1

2
3

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Contrad/External/yahya.html

NOUN OF YAH:YA:

And No One Had The Name Yah ya (= John?) Before: A Linguistic &
Exegetical Enquiry Into Qur'an 19:7

Islamic Awareness

Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.

10

First Composed: 8th July 2000

11

Last Updated: 18th August 2000

12
13Assalamu alaykum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:
141.

Introduction

15In the chapter of the Qur'an that carries the name Mary (Surat Maryam), the story of the
16miraculous birth of Jesus (19:16-34) is immediately preceded by the story of the miraculous birth
17of the Yah ya to the aged Zechariah and his old and barren wife (19:1-15). Yah ya has been
18traditionally identified as being none other than John the Baptist. The Christian missionaries
19have pointed to a difficulty arising at verse 19:7 where the birth of the Yah ya is announced:

20
1
2
3

2
4
21"O Zakariya! We give thee good news of a son: His
22conferred distinction before." [Qur'an 19:7]

name shall be Yaya: on none by that name have We

23They claim that this verse is in error. According to their understanding of verse 19:7, the name
24Yah ya (John) is unique, and no human being prior to the birth of Yah ya (John) ever had such a
25name, yet in the Old Testament there are more than twenty-five references to the name John:
26In fact, there are 27 instances of the name "Johanan" mentioned in

the Old Testament.

27Thus the name John (Yah ya) is neither unique nor exceptional and the Qur'anic error is clearly
28apparent. It seems that the original source of this controversy is Abraham Geiger who wrote the
29book entitledWas hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthume aufgenommen?:
30He [i.e., Muammad]

actually asserts that before John the Baptist no one had borne the name of John. Had

31he known anything of Jewish history he would have been aware that, apart from some historically
32unimportant people of the name mentioned in Chronicles, the father and the son of the celebrated Maccabean
33priest, Mattathias, were both called John. This mistake must have been obvious to the Arabic commentators,
34for they try to give another meaning to the clear and unmistakable words. [1]
35Geiger did not cite any Muslim commentators to support his claims, and, as will be demonstrated
36in the sections below, one has to wonder whether the claim that "this mistake must have been
37obvious to the Arabic commentators" is purely his own invention.
38As the missionaries are unable to shed any further light on this issue, it is left to us to investigate
39and supply the essential missing information. Are the names Yah ya and John one and the same?
40Does the ayah (verse) actually means what the translation says? This paper will examine the
41various issues surrounding the name Yah ya.
422.

Is The Name John Linguistically Equivalent To Yah ya?

43According to the Christian Missionaries the name Yah ya is the Arabic form of John:
44John:

Hebrew: Johanan, Arabic: Yaya. Greek: Ioannes

45The fact is that the Arabic equivalent of John of the New Testament is Yuh anna not Yah ya. And
46similarly, the Arabic equivalent of John of the Hebrew Bible is Yuh anan not Yah ya.Anyone who
47possesses a basic knowledge of Semitic languages will straight away point out that the
48names Yah ya and John (Yuh anan or Yuh anna) are two entirely different names.One do not
49need to be an expert in Semitic languages to verify this claim; a simple Arabic translation of the
50Bible will suffice.
51The name John of the Hebrew Bible as listed in 2
Strong's Concordance is Yowchanan in Hebrew:
5
6

3
7

Yowchanan {yo-khaw-nawn'} a form of 3076; n pr m

AV - Johanan 24; 24
Johanan = "Jehovah has graced"

1.

A priest during the high priesthood of Joiakim who returned with Zerubbabel

2.

A Jewish captain after the fall of Jerusalem

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

The eldest son of king Josiah

A post-exilic prince of the line of David

Father of Azariah, priest in Solomon's time

A Benjamite, one of David's mighty warriors

A Gadite, one of David's mighty warriors

8.

A returning exile

52In Arabic Bibles this name is rendered as Yuh anan as shown in the texts below

53
54

I Kings 25:23

55
3
8
9

4
10

I Chronicles 3:15

56

57

I Chronicles 3:24

58

59

Ezra 8:12

60

61Let us now take examples from the New Testament. The name John (the Baptist) in Greek is
62Ioannes according to Strong's Concordance :
Ioannes {ee-o-an'-nace} of Hebrew origin 3110; n pr m.

AV - John (the Baptist) 92, John (the apostle) 36, John (Mark) 4, John (the chief
priest) 1; 133

John = "Jehovah is a gracious giver"

1.

John the Baptist was the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, the forerunner of
Christ. By order of Herod Antipas he was cast into prison and afterwards
beheaded.

2.

John the apostle, the writer of the Fourth Gospel, son of Zebedee and Salome,
brother of James the elder. He is that disciple who (without mention by name)
is spoken of in the Fourth Gospel as especially dear to Jesus and according to
the traditional opinion is the author of the book of Revelation.

3.

John surnamed Mark, the companion of Barnabas and Paul. Acts 12:12

4.

John a certain man, a member of the Sanhedrin Acts 5:6

4
11
12

5
13
63In Arabic Bibles the name John, as used in the Maccabees and the New Testament, is Yuh anna:

64
65

1 Maccabees 2:2

66
67

John 1:6

68 Needless to say, the Gospel according to John, is also Yuh anna:

69
70

Gospel according to Yuh anna (John)

71Thus the Arabic equivalent of John (Yowchanan) of the Hebrew Bible is Yuh anan not Yah ya,
72and the Arabic equivalent of John (Ioannes) of the New Testament is Yuh anna not Yah ya.By
73blindly following every cheap anti-Islamic polemic, such as those of Abraham Geiger, the
74Christian missionaries have been lead astray.
753.

The Meaning Of The Name Yah ya

76The names "Yah ya" and "John" (Yuh anan or Yuh anna) are entirely different names. The Qur'an
77speaks of Zechariah's son as Yah ya not John. The Qur'an does not mention the name John
78whether Yuh anna or Yuh anan.
79Biblical scholars stress that the names Yuh anna and Yuh anan are one and the same. In the
80Hebraic translation of the Gospels they do not make use of Yuh anna but they revert it to the
81original Yuh anan. They also give both names the same meaning. Both names contain "Yu", the
82short form of Jehovah, the Hebraic name of God. As for h anan or h anna, both derive from the
83Aramaic root h anan (the same as the Arabic root for h anna) which means "tenderness /
84indulgence of God" exactly like the Hebraic name Hanania.
5
14
15

6
16
85Is the name Yah ya Arabic or foreign? In Arabic, the present form Yah ya is the third person of the
86Arabic root h aya. The Arabic root h aya (which could be written with a lean alif or an
87upright alif in both the present and past form) has two meanings:
88

The first is derived from al-h ayah, i.e., life which is the opposite of death like when it is
said: lan ansa laka hadha as-sania ma hayit, i.e., "I won't forget this favour of yours as
long as I live" meaning as long as I am alive and did not die.

The second meaning of the Arabic root h aya is derived from al-h aya' ending with a
hamzah meaning shyness/chastity. In this second sense it is said: h ayitu minhu meaning
that one is shy or confused from someone. The origin of al-h aya' comes from alinqibad and al-inziwa', i.e., introversion. This is why the snake is called h ayyah since it
gathers its body around itself in the shape of a disc.

89
90
91
92
93
94
95

96However, there seems to be a difference of opinion among the Muslim scholars concerning the
97origin of this name. Al-Suyut i states in hisAl-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur'an:
98Yaya: The son of Zakariyya, the first one to bear that name according to the Qur'an. He was born six
99months before Jesus, and was given prophethood while young, and was killed unjustly. God moved Nobukhod
100Nosor and his armies against his murderers. Yaya is a non-Arabic name, but it is also said [by some] to be of
101Arabic origin. According to al-Wahidi: In both cases the name does not permit nunation.
102Al-Kirmani stated: In the second case [i.e., the name is Arabic in origin], it has been said that: he was so103called because God made him live with faith, that the womb of his mother became alive with him, and that he
104was martyred, because martyrs are alive [bal ahya'un inda rabbihim yurzaqun].
105It was also said that its meaning is
106and "salim" to mean "ladigh". [2]

"yamut", i.e., "he dies" like when we use "mafazah" to mean "mahlakah"

107The name Yah ya has also perplexed many orientalists. Paul Casanova is of the opinion that
108Yah ya is an "error" which needs to be "corrected":
109Therefore I hesitated for a long time to suggest the corrections that seemed more likely to me. What decides
110me today to do so is, I must note, that the Western scholars tend more and more to free themselves of the
111superstitious respect they had for the absolute integrity of the Qur'an, and that a "semitizing" German
112scholar, Barth has also suggested fairly important corrections among which one interests me particularly,
113since I have been thinking about it for a long time and I am happy to see it presented as I have imagined it
114myself. It is the correction Youanna for Yaya, Youanna instead of Yaya, the name of Saint John the
115Baptist. I did not dare to publish it, firstly for the general reason stated earlier, because it leads to an odd
116coincidence. Indeed, the Mandaeans or pseudo-Christians of Saint John, identified with the Sabians of the
117Qur'an, have a book where their principal Prophet is called
6 Yahio [sic!]. If that name was due to a misreading
17
18

7
19
118of the writers of the Qur'an, the book would necessarily be older than
119and all the theories built on that identification would fall apart. [3]

the diffusion of the canonical Qur'an

120Mingana, following the footsteps of Margoliouth[4], believed that the pre-Islamic poetry is a post121Islamic forgery (a theory which has now been well-refuted by Muslim and non-Muslim
122scholars alike). Therefore, for Mingana, the Qur'an is the first book in Arabic whose "author"
123had:
124... immense difficulties. He had to adapt new words and new expressions to
125was not yet fixed by any grammar or lexicography.[5]

fresh ideas, in a language that

126Mingana resorted to heavy application of Syriac in order to understand the "origin" of word
127Yah ya: He states:
128To express "John" the Kur'an of our days has the strange form Yaya. I believe with Margoliouth [6], that the
129name is almost certainly the Syriac Yoannan.[7]
130He also makes a rather strange pronouncement that in the early and undotted Qur'anic
131manuscripts, the Arabic letters y-h -y of the name Yah ya could be read as:
132Yoanna, Yoannan, or Yaya, and
133erroneous form Yaya.[8]

the Muslim kurra' who knew no other language besides Arabic adopted the

134Arthur Jeffery believes that the above suggestion[9] is worthy of endorsement but at the same time
135he informs us that:
136... there

appears to be no trace of the name [i.e., Yaya] in the early literature [of the Arabs].[10]

137A rhetorical question should be asked: If there is no trace of the name Yah ya in the pre-Islamic
138Arabic literature, then why should the undotted text be read as Yah ya (y-h -y)? Why can it not be
139read as something else, such as t-h -t? C. C. Torrey, like Casanova and Jeffery, also believes that
140the Qur'anic Yah ya is a misreading of Yuh anna,[11] but all the qira'at are unanimous in stating that
141the undotted y-h -y can only be read as Yah ya and not as Yuh anna or Yuh anan. Furthermore,
142these Orientalists whose opinions are cited above also believe Yah ya to be of foreign (i.e., non143Arabic) origin, but their suggestions that the name Yah ya is an "error" is stated without any
144proof what-so-ever! Although most Western scholars (unlike Geiger or Christian missionaries)
145are aware that the names Yah ya and John (Yuh anan or Yuh anna) are two entirely different
146names derived from two different rootst, they can only conjecture at the origin of the name.
1474.

The Mandaeans - "The Christians Of St. John"

7

20
21

8
22
148Has John the Baptist ever been known as Yah ya by any group of people?
149The Mandaeans are a community that live in Iraq and Iran, and speak a dialect of Aramaic (or
150Mandaic as it is usually referred to in the literature). They claim to be the followers of John the
151Baptist and are sometimes (wrongly) referred to as "Christians of St. John" a title first used by
152Portuguese Christian missionaries. They are colloquially known as S ubba (singular S ubbi). The
153appellation S ubba is accepted as referring to their principal religious ritual - Baptism by
154immersion. The name used by themselves to described their religion and race is Mandai, or
155Mandaeans.[12]
156Before we go further, let us deal briefly with the identification of Sabians or S abi'un. There has
157been a great deal of speculation about the identification of S abi'un, a religious group, mentioned
158thrice in the Qur'an. The Qur'anic commentators had theorized about the possible identity of this
159group. We will only sum up the various viewpoints. Interested readers may consult this subject
160that has been dealt with at length by Jane Dammen McAuliffe.[13]
161Some of the Qur'anic commentators have credited S abi'un with worshipping angels and some
162with monotheism; the S abi'un praying towards the qibla, and they are different from Jews,
163Christians and Magians. They were usually identified with a group of people from Iraq.
164The Western scholarship on the identification of S abi'un of the Qur'an perhaps began with the
165encyclopaedic work of Daniel Chwolson.[14] A brief summation of Chwolson's view was done by
166John Pederson.[15] Chwolson postulated a two fold identification of S abi'un.[16] Mandaeans, who
167are monotheists, was one such group and the other was thought to be the pagan star-worshippers
168in Harran whom Muslim historians claimed to have adopted the name S abi'un in order to be
169included in the category of People of the Book.
170Pederson, however, took an exception to Chwolson's two-fold identification. He says that
171S abi'un should be identified with the hanifs as
172They too are people who believe in
173Abraham himself was anif.[17]

God, neither Jews nor Christians; the nearest model for the believers, as

174This identification by Pederson came about by equating hanif and gnostic. The result of this is
175that he harmonizes between the common designation of Mandaeans and Harranians as S abi'un.
176Pederson's harmonization is also supported by E. S. Drower; but she recognizes within the latter
177community a division between the the priestly class, known as Nas o
raeans, and the ignorant or
[18]
178semi-ignorant laity who are called Mandaeans. Bayard Dodge's position is that there is
179insufficient evidence for this identification. He is quite comfortable with the correlation of
180S abi'un and the Mandaeans, but beyond that he is
8 not willing to go by admitting that
23
24

9
25
181... we do not know how their originated or what groups

might have been Sabians. [19]

182Mandaeans call their teacher John the Baptist Yahia Yuhana.[20] In their canonical prayer book
183one can read:
184King Yahia-Yuhana,
185Healing and victory be thine; [21]
186One of their holy books is called Drasha d. Yahia or The Book of Yahia. Examples of the
187presence of the name Yahia can be found in The Book of John (see chapter 3 and chapter 4).
188A Mandaic Dictionary throws further light on the names "iahia" and "iuhana" as used in their
189holy books:[22]

190

191
192
193Note the absence of the emphatic "h " in Yahia Yuhana (the "h" sound in Yahia Yuhana is soft)
194unlike its Arabic and Aramaic counterparts. In the Aramaic dialect of Mandaeans, the emphatic
195"h " did exist at one time; but its vocalisation now has vanished.[23]
196The name Yahia in Yahia Yuhana has puzzled many Western scholars. According to them, Yahia
197is not an Aramaic name but rather an Arabic one but as we have already discussed, there is a
198difference of opinion among Arab linguists concerning the origin and meaning of the name
199Yah ya. The Arabic word haya, has its counterpart in Aramaic and Hebrew, and are certainly
200cognates, identical in origin.[24,25] In Syriac, the verb
9 hy, (that's the past tense) is "to live; recover;
26
27

10
28
201lighten (of pain)"; the present/future tense third person singular being nehhe. And in many other
202forms of Aramaic it is yeh ye or yah ye;[26]the latter is similar to the Arabic Yah ya and
203with imalah (in Arabic) it is read Yah yei.[27] We present the various Qiraa'aat of verse 19:7 as
204audio files in the Real Audio format.
205 In the qira'at of Hafs , it is read asYah ya without imalah.
206 In the qira'at of Warsh, it is read as Yah yei with imalah.
207 In the qira'at of Hamzah, it is read as Yah y
ei with imalah.
208Coming back to Aramaic, adjective h ayya is "alive, raw (uncooked), pure (unmixed), flowing
209(water)", h ayye is "life, salvation", h ayutha "life", h aywtha "animal", h aytha "midwife", etc.
210In order to resolve this puzzle (i.e. the presence of the name Yahia in Yahia Yuhana) Western
211scholars have suggested various explanations ranging from the name Yahia being inserted into
212the scriptures at a later date to Muslims forcing its use upon Mandaeans![28] None of these
213theories are supported by any historical evidence.
214This is perhaps the right time to discuss the significance of name Yahia in Mandaic literature.
215Every Mandaean has two names, his malwasha, or Zodaical name, and his laqab or the worldly
216name. E. S. Drower explains the difference between the malwasha and laqab names.
217The latter is usually a Muhammadan name and is used for all lay purposes, the former
218real and spiritual name and is used on all religious and magic occasions. [29]

[i.e., malwash a] is his

219So, in Yahia Yuhana, Yahia is a malwasha name or the real name and Yuhana is a laqab or a lay
220name as one can see from the entry in the Mandaic dictionary. What is interesting here is that
221the Qur'an uses only the real and spiritual name, i.e., Yah ya; but what about Yuh anna?
2225. Wa h ananan
223Qur'an 19:13

min ladunna.... : Attributes Of Yah ya As Mentioned In The

224The Mandaean use of Yahia Yuhana for John the Baptist is quite interesting as we have seen in
225the earlier section. Here we will briefly digress and discuss some of the attributes of Yah ya as
226mentioned in the Qur'an. The Qur'an mentions Yah ya but what about Yowchanan/Yuh anna? We
227know that Yowchanan/Yuh anna means tenderness of God or Jehovah (the Hebraic name of God)
228is a gracious giver. It is composed of two words "Yu", short form of Jehovah in the Hebrew Bible
229and h anna, derived from h anan. Incidently God says in the Qur'an:

10
29
30

11
31

230
231wa ananan min ladunna wa zakatan
232was devout." [Qur'an 19:13]

wa kana taqiyya, i.e., "And tenderness [ananan] from Us and purity, he

233In other words, Yah ya was a h ananan from God; this is nothing but a paraphrase of what
234Yowchanan/Yuh anna actually means, i.e., Jehovah [or God] is a gracious giver! What is even
235more interesting is that the word h ananan occurs only once in the Qur'an,[30] i.e., in connexion
236with Yah ya in the above verse (19:13). It is to be reminded that the root word h anan has a similar
237meaning in Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic.
238Attention should also drawn to the name Yuh anna. Etymologically speaking, "Yu" in Arabic does
239not mean God unlike in Hebrew; hence making the word "Yuh anna" quite meaningless. The
240Arabic word for the God is "Allah". It appears that Yuh anna was borrowed into Arabic either
241from Syriac or Hebrew for the sake of usage.[31]
242Let us now see what the tafsirs say concerning verse 19:13. Below is an excerpt from Tafsir of
243Ibn Kathir about verse 19:13.

244
245wa ananan min ladunna wa zakatan wa kana taqiyya, i.e., "And tenderness from Us and purity, he was
246devout,"
247"And tenderness from Us": `Ali Ibn Abi alah narrated from Ibn `Abbas his saying wa ananan min
248ladunna means "mercy [Arabic: ramah] from Us" and similarly spoke `Ikrimah and Qatadah and al-Dahhak
249and he added "None is capable of such [mercy] except Us". Qatadah added "a mercy from God to Zakariyya".
250Mujahid said wa ananan min ladunna means "a pity from his Lord towards [English??] him". `Ikrimah
251said wa ananan min ladunna means "love upon him". Ibn Zayd said: As for "anan" it means love. `A a' Ibn
252Abi Raba said: wa ananan min ladunna means "exaltation/elevation from Us" [Arabic: ta`dhim]. Ibn Jurayj
11
32
33

12
34
253told us, `Amr Ibn Dinar told me that he heard `Ikrimah narrate from Ibn `Abbas his saying: "Nay, by Allah, I
254don't know what hanan means". Ibn Jarir said: Ibn umayd told us, Jarir narrated to us from Manur: I asked
255Sa`id Ibn Jubayr about wa ananan min ladunna, he said: I asked Ibn `Abbas about it and he did not know
256much about it. [...] [32]
257Many Islamic references like Tafsir of al-Qurt ubi andAl-Itqan by al-Suyut i and others narrated
258similar reports from Ibn `Abbas concerning "h anan".
2596.

Exegesis Of Verse 19:7

260... lam najal lahu min qablu samiyya.

261... on none by that name have We conferred
262[Qur'an 19:7]

distinction before.

263Ibn Kathir said in his tafsir concerning this verse:

264
265The translation of which is:
266And

Mujahid said:

267lam najal lahu min qablu samiyya ,

268[samiyya means] shabihan - someone

like him.

269He drove this meaning from God's speech [verse

19:65]

270... fa`budhu wastabir liibadatihi hal talamu lahu samiyya ,

271...so worship Him, and be constant and patient in His worship: knowest
272be] His samiyya?
273Meaning [of samiyya is] shabihan - someone
35
36

like him.

12

thou of any who [qualifies to

13
37
274Ali Ibn Abi alah narrated from Ibn
275before.

Abbas that it means: No barren woman gave birth to someone like him

276This also proves that Zakariyya was sterile [33] as was his wife [who was sterile from the beginning of her
277life] unlike Abraham and Sarah. The reason for their [Abraham and Sarah's] amazement at the glad tidings
278Isaac was due to their old age and not to infertility. This is why Abraham said [in amazement]:
279abashshartumuni ala an massaniya al-kibaru fabima tubashshirun,
280i.e., Do ye give me glad tidings even though old age has seized me? Of what, then, is
28115:54]

of

your good news? [verse

282even though had Ismail 13 years earlier.

283Likewise, his wife said:
284ya waylata a'alidu wa ana ajuzun wa hadha bali shaykhan inna hadha lashay'un ajib. Qalu atajabina min
285amrillahi ra matullahi wa barakatuhu alaykum ahla al-bayti innahu amidun majid,
286i.e., She said: "Alas for me! shall I bear a child, seeing I am an old woman, and my husband here is an old
287man? That would indeed be a wonderful thing!". They said: "Dost thou wonder at Allah's decree? The grace of
288Allah and His blessings on you, o ye people of the house! For He is indeed worthy of all praise, full of all glory!
289[verses 11:72-73].[34]
290The key word here is samiyya and a detailed analysis of this word is given in the Appendix A.
291The word samiyya occurs only twice in the Qur'an:[35] at verse 19:7 in connection with Yah ya
292and in 19:65 in reference to Allah.
293Using the method of using the Qur'an to explain the Qur'an, Ibn Kathir drives home the point that
294the birth of Yah ya was unlike the birth of any other. This explanation is also supported by the
295hadith from Ibn Abbas. Ibn Abbas said that what is meant here is that there had never been a
296boy similar to Yah ya in the sense of being born to an aged father and a barren mother. Although
297Isaac was born to parents who were also old, neither of them were infertile. It is for this reason
298that Isaac was unlike Yah ya in his birth.
299And al-Suyut i says the following in his tafsir:

13
38
39

14
40

300
301The translation of which is:
302Narrated al-Faryabi and Ibn Abi Shaybah and Abd Ibn umayd and Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn
303 akim who declared it Sahih that Ibn Abbas said: lam najal lahu min qablu samiyya.
304Narrated Abd ar-Razzaq and Amad in Al-Zuhd and Abd Ibn umayd
305najal lahu min qablu samiyya.

Abi atim and al-

that Qatadah said concerning lam

306Amad narrated the same report in Al-Zuhd from the way of Ikrimah. Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abi atim
307narrated that Ibn Abbas said concerning lam najal lahu min qablu samiyya: "No barren woman gave birth to
308child like him".
309Narrated Amad in Al-Zuhd and Abd Ibn umayd and Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abi atim that Sa`id Ibn
310Jubayr said concerning lam najal lahu min qablu samiyya: He said: [samiyya means] shabihan - someone
311like him.
312Abd Ibn umayd narrated a similar report from the way of A a'. Al-Bukhari narrated in his Tarikh from Yaya
313Ibn Khallad al-Zarqi that when he [Yaya] was born, he was brought to the Prophet who fed him a chewed
314date and said: "I shall give him a name that was never given [to anyone] before: Yaya Ibn Zakariyya" and so
315he called him Yaya.[36]
316From the above discussion, we see that scholars hold two opinions concerning the verse lam
317najal lahu min qablu samiyya:
318
319
320

1. Samiyy, means shabihan or mithlan, i.e., someone like him. The verse is interpreted to
mean that the birth of Yah ya was unlike the birth of others, as he was born to an aged
father and a barren mother.

321

2. No one prior to the birth of Yah ya was ever given that name by God.

14
41
42

15
43
322Al-Tabari provides reports for both interpretations, but opines that the latter seems to be more
323correct. Al-Qurt ubi mentions both opinions but did not express a preference. And Ibn Kathir,
324who cites al-Tabari's opinion (see above), also does not express any preference.
3257.

Conclusions

326Geiger and the Christian missionaries have pointed to a difficulty arising at verse 19:7 where the
327birth of the Yah ya is announced. According to their understanding, the name Yah ya is the Arabic
328equivalent of the name John. They also understand that the name Yah ya is unique, and no human
329being prior to the birth of Yah ya ever possessed such a name. However, in the Old Testament
330there are more than twenty-five references to the name John, and it is for this reason that the
331Qur'an is in error. This study has shown conclusively that the names Yah ya and John (Yuh anan
332or Yuh anna) are two entirely different names derived from two different roots. Geiger and the
333missionaries have failed to investigate the linguistic origins of the two names, and have wrongly
334concluded that the Qur'an is in error.
335The verse at 19:7 which reads lam najal lahu min qablu samiyya may be interpreted in two
336ways:
337
338
339

1. Samiyy, means shabihan or mithlan, i.e., someone like him. The verse is interpreted to
mean that the birth of Yah ya was unlike the birth of others, as he was born to an aged
father and a barren mother.

340
341

2. The name Yah ya is unique, and no one prior to the birth of Yah ya was ever given such a
name by God, a point conveniently overlooked by the missionaries.

342Was Yah ya also called Yowchanan [or Yuh anna]? It appears to be so, and God knows best. It is
343through the Mandaeans we get the dual name Yahia Yuhana. According to Mandaic literature
344Yahia is amalwasha name or the real name and Yuhana is a laqab or a lay name. The Qur'an uses
345only the real and spiritual name, i.e., Yah ya; Yuh anna is expressed as a paraphrase in the verse
34619:13 perhaps due to the fact that "Yu" in Arabic does not mean God, hence making the word
347"Yuh anna" etymologically meaningless. Presumably, "Yuh anna" was borrowed into Arabic
348through Hebrew or Syriac sources. Interestingly, the Encyclopaedia Judaica under the entry
349'John the Baptist'[37] mentions only the Arabic name: Yah ya ibn Zakariyya. There follows no
350discussion concerning the name, unlike the entries for Moses, Jesus, etc.
351The use of the name Yahia Yuhana among the Mandaeans is certainly interesting. It should also
352be noted that much of their surviving literature is relatively late. There do exist Mandaean
353incantation bowls that are dated from pre-Islamic period.[38] Further research and discoveries
354would throw more light on the origins of Mandaic literature, insha'allah.
15
44
45

16
46
355Once again the Christian missionaries have failed to show a "historical" contradiction in the
356Qur'an. Had they bothered to probe this controversy, even slightly, they would never have made
357such blunders. But as it stands, there is a preference among Christian missionaries to blindly
358follow each and every cheap polemic, and had this "contradiction" not been so widely circulated,
359we would not have bothered with its response.
360And as always Allah knows best!
361Acknowledgements
362One of the authors (MSMS) would like to thank Professor Robert Hoberman, Dr. Geoffery Khan
363and Mr. Shibli Zaman for stimulating discussions on comparative linguistics. Professor Robert
364Hoberman and Dr. Geoffery Khan are not associated with Islamic Awareness.
365Appendix

366The note made by al-Tabari in his tafsir regarding the pattern of samiyy being fail pushed us to
367look up its root in an Arabic lexicon. Below are some interesting excerpts from the famous
368Arabic lexiconLisan al-`Arab. We do not quote it in its entirety, due to unnecessary length:[39]

369
370The translation of which is:
371Sama: "as-sumuww" means elevation and highness.
372You say: "samawtu" and "samaytu" [i.e., I rose] in the same pattern of "`alawtu"
373and "salaytu", according to Tha`lab.

and "`alaytu" and "salawtu"

374And "sama ash-shay'u" [i.e., something rose] "yasmu" [i.e., it rises] "sumuwwan" [i.e., raising] fahuwa
375"samin" [i.e., it is elevated]. And [you say] "sama bihi" and "asmahu" meaning: made someone or something
376high. And you say to the noble: "qad sama".
377And when you raise your eyes to something, you say: "sama ilayhi baari" [i.e., my eyes rose to it]. And when
378a remote thing is elevated for you so that you see it distinctly, you say: "sama li shay'un".
379And [you say] "sama li shakhsu fulan" [literally: the person of someone rose to me] meaning that he rose
380until I saw him distinctly. And [you say] "sama baaruh" [i.e., his eyes rose] meaning that they went up.
381Further we read:
47
48

16

17
49

382
383The translation of which is:
384Something's "ism"

[i.e., its name], and its "sam", "sim", "sum" and "sama" is its [distinctive] sign.

385In Al-Tahdhib: the alif of "ism" is classified

386that its diminutive form is "sumayy".
387The Arabs say "hadha-smun mawul"

as "alif wasl" [i.e., it does not belong to the root] and the proof is

and "hadh a [???]".

388Al-Zajjaj said: The meaning of the word "ism" [i.e., its name] is derived from "as-sumuww" which is highness.
389He said: it's origin is "simw" [i.e., the third letter of the word is an omitted waw] like the word "qinw"
390and [the plural] "aqna'".
391Al-Jawhari said: "ism" [i.e., its name] is derived from "samawtu" because it denotes highness and it's pattern
392is "if`", and the omitted letter is a waw because it's plural is "asma'" and its diminutive form is "sumayy".
393There was disagreement on the pattern of its origin. Some said: "fi`l" and others said "fu`l" and the plural
394"asma'" is possible for this pattern also illustrated in "jidh`" and "ajdha`" and "qufl" and "aqfal" and this
395could not be settled except through listening [to the native Arabs] and it has four ways: "ism" and "usm" with
396an u, and "sim" and "sum".
397And going further we see:

398
399And your "samiyy": the one who bears your name. You say: He is the "samiyy" of someone when their names
400match like when you say his "kaniyy" [to the one who has the same nickname].
401And

in the Holy Scripture: lam naj`al lahu min qablu samiyya: None before him was his 'samiyy';

402Ibn `Abbas said: None before him was given the name Yaya. It was also said: It means none before him was
403equivalent to him or like him. It was also said: He was17
called Yaya because he "aya" lived with knowledge
50
51

18
52
404and wisdom. With regard to Almighty's speech: hal ta`lamu lahu samiyya, i.e., "knowest thou of any
405who [qualifies to be] His samiyy?" meaning "nadhir" [i.e., equivalent] who deserves the same name.
406From the above quotations, we learn that samiyy is derived from the root "sin+mim+waw" which
407refers to highness and elevation. Besides all the linguistic details, when we get to the root, we
408learn that the word samiyy has two meanings. It means "namesake" and it can also refers to a like
409or someone equivalent. Both these meanings are discussed in tafsir literature.
410
411References
412[1] A. Geiger, Judaism And Islam (English Translation Of Was hat Mohammed aus dem
413Judenthume aufgenommen?), 1970, Ktav Publishing House Inc.: New York, pp. 19.
414[2] Jalaluddin `Abd ar-Rah man al-Suyut i,Al-Itqan fi `Ulum al-Qur'an, 1987, Dar al-Kutub al415`Ilmiyyah: Beirut, First Edition, Volume 2, Section 69: "The Names, Surnames and Titles that
416Occur in the Qur'an", pp. 304-305.
417[3] P. Casanova, "Idris et Ouzar", Journal Asiatique, 1924, Volume CCV, p. 357. Since ours in
418not the official translation, we publish the original.
419Aussi ai-je hsit longtemps proposer les corrections qui me paraissaient vraisemblables. Ce qui me dcide
420aujourd'hui, c'est que, je dois le constater, les rudits occidentaux tendent de plus en plus s'affranchir du
421respect superstitieux qu'ils avaient jusqu'alors pour l'intgrit absolue du Coran, et qu'un savant smitisant
422allemand, feu Barth a propos son tour des corrections assez importantes, entre autres une qui m'intresse
423particulirement, car il y a longtemps que j'y avais pens et je suis heureux de la voir prsente, tells que je
424l'avais imagine moi-mme. C'est la correction Youanna pour Yaya Youhanna au lieu de Yaya, nom de saint
425Jean-Baptiste. Je n'osais pas la publier, d'abord pour la raison gnrale nonce plus haut, ensuite parce
426qu'elle entraine une curieuse consquence. En effet, les Mandates ou pseudo-Chrtiens de saint Jean, qu'on
427identifie aux Sabiens du Coran, ont un livre o leur principal prophte est appel Yahio. Si ce nom est du
428une erreur de lecture des rdacteurs du Coran, le livre est ncessairement postrieur la diffusion du Coran
429canonique et toutes les thories difies sur cette identification s'croulent.
430[4] D. Margoliouth, "The Origins Of Arabic Poetry", Journal Of The Royal Asiatic Society,
4311925, pp. 417-449.
432[5] A. Mingana, "Syriac Influences On The Style Of The Kur'an", Bulletin Of The John
433Rylands Library Manchester, 1927, Volume II, p. 78.
434[6] D. Margoliouth, "Textual Variations Of The Koran", The Moslem World, 1925, Volume XV,
435p. 343.

18
53
54

19
55
436[7] A. Mingana, "Syriac Influences On The Style Of The Kur'an", Bulletin Of The John
437Rylands Library Manchester, 1927, op. cit., p. 84.
438[8] Ibid.
439[9] Arthur Jeffery, The Foreign Vocabulary Of The Qur'an, 1938, Oriental Institute: Baroda, p.
440290.
441[10] Ibid., p. 291.
442[11] C. C. Torrey, The Jewish Foundation Of Islam, 1967, Ktav Publishing House, Inc.: New
443York, pp. 50-51.
444[12] Further details concerning this community can be found in Encyclopaedia
445Britannica under Mandaeanism. And information concerning their beliefs can be found here.
446[13] J. D. McAuliffe, "Exegetical Identification Of The S abi'un", The Muslim World,
4471982, Volume LXXII, pp. 95-106.
448[14] D. A. Chwolson, Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus (In two volumes), 1856, St. Petersburg.
449[15] J. Pedersen, "The Sabians" in T. W. Arnold & R. A Nicholson (editors), A Volume Of
450Oriental Studies Presented To Edward G. Browne On His 60th Birthday, 1922, Cambridge At
451The University Press, pp. 383-391.
452[16] See also Vaux's article for some support to this hypothesis. B. Carra De Vaux, "Al453Sabi'a", Encyclopaedia Of Islam (Old Edition), 1934, E. J. Brill Publishers: Leyden & Luzac &
454Co.: London, p. 387.
455[17] J. Pedersen, "The Sabians", in T. W. Arnold & R. A Nicholson (editors), A Volume Of
456Oriental Studies Presented To Edward G. Browne On His 60th Birthday, 1922, op. cit., p. 387.
457[18] E. S. Drower, The Secret Adam: A Study Of Nas oraean Gnosis, 1960, Oxford At The
458Clarendon Press, p. ix.
459[19] B. Dodge, "The Sabians Of Harran" in Fu'ad Sarruf & Suha Tamim (Eds.), American
460University Of Beirut Festival Books, 1967, p. 63.
461[20] E. S. Drower, The Mandaeans Of Iraq And Iran, 1962, E. J. Brill: Leiden, pp. 2-3.
462[21] E. S. Drower, The Canonical Prayer Book Of The Mandaeans, 1959, E. J. Brill: Leiden, p.
463106. See also p. 152.
19
56
57

20
58
464[22] E. S. Drower & R. Macuch, A Mandaic Dictionary, 1963, Oxford At The Clarendon Press,
465see p. 185 for 'iahia' and p. 190 for 'iuhana'.
466[23] ibid., p. 171.
467[24] C. Brockelmann, Lexicon Syriacum, 1928, Halix Saxonum, Sumptibus Max Niemeyer, pp.
468228-229. See also p. 220.
469[25] J. Payne Smith (ed.), A Compendious Syriac Dictionary, 1967, Oxford At The Clarendon
470Press, pp. 138-139.
471[26] We are grateful to Professor Robert Hoberman for pointing this out.
472[27] `Alawi Ibn Muh ammad Ibn Ah mad Bilfaqih,Al-Qira'at al-`Ashr al-Mutawatir, 1994, Dar
473al-Muhajir, p. 305. In the Qiraa'aat, for example, of Hamzah, al-Kisa'i, Warsh and Khalaf,
474with imalah it is read Yah yei. In the Hafs Qiraa'aat,
it is read as Yah ya without imalah.

475[28] E. M. Yamauchi, Gnostic Ethics And Mandaean Origins, 1970, Harvard University Press:
476Cambridge (MA), p. 5.
477[29] E. S. Drower, The Mandaeans Of Iraq And Iran, 1962, op. cit., p. 81.
478[30] Muh ammad Fu'ad `Abd al-Baqi, Al-Mu`ahjam al-Mufahris li al-Fadh al-Qur'an al479Karim, 1997, Dar al-Fikr: Beirut (Lebanon), p. 279.
480[31] We are grateful to Professor Hoberman and Dr. Geoffery Khan for a detailed discussion on
481the etymological issues surrounding the word "Yuh anna" in both Hebrew and Arabic.
482[32] Tafsir Ibn Kathir, available online.
483[33] This is a rather strange assertion by Ibn Kathir unsupported by any evidence.
484[34] Tafsir Ibn Kathir, available online.
485[35] Muh ammad Fu'ad `Abd al-Baqi, Al-Mu`ahjam al-Mufahris li al-Fadh al-Qur'an al486Karim, 1997, op. cit., p. 451.
487[36] Jalaluddin `Abd ar-Rah man al-Suyut i,Al-Durr al-Manthur, downloadable from al488Muhaddith website.
489[37] Under "John the Baptist", Encyclopaedia Judaica (CD-ROM Edition), 1997, Judaica
490Multimedia (Israel) Limited.
20
59
60

21
61
491[38] W. S. McCullough, Jewish And Mandaean Incantation Bowls In The Royal Ontario
492Museum, 1967, University Of Toronto Press. Five terracotta bowls are discussed in this book.
493[39] Ibn Mandhur, Lisan al-`Arab, downloadable from al-Muhaddith website.
494

Back To Refutation Of External Contradictions In The Qur'an

495

21
62
63