Christianity
Matthew
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
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ParallelsA comparative study
ChristianityJudaismIslam
On Love Your Enemies
These traditions converge on the ethical imperative to mitigate hostility through benevolent action toward adversaries. While the Hebrew Bible frames this as a strategic moral duty within a covenantal community, the New Testament elevates it to a radical imitation of divine perfection. Islamic revelation similarly prescribes repelling evil with goodness, though often contextualized within the dynamics of communal conflict and divine recompense.
What every account tells.
- iActive benevolence is required toward those who oppose the believer.
- iiHostility is not met with reciprocal violence but with moral restraint.
- iiiThe ultimate authority for this conduct is divine command rather than social convention.
- ivSuch action transforms the relationship between the self and the adversary.
How each tradition tells it.
Christianity
Christian ethics universalize the command, framing it as an imitation of God's indiscriminate grace. Scholars debate whether this represents a break from Jewish law or its fulfillment.
Judaism
Rabbinic interpretation often contextualizes this within wisdom literature or specific legal boundaries rather than absolute universalism. Some scholars argue it serves social cohesion within the covenant community rather than abstract morality.
Islam
The Qur'anic injunction links moral conduct to the transformation of the adversary into a friend. This is frequently read as a strategy for conflict resolution grounded in divine promise.
Read the passages as one.
Judaism
Proverbs
“If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:”
Islam
Surah 41: Fussilat (Explained in Detail)
وَلَا تَسۡتَوِي ٱلۡحَسَنَةُ وَلَا ٱلسَّيِّئَةُۚ ٱدۡفَعۡ بِٱلَّتِي هِيَ أَحۡسَنُ فَإِذَا ٱلَّذِي بَيۡنَكَ وَبَيۡنَهُۥ عَدَٰوَةٞ كَأَنَّهُۥ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٞ
“And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that [deed] which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity [will become] as though he was a devoted friend”