Sabians

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Sabian is a term that has been more or less inaccurately used to describe at least three religious groups (see Mandaeanism, Harranians or Sabeans, and Sabaeans). The term derives from the Arabic term "Sabi" (plural Sabiyah) meaning proselyte (i.e., one who has converted through Baptism but also reminiscent of a word meaning light) which was an appellation for a now obscure Arabic religious group. They are first mentioned in the Qur'an and later appear again in the writings of the Bah?'? Faith. Despite their clear documentation in traditions stemming from Islam, they have become yet another thing for western scholars to delight in puzzling and speculating over for decades resulting in various theories and information that has a way of producing some very heated arguments.

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Sabian is one of three similar sounding words that refer to a religion or cultural group. These three words have been used interchangeably and one mistaken for the another in many literary references for centuries. The spelling "Sabian" usually refers to one of "people of the book" as mentioned in the Qur'an and it is also used by the Mandaeans as an appellation imposed by local Muslims. The second word is "Sabaean", which is a variation of the Sabian spelling. This word is also is used for the "people of the book" and this word is used to refer to the Harranians. The third word is "Sabeans", which are the people of ancient Saba in Yemen and have been thrown out by scholars on having any connection to the Sabians of the Qur'an.

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The word Sabium comes from Subi or Sabi (plural Subba or Sabba), a colloquial word of Syriac or Mandaic origins and means to "immerse" or "plunge in". It may also be related to the Greek sebomenoi, a term for non-converted (and decidedly non-circumcised) Jewish adherents.

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Mandaeanism: Mandaeanism is a religion which has been classified by scholars as Gnostic (a blanket term for various mostly mystical religions and sects, in the first century AD)....

Harran: Harran, also known as Carrhae, is an archeological site in present day southeastern Turkey, 24 miles (39 kilometers) southeast of Sanli Urfa. In its prime, it controlled the point where the road from Damascus joins the highway between Nineveh and Carchemish. This location gave Harran strategic value...

Saba: Saba (pronounced "SAY-ba") is the smallest island of the Netherlands Antilles, located at latitude 63.13 degrees West, longitude 17.38 degrees North. It consists largely of the extinct volcano, Mount Scenery (888 m), the highest point of the Kingdom of the Netherlands....