We Make No Distinction Between Any of Them: Qur’anic Non-Exclusivity, Rabbinic Noahism, and a Theology of Mutual Testimony

This article examines the Qur’anic formula “We make no distinction between any of them” as it appears in Qur’an 2:136, 2:285, 3:84, and 4:150–152, and asks whether it implies more than the rejection of selective belief in prophets. Through close reading of these passages, classical tafsīr, and selected rabbinic sources on Noahide law, the study argues that the formula also rejects religious monopoly: the claim that one community may affirm its own prophet, scripture, and covenant while dismissing the God-given guidance testified to by another God-fearing community. The article develops a distinction between dogmatic or covenantal belief, which binds a community to its own founding revelation and law, and testimonial belief, which confirms another community’s religious testimony without entering its covenantal jurisdiction. It then proposes Noahide testimonial confirmation as a rabbinic counterpart to Qur’anic non-distinction. On this model, Jews may remain fully bound to Torah while recognizing Muslim testimony concerning Muhammad and the Qur’an as religiously valid for the Muslim community; likewise, Muslims may affirm Qur’anic finality without denying real divine guidance in earlier covenantal communities. The study concludes that a disciplined theology of mutual testimony can preserve covenantal difference while supporting religious tolerance, civilizational dignity, and principled Jewish-Muslim recognition.