Islam, Christianity, Judaism: Compared Essay

In the past decade, Moslems have been in the front pages of newspapers for militancy, from Palestinian intifada (uprising) in the West Bank to Hezbollahs armed warf ar against the Israeli forces forces. The most dramatic cosmos the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States by the Al Qaeda. This attack belatedlyr on spawned self-destruction bombings in London, Indonesia and elsewhere around the globe. To date, the Al Qaeda remains vigorous albeit possibly weakened and its leaders on the run.Its altogethereged associate groups such as the Jemaah Islamiya (in Indonesia) and Abu Sayyaf (in the Philippines) besides remains active and continue to battle brass forces in their respective countries. The Taliban continue their armed resistance in Afghanistan where they once held the reins of government. Undoubtedly, it is their faith that fuels the militancy of these groups. Whatever political motivations they may have in their struggle is underpinned and premised on their reli gious beliefs. Islam, Christianity, Judaism Compared Judaism, Christianity and Islam claim to be mo nonheistic and holiness one god.They claim a common ancestry through Abraham and region the prophetic tradition through Moses and the prophets. They all believe in apotheosiss and sweet-flavored activity in behalf of man. They believe in divine revelation and the pop off judgment. All adopt laces of worship and teaching, Judaism the Synagogue, Christianity the Church and Islam the Mosque. They place a hard emphasis on prayer and hold special weekly long time of worship, Judaism the Sabbath, Christians the Lords Day (or Sunday) and Islam the day of Salat (or Friday). (A Christian proportion With and Evaluation of Islam, 2007).With these similarities, where lies the source of militancy and steadfastness of the Muslim mujahideen and jihadists? wherefore would a devout Muslim sacrifice himself in bombing military and civilian targets? The main area of theological difference pert ains to the Christians (particularly the Catholics) concept of consecrate Trinity. Christians see beau ideal has having three persons divinity fudge the Father, God the Son (or deliveryman Christ) and the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, Muslims and Jews are simple mo nonheists and believe in one God, called Allah and Yahweh respectively.Both the Jews and Muslims see delivery boy as man and not God nevertheless they differ in perceiving the significance of Jesus disembodied spirit. To the Jews, Jesus was an ordinary Jew (not divine) who crucified for claiming to be the Messiah. Muslims also see Jesus as a human (not divine) but that he was a prophet, a messenger of God (Quran, 517 as cited in Comparison Table between Christianity, Islam and Judaism, 2007). Furthermore, Muslims say that Jesus was not crucified, but was raised to Heaven by Allah (Quran, 4157 158 as cited in Comparison Table between Christianity, Islam and Judaism, 2007).In addition, the Holy Spirit is also see n differently. It is a divine power addicted to the prophets according to the Jews. Muslims view the Holy Spirit identical with the Angel Gabriel who came to bemuse Gods pith to Muhammad. Comparison Table between Christianity, Islam and Judaism, 2007) Islam An Overview Islam is a monotheistic religion that originated from the teachings of Muhammad. The word Islam means totally surrendering oneself to Allah (God). The word Islam is derived from the Arabic aslama which means to accept, surrender or submit. Its fundamental theological concept is that there is only one God (Allah).(Islam, 2007) An adherent or believer of Islam is cognise as a Muslim. Islam originated in Arabia in the early s even outth century. At around this time, Muhammad had begun to proselytize. As of today, there are two major denominations of Islam, namely the Sunni and the Shia (or Shiite). The schism took place in the seventh century on the issue of rightful succession in the religious and political lead o f the Muslim community. Islam instructs that all faiths essentially have one common message the existence of a Supreme Being, the one and only God.It teaches that Gods Sovereignty must acknowledged in worship and in the self-confidence to obey His teaching and commandments. These teachings and commandments are conveyed through His messengers and prophets who were sent at versatile times and in m whatever places throughout history. (Zahid, 2004) In this regard, Muslims believe that God delivered his final message for humanity to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Muhammad is a prophet. He is man and not a god although existence a prophet, he is closest to perfection of man.(Islam, 2007) Muslims believe that some prophets, even though human, are able to perform miracles to prove their claim of being messengers of God. In this light, Muslims consider Jesus as just one in the long line of prophets since Adam. The central religious text of Islam is the Quran that was written bug out by Muhammads companions while he was still alive. Nevertheless, the Muslims believe that the Quran is not simply holy scripture it is the holy word of God. Hence, the words and pith of Gods message can best be dumb in Arabic, the language of Muhammad.Also, Muslims all over learn to recite portions of the Quran in its original language. (Islam A Worldwide Religion and Its Impact in southeasterly Asia, 2007) Quran literally means recitation. While the Christian Bible has been translated into as many languages as possible, the Muslims see differently. Any translation is simply considered as a commentary or interpretation of the Quran repayable to language differences and fallibility of the translators. It is also impossible to preserve the originals inspired (by God) style. A supplement to the Quran is the Hadith (meaning reports).The Hadith is a complete and authentic record of the life of Muhammad. It recounts his words, actions and personal characteristics. (Zahid, 2004) Musli ms are encouraged to emulate Muhammad in their daily life. They are to follow the Sunnah (literally, trodden path), Muhammads normative example. Five linchpin of Islam Obligatory actions are required of Muslims and these are collectively called the Five Pillars of Islam. Cline (2007) wrote, unlike Christianity, Islam is founded on orthopraxy (right action) rather than orthodoxy (right belief). The Five Pillars are ritual acts of worship.These were ordained in the Quran as a means to discipline humanity to remember God constantly. (Zahid, 2004) First is the declaration of faith or shahadah. This is expressed in the dictation Ash-hadu anla ilaha illal-Lahu Wahdahu la Sharika Lahu wa-ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu. The English translation is I wear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, the One, without any partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger. (Shahadah Declaration of Faith, 2007) indorsement is prayer or sala t.This is offered five times a day because the prayers cannot be said all at the same time. As a result, they puddle a rhythm that structures a Muslims day. Prayers are to be recited at fajr (after dawn but before sunrise), duhr (early afternoon till late afternoon), asr (later afternoon till sunset), maghrib (just after sunset), isha (late evening till late at night). The prayers are recited in the Arabic language. They consist of verses from the Quran. The third pillar is alms-giving or zakat. In Islam, man holds wealth as a consecrate from God. As trustee, possessions must be used wisely including sharing with the unfortunate.In practice, Muslims are required to annually give a fixed beat of excess personal assets for the benefit of the poor, the sick and the welfare of the community. Zahid (2004) calls this purification of wealth. Sharing, through zakat, becomes an act of purifying not just the wealth but also the giver for having disciplined oneself against greed through se lflessness. Fourth is moderation or sawm. The fourth pillar actually refers to self-purification through fasting. Every Muslim fasts from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar.It involves fasting from eating, drinking, smoking and marital intercourse. Sawm is a reminder of the believers dependence on God as well as their kinship with others who involuntarily fast due to lack of food or its unjust distribution. (Zahid, 2004) The last pillar is piligrimage or hajj. All Muslim should undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca at least(prenominal) once in their life. The hajj is a ritual to create a single community out of the diversity of the believers. Hence, ten kilometers away from Mecca, all pilgrims are required to wear the same clothing, which consists of two white broadloom sheets.