Sabians
The Sabians are a religious group mentioned three times in the Quran where it is implied that they belonged to the "People of the Book." Their original identity, which seems to have been forgotten at an early date, has been called an "unsolved Quranic problem." Modern scholars have variously identified them as various types of Gnostics or as adherents of the astral religion of Harran.
The Sabians of Harran, adherents of a poorly understood ancient Semitic religion centered in the upper Mesopotamian city of Harran, who were described by Syriac Christian heresiographers as star worshippers. These Harranian Sabians practiced an old Semitic form of polytheism, combined with a significant amount of Hellenistic elements. Most of the historical figures known in the ninth–eleventh centuries as al-Ṣābiʼ were probably either members of this Harranian religion or descendants of such members, most notably the Harranian astronomers and mathematicians Thabit ibn Qurra (died 901) and al-Battani (died 929).
Today in Iraq and Iran, the name Sabian is normally applied to the Mandaeans, a modern ethno-religious group who follow the teachings of their prophet John the Baptist. These Mandaean Sabians, whose most important religious ceremony is baptism, are monotheistic, and their holy book is known as the Ginza Rabba.
Etymology
The etymology of the Arabic word Ṣābiʾ is disputed. According to one interpretation, it is the active participle of the Arabic root ṣ-b-ʾ ('to turn to'), meaning "converts." Another widely cited hypothesis, first proposed by Daniel Chwolsohn in 1856, is that it is derived from an Aramaic root meaning "to baptize."
The interpretation as "converts" was cited by various medieval Arabic lexicographers and philologists, and is supported by a tradition preserved by Ibn Hisham (died 834, editor of the earliest surviving biography of Muhammad) relating that the term ṣābiʾa was applied to Muhammad and the early Muslims by some of their enemies (perhaps by the Jews), who regarded them as having turned away from the proper religion and towards heresy.
Other etymologies have also been proposed. According to Judah Segal, the term referred to Ṣōbā, a Syriac name for Nisibis, a city in Upper Mesopotamia. It has also been related to Hebrew ṣābā', "[heavenly] host", implying star worshippers.
In the Quran
The Quran briefly mentions the Sabians in three places:
- Sūrat al-Baqara (2:62) - "surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve."
- Sūrat al-Māʾida (5:69) - "surely those who believe and those who are Jews and the Sabians and the Christians whoever believes in Allah and the last day and does good– they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve."
- Sūrat al-Ḥajj (22:17) - "surely those who believe and those who are Jews and the Sabians and the Christians and the Magians and those who associate (others with Allah)– surely Allah will decide between them on the day of resurrection; surely Allah is a witness over all things."
The two first verses have generally been interpreted to mean that the Sabians belonged to the People of the Book, just like the Jews, the Christians and –only according to some interpretations– the Zoroastrians. However, neither of the three verses give any indication of who the Sabians might have been or what they may have believed. According to François de Blois, the fact that they are classified in the Quran among Abrahamic monotheists renders it unlikely that they were either the polytheists of Harran or the Mandaeans, the latter of whom defined themselves in opposition to the Abrahamic prophetic tradition.
Sabians of Harran
The Sabians of Harran, adherents of a Hellenized Semitic polytheistic religion that had managed to survive during the early Islamic period in the Upper Mesopotamian city of Harran. They were described by Syriac Christian heresiographers as star worshippers. Most of the scholars and courtiers working for the Abbasid and Buyid dynasties in Baghdad during the ninth–eleventh centuries who were known as "Sabians" were either members of this Harranian religion or descendants of such members, most notably the Harranian astronomers and mathematicians Thabit ibn Qurra (died 901) and al-Battani (died 929).
There has been some speculation on whether these Sabian families in Baghdad, on whom most of our information about the Harranian Sabians indirectly depends, may have practiced a different, more philosophically inspired variant of the original Harranian religion. However, apart from the fact that it contains traces of Babylonian and Hellenistic religion, and that an important place was taken by planets (to whom ritual sacrifices were made), little is known about Harranian Sabianism. They have been variously described by scholars as (neo)-Platonists, Hermeticists, or Gnostics, but there is no firm evidence for any of these identifications.
Adoption of identity
According to Abu Yusuf Absha al-Qadi, Caliph al-Ma'mun of Baghdad in 830 CE stood with his army at the gates of Harran and questioned the Harranians about what protected religion they belonged to. As they were neither Muslim, Christian, Jewish, or Magian, the caliph told them they were non-believers. He said they would have to become Muslims, or adherents of one of the other religions recognized by the Quran by the time he returned from his campaign against the Byzantines or he would kill them. The Harranians consulted with a lawyer, who suggested that they find their answer in the Quran II.59, which said that Sabians were tolerated. It was unknown what the sacred text intended by "Sabian" and so they took the name.
The pagan people of Harran identified themselves with the Sabians in order to fall under the protection of Islam. The Harranians may have identified themselves as Sabians in order to retain their religious beliefs. Multiple medieval sources state that the Harranian Sabians acknowledged Hermes Trismegistus as their prophet. Validation of Hermes as a prophet comes from his identification with Idris (i.e., Enoch) in Quran 19:57 and 21:85. This has often led modern scholars to think of the Harranian Sabians as Hermeticists, though there is in fact no further evidence for this.
Sabians of the Marshes
Apart from the Sabians of Harran, there were also various religious groups living in the Mesopotamian Marshes who were called the "Sabians of the Marshes." Though this name has often been understood as a reference to the Mandaeans, there was in fact at least one other religious group living in the marshlands of Southern Iraq. This group still practiced a polytheistic Babylonian religion or similar, in which Mesopotamian gods had already been venerated in the form of planets and stars since antiquity.
According to Ibn al-Nadim, our only source for this specific group counted among the Sabians of the Marshes, they "follow the doctrines of the ancient Aramaeans and venerate the stars." However, there is also a large corpus of texts by Ibn Wahshiyya (died c. 930), most famously his Nabataean Agriculture, which describes at length the customs and beliefs — many of them going back to Mespotamian models — of Iraqi Sabians living in the Sawād.
Modern Sabians
Today in Iraq and Iran, the Sabians are those that follow the teachings of John the Baptist. They are Mandaean Sabians. They have been vulnerable to violence since the 2003 invasion of Iraq and numbered fewer than 5,000 in 2007. Before the invasion, the highest concentrations of Mandaeans were in Amarah, Nasiriyah and Basra. Besides these southern regions and Ahvaz in Iran, large numbers of Mandaeans were found in Baghdad, giving them easy access to the Tigris River. Today, they primarily live around Baghdad, where the high priest resides who conducts services and baptisms. Some have moved from Baghdad to Kurdistan where it is safer.