School Writing

Thematic Essay- Religions

Time after time the world has multiple religions all around the continents. All of them are interesting, and all have greatly affected its people. All over the world, Religions are formed, and then formed into new religions. Two of these religions are Christianity and Islam. Christianity is a religion that believes in the Bible, that it was the word of god. This religion was originally a part of Judaism, but as baby Jesus older, Jews didn't believe that he was the son of God, and so Christianity became its own religion. On the other hand, Islam believes in multiple things of each religion, and follows the rules of the Qur'an

The Islam religion has multiple beliefs, and one of these is the five pillars. Each pillar stars for a different thing. The shahadah pillar is reciting the Muslim profession of faith, and the Salat is performing ritual prayers at least five times a day, properly. The Zakat is paying/giving charity to the poor and the needy. The Sawm is fasting during the month of the Ramadan. And finally, the last pillar is Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca. These five pillars stand for things that should be done in a Muslim's life daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. As an example, Hajj, fasting during the month of the Ramadan. The month of the Ramadan is a month where Muslims refrain from all of the following. Smoking, bad behavior-including fighting, cursing, gossiping, or impure or rude thoughts. At the beginning of the month on the first day, they will fast from food or water the entire day, sunrise to sunset. They also eat a pre-dawn meal, called suhoor, so they can last the rest of the day with as little hunger as possible. Then the rest of the month they'll pray, increase their religious observance, and to self-reflect. At the end of the Ramadan, there is a large feast called Eid al-Fitr: The feast of fast-breaking. This is a three day holiday at the end of the month that includes special prayers and meals. This year, the month of the Ramadan starts on May 27th, and ends June 25th.

Something shared with different religions that Muslims have is that they believe in one God, but what they share with most of all religions, is that they believe in all prophets sent by God. These prophets include Moses, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Muhammad, and so on. Therefore, they also believe in all the holy books sent by God to these people, such as the Bible, Qur'an (Koran), Torah etc. They also believe in Jesus, however, do not believe he is the son of God like the Christians do. They also chose the name Allah for their-the worlds- God because it is neither feminine nor Masculine. Another thing they share with other religions is the Day of Judgment and life after one's death. Finally, they believe in the divine decree. The divine decree is that nothing can happen without God's permission and that whatever happens, he allows. So if one sins, he allows it but it is highly recommended by Muslims, and other religions, to repent for one's sins.

Muslims only eat certain foods in the world. They refrain from eating meat such a pork, and meat that they are permitted to eat (chicken, sheep, cow etc.) have to be from animals that were killed by slaughter under the Muslim conditions. Muslims halal meat has to be slaughtered, and it's stomach facing qiblah at the time of the animal's time of slaughter. The Muslim people can buy meat from a Muslim vendor and eat it because the Muslim vendor knows the conditions of eating for Muslims. However, if a Muslim buys it somewhere else, and they are allowed to eat it because of the meat it is, but it was not killed properly, it is prohibited and is called Mayta. For drinking, there are just as many rules if not more. Muslims should not be drinking wine or alcohol or beer, and especially if it causes miscarriage or can cause poisoning to oneself or to another. It is also prohibited to sit and eat at a table where wine or alcohol or beer is being served. Sitting near a table with it or in a restaurant that serves it is allowed, however, it must not be at the same table. If it causes harm to one another, or if it is at the same table, it is called haram. Once in a while, however, Muslims are allowed to drink alcohol that is taken from wood or any other pure sources. This is called Tahir. And these are some of the rules of eating and drinking stated from the Qur'an.