Hanif

This article is about the Islamic term for pre-Islamic Abrahamic monotheists. For the Islamic school of jurisprudence, see Hanafi. For other uses, see Hanif (disambiguation).

For broader coverage of this topic, see Monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia.

In Islam, the terms ḥanīf (SING; Arabic: حنيف, lit. 'a renunciate [of idolatry]') and ḥunafā' (PLUR; حنفاء) are primarily used to refer to pre-Islamic Arabians who were Abrahamic monotheists. These people are regarded in a favorable light for shunning Arabian polytheism and solely worshipping the God of Abraham, thus setting themselves apart from what is known as jahiliyyah. However, it is emphasized that they were not associated with Judaism or Christianity—and instead adhered to a unique monotheistic faith that exemplified their perception of the unaltered beliefs and morals of Abraham. The word is found twelve times in the Quran: ten times in the singular form and twice in the plural form. According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad himself was a ḥanīf (before he met the angel Gabriel) and a direct descendant of Abraham's eldest son Ishmael. Likewise, all Islamic prophets and messengers before Muhammad—that is, those affiliated with Judaism and/or Christianity, such as Moses and Jesus—are classified as ḥunafā' to underscore their God-given infallibility.

Etymology

The term ḥanīf comes from the Arabic root ḥ-n-f meaning "to incline, to decline" or "to turn or bend sideways" from the Syriac root of the different meaning “to deceive, to turn pagan, to lead into paganism”. The Syriac word refers to pagans and deceivers. 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.

According to Francis Edward Peters, in verse 3:67 of the Quran it has been translated as "upright person" and outside the Quran as "to incline towards a right state or tendency". According to W. Montgomery Watt, 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.

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 ḥanīf is associated "strongly with Abraham, but never with Moses or Jesus". 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 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."

Others translate Hanīfiyyah as the law of Ibrahim; the verb taḥannafa as "to turn away from [idolatry]". Others maintain that the ḥanīf followed the "religion of Ibrahim, the hanif, the Muslim[.]" 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.

Historicity

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "there is no evidence that a true ḥanīf cult existed in pre-Islamic Arabia."

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 shunning pork consumption.

Sozomen, a 5th-century Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church, is thought to have been a native of Gaza City and a native speaker of Arabic Therefore, according to Ibn Rawandi, he provides a "reliable source" that Arabs—at least in northwest Arabia—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."

List of Arabian monotheists

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "some of Muḥammad's relatives, contemporaries, and early supporters were called hanifs" – examples including Waraqah ibn Nawfal, "a cousin of the Prophet’s first wife, Khadija bint Khuwaylid, and Umayyah ibn Abī aṣ-Ṣalt, "an early 7th-century Arab poet".

According to the website "In the Name of Allah", the term 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" ḥanīf eight times in the Quran.

Among those who are thought to have been ḥunafā' are:

• All the prophets and messengers after Abraham according to Islamic tradition
• 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
• Waraqah ibn Nawfal: was a Nestorian priest and patrilineal third cousin to Muhammad. He died before Muhammad declared his Prophethood.
• Uthman ibn al-Huwayrith: travelled to the Byzantine Empire and converted to Christianity
• Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh: early Muslim convert who emigrated to the Kingdom of Aksum.

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.
• Abu Qays ibn al-Aslaṭ

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

References

• 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 from the original (PDF) on 2016-05-28. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
• 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. ISBN 0-8146-5882-2.
• Köchler, Hans, ed. (1982). Concept of Monotheism in Islam & Christianity. International Progress Organization. ISBN 3-7003-0339-4.
• Peters, F. E. (1994). Muhammad and the Origins of Islam. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-1875-8.
• Watt, William Montgomery (1974). Muhammad: prophet and statesman. Oxford University Press US. ISBN 0-19-881078-4.