Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Yes, it is permissible for a Muslim to say: “I follow the religion of Abraham, peace be upon him.” In fact, following the religion of Abraham is one of the fundamental principles of Islam that Allah commanded in the Qur’an.
Allah says:
“Say, ‘Allah has spoken the truth, so follow the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth; and he was not of the polytheists.’”
[Aal ‘Imran: 95]
And He says:
“And who is better in religion than one who submits himself to Allah while being a doer of good and follows the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth?”
[An-Nisa: 125]
Thus, Allah commanded His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his nation to follow the religion of Abraham, peace be upon him.
The religion of Abraham is pure monotheism (Hanifiyyah), based on worshipping Allah alone with complete sincerity, rejecting polytheism, and renouncing the worship of anything besides Him.
Allah says:
“Say, ‘Indeed, my Lord has guided me to a straight path—a correct religion—the way of Abraham, inclining toward truth. And he was not among the polytheists.’”
[Al-An‘am: 161]
And He says:
“Then We revealed to you, ‘Follow the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth; and he was not of the polytheists.’”
[An-Nahl: 123]
Therefore, the foundation of Abraham’s religion is submission to Allah through monotheism, worshipping Him alone, and abandoning all forms of polytheism.
No. The religion of Abraham is not a religion separate from Islam in its general meaning. Rather, it is submission to Allah and monotheism—the same fundamental message preached by Abraham and all the other prophets, peace be upon them.
Allah says about Abraham:
“Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim. And he was not of the polytheists.”
[Aal ‘Imran: 67]
Abraham, peace be upon him, was therefore a Muslim who submitted to Allah and worshipped Him alone, before Judaism and Christianity appeared in their later known forms.
For this reason, saying “The religion of Abraham does not differ from Islam” is correct if what is meant is that its foundation is submission to Allah and monotheism.
However, if someone means that there is a religion existing today called “the religion of Abraham” that is separate from the Islam brought by Muhammad ﷺ and merely resembles it, then this is incorrect.
Because all the prophets agreed upon the foundation of religion, which is to worship Allah alone and associate nothing with Him.
Some detailed laws and rulings may have differed between the prophets, but the foundation of faith and monotheism was one.
Therefore, the Prophet’s ﷺ following of Abraham’s religion does not mean abandoning the law revealed to him and following every detailed ruling that existed in Abraham’s time. Rather, it means following Abraham in pure monotheism, sincerity to Allah, and rejection of polytheism, while adhering to the law that Allah revealed to Muhammad ﷺ.
Yes. A Muslim who follows Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is also following the religion of Abraham, because Allah commanded this nation to do so.
Allah says:
“The religion of your father Abraham. He named you Muslims before and in this [Qur’an].”
[Al-Hajj: 78]
It is also mentioned in a reported supplication:
“We have entered the morning upon the natural disposition of Islam, the word of sincerity, the way of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and the religion of our father Abraham, who was upright and Muslim and was not among the polytheists.”
This clearly combines Islam, following Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and the religion of Abraham, peace be upon him. There is no contradiction between them.
A Muslim may say that he follows the religion of Abraham if he means that he follows monotheism and Hanifiyyah. However, he should not use this expression as a substitute for identifying himself as a Muslim, nor should he reject calling himself a Muslim.
Allah Himself named the followers of this religion Muslims. He says:
“He named you Muslims before and in this [Qur’an].”
[Al-Hajj: 78]
Therefore, it is correct for a person to say:
“I am a Muslim. I follow Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and I follow the pure monotheistic religion of Abraham.”
These meanings complement one another and do not contradict each other.
It is permissible for a Muslim to say: “I follow the religion of Abraham, peace be upon him,” because Allah commanded the Prophet ﷺ and the believers to follow the religion of Abraham.
The religion of Abraham is pure monotheism, worshipping Allah alone with sincerity, and rejecting polytheism. It is Islam in its general meaning—the submission to Allah preached by all the prophets.
However, after the mission of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the expression “the religion of Abraham” cannot be used as a means of abandoning the law of Muhammad ﷺ or avoiding identification with Islam. Today, following the religion of Abraham means following the Islam brought by the final Prophet, Muhammad ﷺ.
And Allah knows best.