Humanity in Covenant With God

In the Qur’an, the covenant is etiological. As Tariq Jaffer writes, “from the perspective of the Qur’an the event in cosmic history is one that establishes and binds together the monotheistic worldview and an ethos or program of conduct on earth for humanity”. In addition to the covenant of lordship and servitude to which all human beings bear witness, there is another covenant particular to the prophets, which is made after the covenant with all of humanity and which states that the prophets worship god, call others to worship god, and affirm the prophetic missions of one another. Some commentators propose that the reference to all of humanity as “a single community” alludes to the time when all human beings made the covenant with God, then followed a single religion and a single creed. The Qur’anic evaluation of Jews and Christians revolves around the extent to which they adhere to the covenant or break it.