Obedience and Service in the Covenant Tradition

The covenantal tradition, as preserved in both the Tanakh and the Qur’an (Proclamation), speaks a common language: the language of submission. This submission is active fidelity expressed through two central verbs in the Israelite tradition: שָׁמַע (shamaʿ, “to hear, to obey”) and עָבַד (ʿavad/ʿabad, “to serve, to worship”). Together, they define what it means to live as people bound to God.

Hearing as Obedience

In the Torah, the call to hear (shamaʿ) is never limited to sound or understanding, it always implies obedience. The Shema: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:4–5) is a command to respond in total devotion: to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and might. To hear is to obey, to orient life toward God’s will and order.

The Proclamation mirrors this when it recounts the Israelites at Sinai. They are commanded to uphold the covenant, but many reply, “We hear and we disobey” (Q 2:93). The true stance of a covenant people, however, is “We hear and we obey” affirming that obedience is based on the call to uphold the law.

The Hebrew root ʿavad (עָבַד) is equally central. It means both “to serve” and “to worship.” The Israelites are repeatedly called to serve God, not Pharaoh, not idols, and not their own desires. For instance:

• Exodus 8:1: “Let My people go, that they may serve (yaʿvudūnī) Me.”

• Joshua 24:15: “As for me and my house, we will serve (naʿvod) the LORD.”

In the final revelation, this resonates through the cognate ʿibādah (عبادة). It is to serve God as the Lord of the universe, with humans described as His servants or subjects (ʿibād-Allāh).

And Abraham commanded his sons to do the same, as did Jacob: ‘My sons, God has chosen [your] code for you, so make sure you submit to Him, to your dying moment.’ Were you [Jews] there to see when death came upon Jacob? When he said to his sons, ‘What will you serve (taʿbod) after I am gone?’ they replied, ‘We shall serve (naʿbod) your God and the God of your fathers, Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac, one God: we submit to Him.’ (Q 2:132-133)

Just as the Israelites were called to embody service, the final revelation universalises this vocation: all are summoned to abandon false masters (tāghūt) and submit themselves to the Creator.

Pass on the message: 'My subjects, those who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all mistakes: He is truly the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. Turn to your Lord. Submit to Him before the punishment overtakes you and you can no longer be helped. Follow the best teaching sent down to you from your Lord, before the punishment suddenly takes you, unawares. (Q 39:53-55)

This covenantal language culminates in the Qur’an’s account of the disciples of Jesus. When he calls for helpers in God’s cause, they reply: “We are God’s helpers; we have faith in God, so bear witness that we are submitters” (Q 3:52; 5:111). Their pledge echoes the Israelites' words at Sinai: naʿaseh ve-nishmaʿ (“We will do and we will hear,” Ex. 24:7). Both are declarations of covenantal fidelity: to hear, to obey, to serve.

One Covenant Vocabulary

The Hebrew ʿavad/ʿabad and Arabic ʿibādah show that the covenant demand has never changed. Submission is not a sectarian identity but a posture of life: hearing God’s message, obeying His decrees, and serving Him alone.

To say “Bear witness that we are submitters” like Christ's apostles is to stand in the same tradition that Moses and the prophets called their people to, a tradition where hearing and serving form the heart of covenantal obedience. It is to affirm that true submission is to stand in service to the Lord of the Worlds: "Malek ha'Olam" in Hebrew, and "Rabb al'Alamin" in Arabic.