A Call to a Single Word: Supradenominational Submission, the Legacy of Noah, and the Stance of Abraham in the Qur’an
A Call to a Single Word: Supradenominational Submission, the Legacy of Noah, and the Stance of Abraham in the Qur’an
The Qur’an calls humanity not to religious identities, but to a truth-centered around tawhid—the oneness of God. This call is not based on a historical identity but founded on a universal principle: associating nothing with God and turning solely to Him.
This study explores the Qur’anic call to a “single word” (Āl ʿImrān 3:64), the example of Abraham (3:67), and the legacy of Noah (Saffāt 37:83), and discusses why religious identities in the modern world have become divisive and boundary-defining.
While emphasizing the universal message of the Qur’an, the article advocates for a teaching of tawhid rooted in the historical continuity of divine revelation.
1. Introduction: A Message Beyond Identities
The Qur’an describes itself as “a warning and reminder to all the worlds”
(Furqān 25:1).
This definition highlights the universal scope of its message—unrestricted by language, tribe, geography, or time.
However, over the course of history, this message has been reduced to affiliations with specific individuals, peoples, or sects, and these associations have been sanctified. As a result, God’s message has been divided by religious identities.
Today, the word “religion” is often understood not as a truth but as a label: Jew, Christian, Muslim; Shia, Sunni, Catholic, Orthodox. Yet, the Qur’an’s call privileges no group; it speaks directly to the individual.
2. A Call to One Word: Not to a Religion, but to Truth
This verse from the Qur’an represents that approach:
“Say, O People of the Book! Come to a word that is common between us and you: that we worship none but God, associate nothing with Him...”
(Āl ʿImrān 3:64)
What is striking in this verse is that the call is not made to the Qur’an or to Muhammad, but to a shared word—a unifying truth rooted in tawhid.
This “word” is not merely a linguistic phrase, but a moral and intellectual posture purified from shirk (associating partners with God). The Qur’anic call expressed in this “one word” is not the call of a historical religion, but of universal submission.
3. The Legacy of Noah: The Beginning of the Chain of Truth
The Qur’an states that Abraham was among the followers of Noah:
“Indeed, Abraham was of his (Noah’s) group.”
(Saffāt 37:83)
Here, the word shia does not refer to a sect but means “those who follow the same path.” This indicates that Abraham was a continuer of the tawhidic message brought by Noah.
Hence, the chain of divine truth begins not with Abraham, but with Noah. Over time, however, this chain was fractured, and new religious identities were formed around the names of individual prophets.
4. The Abrahamic Stance: De-identification and Hanifism
The Qur’an emphasizes that Abraham did not belong to any religious identity:
“Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian; rather, he was a hanif (upright) and a muslim (one who submits to God).”
(Āl ʿImrān 3:67)
Abraham’s faith was not institutional, but directional. The word hanif refers to someone who rejects idolatry, institutional deviations, and ideological distortions. Muslim in this context does not mean an adherent of a later religion, but one who submits to God.
Thus, the Qur’an stresses that what defines truth is not a label but action.
5. No Distinction Among the Prophets: The Continuity of Truth
The Qur’an affirms that all prophets carried the same message:
“We believe in God and what was revealed to us, and in what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the descendants, and in what was given to Moses, Jesus, and all the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them.”
(Baqarah 2:136)
This verse reveals that what we call “different religions” are in fact renewed expressions of a single, continuous divine call.
To distinguish among prophets is to manufacture identity, marginalize others, and fragment God's universal message. For this reason, the Qur’an presents every prophet as a bearer of a common message.
6. God’s Earth: A Shared Space for All Humanity
God’s address is not only to those who received scriptures, but to all of creation. The following verse expresses this universal scope:
“To God belongs the east and the west. Wherever you turn, there is the face of God.”
(Baqarah 2:115)
The Qur’an challenges the association of divine direction with geography or location. Today, religious identities are often mapped onto geopolitical borders, and God’s earth has been fragmented by human-made maps.
However, tawhid does not sanctify territory—it sanctifies orientation.
7. Satanic Suggestion: Division Through Identity
According to the Qur’an, one of Satan’s major strategies is to sow hatred and enmity among people:
“Satan only wants to sow between you enmity and hatred...”
(Mā’idah 5:91)
This enmity is often fueled through religious identities, sects, and affiliations. Religions are then transformed from calls to peace into instruments of conflict. The Qur’an warns:
“Hold firmly to the rope of God all together and do not become divided.”
(Āl ʿImrān 3:103)
Division here is not simply about being different—it is about exclusion and limiting truth to one’s own group. That, too, is a satanic form of division.
Conclusion: Not Religions, but Truth is Shared
According to the Qur’an, religion belongs to God (Āl ʿImrān 3:19), and it is defined not by labels or external forms, but by its tawhidic essence.
From Noah to Abraham, from Moses to Jesus and Muhammad, the core message of revelation is the same: worship none but God, take no intermediaries, do not divide yourselves.
Today, humanity must be called—just as the Qur’an calls—not to religious names, but to the principles of truth.
No individual name, no national border, no sectarian interpretation is sacred.
What is sacred is that one single word:
Tawhid — the oneness of God.
DISCLAIMER / REMINDER
The views, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this text are products of human effort.
Please evaluate every statement in light of the entirety of the Qur’an. Weigh, measure, and verify through the guidance of divine revelation.
The only true standard is the Book of God. If there is error, it is ours; if there is truth, it belongs to God.
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