Unified Perception through Islam & Christianity - Essay Example

CHRISTIANITY & ISLAM Christianity and Islam are the most famous and dominant religious beliefs of the world that share many things as common ones between them. They are the monotheist religions and believe in one God as the Supreme Being as well as the Creator of each and every thing existing in the entire universe. They are of the view that Almighty God is the One and the Only, and it is He Who has created man in His own image and blessed him with the superiority over all other creatures, as the Bible states: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Genesis, 1:26: http://bible.cc/genesis/1-26.htm) The Holy Quran states regarding monotheism among early Judaism and Christianity in these words: “And (remember) when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel, (saying): Worship none save Allah (only), and be good to parents and to kindred and to orphans and the needy, and speak kindly to mankind; and establish worship and pay the poor-due. Then, after that, ye slid back, save a few of you, being averse.” (The Holy Quran, Chapter 2: Verse 83). It clearly signifies that monotheism prevailed among the earliest Jews and Christians and they believed in one God (or Yahweh, or Jehovah or Eloah or Allah). Exodus 6:3 is cited as evidence for this: “and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, YHVH, I did not make Myself known to them.” The same is the case with Islam, which vehemently states worshipping of One Allah only, which can be viewed in many chapters and verses of the Holy Quran. “He is Allah, besides whom none is to be worshipped.” (The Holy Quran, Chapter 59: Verse 23) Both these religions maintain many things in common, yet there are few differences too. Even then their common source of inspiration teaches their followers to worship one God, be obedient to their parents, respect the elders, be kind to the younger, and perform charitable deeds while dealing with others. As the Quran views: “Your Lord has decreed that you shall not worship except Him, and your parents shall be honored. As long as one or both of them live, you shall never say to them, "Uff" (the slightest gesture of annoyance), nor shall you shout at them; you shall treat them amicably.” (Chapter 17: verse 23) In addition, both these religions vehemently condemn stealing, lying, hurting others, dishonesty in dealing, weighing less and other social evils and crimes. Hence the modesty, meekness and virtue include as the basic teachings of these religions. “The Ten Commandments contain prohibitions against murder, theft, coveting, adultery, and bearing false testimony. These five laws promote the ethical treatment of our fellow man. Other examples in the Law include commands to treat immigrants well (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:33-34), to provide for the poor (Leviticus 19:10; Deuteronomy 15:7-8), to grant interest-free loans to the poor (Exodus 22:25), and to release all indentured servants every fifty years (Leviticus 25:39-41).” (Quoted in http://www.gotquestions.org/human-rights.html) The motive behind the entire code of life is to please the Lord and His creatures in order to regain their lost paradise the first parent were expelled because of the disobedience of the first parents of man while living in the high heavens as their abode. Satan caused the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise and still looks busy in detracting their children from the right path. “However”, Scheib (2004) argues, “Satan remains inferior to God and is incapable of taking action on mortals without God’s permission. In the Talmud and Midrash, Satan appears as the force in the world, responsible for all sins.” (Quoted in www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/satan.html) Since the topic under study focuses on Christianity and Islam, these two religions will be discussed in the following lines. Christianity is the second of the three Abrahamic religions, and it seeks its roots in the beginning of the twenty first century since the time of the birth of Holy Christ. Christianity is the most popular religion of the contemporary world as the number and percentage of its followers are the highest one in the world in comparison with the followers of other religious faiths and beliefs. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the central figure and vital personality of the Christian faith and the Christians strongly believe that Christ was sent in the world to undergo the severest of the trials in order to lead the human beings towards perpetual forgiveness of their sins, which is called as salvation. The Holy Book of Bible is the sacred Scripture of the Christians, which shares commonality in diction, personalities, law and incidents with Judaism and Islam. In the same way, Islam is the second largest religion of the world. The central personality of this holy religion is the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who preached the cruellest nation of the world for twenty three long years, turning them from an extremely savage, characterless and inferior nation to the most righteous and modest people. The same angel Gabriel, who revealed before the Virgin Mary the glad tidings regarding the birth of Jesus Christ, was also sent to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and brought the holy verses of the Quran from Almighty God to him. The Holy Prophet and his noble family consists of his cousin and son-in-law Ali, daughter Fatima and grandsons Hassan and Hussein underwent every trial and hardships just to preach the sacred message of God to the humanity. The Holy Quran narrates the Biblical stories in almost the same tone and discussed the Biblical characters including Adam, Eve, Satan, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Job, Zachariah, John, Mary, Jesus, Gabriel and others. The concepts of heaven and hell, man’s birth and earliest life in heaven, the great flood, King Nimrod, Pharaoh, the seven sleepers of the cave and much more is common between Christianity and Islam. In addition, both the two Abrahamic religions under study strongly believe(d) in the oneness of God. Actually, it is the basic teachings of the above mentioned religions to adopt monotheism i.e. worship one and the only God. Monotheism simply means belief in the unity of Almighty God, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Fashioner, the Omnipotent, the Lord of the Empyrean. All the four Holy Scriptures were bestowed upon the Abrahamic religions i.e. Judaism, Christianity and Islam through revelation and the names of these four Holy Scriptures are Torah, Gospel, Bible and the Quran. These Scriptures describe almost the same narrations and share the names of the same prophets. The commandments instructed and ordered in the Scriptures are also one and the same. Christian teachings look for offering sacrifices for the cause of God. The name of the holy prophet Abraham is the most prominent among all. Abraham underwent all types of trials; he was thrown into the burning flames by the king Nimrod and the people of his nation expelled him from the city and he was sent him to compulsory exile; he did not have any children till the age of hundred years; but he remained as firm as the rock and could not be bent down at all. Then it was the benevolence of God which was showered upon Abraham and his progeny because of getting successful in all trials, tests and examinations. “At a time when Abraham was issueless, God said to him that his progeny would be more than the stars on the sky.” (Genesis, xxii: 17). God also rewarded His favourite people on performing great deeds. God said to Abraham: “And thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear their ministry and Priesthood unto all nations; And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed; and shall rise and bless thee, as their father;...and in thy seed after thee ... shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal (Abraham 2: 9-11). Taking the example of St. Perpetua, during the very initial Christian era, the holy lady refused to surrender before the pagans, because she was determined to win equal rights and status for the fellow-beings. “St. Vivia Perpetua was a twenty two years old lady from the city Thuburbo Minus and the mother of a small infant baby. She is thought to be one of the greatest early martyrs of the Christian history, whose glorious sacrifice is considered to be paved the way towards unwavering belief and love for the Supreme Being and His commands.” (Butler & Burns, Butler's Lives of the Saints, volume 1, Christian Classics, 1988) The sacrifice serves as an example for the whole community which has enkindled ray of hope, courage and sacrifice for the future generations to come. The chain of sacrifices could be found in the history of Islam, where the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) always stressed his followers to be humble, meek, helpful and supportive towards the people of God. The Holy Prophet always preached kindness and love for humanity at large. He remained defensive throughout his sacred life and never invaded a land, the people of which were righteous and virtuous. He forbade his followers from killing women, children and elderly even during war and battle, and forgave even his worst enemies on the day of the conquest of Makkah, who had been extremely cruel, ruthless and tyrant towards the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his noble family and his true companions. “Muhammad also pardoned the leaders of Ta'if, who had engaged ruffians to pelt him with stones when he visited that town to invite them to Islam.” (Retrieved from http://www.islamonline.net/english/In_Depth/mohamed/1424/manners/article09.shtml) The Prophet Muhammad was pelted with stones, thorns, garbage and others, was inflicted with countless pains and sufferings and was tortured time and again, but he remained as firm as rock to convey the holy message to the entire humanity. He always prayed for the betterment of even the pagans and infidels, and forgave his opponents and foes. The same was the situation with Jesus Christ, who did not pray even against those who led him towards the slaughter for crucifixion. He was battered, abused and maltreated, but he did never intend to take revenge from them. Christ was blamed to be the son of some Joseph, and was falsified and rebuked, but he endured all sufferings to spread justice, truthfulness ad chastity in the world. Significance of Guidance and Scriptures: Christianity strongly believes in the observing of noble practices and helping His creatures in order to please God. Christians are of the view that the basic motive behind sending of the prophets time and again was to protect the children of Adam and Eve from the seduction of satanic forces. Hence, God Almighty sent His angels to His apostles including Adam, Enoch, Noah, Eber, Shelah and others to preach the humanity the noble message of God, so that they could manage to regain their permanent dwellings in the Eden Garden lost due to non-compliance of their first parents in respect of tasting the fruit of the forbidden tree in the aftermath of the satanic seduction and temptations. Satan maintained grudge and enmity for the whole mankind and intended to entice Adam, Eve and their children forever and ever till the Day of Resurrection out of sheer malice for the human beings. “According to the Torah, Satan does not challenge Almighty’s powers; rather, he challenges God to examine the sincerity and compliance of Adam, Eve and their generations. However, Satan remains inferior to God and is incapable of taking action on mortals without God’s permission.” (Scheib: quoted in jewishvirtuallibrary.org) In the words of the Holy Quran: “[Allah] said, "What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you to?" He [Iblis] replied, "I am better than him. You created me from fire and You created him from clay.” (7:12) Almighty God has divided the humanity into two categories: one who those are transgressors and breakers of the covenant of God, and imitate the path of Satan; and the other ones are those who sincerely comply with all the terms of the sacred covenant. The individuals, tribes, clans and communities which did not obey the word of God and committed crimes and practiced deviancies by following the path of Satan, will be inflicted misery and wrath of the Lord. On the other hand, the nations which remained obedient to their Lord, and displayed virtue and evaded vice, were blessed with the spiritual leadership and God was pleased with them. The reward in the form of God’s favour and mercies was bestowed upon them and were declared as the people of God. Almighty God has narrated the incidents of their sacrifices and great velour in the Scriptures they displayed while facing mountains of hardships and their foot neither trembled nor wavered in any sort of turmoil or turbulence. The Chains of the holy prophets including Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Jethro, Zachariah, John, Christ, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Almighty God be upon them all) and many more were sent to guide the people and all except one belonged to the same tribe of Israel. They were the spiritual leaders of the world at large and their Patriarchs suffered great pains in order to spread the message of God, and God blessed the progeny with respect and honour of worldly comforts and the reward in the hereafter. The reward hereafter has been conditional with the good deeds and performances in Christianity and Islam on the one hand and conveying the word of God on the other. Hence, the law of God is the pivotal point around which all the deeds and misdeeds of the people are examined. Consequently, the first and the most fundamental objectives behind Christianity and Islam are to please God and spread His noble message in the entire world. It is a fact beyond doubt that Almighty God has sent His holy men for the guidance and welfare of the human beings. He devised laws and appointed the holy prophets for the implementations of His laws. Since God is the Just one and the most Merciful, He has not specified His laws to some specific community, tribe or nation; rather, being the Creator, Fashioner and the Benefactor of the mankind, He aimed to impose His laws upon the whole human kind without discrimination of tribe, clan, caste, class, community, region, religion, race, ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic status. Thus, the Book of God does not mean to address mere one single individual only; rather, the subject matter of the Holy Scriptures has been human kind and all the future generations of Adam. Christianity is interested in defining and elaborating the central figure of the Christian faith i.e. Holy Jesus Christ with special focus on his unique virgin birth, incarnation, miracles, forecasts, crucifixion and resurrection. The discipline also concentrates on the related topics including trinity and the holy figures included in it i.e. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (the angel Gabriel). Christianity is the greatest religion of the contemporary world as the number and percentage of its followers are the highest one. The Christian submit that Christ is the son of God who was sent to undergo severest of the trials to lead humanity towards perpetual forgiveness of their sins. Holy Virgin Mary gave birth to Christ and he started preaching the people when he was in cradle. The Christians believe that since the sins and misdeeds of humanity have exceeded to a great extent, God had to send His son to sacrifice for saving the humanity from God's wrath. The Christians are also in wait of Christ's second arrival in the world since they believe he is alive and will come to preach the humanity all regarding virtue and goodness. The Holy Bible is the sacred book among Christians. The Christians attend church every Sunday and have two major festivals including Easter and Christmas. Their teachings lay stress on charity, virtue and compassion to all creatures of God. Islam is the third and last among the Abrahamic religions. It basic teachings include belief in one and the only God, Almighty Allah the Omnipotent, belief in all the prophets from Adam to Hazrat Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), offering prayers five times a day, fasting in the ninth month of lunar calendar, paying alms and charity to the deserving and the needy and having pilgrimage of the Holy Ka'aba situated in Makkah. The Holy Book of Muslims i.e. the Holy Quran begins with the name of Allah--the Lord and the Creator of the universe. The introduction of the Lord has been described in an extremely terse way, yet it encompasses the vastness of the heavens and the earth. The beginning lines say that all the praises are restricted to the Creator, Who is the Sustainer of all creatures living in all the worlds. The interpretation of worlds is too lengthy to describe in these pages, but in short these include the worlds of the angels, humans, jinn, animals, beasts, birds, fauna and flora, stars and space etc. Further, the Quran describes only three characteristics of the Lord i.e. first He is extremely Beneficent (to His creatures), second His mercies know no boundaries and third He is the Master of the Day which has been promised in all the holy Scriptures---a day which will announce rewards and punishments to the followers of the good and the evil respectively. Islam also lays stress in justice, equality, compassion and love to all without discrimination of caste, class, clan, gender and socioeconomic status. The followers of Abrahamic religions are found in every part of the world. The question of life after death and reincarnation exists among the two great religions of the world. Reincarnation simply means journey and rebirth of all human souls born in this world on an appointed time after death and the life in a world Hereinafter. “Some people speculate about which mind qualities survive the demise of our physical body, only to reappear in different shapes and in a renewed context. As this issue belongs to the realm of personal faith, it doesn’t make sense to approve, to disapprove or to argue.” (Kessler, 2004:1) The concept of the Day of Resurrection is common among the Abrahamic religions, and all these three claim to get reward on this day due to their belief (i.e. by dint of their belief in God, Abraham and Scripture). The Christians altogether negate the notion of punishment on doing wrong and lay stress on the idea of the “Original Sin”, against which the Christ has paid ransom in the form of crucifixion. “Christianity, Judaism and Islam recommend rewards in heavens on the Day of Judgment for those who have belief in the Oneness of the Lord, in the prophet-hood of the messengers sent to men time to time for the guidance of humanity, and the reward and punishment as well; and practiced all permitted by the Lord and avoided all prohibited by the Lord.” (Zaidi, 2007: 19) The Holy Torah explains the concept of life in the world Hereinafter in these words: “All souls are subject to reincarnation; and people do not know the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He! They do not know that they are brought before the tribunal both before they enter into this world and after they leave it.” (Zohar II 99b) Almost the same promise has been described in the Holy Quran in these words of: “How can you disbelieve in Allah? You were without life and He gave you life, and then He will cause you to die, then restore you to life, and then to Him shall you be made to return.” (Chapter 2: Verse 29) The founders, preachers and pioneers of every religion have looked for the implication and observation of moral values as one of the most essential elements of the basic teachings of their faith. Though religious cults and practices vary among the followers of different religions, and there are some similarities too, yet the most common thing among these faiths includes their emphasis on ethical principles and moral values. Ethics and morality refer to the rules and regulations, based on the principles of charity, kindness, love, respect and goodness, which everyone is bound to observe in his behaviour. The basic motive behind these religions has always been the welfare of the people, which can be witnessed by analyzing the words, teachings and scriptures of the founders of the great religions. The Christians consider Holy Christ as the founder of Christianity. The famous “Sermon on the Mount” has been attributed to Holy Christ, who has preached kindness and care as the sources of ethics and morality in the sermon aforementioned. The remarkable sermon has been described in Chapters 5-7 of the Gospel of St. Matthew, and is considered as the word delivered by Christ. Sermon on the Mount, according to Jacobus, serves as the universal charter on ethics and morality for the people of all nations and areas at large, for it contains the gist of sharing the miseries and woes of others. In the Sermon abovementioned, Christ announces God’s blessings to the people who are humble and meek, and always display goodness and kindness to others. Christ assures glad tidings to the humble, submissive and modest people and declares them as the blessed ones who display humility and reverence while dealing with the people at large. “Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5: 3-5) Hence, Christ proclaims blissful tidings to those who are free from rudeness, arrogance and pride. Not only this, but he offers a respectable place and luxurious life to the modest and meek, in the world Hereinafter. By this, he aims to preach love and benevolence in the hearts of the people for one another. The Sermon not only refutes pride and envy among people, but also seriously condemns ostentation of the virtuous deeds in order to win applause and praise from others. It really contains imperative significance in its theme. Christ not only announces delightful news to the modest and preaches meekness, but also seriously censures those who offer prayers, keep fast and exercise other noble deeds just for their projection and flamboyance in the eyes of the people. In other words, such snobbish attitude has been taken as a direct threat to moral values, which do not allow at all any type of practices to hurt or harm the people by any means. The foundation of the morality has been laid on social values rather than a prescribed set of belief only. If a person harms and displeases others, but offers prayers regularly, he is indeed disloyal to his faith and its teachings. The sermon also describes the blessings from the Heavens on forgiving others on doing wrong. The moral values, according to the sermon, do not even allow the followers to take revenge of the misdeeds from the persons responsible for that all. The sermon is regarded as the continuity or interpretation of the Ten Commandments, the first and oldest of the Abrahamic Holy Scriptures and is also named as the Old Testament. Revealed in the House of Jacob upon the Prophet Moses, it was in Hebrew language in which complete code of moral and religious practices has been described in details to the Hebrew people i.e. Jews. Judaism also signifies the moral values and people’s rights and obligations to one another. The Book of Leviticus (Old Testament) defines almost the same codes of leading a modest life revealed upon Moses from God. It preaches the followers to observe virtue and chastity as well as always do well with neighbours and other fellow-beings. “Helping the poor and the needy and always displaying justice is the aim behind those teachings as well.” (Chapter 19: 13-16) The sermon afore-described is also declared as the predecessor of the third and the final religion among the Abrahamic faiths, is Islam. The holy verses of its Holy Scripture i.e. the Holy Quran undoubtedly appear as the continuation of the preaching attributed to Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Zachariah, John and Christ, and strive for the formation of individuals’ character on the one hand, and eradication of social evils on the other. The Last Sermon, delivered by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) also lays stress upon worshipping of One God, belief in all prophets, love to humanity, hatred for vice, debauchery and fornication, abhorrence for injustice, cruelties and maltreatment of others. Islam also gave equal status to women and care of them was declared to be essential in the Last Sermon. “O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers.” (The Last Sermon of the Holy Prophet: retrieved from http://www.iqrasense.com/about-islam/the-last-sermon-khutbah-of-prophet-muhammad-farewell-sermon.html) Thus, it becomes evident that Christianity and Islam emphasise upon ethics and morality. The message of ethics is universal, broad, inspirational and beneficial for the human kind as a whole and could turn the world a more secure and peaceful place of living. The religions displaying morality can bring people closer under the banner of compassion, kindness, co-operation and compromise at large, which are actually the commands of the Lord. God wants love to His creatures as the ladder that leads towards heaven and eternal peace. BIBLIOGRAPHY Butler, Alban & Burns, Paul. The Passion of St. Perpetu: martyred: March 7, 203 A.D. 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