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When looking at world religions it is important to analyze their scriptures within the context of the pre-existing realities and beliefs of those who follow these religious writings In their everyday lives. As an example, In order to fully comprehend the Haiti and Torah literature, It is key to first comprehend the Jewish and Muslim worldviews held by the followers of these two religions. While there are some gaping differences between the two beliefs, religious scholar Manila Smarty’s Model of The SIX Dimensions of Religion highlights how they also share some important similarities.
In beginning to understand the frame of mind of the followers of these two religions, it becomes clear that Islam started off as an experiential faith. Evidence of this can be found in the passage from the Haiti, where Mohammed reads the words of Allah, “The Quern is the central typography of Islam, the verbatim word of God revealed to the Prophet by the archangel Gabriel” (NASA, 37). Likewise, Moses’ experience of God talking to him on Mount Sinai also categorizes Judaism as an experiential religion. Furthermore, both religions also follow under the Doctrinal dimension of religions.
An example of this In the Haiti passage sees Allah telling Mohammed that he will exalt his name, even to the extent of conjuring It with his own name. Additionally, one of the doctrines of Islam Is that “there Is not God but Allah and Mohammed Is his messenger”, further evidencing how this faith Is Doctrinal In nature (NASA, 8). Similarly, Judaism doctrinal characteristics are present in the passage from the Torah that where God says that if you obey His voice and keep His covenant, you will be His treasured possession out of all the peoples.
Whereas there are plenty of other citrines in Judaism, one of the most important ones of the faith instructs, “to do God’s will”, further cementing the idea that Judaism is doctrinal in nature. Through further comparison of the remainder of Ionian Smarty’s Model of The Six Dimensions of Religion against both the Torah and Haiti passages, It becomes evident that both religions are also mythic. The passages from the Haiti and Torah themselves tell a story of special and sacred meaning. Ritual” Is another one of the six dimensions and Is found In the passage of the Torah that states, “Now therefore, If you obey my choice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. ” People of the Jewish faith follow rituals and believe that God rewards the good and punishes the evil. For example in The Search for God at Harvard while in Yeshiva, Aria Goldman rabbi taught him that “a good Jew’ has to say one hundred Barabbas a day” (Goldman, 15).
World religions are social and this by all means includes both Islam and Judaism, in the way that both Mohammed and Moses have their followers and that these congregate, worship and live as a society within a society. This is seen by the fact that tradition needs some kind of organization in order to perpetuate itself and thus embed itself in society. Finally both religions fall under the category of the sixth dimension of worldview, “Ethics”.
In Islam, the first and most Important commandment Is that there Is only one God and Idolatry Is strictly prohibited, “The plenary doctrine of the nature of the divinity as at once the Absolute, the Infinite, and the Perfect Good Lies at the heart of all teachings of Islam” (NASA, 59). In Judaism some of the most important of the 613 mitzvahs God is one (a complete unity); to love God; to fear him; not to put the word of God to the test and to imitate his good and upright ways. An example of all of these mitzvahs can also be seen in the passage of the Torah given.
Additionally, in The Search for God at Harvard Aria tells a story of rabbi Jacobs publishing a book that later sabotages his career, “Jacobs raised doubts about the divine authorship of the Hebrew Bible… Engaging in which the Torah is seen against the backdrop of historical scholarship” (Goldman, 132). Because Rabbi Jacobs speaks out about his doubts he not only loses his promotion, but his old Job as well. This shows how seriously the mitzvahs and the ethical dimension of Judaism are considered. When comparing these two belief systems it is evident that there are some striking similarities.
For example, in the passages from the Haiti and the Torah, God speaks to both Mohammed and Moses, telling them that they are His messengers and to go to their people and spread His word. In the Haiti, God says to Mohammed, “I shall exalt your name for you, even to the extent of conjoining it with My name, so that none of the regulations of My religion will ever be mentioned without you being mentioned along with me” (Haiti). Allah tells Him that in Islam, Mohammad name will always be said alongside Allah’s.
This assures the people of Islamic tradition that Mohammed is Allah’s messenger because it is written in the holy Quern. In the Torah, God says to Moses, “l am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after” (Torah). God wants other people to hear him speak to Moses so that they can trust Moses as their leader and teacher. However, despite the similarities taken from these two passages, here are some key differences that distinguish the two faiths.
As an example, Allah tells prophet Mohammed, “l am sending you as a prophet to the white folk of the earth and the black folk and the red folk, to Jinn and to men thereon, though never before have I sent a prophet to the whole of them. ” (Haiti) In contrast, the Torah depicts God telling Moses “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites” (Torah). The difference between the two is that in the Haiti, Allah tells Mohammed that he is sending him as a prophet to white, black and red folk whereas n the Torah, God is telling Moses to send his message to the Israelites only.
In addition to this, in the Haiti Allah appoints the earth, its dry land, and its sea for Mohammed and the community as a “place for purification and worship”, whereas in the Torah God tells Moses and the Israelites that “the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation”. In this last example, both passages highlight a different attribution of land as a point of the message being communicated. As a final difference in the two passages is that Mohammed is told hose words from Allah through the angel Gabriel and forced to recite them while Moses is spoken to directly from the Lord on Mount Sinai.
In conclusion, the above examples demonstrate that both Islam and Judaism share key differences and similarities when compared through the Haiti and Torah passages. Although these passages recount different events, using Ionian Smarty’s Model of The Six Dimensions to analyze the two religions highlights how they both contain elements that place them within all six dimensions of religions: doctrinal, mythic, ethical, ritual, experiential and social.