zindīq
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Zindīq (pl. zanādiqa) is a medieval
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
ic term applied by Muslims to individuals who are considered to hold views or follow practices that are contrary to central Islamic dogmas.. Zandaqa is the noun describing these views. Zanadiqa is usually translated as "heresy" and often used to "underscore the seriousness" of the religious error of the accused Muslim. It originally referred to the Manichaean Religion, but "soon came" to be applied to Muslims who concealed their deviant beliefs.


Under the Abbasids

The Arabic ''zindīq'' is a loan word from pre-Islamic
Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle P ...
𐭦𐭭𐭣𐭩𐭪 ''zandik'', a
Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
term of uncertain etymology and meaning (for a discussion of the term in a pre-Islamic context, see '' zandik''). Zindīq (زنديق) or Zandik (𐭦𐭭𐭣𐭩𐭪) was initially used to negatively denote the followers of the
Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (A ...
religion in the
Sasanian Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
. By the time of the eighth-century
Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttal ...
however, the meaning of the word zindīq and the adjectival ''zandaqa'' had broadened and could loosely denote many things:
Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized p ...
Dualists as well as followers of Manichaeism,
agnostics Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
, and
atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
.. However, many of those persecuted for ''zandaqa'' under the Abbasids claimed to be Muslims, and when applied to Muslims, the accusation was that the accused secretly harbored Manichaean beliefs. "The proof for such an accusation was sought, if at all, in an indication of some kind of dualism, or if that individual openly flouted Islamic beliefs or practices." As such, certain Muslim poets of early Abbasid times could thus also be accused of ''zandaqa'' as much as an actual Manichaean might. The charge of ''zandaqa'' was a serious one, and could cost the accused his/her life. A history of the time states cites the "Spiller" caliph Abu al-'Abbas as having said "tolerance is laudable, except in matters dangerous to religious belief, or to the sovereign's dignity." The third Abbasid caliph,
Al-Mahdi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله المنصور; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name Al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abb ...
, ordered the composition of polemical works to refute freethinkers and other heretics, and for years he tried to exterminate them absolutely, hunting them down and exterminating freethinkers in large numbers, putting to death anyone on mere suspicion of being a ''zindiq''.. Al-Mahdi's successors, the caliphs
al-Hadi Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī ( ar, أبو محمد موسى بن المهدي الهادي; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab Al-Hādī (الهادي‎) was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succee ...
and
Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
, continued the pogroms, although with diminished intensity during the reign of the latter and was later abolished by him. This policy in turn influenced the
Mihna The Mihna ( ar, محنة خلق القرآن, ''Miḥnat k͟halaq al-Qurʾān'' "ordeal egardingthe createdness of the Qur'an") refers to the period of religious persecution instituted by the 'Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun in 833 CE in which relig ...
policy of
al-Ma'mun Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'm ...
which targeted those Muslim religious scholars and officials who refused to accept the doctrine of created nature of Quran. The reason for these persecutions are not easy to determine. ''Zandaqa'' was viewed as a threat to Islam, to Muslim society, and to the state. In the eighth century, Islamic norms were still under development and had not yet crystallized, and Muslims were still a small minority in the vast territories ruled by the caliphate, and even those who had converted were perceived to have been only "imperfectly" Islamized. Many of these converts had previously been Manichaeans, and Manichaeaism with its well developed missionary ideals had undergone a slight resurgence during early caliphate rule. As such, the Manichaeans were perceived as a threat to the security of the Muslim religious elite and to the Abbasid state. The threat was perceived to be especially evident in the quasi-scientific manner in which the Manichaeans posed unsettling questions, their skill at creating a favourable impression in public debate, and their ability in defending their own intellectually-appealing world-view.


Later usage

In time, Muslim theologians came to apply ''zindiq'' to "the criminal dissident—the professing Muslim who holds beliefs or follows practices contrary to the central dogmas of Islam and is therefore to be regarded as an
apostate Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that ...
and an infidel. The jurists differ as to the theoretical formulation of the point of exclusion, but in fact usually adopt the practical criterion of open rebellion." In modern times, the term ''zindiq'' is occasionally used to denote members of religions, sects or cults that originated in a Muslim society but are considered heretical or independent faiths by mainstream Muslims.. In this sense, a ''zindiq'' is perceived to be incorrigibly disloyal to the tenets of Islam..


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zindiq Heresy Irreligion Islam-related slurs Islamic terminology Persecution by Muslims