John the Baptist Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Quranic mentions==== The [[Quran]] claims that John the Baptist was the first to receive this name ({{qref|19|7-10|b=y}}) but since the name Yoḥanan occurs many times before John the Baptist,<ref>A. Geiger, ''Judaism And Islam'' (English translation of ''Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthume aufgenommen?''), 1970, Ktav Publishing House Inc.: New York, p. 19.</ref> this verse is referring either to Islamic scholar consensus that "Yaḥyā" is not the same name as "Yoḥanan"<ref name="islamic-awareness.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Contrad/External/yahya.html |title=And No One Had The Name Yahya (= John?) Before: A Linguistic & Exegetical Enquiry Into Qur'an 19:7 |publisher=Islamic-awareness.org |access-date=20 October 2012 |archive-date=17 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817034242/https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/external/yahya.html |url-status=live }}</ref> or to the [[Biblical]] account of the [[Miracle|miraculous]] naming of John, which accounted that he was almost named "Zacharias" (Greek: {{Lang|grc|Ζαχαρίας}})<ref>Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη (1894 Scrivener NT). {{bibleverse|Luke 1:59, 1:5|multi=yes}}, et al. https://biblia.com/books/tr1894mr/Lk1?embeddedPreview=False {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806100705/https://biblia.com/books/tr1894mr/Lk1?embeddedPreview=False |date=6 August 2021 }}</ref> after his father's name, as no one in the [[Lineage (anthropology)|lineage]] of his father [[Zechariah (priest)|Zacharias]] (also known as [[Zechariah (priest)|Zechariah]]) had been named "John" ("Yohanan"/"Yoannes") before him.<ref>''Bible'' {{Bibleverse|Luke|1:59–1:63|KJV}}</ref> In the [[Quran]], [[God in Islam|God]] frequently mentions Zechariah's continuous praying for the birth of a son. Zechariah's wife, mentioned in the New Testament as [[Elizabeth (Biblical person)|Elizabeth]], was barren and therefore the birth of a child seemed impossible.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Lives of the Prophets'', Leila Azzam, ''John and Zechariah''</ref> As a gift from God, Zechariah (or Zakariya) was given a son by the name of "Yaḥya" or "John", a name specially chosen for this child alone. In accordance with Zechariah's prayer, God made John and Jesus, who according to [[exegesis]] was born six months later,<ref name="ReferenceB">''A–Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism'', B. M. Wheeler, ''John the Baptist''</ref> renew the message of God, which had been corrupted and lost by the [[Israelites]]. As the Quran says: {{Blockquote|<poem>˹The angels announced,˺ "O Zachariah! Indeed, We give you the good news of ˹the birth of˺ a son, whose name will be John—a name We have not given to anyone before." He wondered, "My Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren, and I have become extremely old?" An angel replied, "So will it be! Your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, just as I created you before, when you were nothing!'" Zachariah said, "My Lord! Grant me a sign." He responded, "Your sign is that you will not ˹be able to˺ speak to people for three nights, despite being healthy."</poem>|{{qref|19|7-10|c=y}}}} John was exhorted to hold fast to the [[Scripture]] and was given wisdom by God while still a child.<ref>{{qref|19|12|b=y}}</ref> He was pure and devout, and walked well in the presence of God. He was dutiful towards his parents and he was not arrogant or rebellious. John's reading and understanding of the scriptures, when only a child, surpassed even that of the greatest scholars of the time.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> [[Muslim]] [[exegesis]] narrates that [[Jesus]] sent John out with twelve disciples,<ref>''Tabari'', i, 712</ref> who preached the message before Jesus called his own disciples.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> The Quran says: {{blockquote|˹It was later said,˺ "O John! Hold firmly to the Scriptures." And We granted him wisdom while ˹he was still˺ a child,|{{qref|19|12|c=y}}}} John was a classical prophet,<ref>[[Abdullah Yusuf Ali]], ''[[The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary]]'', Note. '''905''': "The third group consists not of men of action, but Preachers of Truth, who led solitary lives. Their epithet is: "the Righteous." They form a connected group round Jesus. Zachariah was the father of John the Baptist, who is referenced as "Elias, which was for to come" (Matt 11:14); and Elias is said to have been present and talked to Jesus at the Transfiguration on the Mount (Matt. 17:3)."</ref> who was exalted high by God for his bold denouncing of all things sinful. Furthermore, the Quran speaks of John's gentle piety and love and his humble attitude towards life, for which he was granted the Purity of Life: {{Blockquote|<poem>as well as purity and compassion from Us. And he was God-fearing, and kind to his parents. He was neither arrogant nor disobedient. Peace be upon him the day he was born, and the day of his death, and the day he will be raised back to life!</poem>|{{qref|19|13-15|c=y}}}} John is also honored highly in [[Sufism]] as well as [[Islamic]] [[mysticism]], primarily because of the Quran's description of John's chastity and kindness.<ref>Encyclopedia of Islam, ''Yahya ibn Zakkariya'', Online web.</ref> [[Sufi]]s have frequently applied commentaries on the passages on John in the Quran, primarily concerning the God-given gift of "Wisdom" which he acquired in youth as well as his parallels with [[Jesus]]. Although several phrases used to describe John and Jesus are virtually identical in the Quran, the manner in which they are expressed is different.<ref>Whereas the Quran itself gives blessings of peace to John ({{qref|19|15|b=y}}), Jesus, in contrast, gives himself the blessings of peace. ({{qref|19|33|b=y}})</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page