In religion, a precursor, also known as forerunner, predecessor, harbinger or herald, is a holy person who announced the approaching appearance of a central figure of the religion or who identified a central figure of the religion during the latter’s childhood.

List of precursors

Asita Asita or Kaladevala or Kanhasiri was a hermit ascetic depicted in Buddhist sources as having lived in ancient India. He was a teacher and advisor of Suddhodana, the father of the Buddha, and is best known for having predicted that prince Siddha ...

in BuddhismKohn, Sherab Chodzin (2009).
A Life of the Buddha
'. Shambhala Publications. . pp. 5-6. *

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

in Christianity *

Bahira Bahira ( ar, بَحِيرَىٰ, syc, ܒܚܝܪܐ) was an Assyrian, likely Nestorian monk from the tribe of Abd al-Qays who, according to Islamic religion, foretold to the adolescent Muhammad his future as a prophet.Abel, A.Baḥīrā. ''Encyc ...

or Sergius in IslamAbel, A.
Baḥīrā
. '' Encyclopaedia of Islam''. Brill. Brill Online, 2007 *

Shaykh Ahmad Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

, forerunner of Bábism (in the Bábí-Bahá'í view) * Sayyid Kazim Rashti, forerunner of Bábism (in the Bábí-Bahá'í view) *

Báb The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed ...

, forerunner and herald of the Bahá'í Faith (in the Bahá'í view)

References

{{Precursors in religion

List of precursors

See also

References