Haman (Islam)
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Haman (Template:Langx) is a person mentioned in the Qur'an where he appears as court official of the Pharaoh and associated with him in his court at the time of prophet Musa, Moses in Christianity and Judaism.
The name Haman, however, also appears in the biblical Book of Esther where Haman is a counselor of Ahasuerus, king of Persia and an enemy of the Jews. The relationship between the Biblical and Quranic Haman has been a topic of debate. There is no evidence of such stories in Egyptian history.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Some Islamic scholars compared plot elements of the book of Esther when they elaborated on the Quranic narrative of the Exodus.<ref name=":14">Template:Cite book</ref>
Qur'anic Narrative
The name Haman appears six times throughout the Qur'an, Quran 29:39,40:24, 28:8, 28:38.<ref>A-Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, Wheeler, Haman</ref> four times with Pharaoh and twice by himself,<ref>[1], Qur'an 28:6, 28:8, 28:38, 29:39, 40:24, 40:36.</ref> where God sends Moses to invite Pharaoh, Haman and their people to monotheism, and to seek protection of the Israelites Haman and Pharaoh were tormenting.
Referring to Moses as a sorcerer and a liar the Pharaoh rejected Moses' call to worship the God of Moses and refused to set the children of Israel free. The Pharaoh commissioned Haman to build a tall tower using fire-cast bricks so that the Pharaoh could climb far up and see the God of Moses. The Pharaoh, Haman, and their army in chariots pursuing the fleeing children of Israel drowned in the Red Sea as the parted water closed up on them. The Pharaoh's submission to God at the moment of death and total destruction was rejected but his dead body was saved as a lesson for posterity.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
High Priest of Amun
Some have proposed that the name Haman, like Pharaoh in the Qur'an and Old Testament is not a proper name, but a title. The description of Haman in the Qur'an serving in both a priestly religious role and that of one who's in charge of building projects answerable to the Pharaoh himself draws parallels with the High Priest of Amun.<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref> S. Mohammad Syed "Historicity of Haman as Mentioned in the Qur'an" (Islamic Quarterly, 1980, Volume XXIV, pp. 48-59)</ref><ref>Pharaoh, Haman and Korah in the Quran http://globaltab.net/Articles/ArticleDetail/10123 Template:Webarchive</ref>
McAuliffe's Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān<ref>A. H. Johns, "Hāmān", in J. D. McAuliffe (Ed.), Encyclopaedia Of The Qur'an, 2002, Volume II, op. cit., p. 399.</ref> reports multiple possible identifications of the name: Muhammad Asad identifies the name with a supposed Egyptian title Hā-Amen, as a high priest. Georges Vajda thought the name might have been confused with that of a minister of the Biblical Persian king Ahasuerus. Anthony Johns, the author of the encyclopaedia entry, hypothesises that the name of the Biblical Haman may have been adopted to designate any anti-Jewish court official.