Heaven and Hell: Compared Islam and Christianity Thought
From beginning, Islam was closely tied to Christianity. The narrative of Biblical background, traditions both written and oral contains in Koran. This reason make Islam and Christianity share some similarities and more differences, related to origin, visions of Heaven and Hell, life after death, and the modern Islam and Christianity thought.
First, there are two versions story of creation of humankind in the Bible, one of them is creation of the world in six days. That version also appears in the Koran, “Allah, it is He Who has created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them in six days” (Taqiuddin. Muhammad. Dr and Muhsin Muhammad. Dr 32:4-5). In Bible, Heaven and Hell is place of punishment and reward. It is a torment to all sinners. In Christianity proof that, “Hell existed as a place of after - death punishment of evildoers comes not from the admonitory Matthew, but from the gospel of Luke” (Turner 53). Islam also proof that “The inhabitants of hell fire will not continue to be punishment only by fire; rather they will also be punished through severe frost and in other ways, and especially by a punishment which is stronger than all these kinds, namely that will be angry with them, will regard them as contemptible” (Peters 1). Another word that Islam and Christianity called with the same of name of Hell is Gehenna. Jesus often speaks of Gehenna for those who refuse to believe. Punishment of the sinner is by fire, either after death or after the judgment” Wikipedia. Heaven is a place of pleasure that humans can not imagine. “The Koran juxtaposes description of hell with those of paradise, which it refers to by such words as garden, peace, refuge, bliss, eternity and everlasting life” (Murata and Chittick 211). Similarly in “An early Christian heaven is Garden of Paradise” (Heinberg 14). All humans have the same change to enter “the garden” as long as he has good deeds and believers. In Islam, “The account of deed is detailed that the man or moment will wonder at how comprehensive the account is. That even minor and trivial deeds are included” (Ph.D. Al-Hilali and Khan Dr 30.55-57.19.39). Similarly “In Christianity, heaven is return to the pre-fallen state of humanity, a second and new Garden of Eden, in which humanity is reunited with God in a perfect and natural state of eternal existence” Wikipedia. Briefly, for muslim the Koran bring a true picture of Islam as much as Christian finds the historical Jesus in the Gospel. Both of them share thought of Heaven and Hell. God is creator heaven and hell as a place which is punishment and reward. Heaven will dwell for believes of good deeds and Hell is for sinners and false worship of God.
Important episodes from life and works of Jesus are told in Koran ( 5:110). In Islam, Jesus and Muhammad are prophets or messengers of God, for example: “Muhammad as God’s perfect servant, he also God’s perfect vicegerent. He is mortal like everyone else. Muhammad is recipient of revelation. As God messenger and vicegerent” (Murata and Chittick186). In Koran (5:110) reports how God told Jesus: strengthening by the Holy spirit, God taught Jesus Wisdom, the Torah, Jesus was given the power of miracles, Jesus was saved from danger by God. While in the Gospel “Christians proclaimed that Jesus was God, who had incarnated himself in human flesh. More specifically, they asserted that God was trinity of being, who had revealed himself in the three eternal person - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Murata and Chittick 60). This part is contrast between Islam and Christian when Islam was denied Jesus death, resurrection and his Crucifixion. In Islam tradition “The death of Jesus is a reference to the end of the world. It accepts Christian that Jesus will come down from heaven, vanquish the antichrist, and die. Then the last judgment will come and Jesus will be raised with the death” Brown (124). Another contrast is Paradise is Promises a sensual pleasure and divided into eight levels. “Paradise for Muslims can be described as the ultimate trip to the most exquisite spa and physical creation that is suspended above the earth” (Elass 182). In contrast, heaven for Christian may be summarized as prodigals coming home to the secure embrace of our Father, The blessing of whose love knows no bounds. Christian speaks of “Heaven” in this senses“ (Elass 182). Another contrast is Hell in Koran, “Those who distorted or ignored the Koran or converted to another religion are engulfed in hellfire” (Ph.D. Al-Hilali Dr and Khan Dr2.174-6, 72.4, 72.15, 73.12, 74.26-27, 74.42-46, and 79.36-39). While in Christianity, “Unbelievers (those who worship the beast), the beast itself and false prophet, the antichrist are all to be thrown into lake of fire” (Turner 65). In short, muslims emphasis that Jesus was messenger of God and Heaven as sensual pleasure but Christian taught that Jesus is trinity of being and Heaven as prodigal coming home. In disagreement sometimes bring dialogues between muslims and Christians because the Crucifixion of Jesus represents a difficult problem in the Koran.
Second, the vision of heaven and hell in human live when we experience during dreams. In dreaming the soul perceives images. One sees memories of someone or things while one dreaming. Both Islam and Christianity describe dreams as the notion that God communicate through dreams. “Both Koran and Sunnah make a close connection between death and sleep. Muslims have traditionally understood sleep and death as two manifestations of single reality. In both cases the awareness of the soul continues. Many Sunnah tell Muhammad expertise at dream interpretation. His companions would come to him and tell their dream, and it turn would explain the meaning of dreams to them” (Murata and Chittick 223). Culture imposes an etiology and explanation on a great variety of our experiences. If this is true of our sleep states, it must be equally true of our walking states. Altered waking states, such as vision ecstasy or out- of-body experiences, are explained in culture by whatever mechanism is available in religion and mythology. (Segal 328).
The differences both Islam and Christianity when the dreams it self as warn to human. “The Koran commands people to be wary of God as reminder to do good and committed to the five pillars. In other word not God himself but his threats, punishment, chastisement, and warning because God sees not only your actions but also your thought” (Murata and Chittick 282). While in Christian, believe its meaning not literally define the existence in the afterlife, but instead serve to lesson of danger in wealth and unwillingness to lesson God” (Wikipedia ). Therefore, In contrast vision dreams Heaven and Hell are warn to human. In similarity, dreams are the notion that God communicate through dreams.
Next, Islam and Christianity use the afterlife to speak the next soul to go after death. ”Within Christianity believe in life after death is conceptually liked with the belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Christians accepted that the soul continues after death and gets its body back at the Final Judgment following the second coming” (Harty 188). In Islam, having left their bodies behind in this world, souls are taken to a summary judgment. Then they are made to dwell in the grave, which is a place not exactly the same as the body’s tomb in the earth, and not completely different from it either, like purgatory, in which the dead become patents to work off their sins in contrition and punishment. The similarities between both religions reject reincarnation because reincarnation encourages moral laxness. The resurrection of the body in judgment day In Islam “ When angel Seraphiel blows his trumpet for the second time, all human beings will pour forth their graves and enter an enormous plain for the presentation to God. This event is most commonly called resurrection” (Murata and Chittick 206).
In contrast, In Islam on judgment day is account of deeds and waiting sinner. “That people will be called to a final accounting for what they do in this life. They will be questioned concerning the acts the performed” (Murata and Chittick 231). While in Christianity “The Day of Judgment does not arrive, attention turns to postmortem reward and punishment. Then, it becomes important to be able to account for how the person can be both a corpse in the grave and also have identity somewhere else doing penance” (Segal 653). In brief, In Christianity The soul continues after death and become patents to work off their sins in purgatory and but in Islam after death, souls are taken to summary judgment, dwell in grave and resurrection on the judgment day. The similarity between two religions is reject reincarnation.
Later, the modern Islam believe in the Koran as book that God revealed to Muhammad by means angel Gabriel, Islam also believe heaven and hell because its describe so vividly in Koran. “There is the traditional camp that views Koran descriptions of bodily resurrection as still remain today, the Day of Judgment remains especially meaningful. These later Muslims are very much more conscious of the value of conversion and mission in Muslim life and tend to favor the foundation of states based on Islamic law. Not only do heaven and hell retain a hold on their religious life, they are often elaborately described, while in the modern Christianity, they are returning to the ancient tradition and scriptures” (Segal 670).
Despite all the significant differences between Islam and Christian, the Islam and the Christian both share the same belief that Heaven and Hell are exist, related to God who created everything in the universe, Heaven and Hell as reward and punishment, describe dream as experienced journeys of Heaven and Hell, condemned reincarnation, and resurrection on judgment day. From those similarities between Islam and Christianity, they hope for salvation on the earth and after death. Muslims or Christians should never be competitors one another, but rather remain as partner in the earth.
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