Definition of Zanadiqa and Zindiq Al-Fayruzabadi writes: A zindiq (sing.)—pronounced with a short i—is: 1) a member of the Dualists (thanawiyya), 2) one who holds that light and darkness are two eternal principles, 3) a person who denies the afterlife and divine lordship, or 4) someone who inwardly disbelieves but outwardly professes faith. Some explain it as a Persian compound zan din, “the woman’s religion.” Plurals: zanadiqa or zanadiq. The verb is tazandaqa; the abstract noun, zandaqa. A “zindiq or zindiqi man” can also mean “extremely stingy.” See: Al-Qamus al-Muhit, p. 891, root znq. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, says: “The phrase bi-zanadiqa is spelled with the letters zay, nun, and qaf; it is the plural of zindiq, pronounced with kasra on the first consonant and sukun on the second.” Abu Hatim al-Sijistani and others state that zindiq is a Persian loanword whose original form is zinda kird, meaning “he declares the world to be everlasting,” for zinda means “life” and kird, “deed.” It can also be applied to someone of exceedingly subtle intellect. Thaʿlab remarks that the word is not native Arabic; Arabs said zindiqi of a person adept at deception. When they meant what the common folk intend, they used the terms mulhid (atheist) and dahri (with fath on the d), i.e., one who claims the eternity of the universe; if the d is pronounced with damma, it simply means “very old.” Al-Jawhari defines a zindiq as a Dualist. One commentator further restricted it to “someone who asserts another god alongside Allah,” but that definition would encompass every polytheist, which is imprecise. Specialists in sects explain that the original zanadiqa were the followers of Daysan, then Mani, and later Mazdak. Their common teaching is that light and darkness are both eternal; from their mingling the universe arose. Those inclined to evil derive from darkness, those inclined to good from light. Salvation therefore lies in separating light from darkness, a goal that, taken literally, requires the destruction of every living being. Al-Mutanabbi alludes to this in his famous line: “How many favors of night’s darkness you possess— a proof that the Manichaeans lie.” Bahrām, the ancestor of Khosrow, enticed Mani, feigned acceptance of his doctrine, then killed him and his followers. Some remnants later adopted Mazdak’s views. With the rise of Islam, the term zindiq came to denote anyone holding such beliefs. Many of them outwardly embraced Islam to escape execution; hence zindiq eventually became a label for anyone who conceals disbelief while displaying Islam. Imam Malik declared that zandaqa is precisely the stance of the hypocrites. A number of Shafi‘i jurists and others likewise define a zindiq as one who appears Muslim while…