Sabians of Harran
Also: Harranian Sabians, Sabians
A Syriac-speaking religious community associated with Harran. The mathematician and translator Thabit ibn Qurra belonged to it. Medieval sources call the group Sabian, but it should not be assumed to be identical with every community called Sabian in Quranic or later sources.
The Sabians of Harran were a non-Muslim community in Upper Mesopotamia with strong Syriac and Greek intellectual connections. Thabit ibn Qurra, one of the most important translators and mathematicians of Abbasid Baghdad, came from this community and wrote in both Syriac and Arabic.
The name needs a warning label. Islamic and modern sources have used Sabian for several groups whose relationship to one another is disputed. The Harranians should not automatically be identified with the Mandaeans or with every group intended by the Quran’s references to Sabians.