Jews in the Quran
الذين هادوا
The word for Judaism in the Quran is from the root الهَوْدُ meaning:
- التَّوْبَةُ، هادَ يَهُودُ هوْداً وتَهَوَّد: تابَ ورجع إِلى الحق، فهو هائدٌ
It comes from the root Hawdu = repentance; and is related to Tahawwda = to repent and return to the Truth = to become an adherent of the Laws of Moses
- إِنَّا هُدْنَـا إِلَيْكَ
- unto Thee have we turned in repentance!
- 7:156
The one who does it is a Ha'id which is thus the correct Quranic Arabic word for a Jew. Jews in plural would be Hoodan, sadly this plural has been confused with a singular word of the same sound but completely different meaning which is the singular word for Delayers (who are NOT to be confused with Jews).
Note well that it is a mistake to equate Delayers with Hebrews because the Quran makes it clear that Abraham was not a Delayer (يهوديا) while the Torah makes it clear that he who became Abraham was indeed a Hebrew (Genesis 14:13). This brings us onto a certain element which deserves a small discussion. The Prophet Hūd هود (PBUH) mentioned for example in 26.124 is usually identified as Eber, the eponymous ancestor of all the Hebrews is from a different root meaning to that of the Delayers; Hūd is a name that means: glory, splendor, nobilty, and honour. Therefore, the etymological root of Prophet Eber's Arabic name Hūd (PBUH) is from "Repentance and Righteousness", not from "Delay".
It may be that many generations after Prophet Eber, the Hebrews had deviated from the deen of Noah and that because of this deviation some of them came to be confused with the Delayers. Anyway it is certain that Abraham was sent as a messenger to the Hebrews as they were his own people, indeed Abraham was called a Hebrew, but not all of the Hebrews followed him as their new teacher. At least we know that equating prophet Hūd (PBUH) and the Hebrews with the Delayers is an oxymoron because as already stated, the Quran itself says that he who became Abraham was not a Delayer (يهودي) while the Torah does call him a Hebrew which certainly warns us that the etymology of Hud and Delayers are not to be related.
