It is in the nature of humans that they look for someone metaphysical and supernatural for the solution their problems and difficulties whenever they feel themselves unable to do the same. It is therefore the institution of religion came into being. Looking into the history of the world at large, it becomes evident that religion existed in all human societies from the most primitive to the most modern ones. “Humans have formed their own beliefs (called probability belief in mathematics and science) about the set of unknowable elements of the universe. They have branded their beliefs about the unknowable as religion.” (Acharya, 2006) Since religion is a highly diversified subject, different societies maintain different religious faiths and beliefs. Not only this that it varies from society to society and from one culture to the other, but also one single society contains the followers of different many religions in it. The religious cults, practices and festivals vary among the followers of different religions, though there are some similarities too. The main living religions include Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and others. The concept of prayer and meditation exists in all the religions of the world.
The idea of gods and goddesses prevailed in ancient Greece too, where the Greek worshipped different gods and sought their help in the hour of the need. Socrates, the great philosopher and intellectual, admitted that he had belief in gods during his trial in Athens, though he could not prove that he was a regular follower of the traditional teachings and due adoration attributed to the gods including Zeus, Apollo, Adonis, Athena and others. Socrates did never deny of not offering prayers and sacrifice on the same lines as the Athenians had been doing that time. “I have a benevolent habit of pouring out myself to everybody, and would even pay for a listener, and I am afraid that the Athenians may think me too talkative. Now if, as I was saying, they would only laugh at me, as you say that they laugh at you, the time might pass gaily enough in the court; but perhaps they may be in earnest, and then what the end will be you soothsayers only can predict.” (Euthyphro: 13) Similarly, the Romans also have sets of beliefs and prayed to their gods. The Olympic Games were also started to memorize their religious practices.
The three Abrahamic religions i.e. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the most prominent and influential ones among all and share many things among them. They are the monotheist religions and believe in one God. They are of the view that Almighty God has created man in His own image and blessed him with the superiority over all other creatures including the birds of the sky, the beasts of the forest and the fish of the water. He not only created man, but also introduced and developed a perfect scheme for his comprehensive guidance and spiritual uplift on permanent basis. The basic motive behind that all was to protect the children of Adam and Eve from the seduction of satanic forces. Satan is the central figure, basic symbol and supreme source of evil, iniquity and wickedness according to the teachings and mythology of all the three Abrahamic religions i.e. Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Holy Scriptures of these religions emphatically affirm Satan as the transgressor and God’s nemesis, which refused to comply with the commands of the Creator—Almighty God the Omnipotent. Satan, according to these sources, is one among the jinn; a creature has been made by the Lord out of flame of the fire. He became the enemy of Adam and Eve at the time of their birth and caused their expulsion from the Eden Garden because of his jealousy with the new creature. Satan had challenged God that he would try his utmost to seduce the children of Adam and Eve to prove their superiority as a wrong thing. 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 because 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”, Scheib 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”.
Almighty God, according to the Abrahamic religions, 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, were 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 favor 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 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). Not only this but also God selected his children to carry the weight of spreading the light of His holy message in all corners of the world. Almighty God bestowed Abraham with two pious sons i.e. Ishmael and Isaac and showered His spiritual favor in the form of prophet-hood on both the two. Thus, God’s special attention and consideration towards one specific tribe was not the outcome of mere a chance. On the other hand, all that was the result of long and untiring efforts made by the forefathers of the chosen seed i.e. the House of Jacob in the way of God and the pains the noble personalities tolerated while teaching and preaching the word of God. It is therefore, the sons, grandson, great grandson and so on were exalted to the highest spiritual position of prophet-hood. 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). Jews consider Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as their three patriarchs and declare Moses as the greatest of the prophets sent from God. Moses saved the House of Jacob from the tyranny of Pharaoh and is stated as the savior of his nation. Saturday is the sacred day among Jews and Yom-e- Kippur is the most important religious festival.
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, piousness 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.
Hinduism is also among the big religions of the world, though it maintains complex teachings and system of life. There are thousands of gods and goddesses among them and each of whom has his own sphere and domain. Almost the same are the teachings of Jainism. Buddhism considers Mahatama Buddh their spiritual leader, whose teachings are on the foundation of love, sacrifice and kindness. Chastity is the key to success in the world.
The question of life after death and reincarnation exists among almost all religions of the world at large, though its concept varies from one religion to another. 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 ancient Greek philosophers also had an idea regarding reincarnation. But they thought that human soul could travel from one body to another. Socrates did not have belief in rebirth, while Plato declared it the process of attunement. (Thomas & Thomas) On the other hand, the ancient Egyptians maintained the notion of rebirth as an essential part of their religion. “It is known that the Egyptians believed in reincarnation or the transmigration of the soul. They thought the soul transmigrated from body to body and this was a reason why they embalmed the body in order to preserve it so that it could journey along with ka, an animating force that was believed to be counterpart of the body, which would accompany it in the next world or life.” (Quoted in the mystica.com) The concept of the Day of Resurrection is common among the three 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 crucification. The three Abrahamic religions i.e. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the most prominent and influential ones among all and share many things including strong belief in the Day of Resurrection and reincarnation on the same day when all the souls from the beginning to the end would be reincarnated and would be taken before the Creator in order to reward the obedient and noble souls and punish the transgressors. The Holy Scriptures of all the three religions i.e. Torah (Hebrew Bible), Bible and the Holy Quran also reveal the same. The 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 Hereafter 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.” (2:29)
Belief in reincarnation contains different meanings in the eyes of both the East Asian religions i.e. Hinduism and Buddhism. The former explains the notion of seven rebirths in a highly complex and complicated way, while the latter negated the reality of soul altogether. Some of the Buddhist teachings believe in rebirth but interestingly in the form of an animal. The Hindus, on the other hand, believe that the virtuous would lead a happy life in the next rebirth, while the wicked would have an adverse life due to their misdeeds. Hence, they view that each rebirth offers new style and nature of life, which is quite unpredictable and is based on the performance and activities made and conducted in present life. Consequently, man could become an animal, a tree, or a metal in his next life.
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