ۗ ۖ
And they said, “Become Jewish or Christian, and you will be guided.” Say: “Rather, the way of Abraham, devoted to God alone; and he was not among those who associate partners with God.”
For several verses, the Qur’an has brought us back to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and his children. Now it identifies a problem that arose after them:
“Become Jewish or Christian, and you will be guided.”
Guidance has been tied to a group identity: if you belong to us, you are guided.
The Qur’an’s answer matters greatly. Muhammad is not instructed to answer this claim by establishing a new monopoly and saying, “No, follow me and you will be guided.” He does not say, “I am greater than Moses and Jesus,” “I am the chief of the prophets,” or “My community is chosen simply because it is associated with me.” His answer is:
“Say: Rather, the way of Abraham, devoted to God alone.”
“Rather” changes the direction of the discussion. The answer to one community’s claim of superiority is not to construct another community’s claim of superiority. The Qur’an brings everyone back to a way that existed before these group identities: Abraham’s way.
This answer becomes still more significant when Muhammad himself is commanded to follow that same way:
“Then We revealed to you: Follow the way of Abraham, devoted to God alone.”
An-Nahl 16:123
Abraham had already been appointed “a leader for people.” Now Muhammad, too, is commanded to follow his way. As an example to follow, Abraham does not belong exclusively to Jews or Christians; the prophet of the Qur’an walks that same path.
This truth presents a serious challenge to those Muslims who make Muhammad a means of asserting superiority over other prophets. At times we give him titles such as “chief of the world.” In devotional poems praising him, we speak of his superiority in ways that push Moses, Jesus, and other messengers to the margins, continuing something like the very competition this verse breaks apart. If one group says, “Become Jewish and you will be guided,” and another says, “Become Christian,” the Qur’anic answer is not for us to bring our own identity and prophet into a contest of religious superiority against them.
This does not deny differences in rank among the messengers. The Qur’an itself says:
“Those messengers: We favored some of them above others.”
Al-Baqarah 2:253
But this divine granting of distinction is not the same as our discriminating in faith. The same Qur’an asks us to say:
“We make no distinction between any of them.”
Al-Baqarah 2:136
God can grant His messengers different ranks and distinctions. We, however, have no right to turn these differences into instruments for belittling another messenger, ethnic prejudice, or sectarian superiority.
The Qur’an itself measures the closest relationship to Abraham by following him, rather than by a name:
“Abraham was neither Jewish nor Christian. Rather, he was devoted to God alone and surrendered to Him, and he was not among those who associate partners with God.”
Aal ‘Imran 3:67
It then says:
“The people closest to Abraham are surely those who followed him, and this prophet.”
Aal ‘Imran 3:68
True closeness to Abraham is therefore gained neither through ancestry nor through the name Jewish, Christian, or any other label. It is gained by following his way.
Elsewhere, the Qur’an brings together several expressions that describe this way:
“Who is better in their way of life than someone who surrenders their whole being to God, does good, and follows the way of Abraham, devoted to God alone?”
An-Nisa 4:125
Surrender to God, doing good, and following Abraham’s way are brought together on a single path.
Nor is the verse’s ending incidental:
“Devoted to God alone; and he was not among those who associate partners with God.”
In the Qur’an, being devoted to God alone (ḥanīf) is connected with an undivided orientation toward God and freedom from associating partners with Him. Al-Hajj 22:31 says:
“Be devoted to God alone, associating nothing with Him.”
Abraham’s way is therefore more than the name of a historical tradition. Its direction is clear: turning toward the one God, surrendering to Him, and leaving the association of partners with Him behind.
The lesson of this verse is demanding but clear. If the People of the Book confined guidance to their own names, we have no right to repeat the same error under a new name. Muhammad did not come to establish a new front of religious superiority against Moses and Jesus; he himself was commanded to follow Abraham’s way. If we follow Muhammad, we must take seriously what he was commanded to follow: the way of Abraham, devoted to God alone; surrender to the one God; freedom from associating partners with Him; and no discrimination in faith in His messengers.
Abraham’s way and the meaning of devotion to God alone are explored further in Qibla, Wajh, and Hanif in the Qur’an. Abraham’s standing is examined in Imamah in the Qur’an: Abraham’s Example and the Question of Leadership.