The term hanif and its plural, hunafa, have been used in the Qur"an twelve times and in the historical and narrative texts in various
meanings. In this paper, the author is first of all dealing with the
etymology of the term. Upon educing its literal meanings and explaining
its course of development in Arabic language, he goes on to state that
considering the Qur"an and the Prophet"s traditions as well as the extant
evidence the term hanif
has been used figuratively in early Islam.
However, it has over time been applied terminologically as meaning
"Muslim".