Compare and Contrast of Nature of the afterlife and moral instructions in both Islam and Christianity
Islam and Christianity are the leading and dominating religions of the world. Islam is, however, the third largest monotheistic religion. Islam asserts Allah as the sole creator, the one and only God that is good and sovereign and answers the prayers of his individuals. Islam emphasizes on the fact that God woks with the mankind by calling the prophets in order to proclaim the words of God (Becker). Islam just offers two choices to the individuals, which are God or the Satan, Belief or unbelief, and has mentioned the results that they will either attain the Paradise or will remain in the fire of hell for the rest of their life in the world afterward. Islam has regarded the Prophets as the intermediaries of God to the humanity and Muhammad (S.A.W), is considered as the last Prophet and the seal of Prophets (Peters).
The notable prophets in Islam are Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, Ishmael, and Moses, etc that have delivered the words of God to various people. Each of them had specific purposes and missions, with the main purpose are to submit oneself to the will and wish of God. The followers of this religion are known as Muslims. Furthermore, Jesus is also a prophet of God, he is titled as Messiah by Christians and his purpose and message was also consistent with the prophets that came before and after him (Kollontai). However, Quran has revealed that Muhammad is the accurate and perfect record of the message of God among all the prophets that came in various ages. Christianity is the biggest religion of the world. Christianity is developed from the Judaism and is founded on the teachings, life, resurrection, death of Jesus Christ, and the people following this religion are known as Christians. The traditional beliefs of Christians include that there is one God, who is true, and the God is a father of a son, and the Holy Spirit.
This religion has also emphasized that Jesus is Messiah of humans, the divine and is sent in order to save this world. This religion has highlighted the faith and confidence in Christ as the major component of the religion. Furthermore, the sacred text of this religion is Bible that includes the Hebrew Scriptures including both the Old Testament and the New Testament. As a central part of their religious practice, Christians gather at the churches for worship, study, fellowship and for engaging with the world through the social actions and evangelism (Kataregga and Shenk).
There are many similarities between the Islam and Christianity regarding the nature of the afterlife and moral instructions. Considering the belief of the world hereafter, both the religions believe on the doomsday concept, they believe that this world’s existence is finite and an individual does not have any idea when this universe will be ended. Both share a common belief that Jesus Christ will come back when this world come to an end, and at that moment Satan and his followers will suffer defeat. The believers of God will go to the heaven, where they will enjoy eternal peace, and the disbelievers will be pushed to heaven and will be punished there. However, both the Muslims and Christians regard Jesus, and consider him sinless, and Mary who was a virgin gave birth to Jesus. Both the religions consider the fact that Jesus has performed several miracles and was raised up to the God.
However, if the moral instructions of both the religions are considered, there is a similarity in the prayers of both the religions. Prayers are the vital part of these religions, and they facilitate the connection and communication of individuals with the God. However, in both the religions conduction of prayers can be at anytime, but there are also special prayer times in order to ensure the habit of praying in the individuals. They believe in the divine existence of God (Nazir-Ali). The praying aids such as Tasbeeh of Muslims and Rosary of Christians are also similar and both are used in order to praise the God. There are several other similarities in the moral codes of both the religions. Both the religions emphasize on the fact that an existence of the simple faith without any practical and proper implementation is useless.
Both religions have declared the punishment for people who do not respect the God, follow and worship any other divinity. They have prohibited from those acts that are inhumane such as lying, murder, theft, and creation of violence and gambling. Both the religions have emphasized on the respect of the spouses and parents. Further, vulgarism, homosexuality, adultery and fornication are forbidden in Islam as well as in Christianity. Both the religions have advised to observe and respect the laws of society as they are important, suicide and intoxication and same sex marriages are not allowed.
Further, several dissimilarities also exist between Islam and Christianity. About the life hereafter, the Christians believe that when they die they will be judged immediately and then sent to the heaven or hell. In the Catholic faith, Purgatory is common, where the souls of Christians can do the penance in order to prepare them for the heaven, and the non-Christians can be languished until the final Day of Judgment. But, the Muslims have faith in Barzakh, which is an eternal life after a life in this world, and is similar to the Purgatory, in which the spirits keep on waiting for the Day of Judgment.
Additionally, the secular laws and morality are different in the countries following Christianity as their religion and their governments are secular. However, Islam considers that the morality and the law are identical, and the law is based on the moral and ethical codes, conducts and politics, which are governed by the principles of Islam. It is, however, compulsory for the Muslims to offer Salat or Namaz every day at five particular times, but Christians do not have such type of obligation. A place of worship for Christians is Church, which is also tolerating the homosexuality, while the place of worship for Muslims is Mosque, which has largely forbidden the homosexuality.
In Christianity, men and women can worship together, but in Islam this practice is not encouraged and the Muslim men and women segregate while worshipping or offering Salah. Furthermore, polygamy is not allowed in Christianity, but Muslim men can have more than one wife, provided that he can satisfy the needs and wants of all his wives. Moreover, Christians have a firm belief in the Trinity, i.e., Jesus is the son of God (Pfandl), and Muslims considers God as indivisible. In Islam, the concept of Trinity is rejected and it is declared that Jesus is neither a God, nor he is the son of God. Jesus was not divine; he was a prophet of God.
In order to make comparison and contrast of the nature of the afterlife and moral instructions of Islam and Christianity, interview is conducted from the individuals belonging to the Islam and Christianity. 15 Muslims and 15 Christians were interviewed and they are asked open ended questions so that an explanatory response from them can be collected, and their views about the religion can be noted.
Following questions were asked from the Muslim individuals.
- What do you think are the main differences between Christianity and Islam?
- In your opinion, what are the similarities between both the religions?
- Do you think that the moral instructions in Bible true?
- Do you think that the concept of life hereafter is same or different in both the religions?
Almost similar questions were asked from the people belonging to Christian community.
- What do you think are the main differences between Christianity and Islam?
- In your opinion, what are the similarities between both the religions?
- Do you think that the moral instructions of Quran true?
- Do you think that the concept of life hereafter is same or different in both the religions?
People of both the religions have fully contributed and explained their views in detail. These individuals have also shown the respect for of the religion. The following results gathered from their interview.Both the Muslims and Christians have a strong belief on the oneness and sovereignty of God. Muslims are the followers of the teachings of Muhammad (P.B.U.H), Moses, and Jesus. Muslims consider that the Bible is holy scripture, but most of the Muslims have expressed their views that now the Bible is not in its real condition as compared to the time it was revealed and contained the actual messages and factual teachings of Prophets and Jesus. They explained that Bible is corrupted because of several reasons.
Muslims have further elaborated this by explaining that new doctrines are added in Bible that were not preached by Jesus, and some actual teachings of Jesus are modified and even deleted from Bible. It is corrupted but is not entirely false. Hence, it can be said that it still have the traces of truth, for example, it contains the verses that reject the concept of Trinity. The Muslims have pointed out to the fact that they are accepting current Bible to the extent that it is not contradictory with the teachings of their Holy book, the Quran. However, the Christians are of the view that that the Muslims do not follow the teachings of the same God, whom Christians follow. Most of the Christians believe that Christianity is nothing without Trinity, but Muslims have fully rejected the concept of Trinity. Christians are the followers of Jesus, they follow the teachings of Jesus, but Muslims are the followers of the teachings the Holy Prophet Muhammad (P. B. U. H.) as well as teachings of other prophets of God, including Jesus.
From the interview it is concluded that both the Muslims and Christians have a belief of the doomsday, which will be the Day of Judgment. Both believe that on the Day of Judgment people will be gathered and questioned about their life that where they have spent their life? Have they treated other people properly? Have they given respect to their parents? Etc. Individuals belonging to both the religions believe that there is only one God and he is the sustainer and the exclusive creator of this universe. Both believe that God has sent the prophets namely, Moses, Jesus, David, Abraham, Noah, John the Baptist, and Muhammad, etc. Both have considered that the old testament i.e., Torah and the new testament i.e., Gospel are the holy scriptures. Both have regarded Satan as evil and have forbidden individuals to follow him.
It is because Satan uses various methods for achieving its objectives, e.g., Satan allure people in order to commit evil deed by camouflaging the horrific aspects and it creates appealing illusions for the benefits that one will get by doing the wrong things. It also makes attempts in order to stop people from obeying God. However, it, does its best for strengthening the the sense of selfishness, vanity, invincibility and over confidence in the individuals, that forces them to disobey the God and reject HIS existence. Furthermore, both the religions have given importance to the element of forgiveness, God also forgive HIS individuals, so the individuals should also forgive others and maintain brotherly relations, in order to ensure smooth functioning and peaceful living of the individuals in the society.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Islam and Christianity are the two vital religions of the world. Both the religions have teachings that are guiding the individuals to live a successful life in this world, and the world hereafter. There are many similarities as well as dissimilarities between both the religions. The basis similarity is their belief on one God and on the fact that the prophets are sent by the God in order to convey HIS words to the individuals. Moreover, they also regard this fact that one day they will be answerable to the God for all the deeds and actions they have committed in this world and that day will be the Day of Judgment. Both the religions have given moral instructions to their followers, such as forgiveness, offering of prayer, worshipping and respecting others, etc. the major difference between the followers of both the religions is of Trinity i.e., Jesus is a son of God. T
The Muslims are of the view that God is only one, he is not the father of anyone, nor he has any son. He has divine existence, but the Christians are of the view that Christianity is incomplete without the concept of trinity. Furthermore, interview is also conducted in which 15 Muslim individuals and 15 Christians are asked about their religion and about their views of the other religion i.e., Muslims are asked about the Christians and Christians are asked about Muslims. The Muslims have agreed on the fact that Bible is Holy book and contain teachings of Jesus, but now it is altered due to many reasons. It is not surviving today in its original form as Quran is present in its original form. Most of the teachings are added by man himself, which are not preached by prophet. But, still it is not fully altered, and there are many teachings in Bible that is also present in Quran, so Muslims respect the Holy Bible. Both the religions have successfully encouraged people for good deeds by disclosing the fact that Satan is evil and its main purpose is to attract people for committing the deed that are forbidden by God and HIS prophets.
References
Becker, Carl Heinrich. Christianity and Islam. America: HarperPublishers, 1909. Print.
Peters, F.E. Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2003. Print.
Kollontai, Pauline. "Between Judaism and Christianity."Journal of Religion & Society. 8.1 (2006): 1-9. Print.
Nazir-Ali, Michael. Islam, a Christian Perspective. The Westminister Press: Philadelphia, 1983. Print.
Katregga, B, and D Shenk. Islam and Christianity. Nairobi: Uzima Publishing House, 1980. Print.
Pfandl, Gerhard. "The Doctrine of the Trinity Among Seventh-day Adventists." Journal of the Adventist Theological Societ. 17.1 (2006): 160-179. Print.
