'''Hoodan''' الهَوْدُ: التَّوْبَةُ، هادَ يَهُودُ هوْداً وتَهَوَّد: تابَ ورجع إِلى الحق، فهو هائدٌ

The Hoodan (Hodite) belief is similar (with the exception of lip-service to Moses) to that of the proto-Hebrews in the towns where he who became Abraham lived prior to his calling. This "proto-Hebrew" religion was described by Maimonides as a kind of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeticism Hermeticism]. The fact that Yahūdu posessed the Torah and paid some kind of lip-service to Moses however indicates that they must have once been in some kind of contact with real Jews, perhaps as "Ger Sheker" Heretics from among other Hebrew peoples such as the Amalekites or Idumeans (See Moshe Sharon's entry on People of the Book in the Encyclopedia of the Quran). However it would be a mistake to equate Yahūdu with Hebrews because the Quran makes it clear that Abraham was not يهوديا while the Torah makes it clear that he who became Abraham was indeed a Hebrew (Genesis 14:13).