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Books Review All Islamic Content In One Places







Books Reviewall Islamic Content In One Place

One of the fundamentals of belief in Islam is belief in the holy books sent by Allah.
Islam orders believers to believe in all holy books. The source of all holy books is one. All of the heavenly books explain the orders and prohibitions of Allah and the duties and responsibilities of man. Allah appointed prophets and sent books to guide men and to warn them. Throughout the history, the wise action of Allah was like that. The prophets whom books were not sent to conformed to the previously sent book and warned and guided their tribes and nations.
Allah ordered believers to believe in all of the prophets and the revelations:
Muslims believe not only in the Quran but also the other holy books. Allah states the following:
It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Torah (Of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) (Aal-e-Imran,3/3.).
Islam is more universal in comparison to other religions in terms of belief in the holy books, it accepts all holy books. Books were sent to the tribes before the Quran, but those books lost their original identity through translations in time.


We can list the importance of holy books as follows:
1. Allah has endless generosity. He offers abundant gifts and grants. He has endless blessings and numerous dinner tables; He granted men a lot of organs and feelings, He laid blessings for each organ and laid tables for each feeling. For instance, He created the sun for the eyes, the air for the lungs, and food for the stomach. Like mans material organs, his mind, heart and conscience need tables, spiritual food and remedies. Because of this secret, the Generous Lord, who meets all of the needs of human beings, did not leave their minds and brains, hearts and conscience, spirit and feelings without tables, food or remedies. He sent heavenly books that are like remedies and spiritual tables for them. He sent heavenly books that develop and improve spirits, give light and direction to minds and give happiness to life.
2. One of the attributes of Allah is the attribute of speech. Allah is the Eternal Speaker. The blessing of understanding and the faculty of speaking were given to human beings among the creatures. Man received the manifestation of the attribute of speech.
Where there is mind, there are also duties and responsibilities. Where there is speaking and speech, an interlocutor is sought. Since man is given them the mind, he will be informed of his responsibility, his duty will be reminded. Since man is given the blessing of speaking, he will be spoken to and he will be told why he was born and to whom he is responsible to. So, the fact that man was given the mind and the faculty of speech makes it necessary for heavenly books to be sent.
3. All of the feelings of man are conditional and limited. He cannot see kilometers away with naked eye. He cannot hear the sounds or smell the scents far away. Like these senses, mans mind and perception faculties are also conditional and limited. That is, the mind cannot know ghaib things. He cannot decode spiritual secrets and realities on his own. In other words, the orders and prohibitions of Allah are not understood by reasoning or by abstract mind. The mind can find its Lord by judgment or reasoning. However, it cannot understand why its Lord created it. Man needs to know a lot of ghaib knowledge and realities like the fundamentals of belief, the way of slavery, the qualities and properties of worshipping, the eternal life, the existence of Paradise and Hell, the names and attributes of Allah. Humanity needs prophets and heavenly books in order to learn them and carry out their duties and responsibilities. Therefore Allah sent prophets as guides and teachers to mankind and sent heavenly books.
4. Man has a nafs (soul). It has desires and lust. Man has endless goals, ambitions and pride, anger and fury, indignation and reactions.
Man is open to inculcations of the devil. Nafs may continuously tempt him to do bad deeds. The devil tempts him to do bad deeds. If man headed towards evil and destruction, his destruction would become terrible and his harm would be terrifying, he could ruin or destroy a country.
For these reasons, there is a need for prophets to show the right path and heavenly books to teach men the truth and the reality. Allah sent books to balance the falls and rises and the declines and downfalls and also to guide men to the right path and the line of true direction.
5. Mans disposition and conscience seek their Lord and want to know their owner and Master. They want to find answers the questions like Where did I come from, why was I created, what are my tasks and duties in this world?
It is the prophets that can give answers to these questions. It is the prophets that settle and discover the secret of the creation of the universe and the enigma of the creation of man. The guides of these prophets are the heavenly books. Allah gave the books to the prophets and explained people the mystery of this world through the prophets and answered the questions of the creation.


Throughout centuries beginning from Hazrat Adam to the last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) Allah sent four books and some pages.
Pages were sent before books. They contained advice about belief and ethic. The ethical advice in the pages is present in the Quran in the perfect sense. As a matter of fact the Quran points out to this issue through the following verse:
And this is in the Books of the earliest (Revelations)―The Books of Abraham and Moses. (al-Alâ,18-19.).
After the pages Allah sent the four books. They are; 1. Torah, 2. Psalm, 3. Gospel and 4. the Quran.

1. TORAH


It was given to Hazrat Moses (Musa). The Quran mentions that it was sent to the Israelites (Aal-e- Imran, 48,50,65,93 ; al-Maeda, 46,66).

2. PSALM:


It was sent to Hazrat Dawud (David).

3. GOSPEL:


It was sent to Hazrat Eesa (Jesus).
Gospel as a word means good news. It tells the life story of Hazrat Eesa and gives some ethical advice. It does not have legal arrangements. Since Christians accept Torah also as a holy book, they take Torah as reference for legal arrangements. Christians call Torah as Old Testament and Gospel as New Testament. They brought together some parts from Torah, Gospel and Psalms and called it the Holy Book.

4. THE QURAN


The Quran is the last holy book sent to the last Prophet Hazrat Muhanmmad (PBUH) through revelation chapter by chapter and verse by verse in 23 years. With the Quran the chain of heavenly books was completed and the other books were abrogated. Allah said the following in the Quran:
This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. (al-Maeda,3.).
The Quran started to come down in Makkah. The first revelation came through Hazrat Jibril (Gabriel) while Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) was busy with contemplation and worshipping in Mount Hira:
The call of the Quran is general. The Quran calls the whole mankind to the right path. Its message is not for a certain nation but for the whole mankind. The target is the salvation and happiness of the whole mankind.
Since the Quran was revealed in 23 years, the Sahaba (Companions of the Prophet) wrote down the verses and memorized them during this period. So, the Quran was kept by the clerks of revelation and was continuously recited by hafizes (hafiz: one who memorized the whole Quran). It was recited in mosques and was conveyed to those who do not know it and they were taught to recite it. Later the copies of the Quran were duplicated, the Quran that we have today is the same Quran as the one during the time of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). It was conveyed to us in the same form as it was revealed.

4. 3. MIRACULOUS ASPECTS OF THE QURAN


The miraculous aspects of the Quran are plentiful (Said Nursi proved the miraculousness of the Quran in forty ways and showed its miraculous aspects in seven ways in his booklet the Miracles of the Quran, in his book Lemaat and in his interpretation İşarat-ül İcaz. Those who want to have more information about this issue should refer to those boks.). We can list those aspects in summary as follows:
1. Something like the Quran cannot be written:
The miraculous Quran says: 'Oh men and jinn! If you have any doubts that the Quran is the Word of God and imagine it to be man's word, then come on, here it is, let's see! You bring a book like this Quran from someone unlettered, who does not know how to read and write like the one you call Muhammad the Trustworthy, and get him to compose it! If you cannot do this, then he need not be untaught, let him be a famous man of letters and learned. And if you are not able to do this, alright, not on his own, take all the finest works of all your orators and men of eloquence, and indeed of all the literary geniuses of the past and all those of the future, and the assistance of all your gods. Work with all your strength; compose the like of this Quran. And if you cannot do this, leave aside the Truths of the Quran and its many miraculous aspects, which it is not possible to imitate, and compose a work which is its equal in only the eloquence of its word order!'
Through the silencing words of:
Bring ye then ten Surahs forged, like unto it
it says ' Come on, I do not want its true meaning from you, let it be fabrications and lies and false tales. And you will not be able to do this. So it need not be as much as the whole
ten Surahs
Qur'an, just bring ten Chapters like it, equivalent of a short Chapter. And you will not be able to do this either, although the need for you to do so is so great. For your honor and self-respect, your dignity and religion, your tribal honor and pride, your life and property, and your lives in this world and the next will all be saved by producing the like of it. Otherwise in this world you will remain in abasement, without honor, dignity, religion, or pride, and your lives and property will be destroyed and will perish, and in the hereafter, as is indicated by the verse,
then fear the Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones
you will be condemned to everlasting incarceration in Hell; together with your idols you will be fuel to its fires. Since your need is thus great, and since you have now understood your impotence in eight degrees, for sure, you should know eight times over that the Quran is a miracle. So either believe in it, or be silent and go to Hell!'
2. The Quran is also a miracle because it gives information about ghaib and the future. Human mind cannot estimate the future obviously and clearly. It cannot make decisions about the future. It is not something to be done by man to discover the happenings in the past that were left under veils and to reveal them. However, when we have a look at the Quran, we see that the Quran informs us about the prophets in the past, the characteristics of their tribes, the heavenly misfortunes that they suffered obviously and clearly, and makes us draw a lesson and think. The Quran also gives a lot of information about life in the grave, Paradise and Hell, and a lot of good news about the spread of Islam. For instance, it gave the good news that believers would enter the Kabah fearlessly, that Muslims would seize the booty, and a lot of happenings like the conquest of Makkah and that the Romans would beat Persians.
3. The beauty, the brightness and the fluency of the statements of the Quran enchant the spirits. It enters the hearts and attracts them. The depth of its realities, the loftiness of its meaning, the news about ghaib, the language of reality and the language of wisdom in it, show that it is not the words of man but a divine and holy statement.
The Quran showed with this high quality and characteristics to everybody that it could not be the work of an illiterate person or the work of the mind or will of a person.
4. The Quran is also a miracle because it encompasses the sciences and realities that are beyond human strength. People who lived fourteen hundred years ago could certainly not know the realities that would be discovered a thousand years later. Mind and thought cannot move along this path. If a book mentioned a lot of mysteries and realities that would be discovered a thousand years later, it could only be holy and divine. It is not the skill of a man.
In the Quran, there are signs indicating many scientific realities that have been discovered only in this century. These signs and statements are evidences that the Quran is a miracle. Lets list some of these statements:
The expansion of space has been discovered recently. The Quran points to this expansion as follows:
And the heaven, We have constructed it mightily, and it is surely We Who have vast power, and keep expanding it (adh-Dhariyat,47).
The Quran states the movement and rotation of the world concisely as follows:
Thou seest the mountains and thinkest them firmly fixed: but they shall pass away as the clouds pass away: (such is) the artistry of Allah, Who disposes of all things in perfect order (an-Naml,88).
The Quran states the separation of the earth and the sky while they were together and the fact that all living things were created out of water as follows:
Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of Creation), before We clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (al-Anbiya, 30).
The Quran states that night and day were arranged in a system and that the sun and the moon are moved along certain courses as follows:
It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the
celestial bodies) swim along each in its rounded course. (al-Anbiya,33.).
And the Sun runs his course for a period determined for him: that is the decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, the All-Knowing. (Ya Seen, 38).
The Quran shows to the eye the measurement, appointment, rotation, and the illumination of the moon and its precise positioning in accordance with the sun; the eternal power and control of Allah, who directs the universe.
The Quran states the fact that the sea waters do not mix as follows:
He has let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together: Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress: (ar-Rahman,19-20).
The Quran states the duty of the wind that serves the fecundation, fertilization and reproduction of trees and flowers as follows:
And We send the fecundating winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance), though ye are not the guardians of its stores. (al-Hijr, 22).
5. In terms of its miraculous education the Quran is a miracle. The indication that a tree is living and productive is its fruits. The fruits of the Quran are the students that are educated by the Quran. Hundreds of thousands of saints, holy people, scholars, mujaddids, wise people, exemplary people that have been brought up for fourteen centuries is a great indication that the Quran is alive and living.
All of the true religious orders and the genuine ilms (sciences) of Islam, all of the Islamic scholars that have been educated under the spiritual wings and protection of the Quran testify that the Quran is pure truth and the assembly of truths and in its comprehensiveness, a matchless wonder.

READING TEXT

Place


MANUAL
Mr Ahmet went shopping. Passing by a big department store he saw that there was a great discount in electronic devices. He walked around the store. He bought a nice high quality camera and an advanced technology television set.
In the evening he wanted to set up the television and operate the camera. However he couldnt do it. There was vision on the television but no sound. He couldnt understand how the camera shot and how it recorded the vision, either.
He called his next-door neighbor Mr Halil. He was an electronic engineer. Mr Ahmet said on the phone:
- I bought a new television set and a camera. However I couldnt cope with it. I am astonished. I need your help. Can you come right away?
Five minutes later the doorbell rang. It was Mr Halil.
Mr Ahmet said:
-Come in. and let him in. They went into the living room together. Mr Halil liked the television set and the camera very much.
-Enjoy them. You bought the best quality goods. he said.
Mr Halil took the television manual first. He searched it. He set up the television in accordance with the manual. Then he searched the manual of the camera, instructed Mr Ahmet how it operated in general.
The task was over. Mr Halil wanted to leave.
-No, you cant leave now. I made some tea. There is also some cake and pie. Lets drink tea and watch TV. I wont let you go without drinking tea. said Mr Ahmet.
They were drinking tea and watching TV when Mr Halil said:
-Do you know what I thought while setting them up?
-What did you think?
-I thought like this: If we took that television to a mans house who never saw a television and who never set up a television set before and didnt give him the manual and told him to operate the television, what would the poor man do?
-He couldnt set them up. He would be astonished.
-Is that all? I think more dangerous things could happen. If he attached the cables differently, if he connected wrong cables, there could be a short circuit, a fire and the television could blow up. Or if he tried to set it up on his own, the television could break down; there could be vision but no sound. Sometimes there could be sound but no vision.
-You are right.
-So, the best and perfect way to operate a television set is to operate it in accordance with the manual. Isnt it?
-Yes, it is.
-This reality caused me to think about a reality in my mind.
-How?
-I thought like this: Man is like a television set Maybe he was created a thousand times more perfectly and miraculously than it.. It is only possible for a man to lead a nice life, to have a joyful, bright world free from parasites by arranging his life in accordance with a spiritual manual.
-Alright, what is that spiritual manual?
-That spiritual manual is the Quran. It tells the truth and explains what is right. It sets the essentials of the happiness and joy of the mankind. It presents the criteria and the prescription for the material and spiritual salvation of the mankind. Mankind is in need of the Quran in this depressed century. The farther man goes away from the Quran, the more troubles, pains, chaos and crises he will face. The prescriptions of leading a good life are present in the Quran. Those who live in accordance with the Quran, will obtain happiness and exhilaration in this world and eternal blessings in the hereafter.
Those words made Mr Ahmet think.
They were all right. A life away from the Quran was like Hell even in the world. A man who knew and obeyed Allah would be happy even in the dungeon. A person who forgot Allah would be in the dungeon even if he were in palaces.
You are absolutely right. You discovered the mystery. My mind, heart, soul and conscience approve your words. said Mr Ahmet.

SUMMARY


There are a lot of wisdoms in Allahs sending the holy books. If the books had not been sent down, Allah, who is eternal, would not have been known. His orders and His will would not have been known. The purposes of mans creation would have remained veiled or closed. The books removed this veil and explained clearly the orders and prohibitions of the Perfectly Wise and the Eternal, the duties and the responsibilities of man.
The Perfectly Wise and the Eternal did not leave men without owners or protectors throughout the history and sent them prophets as guides and teachers who differentiated between the right and the wrong, the good and the ugly, the correct and the incorrect. Books are regulations and instruction manuals sent to mankind through prophets. Throughout history, believers found out about the orders and the prohibitions of Allah thanks to these books and tried to direct their lives.
Four books were sent down. The only one that maintained its originality among them is the Quran, which is full of wisdom.
During the period of each prophet, a particular science, art or skill prevailed. For instance, during the time of Hazrat Eesa (Jesus) medical science prevailed. So Allah granted Hazrat Eesa the miracle of reviving the dead, opening the eyes of the blind, curing the people with speckled skins. During the time of Hazrat Musa (Moses) magic was very common. So Allah granted Hazrat Musa the miracle of transforming his walking-stick into a snake. This snake swallowed the ropes of the magicians and the magicians accepted that it was a miracle by Allah. During the time of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) eloquence, rhetoric prevailed. During a period when rhetoric was perfect, the Quran was sent down. It silenced all of the skillful authors and poets.
The rhetoric of the Quran is beyond the talents of man. The rhetoric of the Quran comes from the beauty, charm, steadiness and the awe of its verse. The expression of the Quran is strange and peculiar, superior and unique, pure and clean. Its meaning is true and real, strong and deep. Its words are perfect in terms of wording, meaning and harmony. Its word and sentence harmony is a miracle. Its words flow like a fountain, into the minds and hearts.
The Quran has challenged the most genius authors, the most excellent orators, the deepest scholars of the mankind for fourteen hundred years, and has provoked them. It has called them to discuss.
The genius people who walk proudly and arrogantly on the earth could not open their mouths to discuss and bowed down in abasement.
The believers who recite the Quran surrender to their Lord learn their duties and responsibilities and enjoy the pleasure and the happiness of knowing their Lord and being addressed by His orders.
When the believers recite the Quran, they speak to their Lord in a way. These favors give the believers a lofty pleasure and a spiritual comfort. The Quran is an eternal guide, an endless light that enlightens them when they have a conflict among themselves.
The duty and responsibility expected from Muslims is to recite, understand and live the Quran; to show the ethic of the Quran in their lives, to try to mirror the Quran in a straight line.

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The article below explains the list of World Religions, details of origin, details about their God/Messiah/Prophet and other interesting facts associated with different religions.

List of World Religions, Place of Worship, Religious Text and Founder

ReligionPlace of WorshipReligious BookFounderRegion
Bahi'aBahi'a House of worshipKitab-i-Aqdas, Kitab-i-Iqa'nBaha'u'llahIran
BuddhistMonastery, Buddhist Temple, Chaitya, ViharTipitaka (in Pali Script)Gautam BuddhaIndia, Tibbet, China, Japan, Southeast Asia
Candomble' TerrerioNo holy scriptureAfrica, Brazil
ChristianityChurchBibleJesus ChristAmericas, Europe, Australia
HinduismTemple (Mandir)Bhagwat Gita, Ved, UpnishadIndia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UK
IslamMosque (Masjid) Quran, SunnahMuhammadMiddle east, Africa, Asia, Europe,US
JainismJain TempleJain AgamasRishabh(Adinath), MahavirIndia, South Asia
JudaismSynagogueTorah, (Tanakh or Hebrew Bible)MosesIsrael, Jerusalem
MormonismMormon ChurchBible (King James Version), Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great PriceJoseph SmithNorth America
PaganismNo specific place but whole nature is reveredEurope, America
RastafariNo special building for communal worshipBible, Kebra Nagast, The Promise Key, Holy PibyHaile SelassieJamaica, Ethiopia
SanteriaSanterian Church, Casa de santos or ile'Cuba, Caribbean, Latin America, US
ShintoShinto Shrine (Jinja or gonjen )Kojiki, Nihon Shoki, FudokiJapan
SikhismGurudwara Guru Granth Sahib Guru NanakIndia, Pakistan, Canada, US, UK
TaoismTaoist temple (Daoguan)Tao-te-Ching (Daodejing), Zhuangzi, DaozangLaoziChina
ZoroastrianismFire Temple (Agiary)Zend Avesta Zoroaster (Zarathustra)Iran, Western costal India

Teachings and Beliefs of World Religions

Baha’i Faith

Lotus Temple of Delhi is the famous Bahi’a House of Worship

The Baha’i faith is one of the youngest of world’s major religions. It was founded by Baha’u’llah in Iran in 1863. Iran was then a mainly muslim country, and the faith was proclaimed by a young Iranian, who called himself The Ba’b. He said that a messenger would soon arrive from God, who would be the latest in a line of Prophets including Moses, Muhammad and Jesus Christ.

Teachings and Beliefs of Bahi’a Religion

  • Baha’u’llah which means “Glory of God” in Arabic was born as Mirza Husayn Ali in 1817.
  • Baha’i’s believe that Baha’u’llah is the most recent manifestation of God.
  • Baha’u’llah himself stated that he is not God’s final messenger.
  • Baha’a faith accepts all religions as having true and valid origins.
  • It has three principle teachings Unity of God, Unity of religion and Unity of humanity.

Buddhism

Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development and attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life. Buddhist seek to reach a state of Nirvana, following the path of Buddha, who went for the search of enlightenment around sixth century BC.

Teachings and Beliefs of Buddhist Religion

  • Buddhist believe that nothing is fixed or permanent and that change is always possible. The path to enlightenment is through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom.
  • Buddhist believe that life is both endless and subject to impermanence, suffering and uncertainty. These states are called the tilakhana, or the three signs of existence. Existence is endless because individuals are reincarnated over and over again, experiencing the suffering throughout many lives.
  • It is impertinent because no state, good or bad, lasts forever. Our mistaken belief that things can last is a chief cause of suffering.
  • The path to enlightenment is through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom.

Books Review All Islamic Content In One Place Crossword

Candomble’ Religion

Candomble’ means dance in honour of Gods. Candomble’ is a religion based on African beliefs which is particularly popular in Brazil. It has about two million followers. The religion is a mixture of Yoruba, Fon and Bantu beliefs which originated from different regions is Africa. It has also incorporated some aspects of Catholic faith over time. Slave Africans brought their beliefs with them when they were brought to Brazil during slave trade and this is reason why Candomble’ is popular in Brazil.

Beliefs of Candomble’ Religion

  • Practitioners of Candomble’ believe in one powerful god called Oludumare’ who is served by lesser deities. These deities are called Orixas.
  • They believe that each person has their own orixa. These orixa controls their destiny and also protects them.

Christianity

Christianity is the World’s biggest religion, with about 2.2 billion followers worldwide. It is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived on the holy land 2000 years ago. Christians worship in churches and their spiritual leaders are called priests. Bible is the holy book which consists of old and new Testaments.

Beliefs of Christianity

  • Christians believe that Jesus was the messiah promised in the Old Testament.
  • Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. They also belief that God sent his son Jesus to earth to save humanity from the consequences of its sins.
  • Christian believe that there is only one God, but there are three elements to this one God – God the father, God the son and The Holy Spirit.
  • Christians believe in Crucifixion in which God gave his life to resurrect people from their sins and arose again on the third day which is called the Resurrection.

Hinduism

Hinduism is also referred as Sanatan Dharma. Hinduism is the oldest living religion in world or at least its elements stretch back to many thousands of years. Hinduism can not be restricted to such easy definition because of the vast array of practices and beliefs found within it. Unlike most other religions Hinduism has no single founder, no single scripture and no commonly agreed set of teachings. Throughout its extensive history, there have been many key figures teaching different philosophies and writing innumerable holy books. For these reasons Hinduism is referred as “Way of Life” or “a family of religions”.

Beliefs of Hinduism

  • Hindus believe that existence is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth governed by individual’s karma. Karma here refers to the set of behaviour and actions during routine life.
  • Hindus believe that soul passes through a cycle of successive lives and its next incarnation is always dependent on the karmas of previous life.

Islam

Islam began in Arabia and was brought to picture by Prophet Muhammad. The word Islam means submission to God. Islam is the second largest religion of the world with about 1.6 billion followers. The arabic word for God is Allah. Followers of Islam are called Muslims. Islam came to light about 1400 years ago in 6th century AD in Mecca.

Beliefs of Islam

  • Muslims believe that there is only one God.
  • As per muslim beliefs God sent a number of prophets to mankind to teach then how to live according to proper way. Jesus, Moses and Abraham are respected as prophets of God.
  • Muslims believe that Muhammad was the final and last Prophet.
  • Muslims base their laws on their holy book Quran and the Sunnah.
  • There are five basic pillars of Islam. They are – declaration of faith, praying five times a day, giving money to charity, fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca at least once.

Jainism

Jainism is an ancient religion from India that teaches way to liberation by living the lives of harmlessness and renunciation. The essence of Jainism is concern for the welfare of every being in the universe and for the health of universe itself. Jains are strict vegetarians and live in a way that minimises their use of world’s resources. Mahavir is considered as the last tirthankar and also the founder of Jainism. There are two sects of Jainism – Digambara and Swetambara. Digambars are sky clad means without clothes while Swetambars are white clothed always.

Beliefs of Jainism

  • There are 24 tirthankars as per Jain beliefs. The first tirthankar was Rishabh dev or Adinath. The last tirthankar was Mahavir.
  • Jains believe that human beings as well as, animal and plants contain living souls. Each of these souls is considered of equal value and should be treated with respect and compassion.
  • Jains believe in reincarnation and seek to attain ultimate liberation which means escaping away from the continuous cycle of life and death so that immortal soul lives for ever in a state of bliss.
  • The Three Jewels or three guiding principles of Jainism are “Right Vision (Samyak dristi), Right knowledge (Samyak Gyan), and Right conduct (Samyak Charitra).
  • The supreme principle of Jainism is non-violence (ahimsa).
  • Their are five mahavratas (five vows) as per Jain beleifs – i) Ahimsa, ii) Non attachment to possessions, iii) not lying, iv) not stealing and v) sexual restraint.

Judaism

Judaism is one of the ancient monotheistic religions and was founded over 3500 years ago in Middle East. Judaism was founded by Moses, although Jews relate their history back to Abraham. Judaism has a rich history of religious text, but the central and most important religious document is Torah.

Beliefs of Judaism

  • Jews believe that God appointed Jews to be his chosen people in order to set an example of holiness and ethical behaviour to the world.
  • Jews believe that there is only one god with whom they have covenant.

Rastafari

Rastafari is a young Africa centered religion which developed in Jamaica in 1930s. This religion came to existence after the coronation of Haile Selassie as the King of Ethiopia in 1930. Followers of Rastafari are known as Rastafarians, Rastas, Sufferers, Dreads or Dreadlocks.

Beliefs of Rastafari

  • Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie is God and that he will return to Africa to rescue the black community who are living in exile due to colonization and slave trade.

Sikhism

Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak in 15th century CE in northern parts of India specially present Punjab region. The most important part in Sikhism is the internal religious state of the individual. It stresses the importance of doing good actions rather than merely carrying out rituals. The Sikh scripture is Guru Granth Sahib, a book that Sikhs consider a living guru.

Beliefs of Sikhism

  • Sikhs believe that the way to lead a good life is to – keep God in heart and mind at all times, live honestly and work hard, treat everyone equally, be generous to the less fortunate, serve others.

Taoism

Taoism is an ancient tradition of philosophy and religious belief that is deeply rooted in Chinese customs. Taoism is also called as Daoism which is more accurate as per Chinese accent. Its literal meaning is the way. It is the religion of unity and opposites : Yin and Yang. The principle of Yin Yang sees the world as filled with complementary forces -action and non action, light and dark, hot and cold and so on.

Zoroastrianism

Iranshah Atash Behram of Udvada, Gujarat is the oldest Fire Temple of India

Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions. It was founded by Prophet Zoroaster in ancient Iran approximately 3500 years ago. Zoroastrians believe that there is only one God called Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord) and he created the world. Ahura Mazda revealed the truth and teachings through Zoroaster. Zoroastrians pray several times a day.

  • The community temple of Zoroastrians is called Fire temple or Agiyari.
  • The holy scripture of Zoroastrians is called Avesta.
  • Avesta contains gathas which are seventeen hymns thought to be composed by Zoroaster himself.
  • Zoroastrians are roughly split in two groups – Iranians and Parsis.

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