Encyclopedia of Islam

John the Baptist

  

403  J

---

Phrases such as Baptist and Baptizer are not used 

in reference to him in the q

Uran

. Rather, as has 

been and continues to be a common practice 

in naming people in the Muslim world, John is 

known as the son of his father. John is mentioned 

five times in the Quran. In Q 3:39 the 

angel

s tell 

Zechariah, “God bids you rejoice in the birth of 

John, who shall confirm the word of God. He shall 

be princely and chaste, a prophet from among the 

righteous.” In stating that John shall confirm the 

word of God, the Quran is referring to the affirm-

ing role that he was to have with respect to Jesus’ 

life and message.

In the context of God’s giving instructions and 

wisdom to a

braham

, the Quran lists John as one 

of many upright men, including such figures as 

Isaac, Jacob, Noah, d

avid

, Solomon, Job, J

oseph

, 

m

oses

, Aaron, and Zechariah (Q 6:83–87). In Q 

19:7, God tells Zechariah that he should rejoice 

because he will be given a son, “and he shall be 

called John; a name no man has borne before 

him”; the uniqueness of John’s name in this regard 

denotes for many Muslims his special role in the 

tradition. In one of the Quran’s longest references 

to John (Q 19:12–15), God commanded John to, 

“ ‘Hold fast to the book!’ And we bestowed upon 

him wisdom while he was still a child, and grace, 

and purity. He was a godfearing man, honoring 

his father and mother, and neither arrogant nor 

rebellious. Blessed was he on the day he was born 

and the day of his 

death

; and may peace be on him 

when he is raised to life.” Thus, John embodied 

many of the virtuous qualities that Muslims are to 

emulate in their own lives.

Also, Muslim interpreters believe that the 

scripture to which this passage refers is the t

orah

,

the sacred text of the Jews, reflecting the idea 

that John exists at an intersection between Juda-

ism, Christianity, and Islam. In the Quran’s 21st 

chapter, entitled “The Prophets,” God recounts 

significant aspects of history and provides sum-

maries of his relationships to various prophets 

and states: “And of Zechariah, who invoked his 

Lord, saying ‘Lord, let me not remain childless, 

though of all heirs you are the best.’ We answered 

his prayer and gave him John, curing his wife of 

sterility. They vied with each other in good works 

and called on us [i.e., God] in love and fear” (Q 

21:89–90). These verses reaffirm the significant 

position John had in the line of prophets who 

preceded Muhammad. Even though there are a 

relatively small number of references to John in 

the Quran, they have been the basis of extensive 

discussions among Muslim scholars. There have 

been debates about John’s chasteness and short 

biographies written about his life based on the 

New Testament and other Christian sources.

A church dedicated to John the Baptist was 

built by Christians on the site of a Roman temple 

in the ancient city of d

amascUs

. This shrine, said 

to contain his head, was subsequently incorpo-

rated into the grand Umayyad 

mosqUe

 that now 

stands on the site.

See also  c

hristianity

 

and

  i

slam

; 

holy

 

books

; 

J

Udaism

 

and

 i

slam

; m

ary

; 

prophets

 

and

 

prophecy

; 

U

mayyad

 

dynasty

.

Jon Armajani