Halim Rane and Ibrahim Zein, Covenants with Allāh: Keystone of Islam. New York: Routledge, 2026. xv + 240 pp. References, index. Paperback. ISBN: 978-1-032-79766-3.

Abstract

The book pursues two primary objectives: (1) a historical survey of the application of the concept of covenant in Islamic history, and (2) a theorisation of covenants in Islam, whether in the form of a theory or a paradigm. As such, this review shall adopt these two objectives as the criteria for analysis. To attain these two objectives, the book employs a fairly straightforward methodological framework. For data collection, it conducts an inductive textual survey of Islam’s primary sources—namely, the Qurʾān and the Sunnah—by mapping the semantic relations between key terms within selected verses and narrations. For example, to establish that fulfilling the requirements of the primordial covenant (mīthāq) promises everlasting happiness in the hereafter, the work identifies the key term taqwā as the bridge between Sūrat al-Baqarah (2):63 and (2):25. This semantic survey reveals a natural logical unfolding, both structurally and empirically. Structurally, it begins with God as the source of the covenant, which entails man as the second party and Satan as a third party—albeit an outsider intent on sabotaging man’s earthly mission in keeping the Trust (amānah) associated with the covenant. Empirically, the work traces the spatiotemporal applications and misapplications of the covenant from the time of Adam to the advent of Prophet Muḥammad, and subsequently to the modern history of Islam—ranging from the individual to the family, community, nation, and finally, international relations. This methodological framework consequently informs the arrangement of the book’s chapters.