Hinduism

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 371.

Islam

Islam(Arabic: الإسلام al-islām) "the submission to God" is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the world's second-largest religion.

Followers of Islam, known as Muslims, believe that God (or, in Arabic, Allāh) revealed his direct word for mankind to Muhammad (c. 570–632) and other prophets, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Muslims assert that the main written record of revelation to humankind is the Qur'an, which they believe to be flawless, immutable, and the final revelation of God to humanity. Muslims believe that parts of the Gospels, Torah and Jewish prophetic books (though originally divine in their nature) have been forgotten, misinterpreted, incorrectly edited by humans, or distorted by their followers and thus their original message has been corrupted over time. With that perspective, Muslims view the Qur'an as a corrective of Jewish and Christian scriptures, and a final revelation.

Most Muslims regard paper copies of the Qur'an with extreme veneration, wrapping them in a clean cloth, keeping them on a high shelf, and washing as for prayers before reading the Qur'an. Old Qur'ans are not destroyed as wastepaper, but burned or deposited in Qur'an graveyards.

Almost every Muslim has memorized some portion of Qur'an in the original language. Those who have memorized the entire Qur'an are known as hafiz. This is not a rare achievement; it is believed that there are millions of hafiz today including many children.

From the beginning of the faith, most Muslims believed that the Qur'an was perfect only as revealed in Arabic. Translations were the result of human effort and human fallibility, as well as lacking the inspired poetry believers find in the Qur'an. Translations are therefore only commentaries on the Qur'an, or "translations of its meaning", not the Qur'an itself. Many modern, printed versions of the Qur'an feature the Arabic text on one page, and a vernacular translation on the facing page.

Islam has three primary branches of belief, based largely on a historical disagreement over the succession of authority after Muhammad's death; these are known as Sunni, Shi'ite and Kharijite. The basis of Islamic belief is found in the "two testimonies": lā ilāhā illā-llāhu; muhammadur-rasūlu-llāhi — "There is no god worthy of worship but Allah; Muhammad is the messenger of God." In order to become a Muslim, one needs to recite and believe in these statements. Sunnis further regard this as one of the five pillars of Islam.

From the western perspective, the Islamic tradition is difficult to understand. It touches all aspects of life, it emphasizes fatalistic values, and it is religiocentric. In most of the Muslim world, politics is religion, and religion is politics. "Five Pillars" of Islam provide guidelines for every sphere of life. Here they are:

1. Repetition of the creed. "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah." These words are heard everywhere in the Muslim world.

2. Prayer, which is a central ritual. Muslims pray five times a day - upon rising, at noon, in the midafternoon, after sunset, and before retiring. The prayer ritual is very structured: One must face Mecca, recite a prescribed prayer, and be prostrate with the head to the ground.

3. Almsgiving, which began as a voluntary activity and has become codified into Islamic society. All Muslims are legally required to give part of their income to the destitute. This amounts to about two and one half percent of their incomes.

4. Fasting, a tradition observed during a holy month. Muslims are required to fast between sunup and sundown.

5. Pilgrimage. Once in a lifetime every Muslim is expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

There are six basic beliefs shared by all Muslims:

· Belief in God, the one and only one worthy of all worship.

· Belief in all the Prophets and Messengers sent by God.

· Belief in the Books sent by God (including the Qur'an).

· Belief in the Angels.

· Belief in the Day of Judgement and in the Resurrection (life after death).

· Belief in Destiny (Fate). (Note that this does not mean one is pre-determined to act or live a certain life. God has given the free will to do and make decisions).

Hinduism (also known as Sanātana Dharma and Vaidika-Dharma) is a worldwide religious tradition that is based on the revealed knowledge of the Veda and is the direct descendent of the Vedic Indo-Iranian religion. Some, like the Webster's New World Dictionary, define it as the socio-religious way of life of the Hindus. It encompasses many religious traditions that widely vary in practice, as well as many diverse sects and philosophies. The modern estimates of Hinduism's origin vary from 3102 BCE to 1300 BCE. It is also the third largest religion in the world with a following of approximately 1 billion people. Ninety-eight percent of Hindus can be found on the Indian subcontinent, chiefly in Bhārat (India). It is noteworthy however that the relatively small Himalayan kingdom of Nepal is the only nation in the world with Hinduism as its state religion. The term 'Hindu' is said to be derived from the name of the Sindhu (ie, Indus) river, which is known as Hindu in Persian.

Hindus believe that every living being is an eternally existing spirit (the soul or the self). While changing its body at every moment, this soul passes from one form of body to another.

Hindus worship many gods and goddesses, but they believe that each one represents a form of the highest God. Hindus often have shrines in their homes where they worship their gods. They pray and light candles at the shrines, make offerings of food and read stories about the gods from their holy books.

The River Ganges is a very sacred place for Hindus and they make pilgrimages to it. They wash away their sins in the water and float trays of flowers and incense on the river as offerings to the gods. When Hindus die their bodies are burned and the ashes are sprinkled in rivers. Their families pray that their souls will find their way to God and not be reborn again into this world.

Hindus have great respect for animals because they believe that everything has a soul. Cows are especially sacred and are allowed to wander freely in the streets.

What can be said to be common to all Hindus is the belief in Dharma (Duties and obligations), Reincarnation(rebirth), Karma ("actions", leading to a cause and effect relationship), and Moksha(salvation) of every soul through a variety of paths, such as Bhakti (devotion), Karma (action) and Jnana (knowledge). Reincarnation or the soul's transmigration through a cycle of birth and death, until it attains Moksha, is governed by Karma. The philosophy of Karma lays forth the results of free-willed actions, which leave their imprint on the soul or the self, called as ātman. These actions determines the course of life and the life cycle for the soul in its subsequent life. Virtuous actions take the soul closer to the divine supreme and lead to a birth with higher-consciousness. Evil actions hinder this recognition of the divine supreme and the soul takes lower forms of worldly life. All existence, per Hinduism, from vegetation to mankind, are subjects to the eternal Dharma, which is the natural law. Even heaven and Hell are temporary. Liberation from this material existence and cycle of birth and death, to join or reach the Universal spirit or God (depending on belief), is known as moksha, which is the ultimate goal of Hindus.

Several Hindu concepts specifically relate to world view and individual values and behaviour.

First, intellect is subordinated to intuition. Truth does not come to the individual; it already resides within each of us.

Second, dogma is subordinated to experience. One cannot be told about God; one must experience God. Third, outward expression is subordinated to inward realization. Communication with God cannot take place through outward expression; it must occur through internal realization of the nature of God.

Fourth, the world is an illusion because nothing is permanent. All of nature, including humankind, is in a constant cycle of birth, death, rebirth or reincarnation.

Fifth, it is possible for the human to break the cycle of birth, death, and reincarnation and experience an internal state of bliss called Nirvana.

One achieves Nirvana by leading a good life so one can achieve a higher spiritual status in the next life. The more advanced one's spiritual life, the closer one is to Nirvana. The path to a spiritual life, and therefore Nirvana, is meditation.

The Hindu holds materialism in abeyance and instead practices introspection. Karma is the link that ties a person's acts in one life to the next life.

Fatalism becomes important as past lives influence each new life.

1. Have you found the answers to all the questions?