Editing Zoroaster (section)

==Influences==
===In Christianity===
{{main|Christianity and other religions|Second Temple Judaism|Cyrus the Great in the Bible}}

[[Athanasius Kircher]] identified Zoroaster with [[Ham (Bible)|Ham]].<ref name="Mungello Ham">{{Harvcolnb|Mungello|1989|p=144}} and {{Harvcolnb|Mungello|1989|p=182}}</ref> The French [[figurist]] [[Jesuit missions to China|Jesuit missionary to China]] [[Joachim Bouvet]] thought that Zoroaster, the Chinese cultural hero [[Fuxi]] and [[Hermes Trismegistus]] were actually the Biblical patriarch [[Enoch]].<ref name="Mungello Enoch">{{Harvcolnb|Mungello|1989|p=321}}</ref>

===In Islam===
{{main|Religious influences on Zoroastrianism|101 names of God|Cyrus the Great in the Quran}}
{{further|Daeva|Jinn|Ifrit|Iblis|Angra Mainyu}}

The ''[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]'' claims that the stories of Zoroaster's life were attributed to him by quoting stories from Christianity and Judaism, but the most quotations were from Islam after the entry of Muslims into Persia, as it was a means for the Zoroastrian clergy to strengthen their religion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=ZOROASTRIANISM II. HISTORICAL REVIEW: FROM THE ARAB CONQUEST TO MODERN TIMES |url=https://iranicaonline.org/ |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

The orientalist [[Arthur Christensen]] in his book <nowiki>''</nowiki>''Iran During The Sassanid Era<nowiki>''</nowiki>''''',''' mentioned that the sources dating back to the era of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] state in [[Old Persian|ancient Persian]] that refer to the Zoroastrian doctrine do not match the sources that appeared after the collapse of the state, such as the Pahlavi source and others. The reason is that because of the fall of the Sasanian state, the Zoroastrian clerics tried to save their religion from extinction through modifying it to resemble the religion of Muslims to retain followers in the Zoroastrian religion.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Christensen |first=Arthur |title=Book Iran During The Sassanid Era |date=1936 |pages=421}}</ref>

[[Gherardo Gnoli]] comments that the Islamic conquest of Persia caused a huge impact on the Zoroastrian doctrine:<ref>{{Cite web |title=DUALISM |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/dualism/ |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=After the Islamic conquest of Persia and the migration of many Zoroastrians to India and after being exposed to Islamic and Christian propaganda, the Zoroastrians, especially the Parsis in India, went so far as to deny dualism and consider themselves completely monotheists. After several transformations and developments, one of the distinctive features of the Zoroastrian religion gradually faded away and almost disappeared from modern Zoroastrianism|source=|title=|author=}}

[[Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla]] described the doctrine of the [[Gayomarthians]] sect as another attempt to mitigate the dualism that has always been the essence of Zoroastrianism. This was due to the Prophet Muhammad’s emphasis on monotheism and the Muslims’ mockery of the doctrine of worshipping two gods, which made the Zoroastrians view dualism as a defect, so they added monotheism, which led to the Zoroastrians’ division into sects and he mentions examples of the Zoroastrian attempt to establish a monotheistic belief by diminishing the importance of Ahriman, including that Ahura Mazda and Ahriman were created from time, or that Ahura Mazda himself allowed the existence of evil, or that Ahriman was a corrupt angel who rebelled against Ahura Mazda. Then he mentions the name of a Persian book from the [[15th century]] in which it is written that the Magi (Zoroastrians) believe that Allah and Iblis are brothers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=M.N. Dhalla: History of Zoroastrianism (1938), part 6, CHAPTER XLVI , DOWNFALL OF THE SASANIANS, AND THE AFTERMATH |url=https://www.avesta.org/dhalla/history6.htm |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.avesta.org}}</ref>

This provides an explanation of why a number of parallels have been drawn between Zoroastrian teachings and Islam. Such parallels include the evident similarities between [[Amesha Spenta]] and the archangel [[Gabriel]], praying five times a day, covering one's head during prayer, and the mention of [[Thamud]] and [[Iram of the Pillars]] in the [[Quran]].

The [[Sabians]], who believed in [[free will]] coincident with [[Zoroastrians]], are also mentioned in the Quran 22:17.<ref name="Hinnel 1997">{{Citation |last=Hinnel |first=J |title=The Penguin Dictionary of Religion |year=1997 |publisher=Penguin Books UK}}</ref>

====Muslim scholastic views====
{{main|Shahnameh}}
Like the Greeks of classical antiquity, Islamic tradition understands Zoroaster to be the founding prophet of the Magians (via Aramaic, Arabic {{transliteration|ar|Majūsiyya}}, collective {{transliteration|ar|[[Majūs]]}}). The 11th-century Cordoban [[Ibn Hazm]] (Zahiri school) contends that the designation {{transliteration|ar|kitābī}} "[follower] of the Scripture [of God]" cannot apply in light of the Zoroastrian assertion that their books were destroyed by Alexander. Citing the authority of the 8th-century [[Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi|al-Kalbi]], the 9th- and 10th-century Sunni historian [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|al-Tabari]] (I, 648){{citation needed|date=October 2023}} reports that Zara<!-- with 'a' -->dusht bin Isfiman (an [[Arabic]] adaptation of "Zarathushtra Spitama") was an inhabitant of Israel and a servant of one of the disciples of the prophet [[Jeremiah]].<ref name="IbnKathir">[[Ibn Kathir]], ''Stories of the Prophets'', ''The Story of the Prophet Jeremiah''</ref> According to this tale, Zaradusht defrauded his master, who cursed him, causing him to become leprous (cf. [[Elisha]]'s servant [[Gehazi]] in Jewish scripture).{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} According to [[Ibn Kathir]], Zoroaster came into conflict with Jeremiah which resulted in angry Jeremiah cast a curse upon Zoroaster, causing him to suffer [[Leprosy]], and exiling him. Zoroaster later moved to a place of modern-day [[Azerbaijan]] which ruled by Bashtaasib ([[Vishtaspa]]), governor of Nebuchadnezzar, and spread his teaching of Zoroastrianism there. Bashtaasib then followed his teaching, forces the inhabitants of [[Persia]] to convert to Zoroastrianism and killed those who refused.<ref name="Ibn Kathir; chapter Jeremiah">{{cite web |author1=Ibn Kathir |title=The Reconstruction of Jerusalem In the Era of Jeremiah |url=https://www.islamawareness.net/Prophets/reconstruction.html |website=islamawareness |access-date=22 July 2024 |language=En}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Muhammad Al-Munajjid |author1-link=Muhammad Al-Munajjid |title=هل زاردشت كان نبيا ؟ |trans-title=Was Zoroaster a prophet? |year=2017 |url=https://islamqa.info/ar/answers/258698/%D9%87%D9%84-%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%B4%D8%AA-%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%86%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7 |website=[[IslamQA.info|islamqa.info]] |publisher=islamqa.info |access-date=3 August 2024 |language=Ar}}</ref>

Ibn Kathir has quoted the original narrative was borrowed from Tabari's record of the "History of Jerusalem". He also mentioned that Zoroastrian was synonymous with [[Majus]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Ibn Kathir |translator=Dar Al Kalam Staff |title=Stories of the Prophets (Peace be upon them): Qasas Al-Anbiya |year=2018 |publisher=دار القلم للطباعة و النشر و التوزيع - بيروت |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B3hjDwAAQBAJ |access-date=22 July 2024 |language=En}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Ibn Kathir |title=Stories Of The Prophets |url=https://islambasics.com/chapter/prophet-aramaya-jeremiah/ |website=islambasics |access-date=22 July 2024 |language=En}}</ref>

[[Sibt ibn al-Jawzi]] instead stated that some older narration said that Zoroaster was a former disciple of [[Uzair]].<ref>{{cite web |title=هل بوذا" أو "زرادشت" من الأنبياء؟ |url=https://www.islamweb.net/ar/fatwa/425695/ |website=إسلام ويب |publisher=Islamweb |year=2020 |access-date=22 July 2024 |language=Ar}}</ref>

[[Al-Tabari]] (I, 681–683){{citation needed|date=October 2023}} recounts that Zaradusht accompanied a Jewish prophet to Bishtasb/Vishtaspa. Upon their arrival, Zaradusht translated the sage's Hebrew teachings for the king and so convinced him to convert (Tabari also notes that they had previously been {{transliteration|ar|[[Sabians|Sabis]]}}) to the Magian religion.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

The 12th-century [[heresiology|heresiographer]] [[al-Shahrastani]] describes the Majusiya into three sects, the {{transliteration|ar|Kayumarthiya}} (an otherwise undocumented sect that – per Sharastani – seems to have had a stronger doctrine of Ahriman's "non-reality"), the {{transliteration|ar|[[Zurvanism|Zurwaniya]]}} and the {{transliteration|ar|Zaradushtiya}}, among which Al-Shahrastani asserts that only the last of the three were properly followers of Zoroaster. As regards the recognition of a prophet, Zoroaster has said: "They ask you as to how should they recognize a prophet and believe him to be true in what he says; tell them what he knows the others do not, and he shall tell you even what lies hidden in your nature; he shall be able to tell you whatever you ask him and he shall perform such things which others cannot perform." (Namah Shat Vakhshur Zartust, .5–7. 50–54)

====Ahmadiyya view====
The [[Ahmadiyya Community]] views Zoroaster as a Prophet and describe the expressions of the all-good Ahura Mazda and evil Ahriman as merely referring to the coexistence of forces of good and evil enabling humans to exercise free will.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_2_section_5.html|title=Zoroastrianism|website=www.alislam.org}}</ref>

===In Manichaeism===
[[File:Manichaean Diagram of the Universe (Detail 12).jpg|thumb|The four primary prophets of Manichaeism in the ''[[Manichaean Diagram of the Universe]]'', from left to right: [[Mani (prophet)|Mani]], [[Zarathushtra in Manichaeism|Zoroaster]], [[The Buddha in Manichaeism|Buddha]] and [[Jesus in Manichaeism|Jesus]].]]
[[Manichaeism]] considered Zoroaster to be a figure in a line of prophets of which [[Mani (prophet)|Mani]] (216–276) was the culmination.<ref name="Widengren_1961_76">{{harvnb|Widengren|1961|p=76}}.</ref> Zoroaster's ethical dualism is—to an extent—incorporated in Manichaeism's doctrine which, unlike Mani's thoughts,<ref>Amin Maalouf 1991, The Gardens of Light</ref> viewed the world as being locked in an epic battle between opposing forces of good and evil.<ref name="Widengren_1961_43-45">{{harvnb|Widengren|1961|pp=43–45}}.</ref> Manicheanism also incorporated other elements of Zoroastrian tradition, particularly the names of supernatural beings; however, many of these other Zoroastrian elements are either not part of Zoroaster's own teachings or are used quite differently from how they are used in Zoroastrianism.<ref name="Widengren_1961_44-45">{{harvnb|Widengren|1961|pp=44–45}}.</ref><ref name="Zaehner_1972_21">{{harvnb|Zaehner|1972|p=21}}.</ref>

===In the Bahá'í Faith===
Zoroaster appears in the [[Bahá'í Faith]] as a "[[Manifestation of God (Baháʼí Faith)|Manifestation of God]]", one of a line of prophets who have progressively revealed the Word of God to a gradually maturing humanity. Zoroaster thus shares an exalted station with [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Krishna]], [[Jesus]], [[Muhammad]], the [[Báb]], and the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, [[Bahá'u'lláh]].<ref name="Taherzadeh_1976_3">{{harvnb|Taherzadeh|1976|p=3}}.</ref> [[Shoghi Effendi]], the head of the Bahá'í Faith in the first half of the 20th century, saw Bahá'u'lláh as the fulfillment of a post-Sassanid Zoroastrian prophecy that saw a return of Sassanid emperor [[Bahram I|Bahram]];<ref name="Buck_1998">{{harvnb|Buck|1998}}.</ref> Effendi also stated that Zoroaster lived roughly 1000 years before Jesus.{{efn|From a letter of the Universal House of Justice, Department of the Secretariat, May 13, 1979, to Gayle Woolson published in {{harvp|Hornby|1983|p=501}}.}}