A tour of various faiths

More in Common
than you think!
Dr. sabeel
Ahmed
GainPeace.com
ABOUT THE
PRESENTER
Born in India, Hyderabad
Obtained education and medical degree in USA
Full-time dawah worker
Director of GainPeace
Resides in Chicago with wife (Asma Naheed) and two
kids
 Overview
• Short Quiz
• Why Compare and Contrast?
• Overview of major faiths - ideology
– Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism,
– Atheism (if time permits)
• Dawah Talking Points
– Effective mentorship using knowing of
various faiths
• Q&A
1. Most Christians in the USA belong to this sect:
a)Catholics
b)Jehovah’s witnesses
c)Protestants
d)Mormons

Answer = C
 Overview
2. The biggest sect in Christianity is:
a) Catholics
b) Jehovah's Witnesses
c) Protestants
d) Mormons

Answer = a
3. According to the latest survey there
are more Muslims in the world than
Christians?
•A. True
•B. False

•Answer = B
5. Which sect in Christianity goes door to
door to spread their message?
a)Catholics
b)Jehovah’s witnesses
c)Protestants
d)Mormons

Answer = b
 Who named them
‘Christians’?
a) God of the Bible
b) Jesus Christ (s)
c) Disciples of Jesus (s)
d) Paul
e) None of the above
5. This man in the picture currently
Has authority over:
a)Catholics
b)Jehovah’s witnesses
c)Protestants
d)Mormons
e)None of the above

Answer – e (the above pope is dead, thus doesn’t have

any authority over anybody), the current pope is….(next
slide)
• Pope Benedict XVI
Why
Comparative
Religion?
 Helps in Effective
Mentorship
• Concept of Tauheed to concept of God in other
faiths
• Concept of Prophethood
• Scriptures
– Compare and contrast
• Concept of salvation
• Comprehensive guidance
• Assisting new Muslims
– to do dawah to their families
– Answering questions from non-Muslims against Islam
Why Comparative Religion?
• Knowing their ideology helps us in
effective conveying Islam
Ibrahim’s (as) Dawah
Comparative Religion!
 Ibrahim’s (as) dawah to his
father
• ‫ل ُيْغِني‬
َ ‫صُر َو‬
ِ ‫ل ُيْب‬
َ َ‫سَمُع و‬
ْ ‫ل َي‬
َ ‫ت ِلَم َتْعُبُد َما‬
ِ ‫لِبيِه َيا َأَب‬
َِ ‫ل‬
َ ‫ِإْذ َقا‬
19:42) ‫شْيًئا‬ َ ‫ك‬ َ ‫عن‬َ)
• He said to his father, "O my father,
why do you worship what can neither
hear, nor see, nor help you in any
way?
 Ibrahim (as) Vs the Idols
• They said, "Did you do this to our gods,
O Abraham?" (21.62)
• He replied, `Well, someone has surely
done this. Here is the chief of them. So
ask them if they can speak.' (21.63)
• Yet, they reverted to their old ideas:
"You know full well that these cannot
speak." (21.65)
• He said, `Do you then worship,
instead of ALLAH, that which cannot
profit you at all, nor harm you?
(21.66)
• "You have incurred shame by
worshipping idols beside GOD. Do
you not understand?" (21.67)
 Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh)
Dawah to the polytheist
• Say: "If there had been (other) gods with
Him, as they say, behold, they would
certainly have sought out a way to the
Lord of the Throne!" (17:42).
• Yet have they taken, besides Allah, gods
that can create nothing but are
themselves created; that have no control
of hurt or good to themselves; nor can
they death nor life nor resurrection.
(25:3).
Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh)
Dawah to Christians
Why Comparative Religion?
• Prophets of Allah, swt, gave dawah in
the context of the beliefs of their
people
Dawah during 1 Hijrah
st
Why Comparative Religion?
• Companions of the Prophet, pbuh,
and other Muslims shared Islam in
the context of the beliefs of their
audience.
 ‫‪Qaloo and Qul‬‬

‫‪• They say ~ 250‬‬

‫‪• Say (reply) ~ 250‬‬

‫حْكَمةِ‬‫ك ِباْل ِ‬
‫ل َرّب َ‬‫ع ِإِلى سَِبي ِ‬
‫اْد ُ‬
‫جاِدْلُهم‬
‫سَنِة َو َ‬‫حَ‬ ‫ظِة اْل َ‬
‫عَ‬‫َواْلَمْو ِ‬
‫سُ‬
‫ن‬ ‫حَ‬ ‫ي َأ ْ‬‫ِباّلِتي ِه َ‬
‫‪16.125‬‬
Why Comparative Religion?
• Quran is a book of comparative
religion –
• Allah, swt, has introduce tauheed in
the context of other ideologies:
– People of the book
– Polytheist
– Atheist
Co-Workers
Neighbors
Child’s Teacher
 Major
Religions
 Major
Religions
Christianity
 Who is a Christian?

• If we look at the dictionary

definition of the word
Christian, we get:
• Anyone who calls himself a
Christian
• Anyone who follows the
faith of Christianity
 Who named them
‘Christians’?
a) God of the Bible
b) Jesus Christ (s)
c) Disciples of Jesus (s)
d) Paul
e) None of the above
 Idol worshipped (pagans)
named them ‘Christians’!
• ‘…And in Antioch the
disciples were first
called Christians.
(Book of Acts 11:26)
• (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
Commentary, Electronic
Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by
Biblesoft)
 Dawah Talking Points
• The label ‘Muslim’ was given to us by the Creator.
• The label ‘Islam’, by the Creator
• The word ‘Quran’ by Creator
• Reference for the above from the Quran??

Reference:
Muslim – 22.78
Islam – 3.19
Quran -
 How many Christian
denominations in the world?
• 33,820 denominations…and counting
• World Christian Encyclopedia (year 2000 version)
• ‘Denomination’ – Division based on
 Catholics
• 1.2 Billion Catholics in the world,
thus the biggest sect in Christianity.
• Headquarter is in Rome, Europe.
• Their final authority is the Pope
• Bible and church traditions as sources for their beliefs.
• Statues of Mary, Jesus and saints in their churches
• Their priest cannot get married
• Their nun’s wear the ‘hijab’(some modern nuns don’t)
• Mostly found in South America, Central America, Mexico
& parts of Europe
• 73 Book in their Bible
 Protestants
– Rejects Pope’s authority
– Formed in 1529 CE by Martin Luther
– Takes Bible as the sole authority and not church
tradition
– Sub-Groups: Baptist (Pat Robertson, President
Obama), Methodist (President Bush),
Pentecostals (very emotional in prayer, raising hands,
dancing, music).
– 590 Million Protestants worldwide, 170 Million N.
America.
– 66 books in their Bible
 Eastern Orthodox
– Split from Catholic Church in 1054 CE
– Bible plus church traditions as sources
– Don’t take Pope’s authority
– 300 million adherents
– Mostly found in Russia
– and Eastern Europe.
– 78 Books in their Bible
Jehovah Witnesses
 Jehovah’s Witnesses
– Go House to house to spread their message
– 1870 - Charles Taze Russell
– Watchtower & Awake Magazines
– Rejects Trinity, Divinity of Jesus
– No military service, no blood transfusion
– Paradise on Earth
– 17 million worldwide
– 7 million missionaries – every adult to witness
• 66 Books in their Bible (New World Translation)
 Well, you also have sects in
Islam?
How to answer?
  Muslim Sects Christian Sects

Concept of God All believe in all one God, • Catholics: Trinity

Allah, with no partners or • Protestants: Trinity
sons & daughters or • Jehovah Witnesses:
mother, father Rejects Trinity
• Unitarians: One God
  Muslim Sects Christian Sects

Concept of God All believe in all one God, Allah,
with no partners or sons &
daughters or mother.
• Catholics: Trinity
• Protestants: Trinity
• Jehovah Witnesses: Rejects
Trinity
• Unitarians: One God

Scripture All Muslims follow the same Quran Different Bibles for each major
with 114 Suras (Chapters) Christian Sect:

•Catholics 73 Books
•Protestants: 66 Books
•Orthodox Christians: 78 Books.

Jesus Christ (as) All Muslims consider Jesus Christ 1. Catholics: Jesus was God
(as) as a Prophet, not God or son 2. Jehovah Witnesses: Not God
of God. but son of God
3. Unitarians: Prophet only
All Muslims consider Prophet
Muhammad (saw) as the last
Prophet.
Christians
What do they believe?
 Concept of God in
Christianity
• Triune God - Trinity
– God the Father
– God the Son
– God the Holy Spirit
• Incarnation of God
– God became a human being - Jesus
Concept of God in Islam
 Oneness of God in Islam
• Say: He is Allah, the One and Only!
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He
begets not nor is He begotten. And
there is none like unto Him. (surah
112)
Oneness of God in the Bible
• Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the
LORD is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
• “I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me."
(Isaiah 46:9)
• The most important one," answered
Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord
our God, the Lord is one. (Mark 12.29)
 Dawah Talking Point
• Is each ‘person’ in the God head, ‘dependent’ or
‘independent’ of each other?
• Where does the Old Testament says God is a
triune God?
• What does the New Testament says God is a
triune God?
• Oneness of God in the Quran and the Bible
– Know the verses
 Book of the Christians
• The Holy Bible

• Copy – some mistakes

• Copies – much more mistakes
 What Is The Bible?

• Bible = Collection of Writings or

books
• Christianity
– Old Testament
– New Testament
• Judaism
Old Testament
– Old Testament
Books = 39 Bible
New Testament
Books = 27
New Testament 27 booklets

• Gospels = 1st 4 booklets of new testament

– Seerah of Jesus (as)
• 5th book – seerah of companions of Jesus (as0
– Book of Acts
• Rest of the books
– Most of them by Paul
• Book of Revelation
– Prophecies of end times
 Jesus’ Ministry

Bible Written

Ethiopic Bible Coptic Bible Protestant Bible Catholic Bible Syraic Bible Greek Orthodox
Books = 81 Books = 75 Books = 66 Books = 73 Books = 61 Books = 78

KJV Bible
Other Popular Bible Versions
1611 CE

GNB 1966
RSV Bible, 1952
Mark 16:9-12 Removed NAB 1970
KJV = King James Version
RSV = Revised Standard Version
NRSV = New Revised Standard RSV Bible 1971 CE NIV 1973
Version Mark 16:9-20 Added
GNB = Good News Bible Back ! NJB 1986
NIV = New International Version
NJB = New Jerusalem Bible NRSV Bible 1989 CE
NLT = New Living Bible More alterations NLT 1996
History of the Bible
 Concept of Salvation
• God is pure
• Humans are sinful – inherited Adam’s sin –
original sin
• God became perfect man
• Died on the Cross
• Took sins of humanity
• Anyone who believe this and confess is saved!
• "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,'
and believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with
your heart that you believe and are justified,
and it is with your mouth that you profess your
faith and are saved.“ (Romans 10:9-10)
 Dawah Talking Points
• “And convey good news to those who believe and
do good deeds, that they shall have gardens in
which rivers flow; …”(Quran 2.25)
• According to Jesus of the Bible, paradise to be
gained by following the commandments.
• “Now a man came up to Jesus and asked,
"Teacher, what good thing must I do to get
eternal life?"  17 "Why do you ask me about what is
good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is
good. If you want to enter life, obey the
commandments." (Matthew 19:16-17)
 Dawah Talking Points
• Bible refutes original sin
• “The soul who sins is the one who will die. The
son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will
the father share the guilt of the son. The
righteousness of the righteous man will be
credited to him, and the wickedness of the
wicked will be charged against him.” (Ezekiel
18.20)
• "Say: O my slaves who have transgressed
against themselves! Despair not for the mercy
of Allah: verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly He is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Qur'an 39:53)
• Say: What! shall I seek a Lord other than Allah? And
He is the Lord of all things; and no soul earns (evil)
but against itself, and no bearer of burden shall bear
the burden of another; then to your Lord is your
return, so He will inform you of that in which you
differed. (Quran 6.164)
• "Say: O my slaves who have transgressed against
themselves! Despair not for the mercy of Allah: verily
Allah forgives all sins. Truly He is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful." (Qur'an 39:53)
 After life
• Vague
– Some verses say humans will become
like angels
– Other mention of accountability
– No clear description of paradise
 Dawah Talking points
• Allah is all knowing, watching
• Description of paradise – incentive
for believers to go their
• Description of hell – incentive to do
good to stay away from hell
Tips in Dawah Discussion with
Christians
Hinduism
What do they believe?
 Hinduism - Overview
• No founder
• 900 million Hindus in the world
• Mostly in India, Nepal, Bangladesh,
Indonesia
– About 1.5 million in USA
• Hindus incorporated beliefs of others
faiths
 Concept of God
• Various conflicting views of God
• Hindu Trinity:
– Brahmā the creator, Vishnu the maintainer, and Śhiva
the destroyer
• Everything is god!
• The true "self" of every person, called the ātman — is
eternal - indistinct from Brahman
• God worshipped through many idols
• Ishvar – Name of the supreme being
• Many incarnations of God
– Rama
– Krishna
– Buddha
– Kalki – awaiting his coming
 Dawah Talking Points
• If everything is God, even you, then
why are you sinning.
• Does it mean, God forbid, that even
garbage and filth is god!
• If God is all knowing, then why not
worship him directly.
 Dawah talking points
• Bring out the oneness of God verses in the Quran
(42:11; 112, 2:255)
• Ask: ‘What are some attributes of God’
• ‘Is the various entities in God ‘dependent or
independent’
• Can the three persons in godhead interchange their
rules, why and why not?
• Give four options
– Man
– Idol
– Sun, moon
– Unseen supreme creator
• Remind them – on the day of judgment our families,
priest, parents can save us, and we can’t come back to
earth life again to correct our mistakes.
 Book of Hinduism
• Vedas – Most authoritative
– Sama, Yajur, Atharva, Rig
• No known author
• Supposedly revealed to sages
• Deals with Rituals
• Bhagwat Gita
– Teachings of Krishna
• Ramayana
– Responsibilities of relationships
• Mahabhrata
– Bharata dynasty’s tale
 Dawah Talking Points
• Speak of the compilation and
preservation of the Quran
• Provide evidence of why Quran is
Allah’s word
• Islam combines reason with faith
• Quran provides complete and
comprehensive guidance on personal
and society level
 Concept of Salvation
• A person goes through cycle of birth,
rebirth…
• If realizes that everlasting happiness
is in spiritual pleasures, this cycle is
broken
• Then goes to heaven
• Comes in the presence of God
 After life - Reincarnation
• Believe in reincarnation
– If good in this world, will become closer to god
– If bad, then come back in the next life as a
non-human species
• Dog
• Cockroaches
• Cat
• Bacteria
• Other faiths that believe in reincarnation
– Buddhism
– Jainism
– Sikhism
 Dawah Talking Points
• OK, if somebody comes as a cockroach,
then how will this cockroach knows
what good things he/she needs to do to
become a higher species after it dies.
• If hitler comes back as a dog, is that
enough punishment for him?
• Are scriptures and prophets sent to
guide cockroaches, dogs, cats etc.
Judaism
What do they believe?
 Concept of God
• Pure monotheistic faith – oneness of God
• Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the
LORD is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
• “I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me."
(Isaiah 46:9)
 Prophethood - Judaism
• Prophet is a representative of God
• Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Samuel,
Ezekiel, Malachi, and Job.
• Moses as the greatest of prophets
• Reject Jesus and Muhammad (pbut)
• Attributes grave sins to Prophets
 Scriptures of the Jews
• Tanakh – Old Testament – 39 booklets
– Torah – first 5 booklets
– The Prophets - 24 books
– The writing - 11 books
• Talmud
– Discussion on law, customs, history by
jewish saints
 After life
• Not well defines
• Concept of heaven and hell
 Dawah Talking Points
• Commonalities
– Oneness of God
– Prophethood

• Avoid topics of:

– Politics
– Current middle east situation
Conclusion
For more info…

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