Divine Communication and Divine Self-Disclosure: A Muslim Reflection on Revelation

Revelation is often invoked as common ground among the Abrahamic religions, yet it is precisely this concept through which their deepest theological differences become visible. This contribution approaches revelation from a Muslim perspective and asks what impulses a contemporary Muslim theology of waḥy may draw from an engagement with post-conciliar Catholic revelation theology. After situating Islam within the Abrahamic tradition, it outlines central features of the Islamic understanding of revelation – including fiṭra, the primordial covenant ( mithāq ), and the concept of waḥy – before turning to selected aspects of the Christian discourse, particularly the post-Vatican II shift toward a dialogical and communicative understanding of divine self-disclosure. From this comparative engagement, three impulses emerge: a renewed openness to the “signs of the times,” a deeper sensitivity to the dynamic between the Unconditioned and the conditioned, and a more holistic view of revelation that consistently points beyond itself to the Revealer.