Judaism to Islam

From Judaism to Islam

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Every child is born in a state of purity (fitrah), then his parents make him a Jew, or a Christian, or a polytheist.“ With these words, he clarified not only the essential purity of all human beings, but also their equality. The Prophet (pbuh) stated clearly the Islamic belief that we are all free to choose our religion, regardless of how we were brought up. The Jewish view of religious belief, however, is very different. Judaism teaches that a Jew is Jewish regardless of what they believe.

Comparing Islam and Judaism

These articles compare Judaism and Islam through exploring the parallels between Islam's five pillars and similar concepts in Judaism.

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The Shahadah, the Shema and Religious Identity

The Shahadah (Witnessing) is the Islamic declaration of faith, calling Muslims to declare that: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”. It is the first of the five pillars of Islam, with the other four pillars being Salat (Prayer), Zakat (Charity), Sawm (Fasting Ramadan) and Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca). The Shema (Hear) is the Jewish affirmation of monotheism, found in the Torah; it commences with the words, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.” The Shema is similar to the first part of the Shahadah in that it affirms God's unity and uniqueness, but it makes no mention of belief in a prophet or messenger.

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