Deen & Millat

Introduction

The Quran commands believers to follow the millat of Abraham. This command appears in several verses, including:

[16:123] Then we inspired you: "You shall follow the religion of Abraham, the monotheist; he never was an idol worshiper."

The question of what this command actually requires depends entirely on what the word millat means. Some have interpreted it to mean the religion as a whole - all its practices, rituals, and detailed regulations. On this reading, following the millat of Abraham means following every religious practice that was first given to Abraham, including those not explicitly detailed in the Quran. Many sincere believers who are committed to the Quran alone have been led by this interpretation to adopt practices the Quran does not authorize, on the grounds that they originated with Abraham.

This article demonstrates that this interpretation is wrong on two counts. First, the Quran defines millat as creed - a set of core beliefs - not as religion in its comprehensive sense. Second, even setting aside the question of what millat means, the Quran is explicit that we are accountable only to what was given to us in our own scripture, not to what was given to earlier peoples in theirs.

Part One: What Millat Means

The Quran's Own Definition

The most direct way to determine what millat Ibrahim means is to observe how the Quran defines it. In every verse that uses the phrase millat Ibrahim, the words that follow it are: "he was a monotheist and was not one of the mushrikeen." This is not incidental. The Quran is supplying its own definition of the term immediately after using it. Millat Ibrahim means: the monotheist creed of Abraham, his commitment to God alone and his rejection of associating partners with Him.

Joseph confirms this understanding when he describes following the millat of his fathers:

[12:38] "And I followed the religion of my ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We never set up any idols besides GOD. Such is the blessing from GOD upon us and upon the people, but most people are unappreciative."

Joseph does not list rituals or practices when explaining what his fathers' millat requires. He states a single doctrinal commitment: not to associate anything with God. The millat of Abraham is monotheism. The command to follow it is a command to embrace and maintain that belief.

Millat of the Disbelievers

The Quran uses the word millat in contexts that make the religion-interpretation impossible. In 12:37, Joseph declares:

[12:37] "...I have forsaken the religion of people who do not believe in GOD, and with regard to the Hereafter, they are disbelievers."

The people Joseph is describing are atheists - they do not believe in God or the Hereafter. Atheists have no religion and no religious practices. But they do have a creed: the conviction that there is no God. The word millat applies to them because it refers to belief, not practice. The same principle appears in 14:13, where disbelievers threaten their messengers:

[14:13] Those who disbelieved said to their messengers, "We will banish you from our land, unless you revert to our religion."

The disbelievers who make this threat are not inviting the messengers back to a set of religious rituals - they are demanding a return to their conviction that the messengers' message is false.

Jews, Christians, and Their Millat

The verse in 2:120 provides perhaps the clearest proof that millat and deen are not synonymous:

[2:120] Neither the Jews, nor the Christians, will accept you, unless you follow their religion. Say, "GOD's guidance is the true guidance." If you acquiesce to their wishes, despite the knowledge you have received, you will find no ally or supporter to help you against GOD.

As far as God is concerned, the religion given to all people - Jews, Christians, and Muslims - is one and the same. God calls it Islam (3:19). Abraham was a Muslim, not a Jew or a Christian (3:67), and so were all the other prophets. If millat meant religion, then the verse would be saying that Jews and Christians will not be satisfied until Muslims follow their religion - but their religion, properly understood, is the same religion. The statement would make no sense.

What makes complete sense is that millat refers to creed. The Jews developed their own man-made creed built around the Talmud - the so-called Oral Law compiled by rabbis, added alongside the Torah as an equal or superior source of authority. The Christians built their creed around doctrines that appear nowhere in the original scripture given to Jesus: the Trinity, the Atonement, salvation exclusively through Jesus, and the claim that Jesus is the son of God. These are man-made creeds, deviations from what God actually authorized. God's use of the word millat rather than deen in 2:120 is deliberate: He does not call Judaism and Christianity religions, because He does not recognize them as authorized religions. He calls them creeds - human constructions layered over and distorting the one religion He authorized.

Millat and Deen in the Same Verse

The final confirmation that millat and deen are distinct words with distinct meanings comes from 6:161, where both words appear together:

[6:161] Say, "My Lord has guided me in a straight path - the perfect religion of Abraham, monotheism. He never was an idol worshiper."

If millat and deen meant the same thing, one of them would be redundant. God does not use redundant language. The correct deen - the religion, with all its practices and laws - is distinguished here from the millat of Abraham, which is his monotheist creed. The religion contains the creed, but the creed is not the religion. Following the millat of Abraham means holding his belief. Following the deen means practicing the full set of laws and rituals God has prescribed.

Part Two: Are We Accountable to What Was Given to Abraham?

Even if someone were to insist, against the evidence above, that millat carries a broader meaning, a second question remains: are we today required to follow practices that were given to Abraham, even if the specific details of those practices are not in the Quran?

The Quran answers this question directly and repeatedly.

The Quran Supersedes What Came Before It

[5:48] Then we revealed to you this scripture, truthfully, confirming previous scriptures, and superseding them. You shall rule among them in accordance with GOD's revelations, and do not follow their wishes if they differ from the truth that came to you. For each of you, we have decreed laws and different rites. Had GOD willed, He could have made you one congregation. But He thus puts you to the test through the revelations He has given each of you. You shall compete in righteousness. To GOD is your final destiny - all of you - then He will inform you of everything you had disputed.

Three things are established here. The Quran supersedes the earlier scriptures - what was given before has been replaced. Different peoples were given different laws and methods, meaning the specific practices of earlier peoples are not necessarily binding on later ones. And God tests each people through what He gave them, not through what He gave others. The implication is clear: we are accountable to the Quran, not to what was given to Abraham.

The verses immediately preceding 5:48 follow the same pattern. The people of the Torah were commanded to judge by the Torah (5:44). The people of the Injeel were commanded to judge by the Injeel (5:47). Muhammad was then commanded to judge by the Quran (5:48). Each people was given their own scripture and held to it. The progression culminates in the Quran, which supersedes all that came before.

Different Rituals for Different People

[22:67] For each congregation, we have decreed a set of rites that they must observe. Therefore, they should not dispute with you. You shall continue to invite everyone to your Lord; you are certainly on the right path.

God states plainly that rituals are not the same for every people. This directly contradicts the claim that we must follow the specific ritual details given to Abraham, because God has told us that ritual specifics differ across peoples and times. To insist that Abraham's ritual details are binding on us is to contradict God's explicit statement that each nation has its own appointed ritual.

The verses that follow in 22:67-72 are illuminating. God predicts that the disbelievers will argue with the believers about this - precisely because the believers choose to follow only what the Quran authorizes. God responds to this argument by saying: those who worship what He did not authorize have no supporter. The rejection of inherited practices not found in the Quran is not a deficiency in the believer's faith. It is the correct position, and God confirms it.

Accountability Is to One's Own Book

[45:28] You will see every community kneeling, and every community will be called to view its record. Today, you get paid for everything you have done.

On the Day of Judgment, every nation is called to its own Book. Not to the books of others. Not to the cumulative inheritance of all previous revelations. Each people answers for what they were given. We were given the Quran. We answer to the Quran.

[43:44] This is a reminder for you and your people, and you will be questioned.

The Inheritance Argument Refuted

A common response to all of the above is the argument from universal acceptance: billions of Muslims across centuries have observed these practices, which must mean they have been authentically preserved from the time of Abraham. The Quran addresses this argument directly:

[6:116] If you obey the majority of people on earth, they will divert you from the path of GOD. They follow only conjecture; they only guess.

The majority is not a source of religious authority. The Quran is. No number of people following a practice across any number of generations transforms that practice into something God authorized, if God did not authorize it in His Book. And the Quran explicitly warns against the logic of inherited tradition:

[2:170] And when they are told, "Follow what GOD has revealed herein," they say, "We follow only what we found our parents doing." What if their parents did not understand, and were not guided?

Conclusion

The word millat in the Quran means creed - a core conviction about God and His oneness. This is the meaning the Quran supplies by consistently following millat Ibrahim with the words "he was a monotheist and was not one of the mushrikeen." It is confirmed by the use of millat for atheists who have no religion, by the use of millat for the invented doctrines of Jews and Christians, and by the appearance of both millat and deen in the same verse, which proves they are not the same word.

The command to follow the millat of Abraham is therefore a command to hold his belief: to worship God alone, without associating any partners with Him. It is not a command to follow practices attributed to Abraham that are not found in the Quran. And even if it were, the Quran makes clear that we are not accountable to what was given to earlier peoples - we are accountable to what was given to us. The Quran supersedes what came before. Each nation has its own appointed rituals. Each people answers to its own Book.

[6:114] Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed?