Critical Thinking Paper On Islam and Biblical World Views
According to the Muslim faith, the universe originated from a cloud of smoke that was hovering in the space. They believe that God created the universe from this smoke. He created the sun, moon, stars, planets and the galaxies (Islam-Guide.com, 2016). This supports the big bang theory where God made each planet, moon and the sun and placed them on their orbits. According to the Quran, humanity originated from Allah, who created man from the earth and on the earth.
This worldview of the Muslims is similar to that of the Bible in that God created the universe. According to the Bible, God commanded the celestial beings to be, and they emerged. The action followed a specific sequence with each of the heavenly bodies having their duties, either to give light during the day or the night. The two world views are also similar in that humanity originated from God and was created for a specific reason. They are also identical in that man was created from the earth. However, they are different in that the creation in the Bible was exhinilo; that is, God created the universe from nothing while in the Muslim faith, God created the universe from the smoke. Furthermore, the Quran indicates that man was created in stages so that errors could be reduced while in the Bible, man was not created in stages. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Question two
According to Muslims faith, they believe that humans are different from animals. The Quran teaches that man is special from other creatures and should take care of them and not abuse them. However, even though man is supposed to respect the animals, they have not been restricted from eating them (Shakir, 2018). In the Biblical world, the view is not so different from the Islam world views. The Bible teaches that man is unique since he received breath from God and he should respect and take care of all the animals. This includes fellow human beings who should be esteemed and taken care off. Furthermore, in the two world views, it is believed that it is the only man who was created by God using His hands.
Question three
According to the Quran, Allah created man so that He could worship Him. Allah created man so that he could be judged depending on how they lived their lives on earth. This will happen after a person dies. The morality of the Muslims is guided by the principles that were given by Allah. The principles that were given by God were meant to make man as close to perfection as possible. The man was intended to be as close to the divine as possible. Thus human beings have been given the ability to make decisions.
There is also a similarity with the Biblical perspective where a man was created and placed in the garden of Eden to worship God. God would visit Adam and Eve in the cool of the day to fellowship with them. According to the Biblical perspective, the man was created so that he could worship God, and he was given the commandment that he was to follow in doing so. In the Biblical perspective, man has been given the freedom to decide whether they should worship God or not.
Question four
On the issue of morality, Muslims get their morality from their belief in God. They believe that morality and piety are based on sincere devotion to God. They believe that there can never be morality without having a strong relationship with Allah (Dar al-Iftaa Al-Missriyyah, 2020). They believe that Allah can see in secrets, thoughts, hearts and the intentions of men behind all their actions. This makes Muslims uphold morality in all their circumstances because Allah is aware of all of them. They believe that a person may hide their evil deeds to men, but they will never conceal their actions away from God.
There is a similarity between the world view of the Bible, and that of the Muslims in that God is the standard for morality in the two worldviews. The world views rely on what God says concerning how people should behave. This means that any action that deviates from the will of God should be condemned. Additionally, the world views are similar in that the Biblical world view notes that morality stems from the love which comes from God. Jesus taught that the most important commandment is love. It is this foundation that all the other principles lie. Every other principle can be found in the revelation that is found in the Bible. In the Muslim faith, love for God and other creatures is also the foundation.
Question of destiny
Regarding the question of destiny, destiny and fate is one of the core beliefs of Islam. The belief that Allah has the knowledge for everything, and he is the creator of all things. There is nothing that ever exits outside of his will. Whatever Allah wills happen and whatever He does not will does not happen. If there is something that happens to a person, there is no way it could have missed him, and if something does not happen to a person, there is no way it could have happened to him (Dar al-Iftaa Al-Missriyyah, 2020). Man has been given the free will either to obey or disobey Allah, but Allah does not compel people to submit or to defy Him. Man will use his volition to determine what he will do. This, therefore, determine the destiny of the person, whether in life after death or everlasting condemnation.
There is a similarity in the question of destiny with the Biblical world view in that man has been given the ability to determine his fate. Man will use his will to determine where he will spend eternity. Whether in life everlasting or everlasting condemnation. Man chooses while he is on earth where he will spend his eternity. According to the Biblical world view, God does not force himself in the life of a person but will wait for the person to let him in at his volition. The two perspectives are similar in that after a person dies, they will stay in the grave until the day of judgment when they will be judged.
However, in the Biblical worldview, everlasting life will be for those who lived in absolute righteousness. There will be no any other standard. While for Islam, they believe that the scale will weigh between the good and bad deeds that a person performed. Those with more good than bad will enter Janna or paradise.
References
Dar al-Iftaa Al-Missriyyah. (2020, August 21). What constructs the Islamic identity? Retrieved March 21, 2020, from https://www.dar-alifta.org/Foreign/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=584&CategoryID=2
Islam-Guide.com. (2016, September 25). The Quran on the Origin of the Universe. Retrieved March 21, 2020, from https://www.islamreligion.com/articles/212/quran-on-origin-of-universe/
Shakir, Z. (2018, June 5). The Human in the Qur’an. Retrieved March 21, 2020, from https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/article/the-human-in-the-quran