|Peters|1994|pp=122–124}}
*[[Uthman ibn al-Huwayrith]]: travelled to the [[Byzantine Empire]] and converted to Christianity{{sfn|Peters|1994|pp=122–124}}
*[[Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh]]: early Muslim convert who emigrated to the [[Kingdom of Aksum]].{{sfn|Peters|1994|pp=122–124}}

{{transliteration|ar|Ḥanīf}} opponents of Islam from Ibn Isḥāq's account:

*Abū 'Amar 'Abd Amr ibn Sayfī: a leader of the tribe of [[Banu Aws]] at [[Medina]] and builder of the "Mosque of the Schism" mentioned in the Quranic verse {{cite quran|9|107|style=ref|expand=no}} and later allied with the [[Quraysh]] then moved to [[Ta'if]] and onto [[ancient Syria|Syria]] after subsequent [[early Muslim conquests]].{{sfn|Peters|1994|pp=122–124}}
*[[Abu Qays b. al-Aslat|Abu Qays ibn al-Aslaṭ]]{{sfn|Peters|1994|pp=122–124}}

==See also==
*[[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==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
* {{Cite book |last1=Ambros |first1=Arne A |last2=Procháczka |first2=Stephan |year=2004 |title=A Concise Dictionary of Koranic Arabic |publisher=Reichert }}
*{{cite book |last1=Crone |first1=Patricia |title=Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam |year=1987 |publisher=Princeton University Press |url=http://www.almuslih.org/Library/Crone,%20P%20-%20Meccan%20Trade%20and%20the%20Rise%20of%20Islam.pdf |ref=PCMTatRoI1987 |access-date=2020-02-23 |archive-date=2016-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528221729/http://almuslih.org/Library/Crone,%20P%20-%20Meccan%20Trade%20and%20the%20Rise%20of%20Islam.pdf |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite book |last=Hawting |first=G. R. |author-link=G. R. Hawting |year=1999 |title=The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam: From Polemic to History |publisher=Cambridge University Press }}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Ibn Warraq |title=The Quest for the Historical Muhammad |date=2000 |publisher=Prometheus |pages=89–124 |chapter=2. Origins of Islam: A Critical Look at the Sources |ref=IROoI2000}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kaltner |first=John |year=1999 |title=Ishmael Instructs Isaac: An Introduction to the Qu'ran for Bible Readers |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=0-8146-5882-2 }}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Köchler |editor-first=Hans |editor-link=Hans Köchler |year=1982 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zMuipwd5MTEC |title=Concept of Monotheism in Islam & Christianity |publisher=International Progress Organization |isbn=3-7003-0339-4 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Peters |first=F. E. |author-link=Francis Edward Peters |year=1994 |title=Muhammad and the Origins of Islam |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=0-7914-1875-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/muhammadorigins00pete }}
* {{Cite book |last=Watt |first=William Montgomery |author-link=William Montgomery Watt |year=1974 |title=Muhammad: prophet and statesman |publisher=Oxford University Press US |isbn=0-19-881078-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/muhammadprophets00watt }}

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[[Category:Quranic words and phrases]]