This paper offers a comparative analysis of the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in the Gospel of Luke alongside analogous eschatological motifs in the Qur’an, situating both within the broader landscape of religious exchange in Late Antiquity. Focusing on the Qur’anic articulation of impassable barriers between the blessed and the damned, as well as between the living and the dead, the study examines three key passages (i.e., Qur’an 7:41–53, Qur’an 23:99–115, and Qur’an 57:10–24) to explore how Christian narrative themes are received, reworked, and reinterpreted within the Qur’anic discourse.

Central to the analysis is the Qur’an’s use of distinct yet interrelated concepts of barriers (aʿrāf, sūr, and barzakh), which resonate with the Lukan depiction of an unbridgeable chasm between the righteous and the condemned. Building on earlier observations by Geoffrey Parrinder and Emran El-Badawi regarding stylistic and thematic correspondences between the Qur’an and Christian texts, as well as the work of Tommaso Tesei and George Archer on the Qur’an’s engagement with extra-biblical traditions, this study argues that such parallels reflect a complex intertextual environment rather than simple borrowing or replication.

Although the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is not explicitly referenced in the Qur’an, the recurrence of comparable motifs points to a nuanced engagement with pre-Islamic traditions familiar to the Qur’an’s audience. In particular, the analysis of Qur’an 7 reveals an awareness of Gospel imagery, including motifs such as the camel passing through the eye of a needle. The diversity of Qur’anic terminology for barriers further suggests interaction with multiple streams of tradition or layered interpretive processes operative in Late Antiquity rather than direct textual dependence.

The paper concludes that the motifs associated with the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus likely belonged either to a broader pre-Gospel tradition that continued to circulate into the Qur’anic milieu, or to a constellation of derivative traditions that evolved from the parable itself. By tracing these intertextual dynamics, the study illuminates how the Qur’an participates in a wider dialogue of religious narratives, offering valuable insight into the reception and transformation of Gospel themes among early Islamic and Arabian communities.