Covenant and law in Paul and the Qur’ān : towards a trilateral Abrahamic dialogue

Akhtar, Jamil (author), Hacinebioglu, Ismail Latif (author)

This article is a comparative theological reflection on the biblical covenant and the law of God in Pauline theology and the Qur’ān, situated within the broader horizon of post-Nostra aetate interfaith dialogue among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Drawing on modern Pauline scholarship, Qur’ānic studies, and interreligious theology, it argues that law functions in both traditions not as mere legalistic obligation but as a gift embedded within a covenantal relationship marked by divine initiative and oriented toward moral transformation. While acknowledging significant doctrinal divergences – particularly regarding Christology and prophethood – the article identifies structural convergences in the treatment of righteousness, Abrahamic faith, and communal vocation. On this basis, it proposes a trilateral theological framework capable of sustaining rigorous Jewish–Christian–Muslim dialogue without compromising confessional integrity. The Document on Human Fraternity(2019) is also considered as a complementary contemporary resource that articulates shared ethical and relational foundations among the Abrahamic traditions.

• Language: English
• Keywords: covenant, dialogue, law, Qur’ān, righteousness
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: TEOF - Theological Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 15.07.2026
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 195-211
• Numbering: Letn. 81, št. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-190838
• UDC: 27-23-1:26-1:28-23
• ISSN on article: 2335-4127
• DOI: 10.34291/Edinost/81/01/Akhtar
• COBISS.SI-ID: 285926659
• Publication date in RUL: 05.11.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Edinost in dialog : revija za ekumensko teologijo in medreligijski dialog
• Publisher: Inštitut za ekumensko teologijo in medreligijski dialog pri Teološki fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani, Inštitut za ekumensko teologijo in medreligijski dialog pri Teološki fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani, Inštitut Stanka Janežiča za dogmatično, osnovno in ekumensko teologijo ter religiologijo in dialog, Teološka fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 2335-4127
• COBISS.SI-ID: 268194560

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Zaveza in postava pri Pavlu in v Koranu : na poti k tristranskemu abrahamskemu dialogu

Abstract

Članek predstavlja primerjalno teološko razmišljanje o svetopisemski zavezi in Božji postavi v Pavlovi teologiji in Koranu, umeščeno v širši okvir medverskega dialoga med Judi, kristjani in muslimani po sprejetju koncilskega dokumenta Nostra aetate. Članek, ki črpa iz sodobnih raziskav o Pavlu, koranskih študij in medverske teologije, trdi, da postava v obeh tradicijah ne deluje zgolj kot legalistična obveznost, ampak kot dar, vpet v zavezniško razmerje, zaznamovano z Božjo pobudo in usmerjeno v moralno preobrazbo. Čeprav priznava pomembna doktrinalna odstopanja – zlasti glede kristologije in preroštva – članek identificira strukturne podobnosti v obravnavanju pravičnosti, abrahamske vere in skupnostnega poklica. Na tej podlagi predlaga tristranski teološki okvir, ki omogoča vzdrževanje poglobljenega judovsko-krščansko-muslimanskega dialoga brez ogrožanja posamezne verske integritete. Dokument o človeškem bratstvu (2019) je obravnavan kot dopolnilni sodobni vir, ki izraža skupne etične in odnosne temelje med abrahamskimi tradicijami.

• Keywords: zaveza, dialog, postava, Koran, pravičnost