Short Essay 1 Question 2

AFRICAN RELIGION

(Batswana)

African religion has no founder and they believe in different Gods that are in charge of our daily
lives. They communicate with Gods through prayer, song, dance, sacrifice, dedication and blessings.
They believe there are 2 worlds, one on earth which we live in and the other which the Gods live in.
They follow no written scriptures and they practice the oral tradition where sacred stories or tales of
wisdom are passed and shared from generation to generation. They do not have specific ritual but
do perform rituals and ceremonies on occasion. African religion was discovered more than 4000
years ago in Africa. It consists of various other types such as San, Khoisan and Zulu.

There are three main characteristics for African Religion is as follows:

1. Supreme Being – which refers to God, Creator and Upholder.

2. Realm of spirits – which refers to ancestral spirits, nature spirits and deities.
3. Unified community – which refers life been communal, life entailing maintenance and
dynamic relationships with extended family, ritual play, family rituals, traditional healers and
diviners.

The above three characteristics can used by Batswana as follows:

1. Supreme Being – Divinity (Modimo) is originally seen as an impersonal active creative

process.
2. Realm of spirits – The Batswana has a variety of demigods and ancestors linking living people
to the divinity.
3. Unified communities – The Batswana have a constant interaction between people, divinity,
facilitated by ancestors. People may be partly divine but also human.

The above gives us an understanding of African Religion and how the Batswana makes use of the
three main characteristics of African Religion. African religion is also applicable to the San, Khoisan
and Zulu but in this case it will not be discussed.
 Short Essay 2 Question 2

HINDUISM

(Shruti & Smriti)

There is no founder on Hinduism but they do believe in different Gods and Goddesses in different
forms of the Braham, the world of the soul or God. They believe in Reincarnation and Karma. They
use various scriptures of the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita. They celebrate Divali and Holi. Hinduism
was discovered more than 4500 years ago in Israel.

They believe in the sacred texts known as the Shruti which means “what is heard” and the Smriti
which means “That which is remembered.” This will now be discussed in detail.

The Shruti is the entire history of Hinduism; it begins with the early texts known and with some
Upanishads reaching into modern times. It has no author and is believed to be a divine recording of
“cosmic sounds of truth’ which were heard by the rishis.

It can be defined as follows:

1. Rig-veda (knowledge of hymns of praise)

2. Antharava-veda (knowledge of magic formulas)
3. Sama-veda (knowledge of melodies)
4. Yajur-veda (knowledge of sacrificial formulas)

The Smriti denotes the non-shruti text generally and is secondary in authority to the Shruti text.

It can be defined as follows:

1. Dharma Shastra (the laws)2.

2. Mahakavya (the epics of Mhabharata and Ramayana)
3. Purana (secondary scriptures that mainly focus on Vishnu and Shiva
4. Sutra (proverbs)
5. Agama (the philosophies – mantra, tantra)
6. Dyasana (the other philosophies – vendata)

There are different opinions about the validity and importance of each. Some stress that the Shruti
foundation is and Smriti making the truth available is important. These sacred texts are the central
canon of Hinduism and is therefore considered as the Hindu law and is highly followed, respected
and of equal extreme importance to the Hindu people.
 Long Essay 1 Question 3

ISLAM

The word Islam means to submitte or surrender and a Muslim is therefore someone who submittes
or surrenders to the will of Allah in order to attain peace. They believe there is no God but Allah and
The Prophet Muhammed is his messanger.

Islam was founded by The Prophet Muhammed born in 570CE. Muhammed was born in sacred
Mecca and lost his father and mother at an early age. Muhammed was then raised by his uncle Abu
Talib and married a wealthy widow named Khadija. He had two sons who both died in infancy and
four daughters.

Muslims believe in God, the last day on judgement, the angels and the holy book known as the
Quran. The word Quran means ‘recitation’ and also known as a sacred book of guidance. The Quran
is made up of verses which are known as Ayats and chapters known as Surahs. The Quran is made up
of 114 chapters in total. It is believed that the Quran was verbally revealed to angel Jibril (Gabriel) by
Allah and was later revealed by Jibril (Gabriel) to the prophet Muhammed at the age of 40 on the
“night of power.” They also believe secondary in the Hadith which refers to the traditions, sayings or
actions of Muhammed and his companions which is used as a basis of the Muslims believe in the
Islamic law.

Islam originates from Saudia Arabia along the Arabian Peninsula where there were many Gods that
were worshipped, there were many temples but the main place of worship was the Kaaba.

Muslims believe and live by the simple 5 pillars of Islam which are:

1. A declaration of faith also known as the Shahadah

2. To perform the 5 daily prayers known as Salat
3. To give charity also known as Zakat
4. To fast during the month of Ramadaan also known as Saum
5. To perform a sacred journey to the holy ground of the Mecca also known as Hajj

They believe in the pillars to faith which are as follows:

1. They believe in God

2. They believe in the angels of Allah also known as Malaeka
3. They believe in Allah’s prophets
4. They believe in the day of judgement also know as Yawn al-Qiyama
5. They believe in destiny and the divine creed also known as Qadawal-Qada

Muslims also believe in the law of Shariah which they live according to. They believe that God also
known as Allah is the best planner regardless of what we plan his plan always prevails. They believe
in the oneness to mankind and to the message.

There are two branches of Muslims which are Sunni and Shi’te. Sunni is the first branch and they
acknowledge the authority of Sunna. They accept the first 4 caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthmaan and
Ali) as the rightful successors of Muhammed and are known as Sunnite. Shi’te is the second branch
and they believe that the only heirs of the fourth caliph (Ali) are legitimate successors of
Muhammed. The difference between the two does not stem spiritually but politically.

Islam celebrates two major festivals known as Eid ul-Fitr which is the festival where fast is broken
and Eid ul Adha which is the feast of sacrifice. These festivals are shared with family, friends and the
community. Meals are shared; visits are made to homes of family and friends in the Islamic
community.

Islam follows a simple way of life and practice which have been passed on generation to generation.
We are born in a natural state of goodness islamically and are pure until we reach puberty. Our
parents have a great duty to sustain, nurture and educate us on Islamia. From their teachings we
learn to obey, respect and honour our parents and elders. From this we become a part of the
Muslim community also known as the ummah regardless of race or nationality we are brothers and
sisters in Islam especially in prayer at the masjied. We learn what is permissible to eat also known as
halaal and those that are prohibited that are known as haraam. We are taught dress modestly and
where the scarf also known as the hijab or the veil also known as the niqab but this still remains a
choice we have to make. We are motivated to complete school and study further. We make a choice
to get married which is also known as nikaah which is not a sacrament but an agreement of both
parties. Polygamy is allowed but is not practiced by all Muslim men. As we grow older there comes a
time when we will die as in any other religion.

From the above I believe that Islam is simple and can be easily practiced. It is not something that has
been forced onto us from generation to practice. We are born and as we grow it becomes a way of
our daily lives. We practice Islam daily without even realising what we are doing. It is a beautiful
religion which guides us to be better people not only Islamically but also individually, in our family, in
our ummah and in the world in order for us to enter heaven also known as Jannah after death.