‘Olam ha-ze/‘olamha-ba, al-dunyā/al-āḫira : étude comparée de deux couples de termes dans la littérature talmudique et le Coran

Abstract

International audience

Rabbinic literature and the Quran believe in the existence of two worlds : the present world and the future world (Hebrew ‘olam ha-ze/‘olam ha-ba, Arabic dunyā/āḫira : two linguistically unrelated couple of terms). Scholarship on rabbinic eschatology has always recognized the importance of this topic. By contrast, it has been relatively neglected in the field of Quranic studies and still needs further exploration. We have compared three kinds of texts in the two corpora : those that only mention the present or the future world and those that deal simultaneously with the two worlds. At first sight, the Quran shows more affinities with Jewish apocalypses or Christian (particularly Syriac) literature. However, the comparison also highlights some significant correlations with rabbinic data, as the frequent use of the couple « present world/future world » and several aspects of the doctrine of retribution. Finally, our investigation confirms that Pre-Islamic Arabia was characterized by a high degree of religious diversity and complexity, within Judaism and without.