Who Are The Sabians?

Published by TPOS on 5 February, 2009 - 16:25

i was reading surah baqara in the morning with the transalation and it mentioned the "sabians" anyone know who they are?

"Those who believe (in the Qur'an) and those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures) and the Christians and the Sabians, any who believe in Allah and the Last Day and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve"

[surah Baqara:verse 62]

Submitted by TPOS on 5 February, 2009 - 17:14

Ok Thank You.

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"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

Submitted by You on 5 February, 2009 - 18:31

I have been reading the on this and it is all confusing and interesting.

Apparently there were a few different "groups" of Sabians - some monotheists ("Hunafa" who claimed to Follow Prophet Nuh (as)) and some polytheists ("Mushrik"/"harranain" who claimed to follow the son of Prophet Idris (as)).

Their book is the psalms/Zaboor.

According to Islamic scholars, they did not reject the Prophets of Islam but neither did they regard it as obligatory to follow them. According to the Hanif Sabians, whoever followed (the Prophets) may be blessed and saved, but whoever follows a path similar to that of the Prophets by virtue of one's own reasoning is also blessed and saved, even if one did not follow the Prophets in specific terms. In their view the call of the Prophets was true but there was no one specific route to salvation.

Sabi`ah Hunafa` (Hanif Sabians) follow a somewhat disorganized religion following the Din of Noah as a sect who read the Zaboor akin to Christianity. They appear to be between Judaism and Magianism but are in fact closer to Judaism. Sābi'ūn recognise the practice of the prophet Muhammad in going to the caves prior to his inspiration, as in accordance with the Sabi quest for Tawheed Hunafa' and, in general, many similarities with the Sabians meant Muhammad and his companions were often considered to have been Sabians. Most specifically this was because of the Sabian shahada “La ilaha ila Allah”.

Unlike their Mushrik Sabian cousins, who consider themselves the people of Idris' son Sabi, Hanif Sabians are more universal looking to Noah as their prophet of the Din. Sābi'ūn have five daily prayers (though Zohar can join Asr while Ma'ariv can join Isha giving the appearance of three). They believe in all prophets reiterating the Din of Noah and, not in the same way as the Muslims, believe in The Seal of The Prophets. They also fast for 30 days.

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by You on 5 February, 2009 - 19:21

A comment - Sabaeans are (probably?) not sabians. the two got mixed up according to Wikipedia when Pickthall made a typo in his translation of the Qur'an.

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by TPOS on 9 February, 2009 - 19:34

Thanks guys i had an interesting read Smile

however im still confused are the Harran Sabians not the same as the original Sabians mentioned in the Qur'an then? because wikipedia and that other site are saying two different things aren't they?

The second site's confusing detail but the conclussion was okay (i guess thats all that matters) do you know how reliable that site it though?

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"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

Submitted by You on 9 February, 2009 - 20:50

ThE pOwEr Of SiLeNcE wrote:
Thanks guys i had an interesting read Smile

however im still confused are the Harran Sabians not the same as the original Sabians mentioned in the Qur'an then? because wikipedia and that other site are saying two different things aren't they?

Nope, they are not the same - they chose that name later on so that they could say that they were teh sabians.

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by TPOS on 10 February, 2009 - 16:58

Understood.

Shame they are mentioned so vaguely in the Qur'an. Sad

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"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

Submitted by You on 10 February, 2009 - 17:03

Vaguely? they are mentioned by name!

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by TPOS on 10 February, 2009 - 17:09

I mean like who exactly they were, where they were from etc etc

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"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

Submitted by TPOS on 5 August, 2011 - 19:12

ThE pOwEr Of SiLeNcE wrote:
i was reading surah baqara in the morning with the transalation and it mentioned the "sabians" anyone know who they are?

"Those who believe (in the Qur'an) and those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures) and the Christians and the Sabians, any who believe in Allah and the Last Day and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve"

[surah Baqara:verse 62]


you know how this verse says that these people will not grieve etc, well I've heard it taken out of context to mean that those who follow 'true' Christianity/Judaism will be alright. But in fact this verse is part of a bigger 'conversation' in which Allah already tells them to follow the Qur'an in order to be safe.
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"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

Submitted by Velu B (not verified) on 5 March, 2016 - 12:00

Muhammad made sure that 2500 years of pre-Islamic history was destroyed without artefacts or archaeological evidence. For example, do we know anything about the 360 idols that he destroyed without a trace? Are their remnants buried around the Kaaba? Only surviving relics are the unusual ritual customs followed by the pagans circumambulating, shaving facial hair, wearing two piece plain white sheets as clothes, drinking holy zam zam waters, kissing the black stone idol etc. Clearly Muhammad did not want anyone to dig too deep into the past (uncomfortable?) Islamic history! So why bother going against him. 

Btw, the first part of the shahada was borrowed from the Sabians as alluded to in the Hadiths. [Mohammad appended the second part to it]. The Monist idea of the Sabians is misinterpreted as Monotheistic idea by Islam/Muslims.

Submitted by laila on 4 April, 2016 - 10:25

The shahada was in existence since time immemorial so Adam (as) spread it on earth, And all those with understanding knew it, oft repeated by the thousands of Prophets (as) through time, humans spoke it, this included the Sabians.

as for annihilation of idols, that's nothing compared to the annihilation of species, Allah tallah does as He pleases we do not question Him, He questions us.

belief is such a wonderful gift, it removes you from all cares, wants and secrets, it's sets your soul free from these worldly concerns. It makes you focus on your inner self and harshness and hatred are removed from your heart. And then you see the world in a different light and do not care who is Muslim who is not all are Gods creatures and there is love for every one, including Velu B

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