The first commonality among religions is that almost all of them believe in the existence of a Supernatural Reality
They believe God is Absolute perfection, knowledge, power, and love. God is Eternal who predates and postdates our present.
Touhid is Islam's fundamental belief; Hindus recognize one God, Brahman, and Jesus taught Fatherhood of One God.
The Abrahamic faiths and Sikhism believe in creation and the Hindu-Buddhist philosophy in emanation. The mythical stories of creation are found in all religious traditions.
God is the Rab and Qayyūm in the Quran and Vishnu is the name of the sustainer in Hinduism. The Bible says in John 5:17: My Father is always at his work; St Augustine said commenting on this verse: all created things would perish if God’s working were withdrawn.
All religions believe God is omnipotent. In Rig Veda, the Bible, and the Qur’an, All-Powerfulness is the Divine attribute. In Hinduism, Durga and Shakti symbolizes that.
In Hinduism, Brahman is All-Pervading; in the Bible, in Colossians 1:17, it is stated: He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together; The Qur'an says: Wherever you turn, you will find God's face
His knowledge encompasses all. He knows what we have in our mind
Judaism and Islam believe in a just God. In Christianity also, it is an attribute of God. In Rig Veda and Mahabharata and Gita. God protects dharama.
Belief in one God is the corner-stone of all religions. All prayer, in whatever language or from whatever religion it was, was prayer addressed to one and the same God.
Worldview is philosophy or opinion about the nature of the universe, its creation and goal. The worldview of religions has following similarities.
All religions believe that the world is more than the matter:
All religions believe in the Spiritual dimension of the universe:
Philosophy of History is different from History. History deals with what happened in the past; the philosophy of History with what always happens.
All religions believe that God's laws govern History.
All religions believe in a golden era:
All religions believe in constant conflict between good and evil:
They also believe the curve of History bends toward Justice.
All religions believe that, ultimately, the truth will prevail.
All religions share belief in extra-physical dimension of man- that man is more than body. They reject the material viewpoint that humankind has appeared accidentally and hat man is just a mammal belonging to the Homo sapiens species who is without a tail, walks on two feet, and can speak.
All religions believe in the purposefulness of Human existence. In this world man is with a mission and the mission is sublime.
The Hindu religion considers Atman as the inner form of Brahman; the Bible declares God created Man in His image, and in the Qur'an, God declares: I blew into him (man) from my spirit. Idealistic religions believe Man is only a spiritual being; Realistic Religions like Islam hold that man has a Divine spark, but his physical existence is also real.
They believe that God created man in His image. The myths of creation in different religions have striking similarities.
Man has many common things with animals; these constitute his animal nature. But some elements distinguish him from animals; Spirituality, morality, and rational faculty are the most important. These constitute his human nature. All religions call man to move from animal nature to human nature.
Intellect, reasoning faculty and Free-Will are distinctions of Man. Animals are incapable of reasoning and are motivated by their instincts. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam believe in free-will as a great bounty of God for man. The Indian religions believe in the conditioned free-will, tampered with by samsara. Gita says that man has free will but is conditioned.
Man is an accountable being. Whatever good or bad he does, he will be rewarded or punished for that. Belief in the eternal life of the next world is one of important points of Abrahamic religions but found in all Faiths, in one way or other.
5. Morality Is CommonThe moral perspective of all religions is the same. Controlling animal passions and cultivating humanity is the goal of all religions.
Such as honesty, truthfulness, integrity, selflessness; God-fearing, taqwa, piety, Godliness; Rationality, wisdom, open-mindedness, originality and, creativity. Determination, courage, bravery, toughness, self-confidence.
Humility, sincerity, politeness, and admitting one's mistakes; Patience (sabr), perseverance, thankfulness (shukr); contentedness (qanāah), reliance on God (tawakkul); Cleanliness, attentiveness, manners, `punctuality, simplicity, moderation; dedication, hard work, independence. Family values and behavior are same too. All religions emphasize: Kindness and respect for parents and elders; the love between spouses and attentiveness to children and youngsters; helping family members, especially those in need, and kindness to neighbors.
Love, mercy, kindness, compassion, equanimity; altruism, empathy, mutual respect, and spirit of brotherhood; Charity, generosity, and service to all. Tolerance, not hurt others' feelings; loyalty, faithfulness, keeping promises, trustworthiness; gratitude, thankfulness, forgiveness, Admitting Fault,
Ninety percent of values emphasized by different religions are common. There is hardly a 10% difference, which is also a difference in focus, not in essence. 6. System of Worship:An essential part of religion is its system of worship. There are striking similarities in the object, the spirit and forms of worship:
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Spirituality is an esoteric, intuitive, experiential science of gaining perfection. through knowing, loving and moving toward God. It suggests a way (ashtanga yoga); describes the inner states (ahwāl), stages, and stations (maqāmāt)
Spirituality consists of four elements:
1. Commonality in Theosophy or the Spiritual Philosophy:
Following are the common realities discovered by all mystics:
2. Commonality in the Practical Spirituality (āshtang Yoga)
Spirituality is not just a Philosophy but a systematic way (tarīqah) to realize spiritual goals. Yoga has systematized it in an eightfold way. Following are these components of the way which are common among all spiritual traditions::
3. Commonality in the Description of the Spiritual States (ahwāl)
In the journey towards God, the seeker passé through various states. Sufis call them as ahwal, the plural of hāl. Some of them are:
4. Commonality in the Description of Spiritual stations (maqamat)
In the journey toward perfection, the seeker reaches various stages and stations. Sufi call them maqāmāt. These are more or less common in religions. Some are:
Thus, the Spirituality of all religions is almost one with no difference
With so many similarities there is no reason why followers of religions may not have Interfaith Understanding instead of communal hatred and conflicts. There will be no lasting peace on earth unless we learn not merely to tolerate but to celebrate plurality, and respect other Faiths.
Prof. Saud Alam Qasmi
Dean, Faculty of Theology, AMU
When the Divine books are mentioned, we think of four books- Torah, Psalms, Gospel and Qur'an, because these books have been mentioned by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and mentioned again and again in the Holy Qur'an. But the books of God according to the Qur’an are not confined to these four books.
The Qur’an has declared that Allah Almighty bestowed heavenly books on His Messengers for the guidance of different nations. Among them were some detailed books which are called Kitāb al-Munīr and some short books which are called "Zubūr". Elsewhere short books are also called Sahīfa. It is known from the hadith of Holy Prophet (PBUH) that from Hazrat Adam (PBUH) to Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) Allah sent one hundred and twenty four thousand prophets. Some Hadiths mention that among them three hundred and fifteen prophets received the Divine Books. Who were these three hundred and fifteen apostles on whom the books were revealed and in what languages? It is not mentioned in the hadith. But it is clear that all nations and lands have received the Holy Books.
India many books are considered sacred but the Vedas have the primacy of the place. Rigveda is the earliest religious document of Hinduism, in which the sages, sects and religious leaders, as they observed the universe and its manifestations, presented their feelings and desires to Ishwar in the form of prayers. There is also praise for the deities. There are prayers for earth, sky, air, light, river, mountains, cattle, gardens, agriculture, economics, food and physical strength. There are also prayers for goodness, sin, heaven, hell, action and sacrifice.
The teachings of the Sacred Books are similar in essence. Tawheed, Prophethood, the Hereafter, and morality and character building is also found in the ancient scriptures as well as in the Torah, Injīl and the Qur’an. There is teaching of the Onness of God or Tawhīd in the Rig Veda, also. For example, it is said:
“Whose eyes are wide in the whole universe, whose face is present in the whole world, whose arms are working in the whole universe, whose footsteps are walking in the whole universe. He is Ishwar (God) alone. Is the creator. In the case of sin and goodness, according to the deeds done, he promotes everything. ”
Monotheism is also taught in Yajur Veda. For example, see the following mantra:
"There is only one God who has not been created. He is faster and more agile than the heart. Even the devas (angels) cannot attain it."
Thus, the message of all scriptures is the same; it is emphasis on the unity of the Creator and the unity of mankind.
Dr Ali Mehdi
Author & Senior Fellow, ICRIER, New Delhi
You consider yourself a small body,
Yet encapsulated within you is the entire universe[1]
Islam is the meeting between God as such and man as such[2]
There is no obstacle between the lover and the beloved
You yourself are your own veil, Hafiz;remove it from the midst[3]
The road to God passes among the people[4]
The freedom and the aspiration to ‘become’ is, I guess, unique to human beings, and the foundation of all their progress. There would be no progress without the freedom and the aspiration to become.
One might argue that we also have the freedom to remain in a state of ‘being’, like other creatures, without necessarily aspiring or making efforts to become, to rise above our given state of affairs. However, one might also argue that, with ‘real’ freedom, we will always aspire to become, to make progress; lack of aspirations and progress might mean that we actually lack real freedoms. It is not a mere coincidence that countries which safeguard freedoms progress more than those that don’t. The Human Freedom Index ranks ‘negative freedoms’ (i.e. absence of coercive constraints) vis-à-vis 79 indicators of personal, civil and economic freedoms around the world. According to its 2017 rankings, the highest levels of these freedoms were in Western and Northern parts of Europe and North America, the lowest in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.[5]Despite the praiseworthy endeavor of the organizations which bring out this Index to look beyond the narrow ‘economic freedoms’ on which they were earlier focused, this is still a narrow, a negative, view of three types of freedoms. The State Department of the US government brings out an annual International Religious Freedom Report which focuses on other countries and excludes the US, despite its own record of religious freedom,within and outside the country,being far from illustrious, even from a limited negative perspective.Despite unprecedented expansion of political, economic and social freedoms in several parts of the world, the narrative of freedom has remained limited – as has been our progress.
According to Islam, God created man from earth and breathed His Spirit in him. This Spirit grants himan extraordinary potential, with which he can ‘become’ what no creature can: the best,noblest of creations (ashraf-ul makhlūqāt).[6]Divine religions were sent to guide human beings towardsthe path to become the best, the noblest of creation.Divine guidance has been available since the very beginning: the first human being was also the first Prophet of God. Therefore, divine guidance has inspired human progress since the very beginning in different forms, and not necessarily through formal religion. Our progress in various fields – be it arts, culture, civilization, science, technology, etc., the materials that we have used to make progress, the ideas that have inspired such progress – all came through divine intervention and inspiration. Man himself, along with all his capabilities and potentials, is a creation of God. All his progress is also, therefore, divinely inspired.
But one could argue that human beings also carry the potential to become the worst of creations.[7]History is witness that religions have also been invoked to halt progress.Much of the misery and misfortune, despair and drudgery,and some of the worst forms of hatred, crimes and injustices are committed in the name of religion. Many times, men are far from being the best, and religions far from being progressive.
From an Islamic perspective, what stops man from reaching out to, or following, God is primarily intrinsic – man’s inner hijab (veil). A beautiful relationship with Godremoves this inner veil and inspires the best in us. At the same time, although the tone of the Quran is strongly otherworldly, ‘there is no room for monasticism in Islam’, as Prophet Muhammad (as) said.[8]The spiritual is tied to the social in many ways. There are rights of God (huquq-ul-lah), and there are rights of fellow human beings (huquq-ul-ibaad).Religions that teach us to respectand realize both– and countries that allow us the freedom to do so– enable us to become the best and contribute to human progress. The future of spiritual and social human progress lies in the hands of such religions and countries, and it is the duty of every progressive individual to support them, and stand up against those who undermine either form of progress.
Bibliography
Schuon, Frithjof. 2011. “Understanding Islam: A new translation with selected letters”. World Wisdom, Bloomington (Indiana, USA).
Mutahhari, Murtaza. 1985. “Fundamentals of Islamic Thought: God, Man and the Universe”. Translated from the Persian by R Campbell. Mizan Press, Berkeley.
[1] Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Caliph of Muslims and the first Imam of Shia Muslims.
[2]Schuon 2011: 1.
[3] Persian poet Hafiz Shirazi. The couplet in Persian reads thus: ‘Miyan-iaashiq-o Mashooqheechhaelneest; Tu khud hijab-ikhudi, Hafiz; azmiyan bar-khez’.
[4]Mutahhari1985.
[5] The CATO Institute (USA), the Fraser Institute (Canada) and Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit (Germany) bring out this Index – https://www.cato.org/human-freedom-index (accessed on 26/8/2018 at 12:56 hours).
[6] ‘Surely We created man of a clay of mud moulded … And when thy Lord said to the angels … ‘When I have shaped him and breathed My spirit in him, fall you down, bowing before him!’ Then the angels bowed themselves all together, save Iblis’ (Quran 15:26-31).
[7] ‘They are like cattle; nay, rather they are further astray’ (Quran 7:179).
[8] In fact, the Quran itself says: ‘And monasticism they [i.e. the followers of Jesus] invented – We did not prescribe it for them’ (Chapter 57: Verse 27). I have used Arthur J Arberry’s translation of the Quran, unless specified otherwise.
Dr. Maroofur Rehman
Assistant Professor, Department of Sanskrit, Zakir Husain College, DU, Delhi
तौहीद अरबी भाषा का शब्द है , जिसका अर्थ है अल्लाह या ईश्वर को मानना । इस्लाम में तौहीद या एकेश्वरवाद उसकी मूल धारणा है । हजरत मुहम्मद ( सल्ल . ) पूज्य नहीं बल्कि एक मनुष्य हैं । हालाँकि आप मानवता के एक नायक और सम्पूर्ण मानवता के अन्तिम पैग़म्बर हैं । दुनियावी चीजें मनुष्य पशु प्रकृति आदि सब कुछ उसकी पैदा की हुई हैं । इस्लाम का अर्थ है समर्पण और आज्ञापालन । समर्पण का अर्थ अल्लाह के आदेशों को स्वीकार करना और आज्ञापालन का अर्थ है अल्लाह के आदेशों को व्यवहार में लाना । हिन्दू ( सनातन ) धर्म एक जीवन पद्धति है । हिन्दू अपभ्रंश फारसी शब्द हैं । यह धर्म अपने अन्दर कई अलग - अलग उपासना पद्धतियां , मत , सम्प्रदाय और दर्शन समेटे हुए है । हिन्दू धर्म के अनुसार मनुष्य ईश्वर से भिन्न नहीं है । ईश्वर ही स्वयं सृष्टि का रूप धारण करते हैं । हिन्दू धर्म इस अद्वैत सत्य के साक्षात्कार को ही जीवन का परम लक्ष्य मानता है । ईश्वर के भिन्न - भिन्न नाम व रूप हैं लक्ष्य तक पहुँचने के लिए अनेक मार्ग बतलाए गए हैं । अतः हिन्दू धर्म में पूरी सृष्टि को ही ईश्वर माना गया है । ब्रह्मा देवानां प्रथमः सम्भूव विश्वस्य कर्ता भुवनस्य गोप्ता । मुण्डकोपनिषद् 1 / 1 तौहीद या एक ईश्वर की अवधारणा ने दाराशिकोह को बहुत मुतासिर किया । उनका मानना था कि सभी रास्ते हमें एक ईश्वर की ओर ले जाते हैं । दाराशिकोह ने कहा " तौहीद का रहस्य यह है कि हे मेरे मित्र इसे समझो कहीं पर ऐसा कुछ नहीं है जहाँ ईश्वर न हो । जो कुछ तुम उससे अलग देखते या जानते हो उसकाईश्वर एक है और सदा से है , उसी को अलग - अलग भाषाओं एवं धर्मों में अल्लाह , ईश्वर ब्रह्म , गौड तथागत वाहेगुरु आदि नामों से पुकारा जाता है । संसार में जितने भी धर्म हैं वह किसी न किसी रूप में एक अन्तिम सत्ता में विश्वास रखते हैं और एक ही सर्वशक्तिमान अस्तित्व की मान्यता से ही प्रत्येक धर्म की शुरूआत होती है । सर्वशक्तिमान ने तो एक ही धर्म की स्थापना की थी ऐसा सभी धर्मग्रन्थों से ज्ञात होता है । ऋग्वेद के अनुसार " एक सत् विप्राः बहुधा वदन्ति " ( ऋ 01 / 164 / 46 ) अर्थात् एक ही परमसत्य को विद्वान कई नामों से पुकारते हैं । कुरान में सुरह फातिहा में कहा गया " अलहम्दो लिल्लाहि रब्बिल आलमीन " अर्थात् संसार की सारी प्रशंसाएँ अल्लाह के लिए हैं जो सारे जहाँ का मालिक है । ऋग्वेद में ईश्वर की एकरूपता का वर्णन किया गया है ‘ य एकइत् तमुष्टि ही अर्थात वह एक है उसी की उपासना करो । आदि गुरु शंकराचार्य ने कहा है " एको ब्रह्म द्वितियो नास्ति " अर्थात् एक ही परब्रह्म परमेश्वर है दूसरा कोई नहीं । पवित्र कुरान में ईश्वर को एक होने के संदर्भ में कहा गया " कुल हुवल्लाहु अहद अल्लाहुस्समद लमया लि वलम यू लद , वलमया कुल्लहू कुफोवन अहद ।। ( ऋग्वेद 6/45/16 ) कुरआन- 112 अर्थात् पैग़म्बर ( मुहम्मद ) कह दीजिए ईश्वर अकेला है । ईश्वर ( अल्लाह ) सर्व सम्पन्न है , वह सबसे निरपेक्ष है और सब उसके मोहताज हैं न उसकी कोई संतान है और न वह किसी की संतान है और उसका कोई समकक्ष नहीं है । सिख धर्म के गुरु गुरुनानक जी ने उसी एक परमेश्वर के हर रूपों में स्तुति की है
एक ओंकार सतनाम करता , परखु निर्भऊ निर्वैरु । अकाल मूरति से भंगुर प्रसाद जपु आदि सचु जुगदि सचु हैभि सचु नानक ही सिभि सचु अर्थात एक ही ओम्कार नामक परमेश्वर है , वही सत्य है , उसका न तो कोई वैरी है और न उसे किसी से डर है । वह सदा समान रूप से रहने वाला है । वह स्वयंभू है , अर्थात वह किसी से पैदा नहीं हुआ , जो संसार से पहले भी वही एक सत्य मौजूद था और समाप्ति के बाद भी वही सच मौजूद रहेगा । जौ मौजूद है वह भी सच है और जो मौजूद रहेगा वह भी सच है । नानक जी का निर्देश है कि क्षणभंगुर प्रभु के प्रसाद स्वरूप मानव तुम उसी का जप करो । जैन धर्म में अनुशासन जीवन के द्वारा जो प्राणियों को संसार के दुःख से उठकर उत्तम सुख ( मोक्ष ) की ओर ले जाए उसे धर्म कहते हैं । कुरान में ईश्वर की सत्ता के बारे में कई स्थानों पर आया है कि उसकी सत्ता सदा से रही है और आगे भी सदा रहेगी । " इन्नल्लाह बिकुल्लि शैइन मुहीत एक अल्लाह सदा से है और सत्य ग्रन्थों में किसी न किसी नाम से विद्यमान है । कुरान के अनुसार ईश्वर का भेजा हुआ धर्म शुरू से एक ही रहा है और कयामत ( परलय ) तक एक ही रहेगा , अलबत्ता लोगों ने इसमें अपनी मर्जी और स्वार्थ के लिए परिवर्तन कर डाला । उस ईश्वर ने तुम्हारे लिए वह धर्म नियुक्त किया जो उसने नूह ( मनु ) पर अवतीर्ण किया था और जो हमने ( हे मुहम्मद ) पर अवतीर्ण किया और वही जो हमने इब्राहीम व मूसा व ईसा पर यह कहते हुए उतारा था कि इसी धर्म को स्थापित करना तथा इसमें परस्पर टुकड़े - टुकड़े न हो जाना । ( कुरान 42.13 ) और इन्सान तो एक ही मत के मानने वाले थे फिर बाद में उन्होंने परस्पर मतभेद किया । ( कुरान 42.13 ) ऋग्वेद में ईश्वर की सत्ता के सम्बन्ध में कहा गया है जहाँ आकाश और पृथ्वी मिले हुए थे और फिर अलग - अलग हुए वहां जो धर्म की बुनियाद ( मानव ) नहीं ईश्वर ने रखी थी , पुनःपाकर विश्व के ऋषिगण स्वयं भी शान्त होंगे और विश्व कोभी शान्त करेंगें । ऐसे ही रहस्यों का उद्घाटन जिसमें ईश्वर की सत्ता सदा से मौजूद है । ( 01.62.6.7.11 ) धर्म ईश्वर के प्रति इंसान की सम्पूर्ण श्रद्धा है । धर्म के लिए तीन आवश्यक तत्त्वों बुद्धि ( Knowing or reason ) भावना ( Fealing of effective element ) और क्रिया ( Connective Element ) का होना नितान्त जरूरी है । कर्म का मूल धर्म और धर्म का मूल श्रेष्ठ आचरण करना है । धर्म का अर्थ धारण करना है । दुनिया के सभी मजहबों का उद्देश्य मानव कल्याण हैं । सभी समन्वय और सद्भावना की भावना से पूर्ण किया जा सकता है । यह समन्व्यवादी , सद्भावना और विविधता में एकता भारत की विशेषता है । सभी धर्मों में समानताएँ : दूसरे लोगों के कृत्यों की निंदा न करना , अपने मानवीय धर्म का निरंतर पालन करना , दीनों के प्रति दया करना , लोक व्यवहारों में सब के प्रति मधुर वचन बोलना , प्राण की परवाह न करते हुए सदा परोपकार के कार्यों को करते रहना , घर पर आये मित्रों और मेहमानों और दोस्तों को दिल से लगाना उनके साथ आदर और मोहब्बत से पेश आना । अपनी शक्ति के अनुसार दान देना लोगों के कड़वे व्यवहारों एवं कठोर वचनों को सहन करना अपनी समृद्धि , सफलता एवं विकास पद प्रतिष्ठा और उन्नति के अवसरों पर पूरी तरह से निर्विकार रहना दूसरों के दुःख देने वाली बातों को न करना , दूसरों की उन्नति पर जलन न होना और अधिक नहीं बोलना चाहिए , बांधवों के साथ अटूट सम्बन्ध बनाये रखना और सज्जनों के सरल भाव से सन्तुष्ट रखना आदि सभी सदाचार हैं और इन्हीं के उच्च आदर्शों से इन्सान को समान रूप से सुख में जीवन जीने का अवसर मिलता है ।