Maimonides writes that Abraham was a 'Sabian' before he came to a belief in the One God. Maimonides proposed that Sabaeanism evolved into Abrahamic monotheism which then evolved into Mosaic teaching. Maimonides uses the term Sabaean to depicts typical “pagan” culture would have existed before Abraham brought the message of the one god. He writes that the Sabians believed in a form of Adam. The description he recounts in Guide to the Perplexed is a typical Harranian creation in which Adam is brought into the worship of Sin. He writes that the idolaters pray to the morning sun in the east. It is for this reason that Abraham initiated the notion of facing west in all prayers. Maimonides wrote that that the Sabaeans held great respect for all animal life in particular the bull. Maimonides wrote concerning the notion that blood is unclean yet they partake of it.<ref>[http://www.geocities.com/mandaeans/Sabians7.html The Sabians of Moses Maimonides Writing]</ref>
Why does he use the Sabaeans as this general term denoting all “pagan” worshippers? This is because in the Islamic system under which Maimonides lived, there are two kinds of Tsabi (Disciples of G-d's Angel). The first are the Mushrik (Hanif) Sabians while those who like Abraham had come from among the Mushriks but had repented were called Hanifian Tsabis but not Mushrik. There could be several reasons for this. One would be the fact that the term “Sabians” as indicated in the Qu’ran had already degraded into being a generalized term for all religions, other than Islam, Jewish, and Christianity, that fit into generalized descriptions of a qualified religion under Islamic law. <ref>ibid.</ref>