The case against "Abrahamic Religions"

Introduction

The phrase “Abrahamic religion” suggests that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam form a single religious family tracing back to Abraham. The Qur’an, however, never uses this term and does not group guidance in that way. It presents one dīn — a just and upright system of truth — revealed to all communities through different messengers, languages, and contexts. Limiting this universal message to an “Abrahamic” lineage distorts what the Qur’an repeatedly emphasises: that guidance is moral, inclusive, and continuous across all peoples.

1. The Qur’an’s message is universal

The Qur’an states that guidance was sent to every community:

• 2:136: “We make no distinction between any of them [the messengers].”→ The Qur’an commands belief in the continuity of divine guidance, not in a special family of faiths.

• 42:13: The same dīn was given to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and reaffirmed through the Qur’an.→ The continuity is ethical, not genealogical.

• 40:78 and 4:163–164: Many messengers were sent whose names are not even recorded.→ Revelation is global and historical, not confined to the Abrahamic line.

So, divine communication cannot be boxed into the label “Abrahamic.” The Qur’an’s scope encompasses communities beyond the Semitic sphere — Asia, Africa, and every place where people have sought justice and truth, not a family tradition but a universal moral current that addresses all of humanity.

2. The distinction between dīn and “religion”

In the Qur’an, dīn refers to the order or system by which truth and justice are upheld—the moral framework governing human conduct under divine principles. It is not a denominational label or a belief system tied to rituals or membership.

• 2:2 describes the Qur’an as “guidance for those who are mindful,” not as the charter of a new religion.

• 3:19 states, “The dīn with Allah is submission (al-islām),” meaning alignment with truth and justice, not adherence to a particular historical faith.

By contrast, “religion” implies institutional divisions, rituals, and boundaries—concepts the Qur’an often critiques. Thus, speaking of Abrahamic religions wrongly implies three competing yet related systems of belief, whereas the Qur’an speaks of one continuous dīn, manifested in many communities.

3. What the Qur’an means by Millat Ibrāhīm

Millat Ibrāhīm refers to Abraham’s moral stance, not a faith label. Across the verses, the Qur’an defines it by integrity and devotion, not by membership or ritual.

Key elements include:

• Full submission to truth and justice (2:130–131).

• Rejection of exclusivist claims (2:135).

• Pure devotion (ḥanīf) without deviation (3:95).

• Righteous closeness to God, not lineage (4:125).

• Following a straight, upright dīn shared with others (6:161).

• Gratitude, steadfastness, and moral leadership (16:120–123).

Millat Ibrāhīm is therefore a moral disposition — uprightness, gratitude, and sincerity — not a precursor to an “Abrahamic religion.”

4. The Qur’an rejects lineage-based or sectarian identity

The Qur’an directly denies that truth is confined to any ancestry or religious group.

• 2:135–141 — guidance is not inherited but chosen through submission to truth.

• 3:67 — Abraham “was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but a hanīf who submitted.”

• 6:159 — dividing the dīn into sects is a human corruption.

• 22:67 — each community was given its own expression of dīn.

• 14:4 — every messenger spoke in the language of his people, showing one message expressed in diverse forms.

This makes dīn a shared human trust, not a property of the so-called “Abrahamic” lineage.

5. Conclusion

The Qur’an’s vision is universal. It speaks of one dīn — a consistent moral order — conveyed to every people through their own messenger and language. The label “Abrahamic religion” misrepresents that vision by narrowing a universal truth into a narrow historical lineage and reintroduces the very sectarianism the Qur’an dismantles.

According to 14:4, revelation is always local in language but universal in meaning. Abraham’s example is moral submission, not religious identity.

A clearer Qur’anic framing would be:

Humanity has been given one dīn — the same system of truth and justice — expressed differently across times and peoples, but never divided by ancestry or institution.