✨ Abraham in Paul’s Theology: A Comparative Interfaith Reflection

Introduction

Abraham (Ibrāhīm in Islam, Avraham in Judaism) stands as one of the most influential figures in the Abrahamic traditions. For Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, he is the patriarch of faith, the bearer of God’s covenant, and the archetype of submission to the divine will. Yet, each tradition interprets Abraham’s role in light of its own covenantal understanding.

This article explores how the Apostle Paul framed Abraham in his theology, and then compares this with Jewish and Islamic perspectives.

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Paul’s Theological Framework: Abraham as the Father of Faith ✝️

1. Justification by Faith

Paul anchors his doctrine of justification by faith in Abraham’s example:

“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6).

For Paul, Abraham was declared righteous before the Law of Moses, proving that faith—not works of the Law—was the basis of God’s acceptance.

2. Father of All Believers

Paul universalizes Abraham’s role. Abraham is father not only of Jews (by blood) but of Gentiles who believe (Romans 4:11–12). Thus, the church becomes the true “seed of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7).

3. Christ as Fulfillment of the Promise

Paul interprets the Abrahamic promise in Christ. The promise was made to Abraham and his “seed,” whom Paul identifies as Christ (Galatians 3:16). Through Christ, both Jews and Gentiles inherit Abraham’s blessing (Galatians 3:14).

4. Abraham and the Law

By pointing out that the promise to Abraham preceded the Law by 430 years (Galatians 3:17), Paul argues that faith is prior and superior to Torah observance. Abraham’s story thus provides Paul with a theological basis to invite Gentiles into covenantal blessing without requiring circumcision or full adherence to Mosaic law.

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The Jewish Perspective: Abraham as Covenant Patriarch ✡️

In Judaism, Abraham is chiefly remembered as:

1. Father of the Covenant: God promised Abraham land, descendants, and blessing (Genesis 12, 15, 17). This covenant was sealed through circumcision, which remains the sign of Jewish identity (Genesis 17:9–14).

2. Model of Obedience: Abraham’s supreme test was the ʿAqedah (Binding of Isaac, Genesis 22). His willingness to sacrifice his son shows ultimate obedience to God’s will.

3. Lineage and Peoplehood: Abraham is seen as the founding ancestor of Israel, linking Jewish peoplehood to divine promise. Unlike Paul, Jewish tradition does not universalize Abraham’s fatherhood; it emphasizes continuity through Israel.

In rabbinic literature, Abraham is even praised for keeping the Torah before it was given (Mishnah, Kiddushin 4:14), highlighting obedience as central—not faith alone.

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The Islamic Perspective: Abraham as Prophet and Hanīf ☪️

In Islam, Abraham (Ibrāhīm) is revered as:

1. The First Muslim (Hanīf): The Qur’an depicts Abraham as neither Jew nor Christian but a “hanīf” (pure monotheist) who submitted to God (Qur’an 3:67).

2. Builder of the Kaaba (House of God): Along with his son Ishmael, Abraham raised the foundations of the Kaaba in Mecca (Qur’an 2:125–127). This ties him directly to Islamic sacred geography and universal worship.

3. Father of Prophets: Through both Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham becomes the patriarch of prophetic succession leading to Muhammad ﷺ (Qur’an 6:84–86).

4. Model of Submission: Like Judaism, Islam emphasizes Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son (understood by many Muslims as Ishmael). His act epitomizes islām (submission).

For Muslims, the covenant with Abraham is universalized in Islam: the prayer of Abraham for a prophet among his descendants (Qur’an 2:129) is fulfilled in Muhammad ﷺ, making the Muslim community heirs to Abraham’s faith.

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Comparative Analysis 🔍

In Paul’s theology ✝️, righteousness is based solely on faith. Abraham’s belief in God, rather than any adherence to the Law, is what counted as righteousness, and this principle extends to all who believe in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile. By contrast, Judaism ✡️ emphasizes Abraham’s obedience and covenant fidelity as the foundation of righteousness. Abraham’s willingness to submit to God’s commands, especially in the binding of Isaac, highlights obedience as the core of covenantal life. Islam ☪️, meanwhile, frames Abraham as the model of islām (submission). His total surrender to God, exemplified in his readiness to sacrifice his firstborn son, Ishamael, defines him as the archetypal Muslim.

For Paul ✝️, circumcision is no longer the covenant’s defining sign; instead, faith in Christ has replaced it as the marker of belonging to God’s people. Judaism ✡️, however, continues to uphold circumcision (Brit Milah) as the physical and perpetual sign of Abraham’s covenant with God. In Islam ☪️, the covenantal sign is not confined to one ritual, but expressed through the wider practices of monotheism, prayer, Hajj, and submission that connect believers to Abraham’s legacy.

Paul ✝️ identifies the true “seed of Abraham” as Christ and all who belong to him by faith. Jewish tradition ✡️, by contrast, views the seed of Abraham primarily in terms of biological descent through Israel. Islam ☪️ expands the lineage to include descendants of both Ishmael and Isaac, with the covenant fulfilled in Muhammad ﷺ and the community of Islam.

Finally, each tradition interprets the story of Abraham’s sacrifice differently. For Paul ✝️, the binding of Isaac foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, pointing to salvation through faith. In Judaism ✡️, the binding of Isaac is a supreme test of obedience and covenant loyalty. In Islam ☪️, the sacrifice is understood by many to involve Ishmael, and it symbolizes total submission to God’s will.

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Conclusion

Abraham emerges as a shared yet contested figure across the Abrahamic faiths. For Paul, he is the prototype of faith, proving that justification is by trust apart from the Law, and serving as the spiritual ancestor of Jews and Gentiles in Christ. For Judaism, he is the covenant patriarch whose obedience and lineage define Israel’s unique identity. For Islam, he is the pure monotheist, prophet, and builder of the Kaaba (House of God), whose legacy culminates in Islam as the universal faith.

Thus, Abraham becomes a theological bridge across traditions—yet also a point of divergence where each faith community defines its covenantal identity.

Paul of Tarsus in a Muslim City: Memory, Theology, and the Irony of History 🏛️🕊️

Tarsus, the birthplace of the Apostle Paul, is today a predominantly Muslim city in southern Turkey. This fact alone creates a powerful historical and theological paradox. The man who shaped Christianity more than any other figure after Jesus is remembered today mostly by people who do not accept his theology. How do Muslims—especially those living in Paul’s own hometown—understand him?

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1. Paul as a Son of Tarsus 🏺

In modern Tarsus, Paul is not remembered first as a Christian theologian. He is remembered as a native of the city—a man who once walked its Roman streets, spoke its Greek language, and belonged to its ancient cosmopolitan culture.

Tourist guides point to:

• St. Paul’s Church

• St. Paul’s Well

• Roman-era streets and ruins associated with his time

These sites are treated as historical landmarks, not as sacred spaces of Christian devotion. For Muslim residents, Paul belongs to the same category as Roman governors, Greek philosophers, and ancient merchants: figures from Tarsus’s layered pre-Islamic past.

This civic memory is not hostile. It is simply non-religious.

Paul is a man from Tarsus, not a man of Islam.

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2. Paul in Islamic Theology 📖☪️

Islam holds Jesus (ʿĪsā) as one of the greatest prophets of God. The Qur’an affirms:

• His miraculous birth

• His message of monotheism

• His moral authority

• His status as the Messiah

But Islam also teaches that Jesus’s original message was later altered.

Within this framework, Paul occupies a deeply controversial position. While he is not named in the Qur’an, Muslim scholars across the centuries have argued that:

Paul was the key figure who transformed Jesus’s prophetic teaching into a new theological system.

From an Islamic perspective:

• Jesus preached obedience to God and the Law

• Paul abolished the Law

• Jesus proclaimed worship of God

• Paul proclaimed salvation through Christ

• Jesus called people to righteousness

• Paul redefined faith through crucifixion theology

Thus, Paul is often viewed in Islam as:

• A sincere but misguided man, or

• A theological innovator who reshaped Jesus’s message, or

• The architect of Christianity’s departure from prophetic monotheism

This is not a personal attack on Paul—it is a theological judgment about what his legacy produced.

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3. The Everyday Muslim View in Tarsus 🕌

Despite the heavy theological debates that exist in books, the everyday Muslim in Tarsus does not think about Paul much at all.

He is not:

• preached about in mosques,

• debated in sermons,

• or treated as a religious opponent.

He is simply:

“A Christian figure from ancient times who came from our city.”

Paul belongs to history, not to living faith.

This makes Tarsus a remarkable place: the birthplace of Christianity’s greatest missionary is now populated by people who revere Jesus—but reject Paul’s interpretation of him.

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4. The Irony of Sacred History 🔁⏳

There is a profound irony embedded in Tarsus’s religious geography.

Paul was born here.

But Jesus—the man Paul claimed to represent—is honored more fully in Islam than in Paul’s own theology.

In Islam:

• Jesus is not divine,

• He is not crucified for sins,

• He is not worshipped,

• But he is a prophet of God.

In Pauline Christianity:

• Jesus becomes divine,

• His death becomes redemptive,

• Law is abolished,

• Theology replaces prophecy.

Thus today, in Paul’s hometown:

The man who reshaped Jesus’s message is remembered mostly by people who do not accept his theology, while the prophet he claimed to serve is honored as a true messenger of God.

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Conclusion 📜🧠

Paul of Tarsus stands at the center of one of the greatest religious transformations in history. But in the Muslim city that gave him birth, he is not venerated, nor condemned.

He is remembered.

• As a citizen of ancient Tarsus.

• As a figure of world history.

• As the man who changed Christianity.

But not as the voice of Jesus.

And perhaps nowhere in the world does this historical and theological contrast appear more clearly than in the streets of his own hometown.

— Azahari Hassim

Founder, The World of Abrahamic Theology