The Concept of Islam as the Primordial Religion: A Theological Analysis within Islamic Tradition

Abstract

Although Islam is frequently understood as a historically bounded religious tradition that emerged in seventh-century Arabia, the Qurʾānic and classical Islamic theological sources present islām as a primordial and universal reality. This study examines this conception through a theological textual analysis of the Qurʾān, authenticated prophetic traditions (hadith), and the classical exegetical (tafsīr) works of al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, and al-Qurṭubī. Integrating the Qurʾānic concepts of tawḥīd, fiṭrah, khātam al-nubuwwah, and taṣdīq, the analysis advances four interconnected arguments. First, islām in Qurʾānic usage denotes the universal ontological condition of submission to Allah rather than exclusively referring to a particular confessional community. Second, Adam (ʿalayhi al-salām) represents the beginning of prophetic consciousness and the first human embodiment of this submission. Third, divine revelation constitutes a unified and continuous theological enterprise extending throughout prophetic history. Fourth, the Qurʾān and Sunnah represent the final, preserved, and universally applicable articulation of this primordial truth. The study therefore concludes that Islam’s manifestation in seventh-century Arabia constitutes the culmination rather than the inception of the primordial religion of submission. By distinguishing the universal theological meaning of islām from its historically institutionalized form, this study clarifies a foundational Islamic doctrine and addresses persistent misconceptions concerning Islam’s historical emergence and relationship to earlier prophetic traditions.