Ṣābī Matter: The Issue of Whether the Concept Ṣābī in the Qurʾān Signifies Ṣābiʾī/Ṣābiʾa

Authors : Cağfer KARADAŞ

Pages : 65-90

Doi:10.12730/13091719.2010.11.5

View : 43 | Download : 11

Publication Date : 2010-09-07

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :In this article, we examine whether there is a contextual similarity between the expression `ṣābī`, a concept in the Qurʾān, and `Ṣābiʾī`, which is used as the name for a member of a particular religious group. Even though `ṣābī`, which we find three times in the Qurʾān, is used as an adjective concerning religious conversion, it has been alleged that the word `ṣābiʾa` is the name of a religious group used first for the Mandaeans and later for a Ḥarrānian pagan society and that the word in the Qurʾān refers to this religion. Our study finds that there is neither a similarity nor an association between the `ṣābī` in the Qurʾān and the religious group `Ṣābiʾa insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(Sabians);` and that an artificial naming has emerged within history. Because the concept `ṣābī` was Arabic, and it was originally used for people who left the prevalent belief. Nonetheless, the expression `Ṣābiʾī` was used after the arrival of Islam on the assumption that it was the name given to the religion of the Mandaeans and the Ḥarrānians.
Keywords : Qurʾān, ṣābī, convert, Mandaeans, Ḥarrānians, polytheists, Magians, Jews, Christians, Ṣābiʾī

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