Overall Analysis of Various Aspects of Islam - Research Paper Example

An Overall Analysis of Various Aspects of Islam Introduction Whereas Islam is one of the monotheistic religions of the world, Hinduism appears to be a polytheistic religion. Yet difficulties arise when classifying the theistic trait of Hinduism because of its complex philosophical nature. Though Islam crucially pivots on the oneness of God, Hinduism does not advocate one personal god, but many. Yet the pantheistic trait of Hinduism evolves from its devotions to many “personal” gods that together conjures up the central Brahman deity, “Brahma”. Unlike Islam as a set of beliefs Hinduism is a collection of different intellectual or idealistic points of view, as Gavin Flood says in this regard that it does not have "unified system of belief encoded in declaration of faith or a creed" (Flood 34). In spite of Hinduism’s numerous traditions and versions including Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Srauta, a common philosophy of Hinduism is founded on the concepts of “karma, dharma, and societal norms” (Georgis 62) The Islamic faith in the oneness of God fundamentally originates from the Holy book, Quran, which the Muslim believes to be direct revelation or guidance of God descended upon Prophet Muhammad. Etymological Roots of Islam and Hinduism The term “Islam” derives from the root ‘salaam’ or ‘s-l-m’, where the term “Hindu” has its root in the word ‘Sindhu’ a local Sanskrit appellation, of the Indus River. Indeed the word, “Hindu” was incorporated in English from the Arabic term “Al Hind” used to refer to the Indian Subcontinent and the people living in this area. Later the term “Al-Hind” gets changed into Persian articulation as ‘Hindu’. On the other hand, the etymological root of Islam literally means ‘wholeness and completion’. But a number of other Islamic scholars consent that Islam as a religion has a broader meaning, “submission to the will of God”. (Waines 92) This broader meaning of Islam, indeed, evolves from the notion that one’s submission and obedience to God is bound to bring peace and wholeness in this worldly life. A fundamental follower of Islam thinks that submission to the will of God and peace in life are the two sides of the same coin. History of Islam and Hinduism Traditionally Islam is believed to be established in the 640 AD by Muhammad who claimed to be the envoy of God. But drawing references to the textual evidences in the holy Quran, scholars claim that Islam begins from the birth of Adam, the first man and prophet of Islam. In this way, Abrahamic religions are supposed to be the ancient versions, of Islam, which God Himself annulled because the distortions of His message brought about man. (Nasr 45) But other scholars believe that since God has repealed other religions as well as other versions such as Christianity (the religion preached by Zesu, a prophet of high respect in Islam), Judaism (preached by Moses, another revered prophet) and other religions, the real Islam for modern people is to be considered the one that Muhammad founded in the Seventh Century in Arab peninsula. Unlike Islam’s self-acclamation about its origin in Adam’s the first man’s age, the religious texts o Hinduism do not verify its origin. Rather anthropological researches show that the origin of Hinduism in India dates back to a period between 5500BCE and 2600BCE, commonly known as the late Neolithic age (Thapar 77). Indeed from this period up 500BCE Hinduism prevails as a Vedic religion depending on the religious texts called Vedas. The Vedas is a collection of several versions, of which the Oldest is the Rig Veda. The Vedas advocates the worship of gods such as Agni, Indra, and Varuna. This Vedic religion had undergone lots of changes over the century before the modern Hinduism emerged after the Muslim conquest of India in the early seventh century. Along the protracted path of addition, inclusion and reduction, the early first century texts Ramayana and Mahabharata began to be influential in this religion. Beliefs in Islam and Hinduism Hinduism does not have any rigorous set of beliefs; rather it is to be perceived as an umbrella term referring to diverse religious practices and cultures originated from the Vedanta traditions. It is almost problematic to define Hinduism as a religion according to Western standards because of its openness and tolerance to differences in belief and lack of Vedic instructions for religious practices. Yet some scholars tend to define it as a traditional way of life, which is often aligned, to a great extent, with pantheistic worldview, though advocating faith in personal gods and goddesses. Most Hindu traditions and their followers respect the Vedas, a collection of religious texts, though a particular tradition puts emphasis on a particular book. Different Hindu traditions advocate different salvation-rituals. Such institutional aspects of Hinduism, indeed, evolve from the followers’ intuitions and perception about the process of producing the good and annihilating the evils. Some Hindu philosophies attempt to explain the Vedic worldview on the “theistic ontology of reincarnation (Samsara) based on the concept of Karma, of creation, of sustenance, and of destruction of the universe” (Thapar 98). Islamic beliefs, to a great extent, can be viewed as the direct refusal of polytheistic Vedic traditions, since it, in the very first place, considers believing in many gods, as a serious crime -though pardonable if one abandons such beliefs- to the one and only God that the Muslims believe in. Achieving God’s mercy and not to displease by avoiding His guidance are the sole targets of Islamic rituals and practices. Therefore, the believers in Islam must follow a rigorous set of beliefs, practices and rituals in order to please God. Institutional Islam can be summed up in a set of some seven beliefs and practices that reveal these beliefs. A Muslim needs to believes in one God, prophets as the messengers of God, divine scriptures, such as the Quran, the Torah, etc as the guidance of God in text, the angels as the servants of God, the Day of Judgment, and fate. To some extent, Islam shares features of beliefs of other Abrahamic religions. Islamic belief or Imaan in Arabic comprises beliefs in these six articles. Indeed five of these Articles are supported by the Quranic evidences whereas “fate” is a later addition. For an example, the verse 136 of chapter “An-Nisa” says, “Whoever disbelieveth in God and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers and the Last Day, he verily wandered far astray.” (4:136) Concepts of God in Hinduism and Islam Whereas Islam is decidedly a monotheistic religion, Vedic concept of god cannot be classified into a particular ism. Hinduism advocates an umbrella concept, of deity, spanning complexly a conglomeration of polytheism, pantheism, monism, and even monotheism. Different Hindu traditions define God differently depending individual philosophy. A Hindu traditionally is devoted to one god or goddess of his or her own choice; but meanwhile he or she will acknowledge the existence of other gods peacefully. Hindu concept of god does not create a clear demarcation between the creator and creations. Also the oldest Vedic scripture and the mainstream of Vedic tradition do not conjure up a definitive image of god; rather the textual evidences in the Rig Veda are provocative. They provoke one to conceive the concept of god on their own. In the Rig Veda, the Nasadiya Sukta or Creation Hymn thus tells about the following way: “Who really knows? / Who will here proclaim it? / Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation? / The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe. / Who then knows whence it has arisen?” (Nasadiya Sukta 45) Yet different schools have portrayed the Hindu concept of god in different ways. The Advita Vedanta school advocates a monistic or pantheistic image of god as Brahman that is a supreme spirit. Brahma is transcendental in nature and only to be perceived through “Karma” or the signs of god’s revelation. Therefore, everything in the visible world is “karma”, therefore, the revelation of god. This school believes that the ‘atman’ or the spirit or the soul of a man is identical with Brahma. Through “Moksha” or effort to unite with the Brahma, a man can spiritually perceive the existence of the Brahma. But it also considers that god as immanent, as it is said in the sacred text, the Rig Veda, “Though One, Brahman is the cause of the many. Brahman is the unborn (aja) in whom all existing things abide” (Quoted in “On Truth and Reality”). Therefore Brahman is “the power, behind and within the cosmos that makes it function and live” (Hinduism Glossary). The Dualistic schools such as Dvaita and Bhakti advocates the existence of a personal god Brahman as a Supreme Being. The ‘atman’ can reach Brahma through love towards god and through god’s grace. According to this school, a personal god Ishvara, or Bhagvan or the Parameshar is, in essence, similar to the transcendental being, Brahma. In Bhaagawada Gita, Ishvara has been presented as the sole repository of divinely attributes: “His hands and feet are everywhere, He looks everywhere and all around, His eyes, ears and face point to all directions, and all the three worlds are surrounded by these” (Flood 32).According to Hinduism, the universe is the manifestation of Brahman, as the Rig Veda says, “The One [god] manifests as the many, the formless putting on forms” (Quoted in “On Truth and Reality”). God can exist both beyond and within the universe. The universe and all the existing beings in it are the objects of worship. Islamic faith in God is both affirmation of one’s faith in one God and rejection of many. Essentially it seems that the concept of God in Islam is quite contradictory to the Hindu concept of god. In this way, belief in the Islamic concept of God is a careful monotheism. This absolute monotheism is known as Tawhid (in Arabic) or the oneness of God. Indeed ‘Tawhid’ is the most basic idea of Islam. The Islamic faith in the reality of one God is fundamentally the rejection of many gods. The textual evidence in the Quran shows that God’s oneness is self-evident and therefore, the concept of many gods is simply false. Like the Vedic concept of a transcendental god, God in Islam is somewhat transcendental, though this transcendentalism has not been verified by direct Quranic evidences. The way how God appears in the holy Quran, in a roundabout way, infers that God is transcendental. The Chapter, “Al-Ikhlas” of the Quran attests this transcendentalism of God as following: “Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him.” (Sura 112:1-4) Since the Islamic concept of oneness rejects the existence of many gods, it seriously opposes the Hindu polytheistic approach to the existence of god. Yet God in Islam is somewhat monist, as in this regard, Vincent J. Cornell comments that Islamic God is an unitary reality or a unified whole: “God is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward; God is the Knower of everything, Sura 57:3” (Vincent 98) Yet some Muslim scholars seriously oppose this monist concept of God claiming that such monist concept fails to differentiate between the originator and the originated, and thus appears to be the worst sin of “Shirk” an offensive act of comparing God with His creations. The indivisibility of God in Islam means the indivisibility of his autonomy. Indeed this autonomous God also gives birth to the conception of a consistent material and moral universe instead of the chaos that the presence of multiple gods could contribute to. (Vincent 56) Concepts of Angels in Hinduism and Islam In Islam it is compulsory for a Muslim to believe in angels. The angels are considered as the servants of God and they are assigned with different duties of performing natural functions such as sending rain, inflicting death, etc. For example, Gabriel is assigned with bringing messages from God to the prophets, while Azrael is the angel of death. Though believing in angels is not so important, it is necessary part of a Muslim’s religious faith. Unlike man’s power to act on their own will, the angels are not able to perform on their own. The Muslims believe in the Holy Quran as well as other Holy Scripts as the revelations or signs of God. (Waines 78-79) Indeed in contrast to Islamic concept of angels, Hindu concept of angels does not have any clear definition. Simply the ‘devas’ or the angels are the heavenly being who are worshiped as the model for a man’s desired life. They are often considered as the earthly revelations of gods and goddesses. Objectives of life In Islam and Hinduism The concept of god in each of these religions heavily influences the objectives of a man’s life. Whereas Islam considers that a Muslim’s sole objective is to lead his or her life according to the guidance and instructions of God in order to attain his mercy, Hinduism believes that a man should try to unite with the Brahma. Living the worldly life according the will of god is of great importance both in Islam and Hinduism. The Quran and other holy Books were brought to the prophets as the divine guidance of God for men’s peace and happiness. According to Islamic belief, if God’s guidance and orders are violated, men will suffer both in this life and in the hereafter life. In this worldly life, people will suffer from chaos, disorder and anarchy, such as murder, hunger, injustice, etc, in both personal and social life. Again in the hereafter life, men will be thrown as the Hell, a place of eternal miseries and sufferings as the punishment for violating God’s commands. (Turner 76-8) So, worldly issues such as peace, happiness and justice can be achieved by following God’s commands. But objectives of human life in Hinduism are as following: a. Dharma or righteousness, b. Artha or livelihood, c. Kama or sensual pleasure, d. Mok?a or freedom from samsara, and e. Yoga. Practices and Rituals in Islam and Hinduism Hindu practices and rituals normally include seeking awareness of God, whereas Islamic rituals are targeted to attain God’s mercy and pity. Through religious rituals the Hindus seek blessings from Devas. Indeed most of the rituals and religious practices are later-additions to the Vedic traditions. The Hindus diversely perform numerous forms of worships or pujas both at a temple and at home. At home, they give shrines to the icon chosen for a particular which they are dedicated to. Temples are considered as sacred places dedicated to a “primary deity along with associated subordinate deities” (Thapar 46). Going to the temples is not obligatory for a Hindu. The Hindu practice of worshipping gods through icons is extremely forbidden in Islam. A Muslim believes that since icons or Murtis are compared with particular aspects of God, they are violations of God’s oneness. Even the Arya Samaj in Hinduism does not believe that God should be worshipped through murtis or icons. Apart from the doctrinal aspects, Islam pivots on some institutional premises. Every Muslim has to declare the Testimony or ‘Shahadah’: “I testify there are no deities other than God alone and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” (Farah 37) Upon entrance into Islam by uttering the Testimony of God’s oneness, he or she needs to perform four other crucial religious activities, a. to pray five times a day, b. to perform ‘Saum’ to fast from morning to evening, c. to give Zakaat or alms to the poor, and d. to go to Pilgrimage or Hajj. Conclusion A Muslim’s daily religious activities revolve around his or her sole target to attain God’s mercy and salvation on the Judgment Day. Therefore, Islamic religiosity necessarily includes both the institutional religious activities and worldly activities according the guidance of God. When worldly activities are performed without going against the orders of God and without doing any harm to himself or herself or to others, these activities are counted as permissibly informal religious activities. But when there are clear evidences of God’s opposition to certain activities, a Muslim cannot do these activities. (Weiss 23-8) In Islamic tradition, God’s orders and guidance are to be considered as laws. A Muslim is strictly required to lead his or her individual and social life according to these laws. If he goes against the orders of God, he must face the Islamic Jurisdiction arranged by the Islamic social authority. On the other hand, to be united with Brahma through Karma and yoga is considered to be the ultimate goal of human life in Hinduism, “One of the recurring goals in Hinduism is to understand the link between Brahman-the force behind the cosmos-and the Atman--the soul of each individual human” (Hinduism Glossary). But Hinduism does not deal with a single goal. Rather it deals with a set of goals -Dharma, Artha, Kama and moksha- that are indirectly connected with its idea of god. The concept of god is less influential in determining the outline of the human goal because Hinduism lacks an impersonal god. The goals in Hinduism are both life centered and life negating. Works Cited Farah, Caesar. Islam: Beliefs and Observances (5th ed.) Barron's Educational Series. 2003 Flood, Gavin. An introduction to Hinduism. New York: Johnson’s Publishers. 1996. P.14 Georgis, Faris. Alone in Unity: Torments of an Iraqi God-Seeker in North America. Dorrance Publishing. 2010. p. 62. Hinduism Glossary, “Introduction to Religion”. 03 Nov. 2009 available at Nasr, Seyed Muhammad. Our Religions: The Seven World Religions Introduced by Preeminent Scholars from Each Tradition (Chapter 7). HarperCollins, 1994. “Sura Al-Ikhlas”, The Quran, available at Thapar, Rajan. Interpreting Early India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 1993 p. 77 Turner, Colin. Islam: the Basics. Routledge (UK). Vincent J. Cornell, Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol 5, pp.3561-3562 Waines, David. An Introduction to Islam. Cambridge University Press. 2003 Weiss, Bernard G. Studies in Islamic Legal Theory. Boston: Brill Academic publishers. 2002 Read More