Sabianism

The Sabians (/ˈseɪbiənz/; Arabic: الصابئة‎‎ al-Ṣābiʼah or الصابئون‎ al-Ṣābiʼūn) of Middle Eastern tradition were a religious group mentioned three times in the Quran as a People of the Book, "the Jews, the Sabians, and the Christians". In the hadith, they were described simply as converts to Islam. Interest in the identity and history of the group increased over time. Discussions and investigations of the Sabians began to appear in later Islamic literature. Many scholars have identified the Sabians to be the Mandaeans, a group of individuals adhering to a form of ancient Gnosticism.

There has been much speculation as to the origins of the religious from this practice. The Arabic root ص-ب-أ (transliterated: Ṣ-B-ʼ), means to grow forth or rise out of. When said of a star it means to rise, which may explain the association with star-worshippers. When relating to a religion it means one who left his former religion and was even a title of Muhammad for not being part of his tribe's faith. From such a root and in the context of the Qurʼanic passages, it may refer to all people who leave their faiths, finding fault in them, but have yet to come to Islam, related to the Hanif. Judah Segal (1963) argued that the term Sābi'ūn derives from Shiva, the primary god of Hinduism.

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