Hanif
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 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2012) |
The word Ḥanīf (Arabic: حنيف, Ḥanīf; plural: حنفاء, ḥunafā') designates a follower of an ancient Abrahamic monotheistic practice of the Middle East once promoted by Maslamah bin Habib and the Banu Hanifa.[1] According to Islamic belief it refers to one who maintained the pure monotheism of the Patriarch Abraham. More specifically, in Islamic thought, Hanifs are the people who, during the pre-Islamic period or Jahiliyyah, were seen to have rejected idolatry and retained some or all of the tenets of the religion of Abraham (إبراهيم, Ibrāhīm) which was "submission to God" in its purest form.[2]
According to some[citation needed] the followers of Maslamah bin Habib and the Banu Hanifa were called or referred to (either by others or by themselves) as "Hanif".
Etymology and history of the term
The term is from the Arabic root ḥ-n-f meaning "to incline, to decline" (Lane 1893) from the Syriac root of the same meaning. The ḥanīfiyyah is the law of Ibrahim; the verb taḥannafa means "to turn away from [idolatry]". In the verse 3:67 of the Quran it has also been translated as "upright person" and outside the Quran as "to incline towards a right state or tendency".[3] It appears to have been used earlier by Jews and Christians in reference to "pagans" and applied to followers of an old Hellenized Syrian and Arabian religion and used to taunt early Muslims.[4] According to Christoph Luxenberg, Hanif probably denoted a pagan and was, positively connoted, attributed to Abraham, who, although a pagan, did not worship idols.[5]
Others maintained that they followed the "religion of Ibrahim, the hanif, the Muslim[.]"[4] It has been theorized by Watt that the verbal 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 Medinan period.[4]
List of Ḥanīfs
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This is a minor list of those who, per traditional Islamic belief, submitted their whole selves to God in the way of Abraham:
- All the prophets and messengers after Abraham
- Old Najranites
- Seven Sleepers
- Sa'id bin Zayd
- Shaybah ibn Hāshim
- Banu Hanifa
- Maslamah bin Habib
- Quss bin Saidah
- Khawlah bint Ja'far
The four friends in Mecca from ibn Ishaq's account:
- Zayd ibn Amr: rejected both Judaism and Christianity[3]
- Waraqah ibn Nawfal: patrilineal third cousin to Mohammed. He converted to Christianity.[3] He died before Prophet Mohammed declared his Prophethood. (Peters, pp. 122–124)
- Uthman ibn al-Huwayrith: travelled to the Byzantine Empire and also converted to Christianity.[3]
- Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh: early Muslim convert who emigrated to the Kingdom of Aksum and then he too converted to Christianity.[3]
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 9:107 and later allied with the Quraysh then moved to Ta'if and onto Syria after subsequent early Muslim conquests.[3]
- Abu Qays ibn al-Aslaṭ[3]
See also
Notes
- ^ "Being a Christian in Sri Lanka: Historical, Political, Social, and Religious Considerations", Leonard Pinto, Balboa Press, 2015, Note 676
- ^ Köchler 1982, p. 29.
- ^ a b c d e f g Peters 1994, pp. 122–124.
- ^ a b c Watt 1974, pp. 117–119.
- ^ Christoph Luxenberg The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: A Contribution to the Decoding of the Language of the Koran Verlag Hans Schiler 2007 ISBN 9783899300888 p. 55-56
References
- Ambros, Arne A; Procháczka, Stephan (2004). A Concise Dictionary of Koranic Arabic. Reichert.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Hawting, G. R. (1999). The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam: From Polemic to History. Cambridge University Press.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Kaltner, John (1999). Ishmael Instructs Isaac: An Introduction to the Qu'ran for Bible Readers. Liturgical Press. ISBN 0-8146-5882-2.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Köchler, Hans, ed. (1982). Concept of Monotheism in Islam & Christianity. International Progress Organization. ISBN 3-7003-0339-4.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Peters, F. E. (1994). Muhammad and the Origins of Islam. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-1875-8.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Watt, William Montgomery (1974). Muhammad: prophet and statesman. Oxford University Press US. ISBN 0-19-881078-4.
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