Islam
Islam (in Arabic - submission), which arose in the 7th century, has been playing a prominent role in the history of mankind. After collecting a few supporters Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, turned it into a religion numbering over one billion people today. Islam is spread throughout the world as the state religion; also it is present in many non-Muslim countries. However, the Arab world which includes 19 independent states, stretching from the Persian Gulf through North Africa as far west as the Atlantic Ocean, was and remains the engine of this religion. Islam dominates in all this vast space with all available Arabic dialects, culture, and history.
Islam is a relatively young religion. At the time of its inception, in terms of a number of European and American scientists, it was a syncretic religion, which absorbed the elements of the ancient pre-Islamic beliefs and practices of the Arabs, Judaism and Christianity. The heyday of the Arab-Muslim philosophy began in the 9th century during the reign of the Abbasid caliphate of Al-Ma’mun. At this time, the caliphate reached its peak. The capital Baghdad was a center of its economic and cultural prosperity. Caliph Al-Ma’mun was, perhaps, the largest world patron of philosophers in the history. He founded the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, where he received all the ancient manuscripts of a scientific nature, not only in philosophy, but also in other fields of knowledge: mathematics, astronomy, physics, medicine, history, geography. Patronage of Al-Ma’mun had an extremely fast growth influencing neighbor territories.
According to the hadith collection of Imam al-Bukhari, on the month of Ramadan in 610, an angel Gabriel appeared to Prophet Muhammad in the cave of Hira and dictated to him the first five verses of the Koran. This year may be considered as the rise of Islam. Within 3 years after the start of the mission, Prophet Muhammad had been leading a secret preaching among his friends and relatives. During this period, about 40 people took Islam. His wife Khadija Muhammad, Ali, Abu Bakr and others were among those. In 613 Muhammad spoke publicly in Mecca as a prophet. The ruling circles of the city reacted with hostility to his teachings. Muhammed’s position in Mecca was risky, and in 622, the prophet was forced to immigrate to Medina. Medina tribes became the core group of his followers. By the end of life, Muhammad formed an Islamic theocratic state, which occupied the entire Arabian Peninsula - Arab Caliphate.
Islamic theology asserts that the Quranic revelations chain begins with the first five verses of the 96th Surah, which were revealed to Muhammad by the angel. Here the God speaks of his authorship in the creation of man and mind (Quran):
1. Recite in the name of your Lord who created-
2. Created man from a clinging substance.
3. Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous-
4. Who taught by the pen-
5. Taught man that which he knew not.
As can be seen, God is speaking here of the creation of a man and of his capacity with which a man is fundamentally different from other types of creatures. A man owns a pen, and that characterizes him as a cultural, symbolic creature. The fact is that in the time of Muhammad, the possession of a pen indicated a civilization different from barbarism as it presented an allegorical world, located between the person and the objective reality. However, in spite of the divine origin of a man, the Quran forbids comparing a human to God both physically and spiritually because of the absolute incomprehensibility of the divine nature by the human mind. This is a fundamental difference between the Quranic and Judaism anthropology.
Judaism
Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions. It has developed to the 13th century BC. Jewish tribes were native to Judaism. The name of this religion comes from the largest of the Jewish tribe Judah. From the end of the 11th century BC, the tribe gave the name to the State of Israel.
In the primitive form, the Jewish religion existed in the period of the Patriarchs. It was an era characterized by the deification of the forces of nature, a belief in the power of demons and spirits, taboos, the distinction between clean and unclean animals, and respect for the dead. The beginnings of some important ethical ideas, which were later developed by Moses and the prophets, had already existed in the earlier period. According to the Bible, Abraham was the first to recognize the spiritual nature of the one God. To Abraham, he was the supreme God, to which the believer can turn to. God, here, does not need temples and clergy; he is omnipotent and omniscient. Abraham left his family, which did not abandon the Assyrian-Babylonian beliefs, and until his death in Canaan he wandered from place to place, preaching faith in one God.
By Moses times (probably 15th century BC), who was brought up in a highly Egyptian culture, Judaism took more complex and subtle forms. Moses gave religion a form of exclusive worship of Yahweh (the so-called Jewish God). He explained the terrible catastrophe that befell Egypt as God intervention. This led to the liberation of the Israelites from slavery and the heterogeneous masses from being oppressed. Those men and women were destined to become Jewish people. History phases threw Jews around the world, and their religion was the only link that allowed them to feel as one community. Religion played a decisive role in the preservation of the Jewish nation. Rabbinical Judaism has been developed; the rabbis have advanced to the positions of influence, and the Jews became a part of the intellectual tops of Arab world, when the Arabs defeated the Byzantine army in 634.
The feature of Judaism is that it is a religion of the nation: whoever takes this belief is considered a Jew, even if this person does not ethnically belong to the Jewish people. To some extent, this resembles Islam since it also may be assumed as a national religion. Just as Islam, which is scattered around the world, the Jewish diaspora brings religion in all countries where they reside. Postulates of Judaism are widely used in other religions. For example, Islam and Christianity recognize the statements of the Old Testament, especially the Pentateuch of Moses. The latter one also used the elements of Judaism in the formation of their cults.
The main idea of Judaism is the belief that Jews are God’s chosen. God is one, and he singled out one folk - the Jews - to help them and share their will through his prophets. Basic precepts contain both religious and moral norms and prescriptions:
Do not shalt other gods;
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;
Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day;
Honor thy father and thy mother;
Thou shalt not kill;
Thou shalt not steal;
Thou shalt not commit adultery;
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor;
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.
Islam and Judaism Today
Talking about the question of the Quranic concept of a man, it is necessary to bear in mind that the Quran is not a textbook of Anthropology. It is not designed to explain the biological, ethnographic, mental and social qualities of the person. Quran primarily is a religious-legal book. It is important to point out another feature of the Quranic anthropology. A person should not be considered in the context of Quranic standards of value judgments (beneficial, profitable, good or bad). They just need to be observed, because only God knows what is better or worse. This is a very important point that characterizes the essence of Islam as a way of life, when a person completely entrusts his life to God, not looking for any benefit.
Analysis of Judaism as an integrated belief shows that this confession gives the important place to the social and ethical issues, which is an organic part of the whole system of Jewish religious practices. It has a strong dogmatic foundation in the Scriptures of Judaism - Tanakh. Many religiously colored constitute tangible, highly positive contribution to the development of legal theory and social practice. Judaism calls for wise use of the property as a basis for material wealth and world prosperity.
The relationship between Islam and Judaism today is far from rosy. These two beliefs are, in many ways, similar to each other in their traditions and laws. However, they are divided today by a considerable number of prejudices and mutual claims. Territorial conflict between Israel and the Palestinians often takes a religious coloring. Claiming their rights to the Holy Land, both parties refer to the pledges and prohibitions of their sacred books. The essence that binds both doctrines with unbreakable thread is often ignored. However, the history of relations between the two religions shows that cooperation is possible. On both sides there are people willing to contacts. The Qur’an, as well as the Tanakh, contains calls for war and desire for peace. The lesson which will be learned by the adherents of both religions entirely depends on them.
If the article was cognitive for you, proceed to read other articles on affordable writing services. Most of the articles are written by Lily Johnson, a professional writer.
Analyzing Religions in White-Collar Crime
- Feb. 8, 2021, 8:10 p.m.
- |
- Public
You must be logged in to comment. Please
sign in or
join Prosebox to leave a comment.
Loading comments...