The College of Islamic Sciences discussed the master’s thesis of the student Zahraa Abdul Sattar Jabr, entitled “The Self and the Other in the Holy Qur’an: An Interpretive Study.” The thesis examined and analytically surveyed Qur’anic verses related to the issue of the self and the other, considering it one of the fundamental topics that reveal the function of Qur’anic discourse in shaping human identity and defining one’s perception of others.

This study responds to an urgent academic need to address the topic from a comprehensive Qur’anic perspective, uncovering its intellectual, doctrinal, and human dimensions. It does so by tracing manifestations of the self and the other in divine, prophetic, and human discourse, relying on an analytical interpretation of selected Qur’anic texts that clarifies the nature of the self in its various dimensions and explains how the relationship with the other is regulated within an integrated doctrinal, legislative, and ethical-educational framework.

The thesis also examined concepts of the self and the other in certain cultures and religions, aiming to highlight points of similarity and difference in how humans view themselves and others, and to reveal the intellectual and ethical foundations governing this relationship and the limits of human interaction within it. The researcher adopted an inductive-analytical methodology, drawing on authoritative classical Qur’anic commentaries, analyzing exegetes’ views, and explaining them in light of Qur’anic context and semantic indication.

The thesis consisted of three chapters: the first addressed the conceptual framework of the self and the other from linguistic, philosophical, and psychological perspectives; the second was devoted to identifying manifestations of the self and the other in the Holy Qur’an; and the third examined the Qur’anic vision of the relationship between the self and the other, and the dialectic of this relationship between the Islamic perspective and other cultures.

The study concluded with several significant findings, most notably that the concept of the self in the Holy Qur’an varies according to context, appearing in divine, prophetic, human, and collective dimensions, while the concept of the other also varies depending on one’s stance toward the truth, with each case governed by a specific mode of interaction determined by Qur’anic values. The thesis affirmed that the relationship between the self and the other in the Qur’an is not based on conflict or exclusion, but rather on reform, cooperation, and human integration, contributing to the construction of a balanced human identity founded on monotheism, justice, and coexistence.