John the Baptist (also called the Baptizer) was a 1st century Jewish preacher and ascetic regarded as a prophet by four religions: Christianity, Islam, Mandaeanism, and the Bahá'í Faith. The title of prophet is asserted in the Synoptic Gospels, the Qur'an, and the Bahá'í Writings.
According to Luke 1:36, he was a relative of Jesus. He is also commonly referred to as John the Forerunner or Precursor because Christians consider him as the forerunner of Christ.