John the Baptist in Islam

Yaḥyā ibn Zakariyyā (Arabic: يَحْيَىٰ ٱبْن زَكَرِيَّا‎, lit. 'John, son of Zechariah'), identified Biblically as John the Baptist, is considered in Islam a prophet of God who was sent to guide the Children of Israel. He was the maternal cousin of Isa (Jesus) and believed by Muslims to have been a witness to the word of God, heralding the coming of Isa Al-Masih (literally Jesus the Messiah).

Yahya is mentioned five times in the Qur'an. Yahya is also honoured highly in Sufism as well as Islamic mysticism, primarily because of the Qur'an's description of Yāhya’s chastity and kindness. Sufis have frequently applied commentaries on the passages on Yāhya in the Qur'an, primarily concerning the God-given gift of wisdom which he acquired in youth as well as his parallels with Isa. Although several phrases used to describe Yahya and Isa are virtually identical in the Qur'an, the manner in which they are expressed is different.