Hanif

In Islam, the ḥanīf (sing; Arabic: حنيف, lit. 'a renunciate [of idolatry]') and ḥunafā' (plur; حنفاء) are the pre-Islamic Arabians who were Abrahamic monotheists. Muslims regard these people favorably for shunning Arabian polytheism and instead solely worshipping the God of Abraham, thus setting themselves apart from what is called jahiliyyah. However, they were not associated with Judaism or Christianity; instead exemplifying what they perceived as the unaltered beliefs and morals of Abraham. The form hanīf appears 10 times in the Quran, and the form ḥunafā' twice. According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad himself was a ḥanīf (before he met the angel Gabriel) and was a direct descent from Abraham's first son Ishmael. Likewise, Islam regards all Islamic prophets and messengers before Muhammad as ḥunafā', underscoring their God-given infallibility.