Islam vs Judaism

958 Words4 Pages
Collin Caldwell Birchfield Eng-111 SD7 1 May 2012 Islam vs Judaism There are three Abrahamic religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. My focus is going to be on the most similar: Islam and Judaism. Islam and Judaism are religions based on laws given by God. Judaism dates back to the days of Abraham, around 1700 BC, and is one of the oldest religions. Islam is one of the newest religions. Islam was founded around the year 622 (Nosotro). Muslims (people who follow Islam) follow a book of laws called the Koran (or Quran), while the book the Jews follow is the Torah. The laws are very strict, and there are consequences for those who do not follow them. There are five major obligations for Muslims: testimony of faith, prayer, giving zakat, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to the Mecca. These are similar to Jewish commandments and traditions (Wikipedia). Faith is the foundation for the Abrahamic religions. Islam’s “Testimony of faith” calls for to declaire: "There is no true god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." As shown by the first part of this statement, it is important to Muslims that only Allah is to be worshiped (Nosotro). Muslims also do not take Muhammad to be Allah or even divine. They believe he is the last of a long line of prophets. Other than Muhammad, whom Jews do not consider to be a prophet, Muslims share prophets with the Jews like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and even Jesus. They also share the Jewish first commandment, which states "You shall put no other gods before me." All three are monotheistic. Islam and Judaism do not believe in the Trinity, unlike Christians, who believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Nosotro). They hold that prayer is a way to speak and be close with God. Muslims believe the Kaaba was built by Abraham and his first son Ishmael and is the first mosque. They bow in the
Open Document