Islam And Hinduism

3 Pages 836 Words

Islam and Hinduism

When you think of South Asia, what two religions do you think of as being at the heart of the cultures there. Each of them have main philosophies, fundamental beliefs, and their own mode of worship. Also these two religions have come into conflict in the Indian Subcontinent. What are these two religions, you’re asking yourself? Well they are none other than Hinduism and Islam.
In Islam, belief in one God is the most important belief. Allah in Arabic refers to the one God. It is a known fact that every language has one or more terms that are used in reference to God and sometimes to lesser deities. This is not the case with Allah. Allah is the personal name of the one true God. Nothing else can be called Allah. The term has no plural or gender. This shows its uniqueness when compared with the word god, which can be made plural, gods, or feminine, goddess. It is interesting to notice that Allah is the personal name of God in Aramaic, the language of Jesus and a sister language of Arabic. The one true God is a reflection of the unique concept that Islam associates with God. To a Muslim, Allah is the almighty, creator and sustainer of the universe, who is similar to nothing, and nothing is comparable to him. This is also know as monotheism.
Hinduism has many deities. This is much like ancient Greek and Roman religions. The god Brahma, is the creator of the world. The god Vishnu, who preserves the world through his many incarnations. The god Shiva, will destroy the world which will be rebuilt by Brahma. In their Rig-Veda Book, we find prayers to some 70 objects, each serving as a deity. The concept of god Brahma is similar to the concept of trinity in Christianity. The Brahma is responsible for all workings of the world and everyone is a part of him. Different gods are viewed as different aspects of him. This is also know as polytheism.
In Islam, all humans are created equal. For example, there is no superiori...