Hanif

In Islam, a ḥanīf (Arabic: حنيف, romanized: ḥanīf; plural: حنفاء, ḥunafā'), meaning "renunciate", is someone who maintains the pure monotheism of the patriarch Abraham. More specifically, in Islamic thought, renunciates were the people who, during the pre-Islamic period (or Jahiliyyah), were seen to have renounced idolatry and retained some or all of the tenets of the religion of Abraham (إبراهيم), which was submission to God in its purest form.

Quotes

• Abraham used to worship the idol, i.e., the one named al-Uzza in Harran, as a hanif, as you agree, O you hanif….He abandoned al-hanifiyya, which is the worship of idols, and became a monotheist….Therefore we find al-hanifiyya in God’s revealed scriptures as a name for the worship of idols.
  • al-Kindi, quoted in Nevo and Koren, Crossroads to Islam, 214. also quoted in Did muhammad exist? : an inquiry into islam’s obscure origins. (2012). . ISI Books. March 1 2024