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صَابِئٌ ذ [part. n. of صَبَأَ: and as such signifying] One who departs from his religion to another religion. (Msb.) The Arabs used to call the Prophet الصَّابِى [for الصَّابِئُ], because he departed from the religion of Kureysh to El-Islám; and him who entered the religion of El-Islám, مَصْبُوٌّ, changing the ' to و; and the Muslims [collectively], الصُّبَاةٌ, as though pl. of الصَّابِىِ, without ', like قُضَاةٌ and غُزَاةٌ pls. of قَاضٍ and غَازٍ. (TA.) And [the pl.] الصَّابِئُونَ in the Kur [v. 73, &c.,] is said by Zj to mean Those who depart from one religion to another. (TA.) ― -b2- Then this appellation, صَابِئٌ, was applied to [Any individual of] a certain sect of the unbelievers, [the Sabians,] said to worship the stars secretly, and openly to profess themselves to belong to the Christians: they are called الصَّابِئَةُ and الضَّابِئُونَ: and they assert that they are of the religion of Sábi the son of Sheyth [or Seth] the son of Adam: their appellation may also be pronounced الصَّابِيُونَ, and thus Náfi' read it [in the Kur]: (Msb:) or the صَابِئُونَ are a certain class of the people who possess revealed scripture: (S:) or a people whose religion resembles that of the Christians, except that their kibleh is towards the place whence blows the [south, or southerly, wind called] جَنُوب: (Lth, T, TA:) [or] whose kibleh is from (مِنْ [or this may mean some point of]) the place whence blows the [north, or northerly, wind called] شَمَال at midday: (M, K:) or, accord. to some, their kibleh is the Kaabeh: (MF:) and they assert that they are of the religion of Noah, (Lth, T, M, K,) lyingly: (Lth, T, M:) in the R it is said that they are thus called in relation to Sábi the son of Lámak [or Lamech], the brother of Noah: Bd says, it is said that they are worshippers of the angels: and it is said that they are worshippers of the stars: and that their appellation is Arabic; from صَبَأَ “ he departed from a religion; ” or from صَبَا “ he inclined, ” because of their inclining from truth to falsehood. (MF, TA.)
An Arabic-English Lexicon. London. Williams and Norgate. 1863.
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