Abrahamic religions

Symbols of the three main Abrahamic religions: Judaism (top), Christianity (left) and Islam (right).

Map showing the prevalence of Abrahamic (pink) and Dharmic religions (yellow) in each country.

Abrahamic religions are monotheistic faiths that recognize a spiritual tradition identified with Abraham. Three of the world's major religions—the monotheist traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—were all born in the Middle East and are all inextricably linked to one another. Christianity was born from within the Jewish tradition. Today, there are an estimated 3.8 billion followers of the three major Abrahamic religions, accounting for more than half of the world's population.

Use of the term "Abrahamic" is far from universal and has been found to be problematic for many reasons.

For reference, the major non-Abrahamic world religions are Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. They are the "Eastern religions" that include the "Dharmic" religions of India and the "Taoic" East Asian religions.

Origin of the expression

The term "Abrahamic religion" is derived from a term of Islamic origin, Millat Ibrahim, although in Muslim use only Islam is seen as truly reflecting the "Faith of Abraham". It thus refers to the traditional claim of relationship by the Arab Muslims to Abraham through his son Ishmael which is extended to include Muhammad, thus making Abraham a common ancestor to all later prophets. Although the Koran does not name the child whom Abraham was about to sacrifice, Muslims believe it was Ishmael, while Jews and Christians accept the biblical view that it was Isaac. Christians refer to Abraham as a "father in faith." It has been suggested that the phrase may mean that all three religions come from one spiritual source.

Abraham is recorded in the Torah as the ancestor of the Israelites through his son Isaac, born to Sarah through a promise made in Genesis.

Common aspects

The three great faiths called Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were born of an event that each remembers as a moment in history, when the One True God appeared to an Iron Age sheik named Abram and bound him in a covenant forever. Abram is the later Abraham, the father of all believers and the linchpin of the faith, and indeed the theology, from which the three communities of that God's worshipers emerged. The history of monotheism had begun.

— F. E. Peters

Judaism, Christianity and Islam share the following similarities:

• Monotheism: all three religions claim to be monotheistic, worshiping one god and the same god for all—whether called Yahweh or Elohim, God the Father or Allah The ultimate reality for all three is "one God."
• People of the Book: The standard Islamic name for the other two monotheistic religions is "People of the Book." God's covenant with Abraham was recorded and collected in a Book that contained the covenant and the working out of the covenant in history. Each religion claims their holy Book, in no way identical among the three nor claimed to be, is in some manner the words of the One True God. Whether that Book is the present Bible, or the New Testament, or the Quran is the point that separates Jews, Christians, and Muslims
• Jerusalem:
  • Judaism: Jerusalem became holy as a city to Judaism over three thousand years ago. Jews pray in its direction, mention its name constantly in prayers, close the Passover service with the wistful statement "Next year in Jerusalem," and recall the city in the blessing at the end of each meal. Jerusalem has served as the only capital of a Jewish state. It is the only city that has had a Jewish majority during all of the twentieth century.
  • Islam: Jerusalem, the city of David and Christ, became a very holy place to Muslims, third only after Mecca and Medina, because of political developments. Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Qur'an and did not occupy any special role in Islam long after Mohammed's death. The first Muslims didn't pray towards Mecca, but to Jerusalem. Since 691, the "Dome of the Rock" (Qubbet-es-Sachra), built by Byzantine architects, still stands in the middle of the Temple area.
  • Christianity: Palestine was once a Christian country. There has been a continuous Christian presence there since the time of Jesus. According to the New Testament, Jerusalem was the city to which Jesus was brought as a child to be presented at the Temple and for the Feast of the Passover. He preached and healed in Jerusalem, ceremonially cleansed the Temple there, held the Last Supper in an upper room there the night before his death on the cross, was arrested in Gethsemane, the six parts to Jesus’ trial—three stages in a religious court and three stages before a Roman court—were all held in Jerusalem. His crucifixion at Golgotha, his burial nearby, and his resurrection and ascension and prophecy to return all are said to have occurred there.
• Prophetic tradition:
  • Islam respects as prophets of God—Jesus, Moses and Abraham. Muslims consider Muhammad to be the "Last and Final Messenger" of Allah.
• Genesis and the Qur'an: The Qur'an talks about the Great flood and the story of Noah's ark that was originally mentioned in the Old Testament with some minor differences.
• Semitic origins: Judaism and Jewish Christianity originated in the Jewish populations. Islam was revealed over 1400 years ago in Mecca among Arabs.
• A basis in divine revelation rather than (for example) philosophical speculation or custom.
• An ethical orientation: all three religions speak of a choice between good and evil, which is associated with obedience or disobedience to a single God and to Divine Law.
• A linear concept (periodization) of history, sometimes coined as eschatology, beginning with the creation and the concept that God works through history, and ending with a Resurrection of the dead and final judgment.
• Association with the desert, which some commentators believe has imbued these religions with a particular ethos.
• Acceptance of some of Judaism's religious obligations found in the Bible as a spiritual devotion to the traditions of Abraham (rather than of Moses) by Christianity (see also Biblical law in Christianity and Judeo-Christian); and by Islam, including those which have parallel accounts in the Qur'an, such as the stories of Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses.

Overview

The tomb of Abraham, a cenotaph above the Cave of the Patriarchs traditionally considered to be the burial place of Abraham.

• Judaism ur-Abrahamic faith; of the extant Abrahamic religions, it is unquestionably the oldest. However, the religion has gone through several phases: beginning as the particular cult of the Hebrew tribes of the Bronze Age Levant, it collapsed in its original form after the Babylonian Exile. It appears to have been renovated and reformed to some extent in the 6th century BC, by Ezra and other priests returning to Jerusalem from the Exile (the Second Temple period). After the Jewish–Roman wars resulted in the scattering of Jews across Europe and the Middle East, the Jewish faith developed into its current Rabbinic phase, of which the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform sects are ultimately interpretations.
• Christianity is generally accepted to have begun in Judea in the 1st century A.D., then part of Iudaea province, as a radically reformed branch of Judaism (see Early Christianity). Christianity of the common era spread to ancient Greece and Rome, and from there to most of Europe, Asia, the Americas and many other parts of the world. Over the centuries, Christianity split into many separate churches and denominations. A major split in the 5th century separated various Oriental Churches from the Catholic church centered in Rome and Constantinople. Other major splits were the East-West Schism in the 11th century, separating the Roman Catholic Church from the Eastern Orthodox Churches; and the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century onwards, which gave birth to hundreds of independent Protestant denominations.
• Islam. Muslims believe that Islam is a faith that has always existed and that it was gradually revealed to humanity by a number of prophets. They consider that the final and complete revelation of the faith was made through the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the 7th century CE in the Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina. The word Islam means 'submission to the will of God'. Islam is the second largest religion in the world with over 1 billion followers. Although not a dissident branch of either Judaism or Christianity, Muslims believe it to be a continuation of and replacement for them. The Qur'an (the holy book of Islam) held itself to be the final word of God, and its message was that of all the prophets, which means that Islam did not start with Muhammad but was completed during his time. As an example of the similarities between the faiths, Muslims believe in a version of the story of Genesis and in the lineal descent of the Arabs from Abraham through Ishmael, who was conceived through Abraham's wife Hagar.

The significance of Abraham

See also: Covenant (biblical) § Abrahamic Covenant

An interpretation of the borders of the Promised Land, based on God's promise to Abraham (Genesis 15).

For Jews

For Jews, Abraham is primarily a revered ancestor or patriarch (referred to as "Our Father Abraham") to whom God made several promises: chiefly, that he would have numberless descendants, who would receive the land of Canaan (the "Promised Land.") Somewhat less divisively, according to Jewish tradition, Abraham was the first post-Flood prophet to reject idolatry through rational analysis, although Shem and Eber carried on the tradition from Noah. Abraham not only symbolically appears as a fundamental figure for Judaism, but is recognised to have observed the tenets of the Torah before it was given to Moses. Modern scholars do not accept that the K'tav Ivri is named after Abraham (who was known as the "Ivri", which occurs in Genesis Gen 14:13 with the phrase Avram ha-Ivri, and is the origin of the English word Hebrew). The early Midrashic sources explicitly state that the laws of Torah (Passover) were observed by the Patriarchs long before Sinai, and in one case with a simultaneous explicit example for chronological calculations referring to Genesis 26:5.

For Christians

For Christians, Abraham is a spiritual forebear rather than a direct ancestor, as defined by Paul the Apostle in Romans 4:9–12, with the Abrahamic Covenant "reinterpreted so as to be defined by faith in Christ rather than biological descent," see also New Covenant. In Christian belief, Abraham is a role model of faith (Hebrews 11:8–10), and his obedience to God by offering Isaac is seen as a foreshadowing of God's offering of his son Jesus. The tendency of Christian commentators to interpret God's promises to Abraham as applying to Christianity rather than Judaism, whose adherents rejected Jesus, is derived from Paul's interpretation of all descendants who believe in God as being spiritual descendants of Abraham in Romans 4, and Galatians 4:9. However, in both cases he refers to these spiritual descendants as the "sons of God" rather than "children of Abraham".

For Muslims

For Muslims, Ibrahim (Abraham) is the first in a genealogy for Muhammad. Islam considers Abraham to be the "first Muslim" (Surah 3)—the first monotheist in a world where monotheism was lost. He is also referred to in Islam as ابونا ابرهيم or "Our Father Abraham", as well as Ibrahim al-Hanif or "Abraham the Monotheist". Islam holds that it was Ishmael (Isma'il, Muhammad's ancestor) rather than Isaac, whom Ibrahim was instructed to sacrifice. In addition to this spiritual lineage, the northern Adnani Arab tribes trace their lineage to Isma'il, and thus to Abraham.

Origins

11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum

Judaism's origins are stated in the Torah. The source generally agreed to be canonical that bears on that question is the Genesis book of the Hebrew Bible, which according to itself was written by God and received by Moses after the Exodus from Egypt, some time during the second millennium BCE. Other, newer movements (such as Reform Judaism and Secular Humanism) believe that perhaps Moses and others wrote the Bible over a period of time themselves. According to Genesis, the principles of Judaism were revealed gradually to a line of patriarchs from Adam to Jacob (also called Israel). However, although Abraham (in the Jewish interpretation) also observed the yet-to-be-received written laws, it later developed when Moses received the Commandments on Mount Sinai, and with the organization of its priesthood and institution of its temple services.

The oldest copy of a Torah dates from the 7th century BC; it was found at Ketef Hinnom. Archaeology has shown that peoples speaking various Semitic languages and with polytheistic religions were living in Canaan and surrounding areas by the third millennium BC. Some of their gods (such as Baal) are mentioned in the Bible, and the supreme god of the Semitic pantheon, El, is believed by some scholars to be the God of the Biblical patriarchs. For example, El is a common segment in Hebrew names, such as Daniel, Ezekiel, Elijah etc. There exist a number of inscriptions which some scholars believe to confirm the Biblical record, such as the Tel Dan Stele. It should be noted that El in Hebrew means simply a deity, not necessarily a specific deity; in comparison, for example, the Arabic word ilah (which is of related origin) simply means a deity, not necessarily God.

Boyce credits the religion known as Zoroastrianism for its influence of Abrahamic religions in the concepts of individual judgement (free will), Heaven and Hell, the future resurrection of the body, the general Last Judgement, and life everlasting for the reunited soul and body. It should be noted that some scholars believe that Judaism in fact influenced Zoroastrianism.

Patriarchs

There are seven notable figures in the Bible prior to Abraham: Adam and Eve, their two sons Cain and Abel, Enoch and his great-grandson Noah, and Terah, the father of Abraham. It is uncertain whether or not any of them left any recorded moral code. The Genesis mentions the Noahide Laws given by God to the family of Noah. For the most part, these 'patriarchs' serve as good (or bad, in the case of Cain) role models of behaviour, without a more specific indication of how one interprets their actions in any religion.

In Genesis, Abraham is specifically instructed to leave Ur of the Chaldees, so that God will "make of you a great nation". Burton Visotzky (an ethicist) wrote Genesis of Ethics to explore the detailed implications of these adventures for a modern ethics.

Abraham had eight sons by three wives: Ishmael by his wife's servant Hagar, Isaac by his wife Sarah and six by his wife Keturah. The genealogy of Moses' relationship to Isaac is recorded in the Torah, which also provides the record for the genealogy of the the Twelve Tribes and later Judah as one of Abraham's descendants, the people of Israel, the name Abraham, and his son Isaac and grandson Jacob were also called. Judaism does not count Adam and Noah among its prophets.

Christians view Abraham as an important exemplar of faith, and a spiritual, as well as physical, ancestor of Jesus—a Jew considered the Son of God through whom God promised to bless all the families of the earth. In addition, Muslims refer to Sabians, Jews and Christians as People of the Book, and see a common religious and prophetic tradition amongst them. They see Abraham as one of the most important of the many prophets sent by God. Thus he represents, for some, a common focal point whom they seek to emphasize by means of this terminology.

Rather than being the sole "founding figure", Abraham is described as the first figure in Genesis who is:

• Clearly not of direct divine origin, such as Adam and Eve are claimed to be.
• Accepted by three major monotheistic faiths as playing some major role in the founding of their common beliefs.
• Not claimed as the male genetic forebear of all humans on the Earth (as Noah is, in more literal interpretations).

Islam considers Adam and Noah as prophets, and recognizes that there were possibly many thousands other prophets who are unknown today, which God sent, with at least one for every nation.

The Supreme Deity

Main articles: God, Trinity, and Allah

Islam and Judaism worship a Supreme Deity which they conceive strictly monotheistically as One Being; Christianity agrees, but the Christian God is at the same time (according to most of mainstream Christianity) an indivisible Trinity, a view not shared by the other religions.

God in Christianity

Main article: God in Christianity

The Christian cross (or crux) is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity; this version is known as a Latin Cross.

Christians believe that the God worshipped by the faithful Hebrew people of the pre-Christian era has always revealed himself as he did through Jesus; but that this was never obvious until the Word of the Lord, the revelation of God, became flesh and dwelt among us (see John 1). Also, despite the fact that the Angel of the Lord spoke to the Patriarchs, revealing God to them, it has always been only through the Spirit of God granting them understanding, that men have been able to later perceive that they had been visited by God himself. After Jesus was raised from the dead—according to Christian scriptures—this ancient Hebrew witness of how God reveals himself as Messiah came to be seen in a very different light. It was then that Jesus' followers began to speak widely of him as God himself (see John 20:28), although this had already been revealed to certain individuals during his Ministry; for example, the Samaritan woman in Shechem and his closest apostles. See Raymond E. Brown's "Does the New Testament call Jesus God?" in Theological Studies #26, 1965, pages 545-573 for the technical discussion.

This belief was gradually developed into the modern formulation of the Trinity, which is the doctrine that God is a single entity (YHWH), but that there is a real "threeness" in God's single being which has always been evident albeit not understood. This mysterious "threeness" has been described as, for want of better terms, hypostases in the Greek language (subsistences in Latin), and "persons" in English. In the traditional Christian conception, God the Father has only ever been revealed through his eternal Word (who was born as Jesus, of the Virgin Mary, God the Son) and his Spirit (who after the Resurrection was given to humanity at Pentecost, establishing the Christian church).

God in Islam

Main article: God in Islam

The word Allah written in Arabic.

Allah is the only God in Islam. Islamic tradition also describes the 99 names of God. These 99 names describe attributes of God, including Most Merciful, Most Just, The Peace and Blessing, and the Guardian. Islamic belief in God is distinct in that he accepts no partners or progeny of God. This belief is summed up in chapter 112 of the Qur'an titled Al-Ikhlas, which states "God is One, He is the Eternal, the Absolute. He does not beget nor was he begotten. And there is none like Him". See also: Islamic concept of God

Muslims believe that the Jewish God is the same as their God, and that Jesus was a divinely inspired prophet and was neither God nor His son. The Qur'an also draws a similitude between Jesus and Adam—the first human being created by God—saying they were both 'created from dust' by God who said the simple word "Be" (Arabic, 'kun'). Thus, both the Torah and the Gospels are believed to be based upon divine revelation, but most Muslims believe them to have been corrupted (both accidentally, through errors in transmission, and intentionally by certain Jews and Christians over the centuries). Muslims revere the Qur'an as the final uncorrupted word of God, or 'The Last Testament' as revealed through the last prophet, Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad is regarded as the "Seal of the Prophets" i.e. the last in a long chain, and Islam as the final monotheist faith, perfect in all respects as taught by the Qur'an.

God in Judaism

Main article: God in Judaism

The Shield of David, more commonly known as the Star of David (or Magen David), is a generally recognized symbol of the Jewish community and of Judaism.

Jewish theology is based on the Hebrew Bible, where the nature and commandments of God are revealed through the writings of Moses, the Torah, the writings of the prophets, psalmists and other ancient canonized scriptures, together with the Torah known as the Tanakh. Additionally, it usually has a basis in its Oral Law, as recorded in the Mishnah and Gemora which form the Talmud.

This Supreme Being is referred to in the Hebrew Bible in several ways, such as Elohim, Adonai or by the four Hebrew letters "Y-H-V (or W) -H" (the tetragrammaton), which observant Jews do not pronounce as a word. The Hebrew words Eloheynu (Our God) and HaShem (The Name), as well as the English names "Lord" and "God", are also used in modern-day Judaism. The latter is sometimes written "G-d" in reference to the taboo against pronouncing the tetragrammaton.

The word "Elohim" has the Hebrew plural ending "-īm", which some Biblical scholars have taken as support for the general notion that the ancient Hebrews were polytheists in the time of the patriarchs; however, as the word itself is used with singular verbs, this hypothesis is not accepted by most Jews. Jews point out other words in Hebrew which are used in the same manner according to the rule of Hebrew Grammar, denoting respect, majesty and deliberation, similar to the royal plural in English and ancient Egyptian, and the use of the plural form "vous" for individuals of higher standing in modern French. Jewish Biblical scholars and historical commentary on the passage also suggest that Elohim in the plural form indicates God in conjunction with the heavenly court, i.e. the angels. The pre-Christian era, early CE-period Kabbalistic and later in the European Chasidic movements after the Baal Shem Tov, such as Breslov and Chabad, all indicate the use of Elokim as denoting the multidimensional existence of God on, in, and through every possible dimension of the created existence. See Likutei Moharan and the Tanya, as well as the Zohar, Bahir, and the Kabbalistic texts of Sefer Yitzirah, Sefer Refayim, and Sefer Malachim, to name a few. Including the writings of the Ramchal (R. Moshe Chaim Luzzatto), Drech HaShem and others such as the Rashbi (R. Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar) all explain the use of the Elokim as a pluralistic singularity, one essence sustaining all levels of creation from the mundane physical to the sublime and Holy spiritual.

Religious scriptures

All these religions rely on a body of scriptures, some of which are considered to be the word of God—hence sacred and unquestionable—and some the work of religious men, revered mainly by tradition and to the extent that they are considered to have been divinely inspired, if not dictated, by the divine being.

Christian

Main articles: Old Testament, New Testament, and Bible

The sacred scriptures of most Christian groups are the Old Testament, which is largely the same as the Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament. The latter comprises four accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus (the Four Gospels, traditionally attributed to his apostles Matthew and John, and the later converts Mark and Luke), as well as several other writings by the apostles (such as Paul). They are usually considered to be divinely inspired in some sense, and together comprise the Christian Bible. Thus, Christians consider the fundamental teachings of the Old Testament, in particular the Ten Commandments, as valid (see Biblical law in Christianity for details). However, they believe that the coming of Jesus as the Messiah and saviour of mankind as predicted in the Old Testament would shed light on the true relationship between God and mankind by restoring the emphasis of universal love and compassion (as mentioned in the Shema) above the other commandments, also de-emphasising the more "legalistic" and material precepts of Mosaic Law (such as circumcision and the dietary constraints and temple rites). Some Christians believe that the link between Old and New Testaments in the Bible means that Judaism has been superseded by Christianity as the "new Israel", and that Jesus' teachings described Israel as not a geographic place, but rather an association with God and promise of salvation in heaven.

A Bible handwritten in Latin, on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. This Bible was transcribed in Belgium in 1407 for reading aloud in a monastery.

The vast majority of Christian faiths (generally including Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Anglicanism and most forms of Protestantism but not Restorationism) derive their beliefs from the conclusions reached by the First Council of Nicaea in 325, in a document known as the Nicene Creed. This describes the belief that God (as a Trinity of distinct persons with one substance) became human on earth, born as Jesus pursuant to the Old Testament scriptures, was crucified by humanity, died and was buried, then was resurrected on the third day to rise and enter the Kingdom of Heaven and "sit at the right hand of" God. Christians generally believe that faith in Jesus is the way to achieve salvation and to enter into heaven, and that salvation is a gift given by the grace of God.

Christians recognize that the Gospels were passed on by oral tradition, and were not set to paper until decades after the death of Jesus, and that the extant versions are copies of those originals. Indeed, the version of the Bible considered to be most valid (in the sense of best conveying the true meaning of the word of God) has varied considerably: the Greek Septuagint, the Syriac Peshitta, the Latin Vulgate, the English King James Version and the Russian Synodal Bible have been authoritative to different communities at different times. In particular, Christians usually consult the Hebrew version of the Old Testament when preparing new translations, although some believe that the Septuagint should be preferred, as it was the Bible of the Early Christian Church, and because they believe its translators used a different Hebrew Bible to the ones which make up the current Masoretic Hebrew text, as there are some variant readings of the Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed by the Septuagint. In the same sense that the Jewish mystics viewed the Torah as something living and existing prior to any written text, so too do Christians view the Bible and Jesus himself as God's "Word" (or logos in Greek), transcending written documents.

The sacred scriptures of the Christian Bible are complemented by a large body of writings by individual Christians and councils of Christian leaders (see canon law). Some Christian churches and denominations consider certain additional writings to be binding; other Christian groups consider only the Bible to be binding (sola scriptura).

Islamic

Main article: Qur'an

File:Aziz efendi-muhammad alayhi s-salam.jpg

"Muhammad" in a new genre of Islamic calligraphy started in the 17th century by Hafiz Osman.

Main articles: Qur'an and Origin and development of the Qur'an

Islam's holiest book is the Qur'an, comprising 114 suras ("chapters of the Qur'an"). However, Muslims also believe in the religious texts of Judaism and Christianity in their original forms, albeit not the current versions (which they believe to be revised or changed). According to the Qur'an (and mainstream Muslim belief), the verses of the Qur'an were revealed from God through the Archangel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad on separate occasions. These revelations were written down during Muhammad's lifetime and also memorized by hundreds of hafiz. These multiple sources were collected into one official copy in 633 AD, one year after his death. Finally, the Qur'an was given its present order in 653 AD by the third Caliph.

The Qur'an mentions and reveres several of the Israelite prophets, including Jesus, among others (see also: Prophets of Islam). The stories of these prophets are very similar to those in the Bible. However, the detailed precepts of the Tanakh and the New Testament are not adopted outright; they are replaced by the new commandments revealed directly by God (through Gabriel) to Muhammad and codified in the Qur'an.

Like the Jews with the Torah, Muslims consider the original Arabic text of the Qur'an as uncorrupted and holy to the last letter, and any translations are considered to be interpretations of the meaning of the Qur'an, as only the original Arabic text is considered to be the divine scripture.

Like the Rabbinic Oral Law to the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an is complemented by the Hadith, a set of books by later authors recording the sayings of the prophet Muhammad. The Hadith interpret and elaborate Qur'anic precepts. There is no consensus within Islam on the authority of the Hadith collections, but Islamic scholars have categorized each Hadith at one of the following levels of authenticity or isnad: genuine (sahih), fair (hasan) or weak (da'if). Amongst Shia Muslims, no hadith is regarded as Sahih, and hadith in general are only accepted if there is no disagreement with the Qur'an.

By the ninth century, six collections of Hadiths were accepted as reliable to Sunni Muslims. Shia Muslims, however, refer to an alternative tradition of authenticated Hadiths.

The Sunni Collections:

• Al-Bukhari (d. 870)
• Muslim b. al-Hajjaj (d. 875)
• Ibn Maja (d. 886)
• Abu Da'ud (d. 888)
• Al-Tirmidhi (d. 892)
• Al-Nasa'i (d. 915)

The Hadith and the life story of Muhammad (sira) form the Sunnah, a scriptural supplement to the Qur'an. The legal opinions of Islamic jurists (fiqh) provide another source for the daily practice and interpretation of Islamic tradition.

The Qur'an contains repeated references to the "religion of Abraham" (see Suras 2:130,135; 3:95; 6:123,161; 12:38; 16:123; 22:78). In the Qur'an, this expression refers specifically to Islam; sometimes in contrast to Christianity and Judaism, as in Sura 2:135, for example: They say: 'Become Jews or Christians if any woud be guided (to salvation).' Say you: 'No! (I would rather) the Religion of Abraham the True, and he joined not Allah with Allah.' In the Qur'an, Abraham is declared to have been a Muslim (a hanif), not a Jew nor a Christian (Sura 3:67).

Jewish

Main articles: Masoretic Text, Tanakh, and Bible

The sacred scriptures of Judaism are the Tanakh, a Hebrew acronym standing for Torah (Law or Teachings), Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings). These are complemented by and supplemented with various (originally oral) traditions: Midrash, the Mishnah, the Talmud and collected rabbinical writings. The Hebrew text of the Tanakh, and the Torah in particular, is considered holy, down to the last letter: transcribing is done with painstaking care. An error in a single letter, ornamentation or symbol of the 300,000+ stylized letters which make up the Hebrew Torah text renders a Torah scroll unfit for use; hence the skills of a Torah scribe are specialist skills, and a scroll takes considerable time to write and check.

End times and afterlife

Main article: Eschatology

In the major Abrahamic religions, there exists the expectation of an individual who will herald the time of the end and/or bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth; in other words, the Messianic prophecy. Judaism awaits the coming of the Jewish Messiah; the Jewish concept of Messiah differs from the Christian concept in several significant ways, despite the same term being applied to both. The Jewish Messiah is not seen as a "god", but as a mortal man who by his holiness is worthy of that description. He will make his appearance only during an era of peace and holiness and his coming may not end history.

Christianity awaits the Second Coming of Christ. Islam awaits both the second coming of Jesus (in order to complete his life and die, since he is said to have arisen alive and not crucified) and the coming of Mahdi (Sunnis in his first incarnation, Shi'a as the return of Muhammad al-Mahdi). The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes that both Mahdi and the Second Coming of Christ were fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

Most Abrahamic religions agree that a human being comprises the body, which dies, and the soul, which is capable of remaining alive beyond human death and carries the person's essence, and that God will judge each person's life accordingly after death. The importance of this and the focus on it, as well as the precise criteria and end result, differs between religions.

Judaism

Main article: Olam Haba

Judaism's views on the afterlife ("the World to Come") are quite diverse. This can be attributed to the fact that although there clearly are traditions in the Hebrew Bible of an afterlife (see Naboth and the Witch of Endor), Judaism focuses on this life and how to lead a holy life to please God, rather than future reward, and its attitude can be mostly summed up by the rabbinical observation that at the start of Genesis, God clothed the naked (Adam and Eve); at the end of Deuteronomy, he buried the dead (Moses) and the Children of Israel mourned for 40 days before getting on with their lives.

Christianity

Main article: Christian eschatology

Christians have more diverse and definite teachings on the end times and what constitutes afterlife. Most Christian approaches either include different abodes for the dead (heaven, hell, limbo, purgatory) or universal reconciliation in which all souls are made in the image of God. A small minority teach annihilationism, the doctrine that those persons who are not reconciled to God simply cease to exist.

Islam

In Islam, God is said to be "Most Compassionate and Most Merciful" (Quran 1:1, as well as the start of most suras). However, God is also "Most Just"; Islam prescribes a literal Hell for those who disobey God and commit gross sin. Those who obey God and submit to God will be rewarded with their own place in Paradise. While sinners are punished with fire, there are also many other forms of punishment described, depending on the sin committed; Hell is divided into numerous levels, an idea which found its way into Christian literature through Dante's borrowing of Muslim themes and tropes for his Inferno.

Those who worship and remember God are promised eternal abode in a physical and spiritual Paradise. In Islam, Heaven is divided into numerous levels, with the higher levels of Paradise being the reward of those who have been more virtuous. For example, the highest levels might contain the prophets, those killed for believing (martyrs), those who helped orphans and those who never told a lie (among numerous other categories cited in the Qur'an and Hadith).

Upon repentance to God, many sins can be forgiven as God is said to be supremely merciful. Additionally, those who ultimately believe in God, but have led sinful lives, may be punished for a time, and then ultimately released into Paradise. If anyone dies in a state of Shirk (i.e., in associating God in any way, such as claiming that He is equal with anything or worshiping other than Him), then it is possible he will stay forever in Hell; however, it is said that anyone with "one atom of faith" will eventually reach Heaven, and Muslim literature also records reference to even the greatly sinful, Muslim or otherwise, eventually being pardoned and released into Paradise.

Once a person is admitted to Paradise, this person will abide there for eternity.

Worship and religious rites

Worship, ceremonies and religion-related customs differ substantially between the various Abrahamic religions. Among the few similarities are a seven-day cycle in which one day is nominally reserved for worship, prayer or other religious activities; this custom is related to the biblical story of Genesis, where God created the universe in six days, and rested in the seventh. Islam, which has Friday as a day for special congregational prayers, does not subscribe to the 'resting day' concept.

Orthodox Judaism practice is guided by the interpretation of the Torah and the Talmud. Before the destruction of the Temple, Jewish priests offered sacrifices there three times daily; afterwards, the practice was replaced by Jewish men being required to pray three times daily, including the chanting of the Torah, facing in the direction of Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Jewish women's prayer obligations vary by denomination; in contemporary orthodox practice, women do not read from the Torah and are only required to say certain parts of these daily services. Other practices include circumcision, dietary laws, Shabbat, Passover, Torah study, Tefillin, purity and others. Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism and the Reconstructionist movement have different views.

Christianity does not base its worship on the Old Testament texts, so does not have any sacrificial rites as such; however, its entire theology is based upon the concept of the sacrifice by God of his son Jesus, so that his blood might atone for humanity's sins. Offerings to Christian Churches and charity to poor are highly encouraged, and take the place of sacrifice. Additionally, self-sacrifice in the form of Lent, penitence and humbleness, in the name of Christ and according to his commandments (cf. Sermon on the Mount), is considered by some a form of sacrifice which pleases God.

The followers of Islam (Muslims) are to observe the Five Pillars of Islam. The first pillar is the belief in the oneness of God, and in Muhammad as his final prophet. The second is to pray five times daily (salat) towards the direction (qibla) of the Kaaba in Mecca. The third pillar is Zakah, a portion of one's wealth which must be given to the poor or to other specified causes, which means the giving of a specific share of one's wealth and savings to persons or causes which God mentions in the Qur'an. The normal share to be paid is two and a half percent of one's saved earnings. Fasting during the Muslim month of Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam, to which only able-bodied Muslims are required to fast. Finally, Muslims are also urged to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in one's life. Only individuals whose financial position and health are insufficient are exempt from making Hajj. During this pilgrimage, the Muslims spend several days in worship, repenting and most notably circumambulating the Kaaba among millions of other Muslims. At the end of the Hajj, sheep and other permissible animals are slaughtered to commemorate the moment when God replaced Abraham's son Ishmael with a sheep, thereby preventing his sacrifice. The meat from these animals is then distributed around the world to needy Muslims, neighbours and relatives.

Circumcision

See also: Circumcision in the Bible, Brit Milah, Khitan (Circumcision), Circumcision controversy in early Christianity, and History of male circumcision

Orthodox Judaism practices circumcision for males as a matter of religious obligation, as does Islam as a symbol of dedication to the religion. Islam also recommends this practice as a form of cleanliness. Western Christianity replaced that custom with baptism ceremony varying according to the denomination, but generally including immersion, aspersion or anointment with water. Because of the decision of the Early Church (Acts 15, the Council of Jerusalem) that circumcision is not mandatory, it continues to be optional, though the Council of Florence prohibited it and paragraph #2297 of the Catholic Catechism calls non-medical amputation or mutilation immoral. Many countries with majorities of Christian adherents have low circumcision rates (with the notable exceptions of the United States and the Philippines). Coptic Christianity and Ethiopian Orthodoxy still observe circumcision. See also Aposthia.

Food restrictions

Main articles: kashrut, halaal, and ital

See also: Apostolic Decree

Judaism and Islam have strict dietary laws, with permitted food known as kosher in Judaism, and halaal in Islam. These two religions prohibit the consumption of pork; Islam prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages of any kind. Halaal restrictions can be seen as a modification of the kashrut dietary laws, so many kosher foods are considered halaal; especially in the case of meat, which Islam prescribes must be slaughtered in the name of God, hence in Morocco Muslims used to consume kosher food. However, it must be noted that there is a higher degree of flexibility in consuming non-halal beef in Islam, than is the case with kosher food in Judaism. Similarly, some foods not considered kosher are considered halaal in Islam.

With rare exceptions, Christians do not consider the Old Testament's strict food laws as relevant for today's church. Most Protestants have no set food laws, but there are minority exceptions. The Roman Catholic Church believes in observing abstinance and penance. For example, all Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. The U.S. bishops conference obtained the permission of the Holy See for Catholics in the U.S. to substitute a penitential, or even a charitable, practice of their own choosing. Eastern Rite Catholics have their own penitential practices as specified by the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) embraces numerous Old Testament rules and regulations such as tithing, Sabbath observance, and Jewish Food laws. Therefore, they do not eat pork, shellfish, or other foods considered unclean under the Old Covenant. A "Fundamental Belief" of the SDA if that their members "are to adopt the most healthful diet possible and abstain from the unclean foods identified in the Scriptures," citing Leviticus 11:1–47 among others.

In the Christian Bible, the consumption of strangled animals and of blood was forbidden by Apostolic Decree and are still forbidden in the Greek Orthodox Church. German theologican Karl Josef von Hefele, in his Commentary on Canon II of the Second Ecumenical Council held in the fourth century at Gangra, notes: "We further see that, at the time of the Synod of Gangra, the rule of the Apostolic Synod with regard to blood and things strangled was still in force. With the Greeks, indeed, it continued always in force as their Euchologies still show." He also writes that "as late as the eighth century, Pope Gregory the Third, in 731, forbade the eating of blood or things strangled under threat of a penance of forty days."

Jehovah's Witnesses abstain from eating blood and from blood transfusions based on Acts 15:19-21.

Sabbath observance

See also: Biblical Sabbath, Shabbat, and Sabbath in Christianity

Sabbath in the Bible is a weekly day of rest and time of worship. It is observed differently in Judaism and Christianity and informs a similar occasion in several other Abrahamic faiths. Though many viewpoints and definitions have arisen over the millennia, most originate in the same textual tradition. Though not a day of rest (as God did not rest on the 7th day in Muslim belief), Islam holds Friday as a day of worship in the Mosque.

Proselytism

Judaism

Judaism accepts converts, but has no explicit missionaries as such since the destruction of the Temple Era. Judaism states that non-Jews can achieve righteousness by following Noahide Laws, a set of seven universal commandments which non-Jews are expected to follow. In this context, the Rambam (Rabbi Moses Maimonides, one of the major Jewish teachers) commented: "Quoting from our sages, the righteous people from other nations have a place in the world to come, if they have acquired what they should learn about the Creator". Because the commandments applicable to the Jews are much more detailed and onerous than Noahide laws, Jewish scholars have traditionally maintained that it is better to be a good non-Jew than a bad Jew, thus discouraging conversion. In the U.S., as of 2003 28% of married Jews were married to non-Jews.See also Conversion to Judaism.

The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch.

Christianity

Christianity encourages evangelism, as Jesus did—convincing others to convert to the religion; many Christian organizations, especially Protestant churches, send missionaries to non-Christian communities throughout the world. See also Great Commission.

Forced conversions to Catholicism have been documented at various points throughout history. The most prominently cited allegations are the conversions of the pagans after Constantine; of Muslims, Jews and Eastern Orthodox during the Crusades; of Jews and Muslims during the time of the Spanish Inquisition, where they were offered the choice of exile, conversion or death; and of the Aztecs by Hernan Cortes.

Some organizations in India have alleged that some Christian missionaries in India are converting the illiterate Dalits (the so-called low castes) by fraudulent means. A government investigation in the mid-1950s failed to substantiate that Christian missionaries used force, fraud or offer of material inducement. Apparently, running hospitals, old age ashrams, educational institutions, orphanages and other such institutions, and interest-free loans had been considered to be proselytizing. However, that investigation recommended that the Missionaries be asked to withdraw, demanded Indianization of Church and called upon the Christian Church in India to severe all its relations with any such body abroad. This demand was repeated by K. Sudarshan, the Sar Sangh Chalak after Kandhamal violence in 2007 and 2008.

Forced conversions are condemned as sinful by major denominations such as the Roman Catholic Church, which officially states that forced conversions pollute the Christian religion and offend human dignity, so that past or present offenses are regarded as a scandal (a cause of unbelief). According to Pope Paul VI, "It is one of the major tenets of Catholic doctrine that man's response to God in faith must be free: no one therefore is to be forced to embrace the Christian faith against his own will."

Islam

Apostasy (Arabic: irtidad or ridda)—the rejection of Islam in word or deed by a person who has been a Muslim—requires the death penalty. The male apostate from Islam is killed. He should be offered the ability to return to Islam and given a three day reprieve to consider it. A woman who commits apostasy is imprisoned and beaten every three days until she returns to Islam.

There is often a difference between the influence of religion and the influence of tradition. The Quran states that "the apostate is threatened with punishment in the next world only." However, "in traditions, there is little echo of these punishments in the next world ... and instead, we have in many traditions a new element, the death penalty." Shafi'is are said to interpret verse 2:2172:217 as adducing the main evidence for the death penalty in the Qur'an. The Qur'an has a chapter (Sura) dealing with non-believers (called "Al-Kafiroon"). In this chapter there is also an often-quoted verse (ayat) which reads: "2:256. "Let there be no compulsion in the religion: Surely the Right Path is clearly distinct from the crooked path."

The Muslim expansion during the Ummayad dynasty held true to this teaching, imposing Jizya (poll tax) on People of the Book instead of forced conversion. In the present day, Islam has missionaries similar to those in Christianity. They are known as Dawah networks and encourage followers to learn about other religions and to teach others about Islam.

See also

• Abrahamic conceptions of God
• God and gender
• Jewish mythology
• Jewish philosophy
• Monotheism
• People of the Book
• Sons of Noah

• Christian mythology
• Christian philosophy
• Christianity and Judaism
• Christianity and Islam
• Ten Commandments

• Islam and Judaism
• Islamic mythology
• Islamic philosophy

• Comparative religion
• Deconstruction-and-religion
• Judeo-Christian
• Major world religions

Further reading

• {{citation}}: Empty citation (help). Introduction. Acts of Religion. By Derrida, Jacques. New York & London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92400-6.
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• Barnett, Paul, Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament, InterVarsity Press, 2002
• Bickerman, Elias Joseph, Studies in Jewish and Christian History, in Christiansen, Ellen Juhl, The Covenant in Judaism & Paul: A study of ritual boundaries as identity markers, E.J.Brill, 1976
• Blasi, Anthony J., Turcotte Paul-André, Duhaime Jean, Handbook of Early Christianity: Social Science Approaches, Rowman Altamira, 2002
• Caussin de Perceval, A.P., Essai sur L'Historire des Arabes avant L'Islaminisme, Pendant L'Epoque de Mahomet, et jusqu'a la reduction de toutes les tribus sous la loi Musulmane, College Royal de France, Calcutta Review vol.21, University of Calcutta Dept. of English, University of Calcutta, 1853
• Firestone, Reuven, Children of Abraham: an introduction to Judaism for Muslims, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 2001
• Freedman H. (trans.), and Simon, Maurice (ed.), Genesis Rabbah, Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis, Volume II, London: The Soncino Press, 1983. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
• Guggenheimer, Heinrich W., Seder Olam: The rabbinic view of Biblical chronology, (trans., & ed.), Jason Aronson, Northvale NJ, 1998
• Kritzeck, James, Sons of Abraham: Jews, Christians, and Moslems, Helicon, 1965
• {{citation}}: Empty citation (help).
• Greenstreet, Wendy, Integrating Spirituality in Health And Social Care: Perspectives And Social Care, Radcliffe Publishing, Oxford, 2006
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• Massignon, Louis, Les trois prières d'Abraham, père di tuos les croyants, Dieu Vivant, 13, (1949) 20-23
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• Reid, Barbara E., Choosing the Better Part?: Women in the Gospel of Luke, Liturgical Press, 1996
• Scherman, Nosson, (ed.), Tanakh, Vol.I, The Torah, (Stone edition), Mesorah Publications, Ltd., New York, 2001
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External links

• Ask Rabbi Simmons.
• What's Next? Heaven, hell, and salvation in major world religions A side-by-side comparison of different religion's views from Beliefnet.
• The Abrahamic Faiths: A Comparison How do Judaism, Christianity, and Islam differ? More from Beliefnet