UNIT 4: THE PILLARS OF FAITH IN ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS
Key Unit competence: Explain the fundamental elements of faith in
Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Introductory Activity
1. Basing on your experience and using research identify religions
found in your community and come up with their fundamental
teachings and practices.
2. Explain what you know about Judaism.
3. Compare the fundamental teachings of Christianity and Islam,
and come up with similarities and differences.
4. What do you think was the religion of Jesus, what did they believein?
The concept of Abrahamic religions refers to three religions: Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. These religions are very closely related in their
origins and their Holy Scripture. They also have similar beliefs about morals
and ethics. They do differ, however, in important aspects of their beliefs.
Historically, relations among these faith groups reflect both conflict and
cooperation. They all originate from the personality and faith of Abraham
which is a pure monotheism. They are like children of a single parent, capable
of reaching understandings and living in peace together despite difference insome aspects of faith and practice.
.1. Jewish Faith and Torah
Judaism is the theistic religion of Jews, which means that they believe in the
existence of supreme God who is transcendent. Judaism is a monotheistic
religion and Jews consider Abraham as their ancestor. Jewish faith is based
on Torah (The first five books of Moses).
Torah is a Hebrew term which means “Instruction”, “Teaching” or “Law”. The
word Torah has a range of meaning. It can most specifically mean the first
five books (Pentateuch or Five books of Moses) of the 24 books of the
Hebrew Bible (Tanakh).
Torah consists of the origin of Jewish peoplehood: their call into being by
God, their trial and tribulations, and covenant with their God, which involves
following a way of life embodied in a set of moral and religious obligations
and civil laws.
The Torah starts from the beginning of God’s creating the world through the
beginning of the people of Israel, their descent into Egypt, and the giving
of the Torah at biblical Mount of Sinai. It ends with the death of Moses, justbefore the people of Israel cross to the promised land of Canaan
The first five books of Moses are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronom
Genesis
The book of Genesis is the first book of the Torah. It is divisible into two
parts, primeval history (Chapters 1-11) which is the story of the first years of
the world’s existence, and the Ancestral history (Chapters 12-50).
The primeval history (Chapters 1-11) sets out the author’s (or authors’)
concepts of the nature of the deity and of humankind’s relationship with its
maker: God creates a world which is good and fit for mankind, but when
man corrupts it with sin God decides to destroy his creation, saving only the
righteous Noah to re-establish the relationship between man and God.
The Ancestral history (Chapters 12-50) tells of the prehistory of Israel, God’s
chosen people. At God’s command Noah’s descendant Abraham journeys
from his home into the God-given land of Canaan, where he dwells as a
sojourner, as does his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Jacob’s name is
changed to Israel, and through the agency of his son Joseph, the children of
Israel descend into Egypt, 70 people in all with their households, and God
promises them a future of greatness. Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt,ready for the coming of Moses and the Exodus.
xodus
The book of Exodus is the second book of the Torah, immediately following
Genesis. The book tells how the ancient Israelites left slavery in Egypt through
the strength of Yahweh, the God who has chosen Israel as his people. Godused the prophet Moses to rescue his people Israel as their leader.
Leviticus
The book of Leviticus begins with instructions to the Israelites on how to use
the Tabernacle, which they had just built (Leviticus 1-10), This is followed
by rules of clean and unclean (Leviticus 11-15), which includes the laws of
slaughter and animals permissible to eat, the Day of atonement (Leviticus
16), and various moral and ritual laws sometimes called the holiness Code
(Leviticus 17-26). Leviticus 26 provides a detailed list of rewards for following
God’s commandments and a detailed list of punishments for not following
them. Leviticus 17 establishes sacrifices at the Tabernacles as an everlasting
ordinance, but this ordinance is altered in later books with the Temple beingthe only place sacrifices are allowed
Numbers
The book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Torah. The name of the book
comes from the two censuses taken of the Israelites.
Numbers begins at Mount Sinai, where the Israelites have received their
laws and covenant from God and God has taken up residence among them
in the sanctuary. The task before them is to take possession of the Promised
Land, Canaan. The people are counted and preparations are made for
resuming their march. The Israelites begin the journey, but they murmur at
the hardships along the way, and about the authority of Moses and Aaronand God destroys many of them.
Deuteronomy
The book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Torah. Chapters 1-30 of
the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to the Israelites by
Moses on the plains of Moab, shortly before they enter the Promised Land.
The final four chapters (31-34) contain the song of Moses, Blessing of
Moses and narratives recounting the passing of the mantle of leadership
from Moses to Joshua and finally, the death of Moses on Mount Nebo.
4.2. Christian faith
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and
teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Its adherents, known as christians, believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and the Saviour of all people. His
coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, called the Old
Testament in christianity, and chronicled (recorded) in the New Testament.
Christians believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who died
because of people’s sins. All christian denominations believe that Christ
is the word of God incarnated. They confess that He came to save them
through his death and resurrection. He rose from the dead and appeared to
the apostles who became the witnesses of what they saw (Acts 2:32). TheChristian faith came from the apostles who had followed Jesus Christ.
The word of God about Christ was written in the Holy Scriptures. Thus,
Christians also believe in the written Scriptures to nourish their faith.
The creed summarises the Christian faith and its main points include:
Belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit
The death, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension of Christ
The holiness of the Church and the communion of the Saints
Christ’s second coming, the Day of Judgment, and Salvation of the Faithful.
Like Jews, Christians have no fundamental reason to live in disunity with one
another. After all the one they believe in is One! Salvation is universal for all
who believe and confess the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We note that the name Christians was first used at Antioch and it means theDisciples of Christ, the ones who believe and imitate Christ (Acts 11:25-26)
4.3. Six pillars of Islamic faith
Islam is a theistic religion. The word Islam means submission under Allah’s
laws. Muhammad, the prophet of Allah started receiving the content of the
Quran from 610 up to 632. Officially Islam was founded in 622. Muhammad
was born at Mecca probably in 570. He went in Medina by exile.
Iman, this term literally means faith or belief. In Islamic theology it denotes a
believer’s faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam. Its most simple definition
is the belief in the six articles of faith known as arkan al iman. The term iman
has been described in both Quran and hadith.
Quran (Koran) is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe
to be a revelation from God (Allah). Hadith refers to the record of the words,actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According
to the Quran, “iman” must be accompanied by righteous deeds and the two
together are necessary for entry into Paradise
The six pillars of faith: Faith (iman) breaks down into six pillars:
1. Belief in the existence and oneness of God (Allah). Believing in
Allah above all else is the first and most important. It is not only belief
in Allah alone but in the way He is described through the Quran and
the hadith (Sayings) of Prophet Muhammad.
2. Belief in the existence of Angles. The second pillar of Iman is the
belief in Allah’s angels. The angels are messengers of Allah. They
are not His children as some may think. They were created from light
and were created before humans, for the purpose of worshipping
Allah. They can also appear in the shape of a man if so ordered
to so. Some of the angels’ names, which we know of, are Jibra’il,
Mika’il, Israfil, and Malik. They have many jobs such as guardians,
gatekeepers, and Trumpeters.
3. Beliefs in the existence of the books of which God is the author:
the Quran (revealed to Muhammad), the Gospel (revealed to Jesus),
the Torah (revealed to Moses), and Psalms to David. Muslims are to
believe in all of these books and not just the Quran alone.
4. Belief in the existence of all prophets: Muhammad being the last
of them, Jesus the penultimate (second from the last, Muhammad),
and Moses sent before them.
5. Belief in the existence of the Day of Judgment: in that day,
humanity will be divided into two groups: that of paradise and that of
hell. These groups are themselves composed of subgroups.
6. Belief in the existence God’s predestination, whether it involves
good or bad or pre-ordainment. What this means is that everything
in our lives is already written. It is our duty to know that whatever
Allah wills will occur. Also He is creator of everything including our
deeds. Allah knows our past, present, and the future. Our lives are
set, but that does not mean that we strive any less toward perfection.
From the above pillars, the first five are mentioned together in the Quran and
by Muhammad, while including a corollary of belief in Allah, the good and
evil of fate ordained by God, has referred to all six together in the following
manner in the Hadith of Gabriel. Iman is that you believe in God and His
angels and His books and His Messengers and the Hereafter and the goodand evil fate ordained by your God.
Similarities and differences of Abrahamic Religions
Abrahamic religions have things in common and have also differences.
The following aspects constitute the commonality and uniqueness of each
religion:
• Basic Beliefs and Common Stories
Jews, Christians and Muslims believe that God made a covenant, or
agreement with Abraham to keep the faith in One God and to worship Him
and teach the practice of worship to his children down the generations. God
would preserve, protect and multiply the children of Abraham.
The Jews believe that the covenant of God with Abraham goes only for
their people as one nation, while Christians and Muslims believe that the
covenant and message of God goes for all mankind. This covenant became
the legacy, or trust, for the children of Abraham to continue.
According to the scriptures, Abraham was promised that his offspring would
become the fathers of great nations. These nations are the people who are
now called Jews, Christians, and Muslims. They are called monotheists,
meaning people who believe in one God, the Creator of all that is in the
universe and on earth. The common core of Abraham’s story is his faith and
obedience to the call of God. It is expressed in the Jewish and Christian
traditions in a verse of the book of Genesis.
Another act of Abraham that belongs to the core story is that God told him
in a dream to sacrifice his son. He and his son were prepared to obey this
divine command, but God redeemed the sacrifice with a magnificent ram.
This miracle meant that God does not require human sacrifice, but only the
willingness to obey. The Biblical account says that the son to be sacrificed
was Abraham and Sarah’s son Isaac, while the Qur’an states that it was the
first-born son Ishmael, whose mother was Hagar. The lesson of obedienceand strength of faith, however, is the same.
• God, Prophets, and Revelation
All of the Abrahamic monotheistic faiths share a belief that God, the Creator,
has “spoken” to humankind over time. The word for this divine communication
is “revelation”. Adherents of the Abrahamic religions believe that God
revealed Himself to certain individuals called prophets over the course of
human history. They believe that God communicated five main messages:
• The nature and qualities of the one God;
• The purpose and nature of the universe created by God;
• The need to worship one God;
• The purpose of human life and the need to live a righteous life and the
news of judgment after death, and reward or punishment in the afterlife;
• Morals and laws which people are told to follow.
The Abrahamic faiths have in common a belief in angels as God’s messengers
to human beings. The angel of revelation is named Gabriel. The human
beings chosen by God as bearers of revelation to other human beings are
called prophets. Some of them were chosen and inspired to teach people,
while the Major Prophets received revelations that have been memorized,recited and written in Holy books or scriptures
• The Messiah
• Jews believe that Messiah is still awaited and coming at some future
time. The Reform tradition does not expect an individual Messiah.
Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Some Jews believe
that Jesus was a spiritual leader.
• Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They also believe that
Jesus was the son of God, who came to redeem human beings from
sin or wrongdoing, and that he compensated for all human sins with his
suffering and death. This salvation, or being saved and given eternal
life, is the central teaching of the New Testament (which means promise
or pledge, i.e. the salvation through Jesus).
• Muslims also believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They do not believe
that he was the son of God, but a human being. Muslims also believe
that God did not allow him to die or be crucified at the hands of human
beings.
Both Christians and Muslims believe that Jesus was raised up to God, but
Christians believe that Jesus was raised from the dead or resurrected.
Muslims believe that Jesus was one of the greatest prophets. Muslims also
share the belief with Christians in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ near
the end of time.
Among adherents of the Abrahamic faiths, only Christians and Muslims
believe Jesus as a messenger of God and only Muslims believe that
Muhammad was a prophet, a man who was born in Makkah in about the
year 570 AD. They believe that he received the final revelation from God
through the holy book called the Quran. Historically, Muhammad was not
accepted as a prophet by Christians and Jews. Similarly, Jews do not acceptChristian or Muslim beliefs about Jesus.
• The Monotheistic Concept of God and the Afterlife
All three Abrahamic faiths share many ideas about the nature of God. He is
the Creator of the Universe. The monotheistic tradition of God includes the
idea of a covenant, or promise, of God. The covenant is a trust placed upon
human beings to believe in God, to worship only Him and not to worship
any other gods. The scriptures describe God’s characteristics or attributes,
such as justice, mercy, and power over all of Creation. The scriptures of
the Abrahamic faiths also describe the promise of God to judge all human
beings on the Judgment Day, after they have died, and to reward or punish
them according to God’s justice. All of the faiths believe that God requires
human beings to show mercy to others, to do good deeds such as helping
others, and that He will reward those who have faith and do well in this world.
The promise of God is for eternal life after death, in a heavenly paradise.
Equally, those who do evil will be punished in Hell. The most important thing
for human beings, however, is to have faith in God, that He will grant mercy
to whomever He will, and forgive their sins or wrongdoing. Another important
concept of God is that He is not from the world, but He is present, and each
human being can approach God and become near to Him, through prayer
and other acts of worship
• Practices of Worship
Belief in the need to worship God is common to all religions. The most basic
form of worship is prayer. Each tradition prescribes specific words and
requirements for prayer, which takes place at appointed day. Public prayer
in houses of worship is common to all three faiths: Jews on Saturday, for
Christians on Sunday, and for Muslims on Friday.
All Abrahamic faiths recognize the personal, private prayer of each believer.
Prayers that mark the times in the day and the cycle of the year are among
the most important signs of obedience to God. Such rituals are also the
source of scientific efforts to achieve accurate timekeeping and calendars.
The prayer also implies fasting in these three religions and performingpilgrimage to Holy lands.
• Celebrations
Each of the Abrahamic faiths has a few major celebrations during the year.
Both Judaism and Islam follow a lunar calendar for the timing of these
celebrations, and some Christian feast days are also influenced by the lunarcalendar. Some of these celebrations are:
• Judaism: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot,
Chanukkah, Purim; these celebrations recall events in the dramatic
history of the Jewish people.
• Christianity: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Good Friday, Easter, and
Pentecost; these are only a few of the celebrations that commemorate
events in the life of Jesus.
• Islam: Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr; Hajj and Eid al-Adha; Ramadan is a
month of fasting commanded in the Qur’an, and the feast day that ends
it is Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Adha and the Hajj (the ritual journey to Makkah)
commemorate events in the life of Abraham and his family
Sharing food and other gifts with family, neighbours, and needy people are
common ways to celebrate, and attending special worship services are part
of these celebrations.
• Leadership
Individuals and the community participate in worship and follow ethical,
practical and religious laws. Leaders especially trained in knowledge of the
faith and care for the community and its members play roles in guiding the
faithful.
• In Judaism, leaders are called Rabbis, and they receive rigorous
training in the scriptures and other Judaic writings.
• In Christianity, priests and pastors serve as part of a church hierarchy,or
ranks of authorities. Only trained, ordained, or initiated priests can fulfil
certain sacred functions of worship for the lay, or ordinary people.
• In Islam a prayer leader is called an imam“one who stands in front” of
the lines of worshippers. Leaders who offer advice on how to practice
Islam, on the law, and other kinds of guidance.
• Moral and ethical principles and laws
Christianity, Islam and Judaism share a set of morals and values. The
most basic set of moral and ethical values in the Biblical tradition is the Ten
Commandments, which was part of the revelation taught by Moses, and
are revered by Jews and Christians as they appear in the Torah and the
Old Testament. This part of the belief system is an important reason why
Muslims are taught to respect Jews and Christians as fellow “People of the
Book.” The Qur’an includes all of the Ten Commandments – many of them
stated in a similar way, with the exception of the Sabbath (day of rest).
The Qur’an also states that its revelation came to confirm the right message
that the earlier prophets brought. Much of this message is the central religious
concept of one God, and the basic commandments to honour parents, help
the poor, respect neighbours, not to steal, kill, envy, or lie, and so on. Some of
these commandments also form the basis of civil and criminal law in secular
governments, and they form the basis for the concept of human rights. The
fact that they share values, beliefs and ethics, make them to easily interactand allow many kinds of interactions possible
4.4. End unit assessment
1. Define the following terms: Judaism, Torah
2. List the five books of the Law.
3. Explain how laws can help you to live peacefully in your community.
4. Briefly explain the beliefs of christians.
5. How christian beliefs can help you to live in harmonious life in
your society?
6. What does the term Islam mean?
7. Define the following concepts:
a. Quran
b. Hadith
8. Discuss the Islamic six pillas of faith