Haman (Islam)

In the Qur'an, Haman was a the chief minister of Pharaoh at the time of Moses. The name Haman appears six times in the Qur'an. Both Haman and Pharaoh rejected Moses' invitation to worship the true God and refused to set the children of Israel free. According to the Qur'an both Haman and Pharaoh had armies and were responsible for killing of sons of the Israelites. God sent Moses to invite Pharaoh and Haman to worship him, and to send with Moses the Israelites that Haman and Pharaoh were tormenting. Referring to him as a sorcerer and a liar, Pharaoh and Haman rejected Moses' call. Like Pharaoh, Haman was eventually drowned. Anthony Hearle Johns, "Haman", "Encyclopedia of the Qur'an ", Brill ]

Interaction with Moses

God desires to overthrow Haman and Pharaoh by the oppressed Israelites, and to make them heirs to their power and wealth. There is an irony in the fact that the infant Moses is picked up from the river by the household of the Pharaoh. Pharaoh wanted to kill the infant but changed his mind at the plea of his wife. Haman is singled out as a member of this household.

As a young man, Moses kills an Egyptian, and subsequently flees to Midian. He later comes back as a messenger of God to Pharaoh and Haman saying: "Send with us the children of Israel, and do not torment them" (Qur'an 20:47). Pharaoh inquires Moses about the identity and characteristics of his God after which commands Haman to kindle a fire to bake clay for bricks (Qur'an 28:38) in order to build a lofty tower he can climb to be able to see the God of Moses (Qur'an 28:38; 40:36-7).

Moses is not only sent to Pharoah and Haman, but also to Korah (Arabic: _ar. "Qarun") (Qur'an 40:24). According to Anthony Hearle Johns, "there is a vivid scene presenting the response of the three of them to Moses' message, 'A sorcerer! A liar! ... Kill the sons of those who believe along with him, and let their women live” (q 40:24-5), and Pharaoh turns to Korah and Hāmān, saying, 'Let me kill Moses, let him cry out to his lord' (q 40:28). In q 29:39 Haman, Korah and Pharaoh are named along with the peoples of Midian (q 29:36), ʿĀd (q.v.) and Thamūd (q.v.; q 29:38), as among those who rejected the prophets sent to them and were punished: Korah was swallowed up by the earth (q 28:81) and Hāmān drowned with Pharaoh (q 29:40)."

Identity

Scholars disagree over the identity of Haman and the meaning of his name: According to G. Vajda, for an unexplained reason, the Qur'an confuses Haman with the minister of King Ahasuerus of the Persian empire whose story is mentioned in the Biblical book of Esther [ G. Vajda, "Haman", "Encyclopedia of Islam"] According to Anthony Hearle Johns however:

"There is, however, no reason, other than the paradigmatic one of hostility to the Israelites, to make any direct connection between him and the eponymous minister of Ahasuerus referred to in Esther (3:1-6) who persuaded his ruler to issue an edict to exterminate the Jews of the Persian Empire because Mordechai refused to pay him homage. One suggestion is that Hāmān is an Arabized echo of the Egyptian Hā-Amen, the title of a high priest second only in rank to Pharaoh (Asad, Message, 590, n. 6). The name, however, may have become a time-honored designation for any court official hostile to the Jews and belief in the one God. His role is marginally elaborated in the “stories of the prophets” literature(qisas al-anbiya, see Kisāʾī, Tales, 213, 226-7, 229)."

Notes