What Does “Millat Ibrahim” Mean?

Salaamun alaykum, dear readers!

There is a command in the Quran to follow the ‘millat’ of Abraham. As a result, it has caused many of those who follow the Quran alone to conclude that it means to follow all the religious practices first given to Abraham.

This has led to people—including those who believe they are following the Quran alone—to authorize several rituals not found in the Quran, such as the 2.5% Zakat rate, the stoning of the devil during Hajj, and more.

Some people, including Rashad Khalifa, interpreted the term “millat” to mean a set of religious practices, thus causing the belief that following the “millat of Abraham” authorizes following the details of certain rituals (namely Salat, Zakat, and Hajj) according to how Abraham followed it.

However, to follow the Quran alone is to follow the Quran alone. Relying on something outside the Quran to supplement the details found in the Quran for the method of doing the Salat, Zakat, and Hajj is the opposite of following the Quran alone.

So with all the due respect that the very human and not infallible Messenger of the Covenant should receive, he is wrong in his position on this issue. This has caused him and others to adopt the position of a 2.5% Zakat rate, and a handful of other practices that are not mentioned in the Quran.

Issue #1: Lack of Historical Proof

To begin with, if one argues that Muslims are bound by the specific practices of Abraham, they must provide conclusive proof that such practices were perfectly preserved somewhere.

That is an impossible task because there is no historical proof whatsoever that Abraham gave 2.5% Zakat. No documentation of the specific way he was instructed to do any of the pillars of Islam currently exists anywhere in the world.

Since God does not assign any self except its capacity (verse 2:286), He does not assign anyone the burden of following the worship rituals of Abraham when we cannot even reliably verify the specifics of what Abraham was given (such as how many daily Salat, how much to give to Zakat, and more).  

Issue #2: The Definition of Millat

Secondly, it is correct that the term “millat” in Arabic is synonymous with the term “deen” (which means religion and way of life).

Like all the prophets before and after him, Abraham followed and worshipped God alone, thus his millat, or religion, is Islam (which is the Arabic word for submission).

But that does not mean all prophets of Islam were given the exact same rituals.

The Jewish prophets Moses, Jesus, and others followed Abraham’s millat because they submitted themselves to God alone and followed what God gave them. But does that mean they were given Abraham’s specific religious practices? Of course not.

Abraham wasn’t given the Sabbath for example, this was given to Moses. But Moses is a follower of the millat (religion) of Abraham, which is the religion of Islam.

Joseph himself followed the “millat” (religion) of Abraham in verse 12:37, but he was given religious practices distinct for the Children of Israel, not Abraham’s full religious practices.

Verse 3:93 states that before the Torah was sent down, all food was lawful for the Israelites except what Israel prohibited on himself, and that applies to Joseph as he was Israel’s (Jacob’s) direct descendant. Joseph’s dietary prohibitions didn’t come from Abraham despite Joseph in Surah 12 claiming to be a follower of the millat of Abraham, thus indicating that millat refers to Islam itself, independent of whatever rituals were given to specific prophets.

Therefore, the command to follow the “millat of Abraham” is not a command to follow Abraham’s specific religious practices, but a command to be a Muslim. This is further supported by verse 6:161, which calls the millat of Abraham the “correct religion”. Obviously, the correct religion according to the Quran is Islam, therefore the “millat of Abraham” refers specifically to the religion of Islam and not the specific religious rituals given to prophets of Islam. 

• [6:161] Say, “Indeed, my Lord has guided me to a straight path, an upright deen (religion), the millat (religion) of Abraham, one who is inclined to correctness. And he was not among the mushrikeen.” 

• [12:38] “And I  (Joseph) followed the millat of my fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It has not been for us that we partner anything with God…” 

Issue #3: Every Community Received Its Own System

The Quran places the final nail on the coffin by explaining that every community received a distinct set of laws and systems, and that every community is tested only according to what they specifically were given, as opposed to what past people are given.

Muhammad is only responsible for what God gave him, and only responsible to judge between the people by the Book that he was given, not the Book given to Abraham. And if we are to follow Muhammad, then we are not bound by the specifics in Abraham’s scripture either. 

• [5:48] And We brought down to you the Book with the truth, a confirmer for what was before it of the Book, and one which is superior over it. So judge between them by what God has brought down, and do not follow their desires, away from what has come to you of the truth. For each of you, We have made a law and a system. And if God willed, He would have made you a single community, but instead, it is for He may test you regarding what He has given you… 

Rashad’s Duties As Messenger: Explain vs. Convey

One of Rashad’s God-given duties as Messenger of the Covenant (as listed in Appendix 2 of his translation) is to explain the correct method of Zakat.

However, Rashad’s explanation is only half-correct, because he says the Zakat is 2.5% taken out of any income or wealth one receives on the same day it is received. The 2.5% figure is not found or authorized in the Quran anywhere, and Rashad only assumed as such because of a misunderstanding of the command to follow the “millat of Abraham”.

Thus, due to Rashad’s misunderstanding, believed that the fixed rate of Zakat remained intact from Abraham up to now.

So why is Rashad’s explanation of the Zakat half-correct if it was one of his specific duties to explain how to do the Zakat?

It turns out that this is supportive evidence of something the Quran teaches us. In verse 2:151 and other similar verses, it is mentioned that the prophet Muhammad’s duty is to teach the Quran. The argument that others make is that since God would never appoint an imperfect teacher to teach his Book, that means Muhammad’s teaching and understanding of the Quran must be free of any errors. But this is just an assumption, because God never guaranteed that Muhammad’s own teachings and the way he interpreted the Quran is perfect.

• This is similar to if a friend criticizes your cooking, and you assume that this means he hates you. But that is just your assumption, because he never said he hates you when he only just criticized your cooking.
• Likewise, assuming that God’s appointed teacher of the Quran is 100% perfect and error-free in his teaching and understanding of the Quran is just an assumption, as God never said that anywhere in the Quran.  

Thus, in the case of Rashad, we can see the similarities. God only told Rashad to explain the correct method of Zakat. God never said Rashad’s explanation of how to do the Zakat is 100% perfect. God didn’t say, “Tell the people that the correct rate of Zakat is 2.5%” but God just told him to explain the Zakat and left it to Rashad’s understanding to explain the Zakat from the Quran alone.

If God revealed to Rashad something specific (such as the age of responsibility being 40, the end of the world occurring in the year 2280, and more) then Rashad clarifies that this specific information is from God.

But whenever the revealed instruction is to “explain” something, then we know that God is instructing Rashad to explain a topic to the best of his ability, without necessarily revealing the specific details of the topic or what to explain to the people.  

To give an example, if you look at Appendix 2 of Rashad’s Quran translation, one of Rashad’s duties was to declare that Muhammad wrote the Quran with his own hand (a specific piece of information revealed by God). Another of Rashad’s duties is to explain a general topic (how the Quran was revealed to and through Muhammad).

• Rashad talks about both topics in Appendix 28 of his translation, and both are related to each other. In fact, the declaration that Muhammad wrote down the Quran with his hand falls under the general topic of explaining how the Quran was revealed through Muhammad.
• But the reason that Rashad listed them as two separate duties is because the instruction to convey a specific piece of information is different from the instruction to explain a topic to the best of his abilities.

The same applies to the duty to convey that Zakat is a pre-requisite for access to God’s mercy, and the duty to explain the Zakat; both are related to each other, but Rashad categorized them as two separate duties in Appendix 2 because one is to convey something specific, and another is to explain or teach Zakat to the best of his abilities. 

Conclusion

So in brief, Rashad was either told to convey very specific pieces of information (such as the age of 40, the year of the end of the world, that the prophet wrote the Quran with his hand, etc.), or to explain and discuss general topics.

But when he was told to explain a topic, he was not necessarily given the exact and specific explanations to convey from God. He is just explaining those topics from the Quran to the best of his abilities.

Here is a list of Rashad’s duties from Appendix 2 in which he was commanded to explain certain topics, without being given specific details by God through Gabriel on how to explain those topics. 

1. Explaining the purpose of our creation. 

2. Explaining how to do the Zakat. 

3. Explaining the death of Jesus. 

4. Explaining the Quran’s delivery to and through Muhammad. 

5. Explain why most people who believe in God do not go to Heaven (as stated in verse 12:106). 

6. Establish a criminal justice system regarding theft and murder, based on the Quran.