Siddiq Skender Abrahamic Religions Basic Information about Islam, Christianity and Judaism www.islamic-sources.com November / 2009 (SIDDIQ SKENDER) Abrahamic Religions (Basic Information about Islam, Christianity and Judaism) Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.A. 1 2 (Table of Contents) Chapter One: Page 6-36 General Information First: Notices and Acronyms. (P 6-7) Second: The Meaning of some Islamic Terms (P 9-32) Third: Summery of Islam (P 33-35) Fourth: Some Islamic Manners (P 36) Chapter Two: Page 38-65 Allah (God), Angels, Jinn (Genies) and Life Hereafter First: Allah (God) (P 38-44) Second: Ruh (Soul or Spirit) (P 44-45) Third: Angels (P 46-50) Fourth: Jinn (Genies) (P 52-54) Fifth: The Jinn and Magic (P 55-58) Sixth: Life after Death (P 59-63) Seventh: Paradise (P 64-65) Chapter Three Page 67-73 The Koran and the Hadith First: The Koran (al-Qur‘an) (P 67-70) Second: Hadiths (P 71-73) Chapter Four: Page 74-93 Islam and the Islamic Law First: Islam 1-Islam and Muslims (P 74-75) 2-The Two Major Muslim Groups (Sunni and Shi‘ah) (P 76-82) 3-Sufism (P 83-84) 4-Some other Muslim Sects (P 84) Second: The Islamic Law 1-Islamic Shari‘ah (Law) (P 86) 2-Major Forbidden (foods and drinks) (P 88-89) 3-The Meaning of Riba (Usury) (P 90-92) 4-Modern Islamic Reform Movement (P 93) Chapter Five: Page 95-108 Belief, Practice and Biography First: Eman (Belief or Faith) (P 95-96) Second: Practicing The Five Pillars of Islam (P 97-102) Third: The Prophet Muhammad (Short Biography) (P 103-108) 3 Chapter Six: Page 109-113 Women and Islam First: Women in Islam: (P 109-113) Rights, Education, Treatment, Inheritance, Divorce, Polygamy and the dress code Second: Some Islamic views (P 113). Chapter Seven: Page 115-123 Populations, Islamic History and Scholars Contribution to knowledge First: Muslim Population in the World (P 115-117) Second: Summery of the Major Events in the History of Islam (P 118-120) Third: Contribution of some Muslim Scholars to world knowledge. (P 120-123) Chapter Eight: Page 125-169 First: Judaism: P 125-136 1- Prophet Musa (Moses) (P 125-130) 2-Main Religious Groups in Judaism (P 130-132) Orthodox; Conservative and Reform Religious groups 3-Some of the Religious Holy Days in Judaism (P 132-133) 4-The Meanings of some Terms in Judaism (P 134-136) Second: Christianity: P 138-169 1-Jesus Christ („Esa) in Christianity and in Islam (P 138-156) 2-Main Religious Groups in Christianity (P 157-162) Catholic; Orthodox and Protestant Religious groups 3-Some of the Religious Holy Days in Christianity (P 163-164) 4-The Meanings of some Terms in Christianity (P 164-169) Third: Zoroastrianism (Zardushtiyya) (P 171-173) Chapter Nine: Page 175-197 Prophets of God (Allah) (P 175) Short Biography of some Important Prophets First: Adam (P 176-179) Second: Nuh (Noah) (P 180-187) Third: Ebraheem (Abraham) (P 188-191) Fourth: Dawud (David) (P 192-193) Fifth: Sulayman (Solomon) (P 194-197) Chapter Ten: Page 198-202 Islam in America Chapter Eleven: Page 203-211 Islam and other Religions First: Islam and Minorities (P 203-204). Second: Religion of Moderation & Peace (P 205). Third: The Meaning of the Word Jihad (P 205). Fourth: Spread of Islam (P 206). Fifth: Some Verses about Islam‘s Toleration of other religions (P 208-211) 4 Chapter Twelve: Page 213-220 Science in the Koran 5 (In the name of Allah (God), the Compassionate, the Merciful) Chapter One: (General Information) First: Important Notices and some Common Acronyms 1-Important Notices: 1) In Islam, the name ―Allah‖ means ―The One God‖ in the English language. 2) According to the tradition in Islam, the following phrases are mentioned for respect after reading or hearing the Name ―Allah‘. Muslims say for Respect any one of the followings phrases: First: Some Muslims say ―Allah Ta‟ala‖ (Allah Ta-‗aaLaa), which means ―God the High‖. Second: Some other Muslims say ―Subhanahu wa Ta‟ala‖ (Sub-haa-na-hoo-wa-Ta- ‗aaLaa), (SWT), which means ―Glory to God the High‖. Third: Or say “Jalla Jalalahu” (JaL-Laa JaLaa-La-hoo), which means ―Great is His Majesty‖. Fourth: Or some Muslims say ― ‟Azza wa Jall‖ (‘Az-zaa wa-jaLL), which means ―Great and Majestic‖. 3) Verse 56 of Surah 33 (Koran 33:56), mentions saying respect for the Prophet: ―Verily, God and His Angels bless the Prophet: [hence,] O you who have faith, bless and salute (say peace be upon him) him.‖ According to the tradition in Islam, Muslims say for Respect after hearing or reading the name of the Prophet Muhammad any one of the following: First: Some Muslims say it in English as ―Peace be upon him (PBUH)‖. Second: Some other Muslims Say ― „Alaehes Salaatu Wass-Salaam (‗Alae-hes Salaatu Was-Salaam)‖, which literally means ―Blessings and Peace be upon him‖. Third: And many Muslims say ―Sallal-lahu „Alaihi wa Sallam‖ (SaL-LaL-Laahu ‗Alae- hee-Wa-SaL-Lam), which literally means ―May Allah‘s Blessings and Peace be upon him‖. 4) According to the tradition in Islam, Muslims say for Respect ― ‗Alaehes-Salaam (Alae- hes Salaam)‖; It means ―Peace be upon him‖ (PBUH) after hearing the name of any Prophet and any Angel of Allah. While Muslims say for a group of Prophets or Angels ― ‗Alaehemes Salaam (‗Alai-hemes Salaam)‖ which means ―Peace be Upon Them‖, after the name of Prophets or Angels. Notice: Some Muslims prefer to say ―Peace and Blessings be upon him‖ after the name of any Prophet or any Angel of God 5) The Prophet Muhammad was mostly mentioned or referred to him in this book as ―The Prophet‖ instead of repeating his name, as it is the tradition in Islam, and as he was mostly mentioned in the Koran by the title The Prophet or The Messenger. 6 2-The Meaning of some Common Acronyms First: A.H It means ―After Hijrah‖, which means after the first year of the Prophet Muhammad‘s Hijrah (Migration) from the city of Makkah (Mecca) to the city of Madinah (Medina) in the year 622 C.E. (A.D.) In the English language, the Islamic term Hijrah (Hejra) is written as Hegira. Also in the English language, the Islamic phrase “After Hijrah” is written as Anno- Hejirae. Anno Hejirae is a Latin phrase which means ―in the year of the Hegira.‖ Second: B.C. or B.C.E It means as follow: 1) It is the time before the birth of the prophet „Esa (Eesa) or Jesus Christ, in the Christian Calendar, which is used to indicate a date that is a specified number of years before the birth of Jesus Christ. 2) It means the time Before Christian Era, which is called in the modern times as ―Before Common Era (B.C.E.)‖. In the modern time, many scholars are using the acronym B.C.E. instead of just B.C. (Before Christ). Third: A.D. or C.E: In the Christian Calendar, the acronym A.D. is from the Latin phrase ―Anno Domini‖, which literally means ―In the year of our Lord (Jesus Christ)‖, which also means the time after the birth of Jesus Christ. In the modern time, many scholars are using the acronym C.E. which means Common Era (C.E.), instead of A.D. So, the Christian era is being called as Common Era (C.E.). Notice: The Christian calendar dating system that uses A.D. and B.C. started in the six century A.D. Fourth: AL AL means ―The‖ 7 8 Second: (The Meaning of some Islamic and other Terms) The following Terms were not organized according to Alphabetical order, but they are organized according to similar subjects, which mean that each several terms are connected to each other. Notice: Many of the following Important Words (Terms or Names) in the Koran were originally either from the Hebrew or Aramaic Languages, and both like the Arabic language are considered as a Semitic Languages. The Hebrew was the Language of the Prophet Moses and the Torah, while the Aramaic was the Language of the Prophet ‗Esa (Jesus) and the original Aural Gospel. Also the Arabic Language was the Language of the Prophet Muhammad and the Koran. Allah (Allaah): It means ‗The One God‘ It is the proper name of God in the Arabic Language. ELah (ELaah) or Ilah: It means as follow: 1) Elah or Eloah or Eloh is an Aramaic word, which literally means Master. Elah later became Alah, and then Allah (God). 2) Elah means Divine; Heavenly; Godlike, 3) Elah also means god as an Idol. Elah means having the nature of being a deity In Arabic, plural of ELah is ―Aalihah‖ which means gods or Idols. Yahweh (Yaa-wa or Yaa-way): Also written as Yahveh, Jahveh, Jehweh and Jehoveh. It is the name of God in Judaism in the Hebrew language, which means: ―I am who I am‖. In the English Bible, the name of Allah or Yahweh is written as ―Lord‖ and ―God‖. Also the ancient Jews called God by the name ― „EL‖, which means ―The High (God)‖, and is considered as one of the attributes of God. Elohim: The ancient Jews also called God by the name ―Elohim‖ or Elahim. Rabb: Rabb is a Hebrew word, which means as follow: 1) It means ―Lord or God‖ 2) Also it means Master; like master of the house or work. The word Rabbi originated from Rabb. Rabbi means my master. Notice: In Christianity, Jesus is also called as ―Lord‖ Divine: In general, the meaning of the term Divine means as follow: 1) God.