List of different religions of the peoples of the earth. World religions All prophets were Muslims

The Almighty, by His Will, created His servants and this world, endowed them with innumerable blessings in it, and commanded them, by His mercy, to observe all the laws of God and be obedient to Him. Observance of God's laws leads a person to happiness in this and the next world, and their violation leads to suffering and torment.

There is a widespread misconception that Islam is the newest and youngest religion and that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the founder of Islam. Indeed, it is not so.

The Muslim religion is based on the belief in One God, Who is like no one and nothing is like Him. In Arabic, this religion is called "Islam", in Russian - "submission", and the word "Muslim" means "a person obedient to God alone." Each nation in its own language called religion - obedience, and followers - submitted to God. After the arrival of the last Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and sending down to him the Holy Book - the Quran in Arabic, these words naturally began to be used in the language of the Quran. Therefore, Islam is a religion of submission to the Almighty.

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is not the founder new religion. He revived the creed of previous prophets and messengers (peace be upon them), which was almost forgotten by people by his arrival. In the entire history of mankind, the Almighty sent about 124 thousand prophets, including 313 messengers (peace be upon them). The first prophet was our forefather Adam (peace and blessings be upon him), the last was the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The messengers whose moral qualities were better expressed than the rest, and who possessed the most perfect knowledge, intelligence and patience (ulul-'azmi) are the Prophet Muhammad, Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), 'Isa (Jesus), Nuh (Noah), peace be upon them all. All the prophets knew that the last prophet would come - Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and there was absolute continuity between all of them. The one who submits to God is obliged to believe in all the prophets and messengers and recognize their mission, otherwise he will not be a Muslim, for just like faith in Allah, faith in His prophets is a pillar of Iman (faith). All the prophets were obedient to God, i.e. Muslims. The Almighty in the Qur'an commanded those who follow the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to believe in Allah and in what He sent down to all the prophets, i.e. The Koran and other Divine Scriptures, and said that there is no difference between them: they are all Muslim brothers. Similarly, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The best words that I and all the prophets before me uttered are: “La ilaha illallah” (There is nothing worthy of worship except God Alone - Allah, and He has no partner) . Therefore, Muslims recognize, believe, love and revere all the prophets. Yes, it is necessary to recognize all the prophets, but none of them can be deified, for they are the slaves of Allah, created by Him. None of the prophets taught that people worship him or any other creature, because that would be paganism and delusion from which they were saving people.

The question may arise: why are there so many different beliefs now, if all the prophets professed one religion?

Answer. Initially, mankind had one religion - the religion of submission (Arabic - "Islam"). Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) worshiped only One God and taught the true faith to his children. Subsequent prophets also urged their peoples to worship the One Creator and be obedient to Him. But after the prophets left this mortal world, some people began to distort the faith, introducing their own views into the scriptures. Some deliberately for selfish purposes, others because of their ignorance. Thus, various beliefs arose that distorted the true teaching. And whenever people departed from the faith, the Almighty sent them a new prophet in order to direct them on the right path. The first signs of paganism appeared after the departure from this world of the prophet Shis (peace be upon him) - the son of Adam (peace be upon him). Then the prophet Idris (Enoch) (peace be upon him) was sent to instruct the people, then the prophet Nuh (peace be upon him), as well as all the other prophets. Each of the prophets was sent to any one specific nation, and only the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent to all mankind, completing the mission of prophecy on this.

Islam are the most optimal norms and the rules of life on Earth, sent down to us by the Almighty, taking into account all the subtleties of psychology and human capabilities. It consists of two constituent parts: creeds and Sharia. The foundations of faith, such as: faith in Allah, in His angels, in the Holy Scriptures, in the Prophets, in the Day of Judgment and in the predestination of fate, have never changed and will not change. The hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) states: "All the prophets are brothers in faith, they have one religion - Islam, and the Laws of God - Sharia - differed from each other depending on time, place and conditions". Indeed, it cannot be otherwise. Because if God sent prophets with different knowledge about Himself, it would be absurd and would lead to a different understanding of the Essence of God. Also, since God is eternal and all His attributes are also eternal, then the knowledge about Him, about His attributes, is unchangeable. This means that the foundations of faith were the same, regardless of when they were transferred - at the dawn of mankind, to the prophet Adam, or in later times - to the prophets Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, peace be upon them. Thus, all the prophets were fellow believers, confessing and calling people to the one true religion. And, therefore, now the pillars of religious doctrine absolutely cannot contradict the foundations of the faith of all the prophets and messengers. Therefore, the opinion of some people that “all existing religions with all the contradictions with each other are correct” and that “they were all sent down by the Creator in this form” is incorrect.

As for the laws (i.e. Sharia), only some of them can change due to changes in time, people's way of life, etc. Therefore, there were different Heavenly Scriptures sent down at different times to different nations.

The basic principles of the laws of all the prophets were the same. For example, the prohibitions against murder, lying, adultery, theft and all other useless or harmful acts in this and the next world remained unchanged. But some rituals and laws of life changed in connection with the development human society.

Here are some examples:

1. According to the Sharia of Adam (peace be upon him), believers were required to perform one prayer per day. This instruction survived until the time of the people of Israel. The people of Israel were prescribed two prayers. Nowadays, people are required to perform five prayers a day.

2. In the Sharia of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), unlike previous Sharia, it is allowed to pray in any clean place. Previously, this was allowed only in places specially designated for prayer.

Sharia was given to each new messenger through the Revelation from the Almighty, which annulled some previous laws that ceased to be relevant from that moment on. The last Law that has already been sent down to the whole world and which will be in force until the End of the World is the Law set forth in Holy Quran. The Koran, unlike other Scriptures, remained unchanged, since the Almighty Himself promised to keep it until the Day of Judgment.

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) revived the doctrine that was set forth in the Torah, and in the Gospel and in other scriptures. Therefore, the adoption of Islam does not mean at all that a person changes or betrays the faith of his ancestors. On the contrary, he cleanses his faith from distortions and returns to the true religion of his ancestors - the prophets Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, for all previous prophets (peace be upon them) told their communities about the coming of the last Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and bequeathed follow him and help him. For example, the prophet ‘Isa (Jesus) (peace be upon him) said: “O sons of Israel! I am a messenger to you from God, confirming the truth of what was sent down to me in the Torah and proclaiming to you about the Messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad (one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), which is translated into Russian language means - "Praised")". This is written in the Koran, and in the Torah, and in the Gospel. In the Bible, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is called the word "Periklitos", which is exactly translated from Greek means "Praised" (i.e. Ahmad). This literally coincides with what the Qur'an says about the conversion of the prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) to the sons of Israel. In addition, closer to the End of the World, by the will of Allah, Jesus (peace be upon him), who, when he was in danger, alive and unharmed, was ascended by the Almighty to heaven, where he remains to this day, will be lowered to earth. He will come to people not as a messenger and not with another Sharia, but as a follower and theologian of Islam to confirm the messenger mission of the last Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He will call on people to observe the Shariah sent down to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and when he dies, they will bury him in the city of Medina, next to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

At all times, the prophets and their followers have been waiting for the appearance of the last Messenger - the Seal of all the prophets, just as the current generations are waiting for the appearance of Imam Mahdi. And all the true followers of the prophets Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them), who were waiting for the appearance of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), followed him, because in the Torah and the Gospel they read detailed stories about him. They mentioned character traits Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the place of his appearance, his name, the main provisions of his sermon, etc.

Truly, such truths resonate with every impartial person who seeks the truth. Thus, Negus, the king of Christian Ethiopia, accepted the word of truth addressed to him by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) through the Koran, in which he called Negus to faith and encouraged him to accept Islam. And he accepted Islam. His next immortal saying remained: “I testify before Allah that this is the Prophet whom the people who have the Scriptures are waiting for.” It entered the annals of history and is preserved as evidence of the justice of a person who did not succumb to the pressure of greatness and predilection. This once again proves to any person seeking the truth that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was the Prophet and Messenger who was expected and hoped to correct and save mankind.

Whoever was not a Muslim and then believed, without any doubt, accepted with his heart the faith taught by the prophets Adam, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and all the other prophets (peace and blessings be upon them), he should say aloud, with the intention of accepting Islam, the following evidence of monotheism :

(Ashhadu alla ilyaha illallah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammad-r-rasulullah)

“I testify, acknowledge and believe that there is nothing worthy of worship except the One God - Allah, and I also testify, acknowledge and believe that Muhammad is His prophet and messenger, sent to all creatures with true religion as mercy to all created things”.

If a person cannot pronounce these words in Arabic, then he pronounces them in the one that he knows. From that moment on, a person becomes a Muslim, i.e. obedient to God alone and true believers, and must follow the precepts of Islam. The Almighty in the Koran says that the religion sent down and accepted by Him is only a religion of humility and obedience to Him, i.e. Islam. However, even if a believer does not follow all the precepts of Islam, he will still remain a Muslim, for which he will be delivered from eternal hellfire, and has a chance to fall under the great mercy of Allah.

Indeed, Muslims wish all people only good and eternal happiness and therefore call for the True Faith - obedience and worship only to the Creator. We are just trying to bring the Truth to people, while not forcing anyone, so that everyone can consciously make their choice. This is how a Muslim should treat representatives of other faiths. It is for this that the prophets and Scriptures were sent, which say that there is no compulsion in religion. The acceptance of Islam by a person, the return to monotheism is the greatest happiness for him. If a person accepts Islam, then the Almighty, by His Grace, forgives him all previous sins, and such a person becomes pure, as if on the day of his birth.

May the Almighty help us find the true faith - the faith of our ancestors. We ask the Almighty for forgiveness and cleansing from sins, and a happy ending. Amen!

Prepared by the Department of Islamic Education of the SAMD

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As well as their classifications. In religious studies, it is customary to distinguish the following types: tribal, national and world religions.

Buddhism

is the oldest religion in the world. It originated in the 6th century. BC e. in India, and is currently distributed in the countries of South, Southeast, Central Asia and the Far East and has about 800 million followers. Tradition links the emergence of Buddhism with the name of Prince Siddhartha Gautama. His father hid bad things from Gautama, he lived in luxury, married his beloved girl, who bore him a son. The impetus for a spiritual upheaval for the prince, as the legend says, was four meetings. At first he saw a decrepit old man, then a leprous sufferer and a funeral procession. So Gautama learned old age, sickness and death are the fate of all people. Then he saw a peaceful, impoverished wanderer who needed nothing from life. All this shocked the prince, made him think about the fate of people. He secretly left the palace and family, at the age of 29 he became a hermit and tried to find. As a result of deep reflection, at the age of 35 he became a Buddha - enlightened, awakened. For 45 years, the Buddha preached his teaching, which can be briefly reduced to the following main ideas.

Life is suffering, the cause of which are the desires and passions of people. To get rid of suffering, it is necessary to renounce earthly passions and desires. This can be achieved by following the path of salvation indicated by the Buddha.

After death, any living being, including humans, is reborn again, but already in the form of a new living being, whose life is determined not only by its own behavior, but also the behavior of his "predecessors".

We must strive for nirvana, i.e., dispassion and peace, which are achieved by renunciation of earthly attachments.

Unlike Christianity and Islam Buddhism lacks the idea of God as the creator of the world and its ruler. The essence of the doctrine of Buddhism boils down to a call to every person to embark on the path of seeking inner freedom, complete liberation from all the shackles that life brings.

Christianity

It arose in the 1st century. n. e. in the eastern part of the Roman Empire - Palestine - as addressed to all the humiliated, thirsting for justice. It is based on the idea of messianism - the hope for the Divine deliverer of the world from everything bad that is on Earth. Jesus Christ suffered for the sins of people, whose name in Greek means "Messiah", "Savior". By this name, Jesus is associated with the Old Testament traditions about the coming to the land of Israel of a prophet, a messiah who will free the people from suffering and establish a righteous life - God's kingdom. Christians believe that the coming of God to Earth will be accompanied by the Last Judgment, when He will judge the living and the dead, direct them to heaven or hell.

Basic Christian ideas:

Belief that God is one, but He is a Trinity, i.e. God has three "persons": the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which form the one God who created the Universe.
Faith in the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ - the second person of the Trinity, God the Son - this is Jesus Christ. He has two natures simultaneously: Divine and human.
Faith in Divine grace - a mysterious power sent by God to free a person from sin.
Belief in the afterlife and afterlife.
Belief in the existence of good spirits - angels and evil spirits - demons, along with their master Satan.

The holy book of Christians is Bible, which means "book" in Greek. The Bible consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the oldest part of the Bible. The New Testament (actually Christian works) includes: four gospels (from Luke, Mark, John and Matthew); the deeds of the holy apostles; Epistles and Revelation of John the Theologian.

In the IV century. n. e. Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. Christianity is not one. It split into three streams. In 1054 Christianity split into Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church. In the XVI century. The Reformation, an anti-Catholic movement, began in Europe. The result was Protestantism.

And recognize seven christian sacraments: baptism, chrismation, repentance, communion, marriage, priesthood and unction. The source of doctrine is the Bible. The differences are mainly as follows. In Orthodoxy there is no single head, there is no idea of purgatory as a place of temporary accommodation for the souls of the dead, the priesthood does not give a vow of celibacy, as in Catholicism. At the head of the Catholic Church is the pope, elected for life, the center of the Roman Catholic Church is the Vatican - a state that occupies several quarters in Rome.

It has three main streams: Anglicanism, Calvinism And Lutheranism. Protestants consider that the condition for the salvation of a Christian is not formal observance of rituals, but his sincere personal faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Their teaching proclaims the principle of a universal priesthood, which means that every lay person can preach. Virtually all Protestant denominations have reduced the number of sacraments to a minimum.

Islam

It arose in the 7th century. n. e. among the Arab tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. This is the youngest of the world. There are followers of Islam more than 1 billion people.

The founder of Islam is a historical figure. He was born in 570 in the city of Mecca, which was quite major city at the crossroads of trade routes. In Mecca, there was a shrine revered by most pagan Arabs - the Kaaba. Muhammad's mother died when he was six years old, his father died before his son was born. Muhammad was brought up in the family of his grandfather, a noble family, but impoverished. At the age of 25, he became the manager of the household of the wealthy widow Khadija and soon married her. At the age of 40, Muhammad acted as a religious preacher. He declared that God (Allah) chose him as his prophet. The ruling elite of Mecca did not like the sermon, and by 622 Muhammad had to move to the city of Yathrib, later renamed Medina. 622 is considered the beginning of the Muslim chronology according to lunar calendar and Mecca is the center of the Muslim religion.

The Holy Book of Muslims is a processed record of Muhammad's sermons. During the lifetime of Muhammad, his statements were perceived as the direct speech of Allah and were transmitted orally. A few decades after the death of Muhammad, they were written down and will compose the Qur'an.

plays an important role in the beliefs of Muslims Sunnah - collection of instructive stories about the life of Muhammad and Sharia - a set of principles and rules of conduct binding on Muslims. The most serious ipexa.Mii among Muslims are usury, drunkenness, gambling and adultery.

The place of worship for Muslims is called a mosque. Islam forbids depicting a person and living creatures; hollow mosques are decorated only with ornaments. There is no clear division between clergy and laity in Islam. Any Muslim who knows the Qur'an, Muslim laws and rules of worship can become a mullah (priest).

Ritualism is given great importance in Islam. You may not know the intricacies of faith, but you should strictly follow the main rites, the so-called five pillars of Islam:

pronouncing the formula of the confession of faith: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet”;
performing a daily fivefold prayer (prayer);
fasting in the month of Ramadan;
giving alms to the poor;
making a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

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In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful!

Many are convinced of the divinity of the world's three monotheistic religions, but there are those who ask: why did God create different religions? Why did He send Moses with Judaism, Jesus with Christianity and Muhammad with Islam (peace be upon them all)?

And in fact, if there is only one God, then why did He not create a single religion, so that all people would worship Him together and equally, so that there would be no inter-religious conflicts on earth and people would live in peace and harmony?

We, with the permission of the Almighty, will try to answer this very important question in this article.

Belief in the Existence of God and Religious Practices Not the Main Appeal of All Prophets

For what purpose did all the prophets come? Many of us do not know the correct answer to this fundamental question, believing that the main purpose of all the prophets was to call people to believe in the One Creator God. Also, many believe that the main goal of the prophets was to teach people such sacred commandments as “do not steal”, “do not kill”, or teaching various rituals of worship: observance of the Sabbath among the Jews, baptism among Christians, daily prayer five times among Muslims, etc. .

However, surprisingly, this is not what the prophets came for!

Let's think a little: Were civilizations and peoples, to which many prophets came, were atheists and believed in the theory of evolution? We know from historical materials that almost all peoples were convinced of the uniqueness of the Creator of the universe. Let's remember the Jewish people, to which the prophet Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) came, did they not believe in a single Creator - God?

The same can be said about the Arab idolaters, to whom the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) came. They believed that the whole universe was created by One God. Here is what the Koran says about the idolater Arabs: “If you ask them: “Who created the heavens and the earth and subdued the sun and moon?” - they will surely say: "Allah." How they are turned away from the truth! "(Holy Quran, sura "Spider": 61). It turns out that belief in the uniqueness of the Creator-God was not at all the main call of the prophets!

Also, if the main mission of all the prophets was to teach people various commandments and religious rites, then why did the commandments and rites of worship of individual prophets differ from each other?

To understand what was the purpose of the prophets, one can, for example, consider the prophetic period of the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), who preached Islam for a total of 23 years (13 of them in Mecca and 10 in Medina). If we conduct a survey today, including among Muslims, about “what Islam came for”, then many will answer that Islam came in order to impute five times prayer, fasting in the month of Ramadan, zakat (mandatory tax of the rich in favor of the poor) , pilgrimage to Mecca, hijab (women's Muslim clothing), a ban on alcohol, pork and usury, etc.

However, do we know that in the first 10 years of Islam, Muslims were not ordered to perform any religious rites? The first Muslims had no idea about the obligatory five times prayer, fasting in the month of Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca and other rituals. Moreover, the ban on alcohol, pork, usury, the order for a woman to wear a hijab, etc. became part of Islam only in last years Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). In other words, all those attributes that today are an integral part of Islam were made obligatory on Muslims only in the last years of the prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

A natural question arises: What did the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) call for for so many years until the above-mentioned instructions were imputed? What was more important than five prayers and a ban on alcohol and pork? After all, Muslims at that time did not perform five daily prayers and consumed alcohol, and Islam did not forbid them from doing so.

Undoubtedly, what the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) called for during this period must have been something extremely important. After all, it was during that period that Islam quickly spread among the local population of Mecca. Having accepted the call of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and believing in "this", the new Muslims began to be persecuted and tortured by Meccan idolaters. As a result of these tortures and persecutions, many Muslims were killed and maimed. The cruelty and inhumanity of the Meccan idolaters eventually forced many Muslims to flee to Ethiopia and Medina, leaving behind all their property and wealth in order to save their religion and life.

So, what did the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) call for, and for the sake of what were the first Muslims ready to endure any suffering and trials? And why did the call to "this" cause such enmity and hatred on the part of the Meccan idolaters?

The goal of all prophets is True Monotheism

At first glance, it may seem that there is a contradiction: at first we say that the peoples to whom the prophets came believed in the One and only Creator and the call to this was not the main goal of any of the prophets. Then, we say that the main goal of all the prophets was the call to monotheism. So we are contradicting ourselves?

In fact, the whole question lies in the correct understanding of the term "monotheism". This is what is emphasized in the title of this chapter under the words "true monotheism."

The fact is that many people today understand the words "monotheism" and "monotheism" as "the belief that everything that exists has only one single Creator." However, in the previous chapter it was already mentioned that many prophets came to peoples who believed in the One Creator.

What is true monotheism? True monotheism is complete independence from everything worldly and complete dedication of one's life to God alone, without betraying anyone or anything as a partner to Him. This was the basis of the call of all the prophets. As Almighty Allah said: “We did not send a single messenger before you, to whom it was not inspired: “There is no deity but Me. Worship only Me!" "(Holy Quran sura "Prophets": 25). In other words, “surrender and devote your whole life, faith and worship to the One Supreme Creator-God, without dedicating them to anyone or anything else, and do not entrust them to all sorts of false deities, i.e. saints, idols, idols, fashion, dollars, power, vanity or superstition, horoscopes, etc.

Pay attention to the above verse from the Qur'an. It clearly indicates that absolutely all the prophets throughout all epochs, from the prophets Adam, Noah, Abraham and ending with Moses, Jesus and Muhammad - peace and blessings of the Almighty be upon them all, carried out the same mission. All these messengers came to this world from the same Creator God and with a single "message" for all mankind: "Worship God alone and avoid worshiping anyone or anything other than Him." This was exactly what the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) called people to before religious rites and commandments appeared in Islam. And this is exactly what all God's messengers, without exception, called for, starting from the first Prophet Adam, and ending with the last - Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all. Was not true monotheism and obedience to the Almighty God the essence of the religions of Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and others (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all)?

Why did God prescribe distinctive rites of worship for each prophet?

The Almighty God sent his messengers for only one single purpose - so that all mankind would be freed from slavery before the worldly and completely submit to God alone, not equating anyone and nothing to Him as partners. At the same time, the Almighty prescribed certain distinctive rites of worship to his messengers, allowing something for one messenger and forbidding it for another. Thus, each of God's messengers either came with a new scripture (code of laws), or else confirmed and adhered to the old scripture, calling his people to it. The prophets who came with the new scripture include Moses, to whom the Torah was sent down, Jesus, to whom the Gospel was sent down, David, to whom the Scrolls of David were sent down, Muhammad, to whom the Koran was sent down, and others (peace and blessings be upon them all). At the same time, the holy scripture or code of laws of each newly sent messenger canceled the previous scripture and obliged the believers to follow the new scripture. So, for example, the Scrolls of David replaced the Torah, the Gospel replaced all the sacred writings of the prophets before Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Koran - God's last revelation - replaced the Gospel. Legally speaking: God's law is not retroactive. Anyone who finds the new messenger of God, who showed obvious signs and wonders according to God's will, is obliged to follow this prophet.

However, the following questions are born: Why did God predestinate everything in this way? Why didn't He prescribe the same religious rites and commandments to all the prophets and send down to them one universal scripture for all ages?

There are three main reasons why the All-Knowing Lord, throughout the history of mankind, sent his messengers with updated scriptures:

First, by sending new messengers, the All-Knowing Lord tested the believers in order to determine which of them, for the sake of the Almighty, would leave the old code of laws and follow the new prophet? After all, the one who does this risks losing the respect of relatives and friends, moreover, his life may be in danger.

The Almighty says about this in the Qur'an: “We have established a certain law and a path for each of you. If Allah had willed, He would have made you one community, but He divided you in order to test you with what He gave you ”(Holy Quran Surah “Meal”: 48).

Thus, believers will have to prove their obedience to God's will by following the new prophet. If they reject him, it will mean that they followed their passions. After all, each next God's messenger confirms the previous prophecies and shows clear signs and wonders to prove his prophecy.

Let us remember the prophet Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, who came to the followers of Moses - the Jews. By the will of the Lord, Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, showed unique miracles and signs to prove his prophecy: he revived the dead, gave sight to the blind, created living birds from clay, etc. This is how the call of Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, is described in the Quran: “The Messiah (Jesus) said: “O sons of Israel (Israel)! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, whoever associates partners with Allah, He has forbidden Paradise. Gehenna will be his refuge, and the wicked will have no helpers" (Holy Quran sura "Meal": 72).

But did all the Jews follow him? Many Jews, out of arrogance and fear of persecution by the authorities of the Roman Empire, refused to follow Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) and even tried to kill him! Refusing to acknowledge the prophecy of Jesus, they called him a liar and a sorcerer, and his miraculous birth without a father was the result of the extramarital relationship of his mother, the Blessed Mary! May Allah be pleased with her, and may Allah reward everyone who deliberately brings lies to His religion!

Secondly, each nation or civilization, to which the new messengers of God came, existed in certain historical periods, and had its own geographical and climatic conditions. It should be noted that there was no such people to which the Almighty God would not send his prophet and who would not call his people to worship the Only Creator, without betraying anyone or anything to Him as a partner.

Allah Almighty says: We sent a messenger to every community: “Worship Allah and avoid Taghut”” (Holy Quran sura “Bees”: 36)

The Almighty also says: And there is not a single people to whom a warning admonisher does not come. ”(Holy Quran sura "Creator": 24).

In view of the fact that many of God's messengers, due to the geographical isolation of many civilizations, came exclusively to certain peoples, the All-Knowing Lord chose the most suitable laws and rites of worship for each of these peoples. Thus, the Lord could allow one people what he forbade another. So, for example, God allowed the sons of Adam to marry their sisters, since at that time there were no other women and men on earth, and humanity had to multiply. When humanity multiplied, God forbade marriages between siblings.

Thirdly, all of humanity cannot immediately, in an instant, completely change and turn into an ideal society. In order for humanity to adapt to a new social system and legal order, it needs time and consistency. For this, years, and sometimes even centuries, must pass. studying world history, we see that throughout the history of its existence, various civilizations have gradually passed from one social system to another: from slave-owning to feudal, from feudal to capitalist, etc. Not a single society jumped over and did not pass from the slave-owning system immediately to the capitalist one, bypassing the feudal system. And if it took mankind more than two thousand years to relatively improve and modernize the man-made public order, what then to speak of the Divine law and order? Without a doubt, humanity needs an even longer period of time in order to gradually adapt and reach the stage when it can understand, realize and put into practice the last Divine statute.

So, before sending down his last and suitable for all peoples and times of laws with the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the All-Knowing Lord for a long time prepared all of humanity for this. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in one of the hadiths described this great Divine plan and his connection with other prophets: “ My example, and the example of all the prophets who came before me, is like a man who built a strong and beautiful building without completing only one brick. After that, people, walking around this building, began to be surprised at its beauty and asked: “Why was this last brick not completed?” I am that last brick, and I am the last of all prophets.”(Bukhari).

Therefore, we should realize the important fact that the religion of absolutely all God's prophets is one, and this is obedience to the one and only God, without giving Him partners in anything. And the fact that God prescribed different rites of worship for each prophet does not mean that different prophets professed different religions. In this regard, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) perfectly described the mission and essence of all prophecies, saying: “ All Prophets are brothers. They have one religion - they are from the same father and different mothers "(Muslim).

One father, i.e. they all call for the worship of one God, without assigning partners to Him. Different mothers, i.e. for each of them, distinctive rites of worship were established.

May Allah Almighty guide all who seek His pleasure on the straight path. Amen.

Prepared: Ramin Mutallim
proofreading:

Faith in God surrounds a person from infancy. In childhood, this still unconscious choice is associated with family traditions that exist in every home. But later a person can consciously change his confession. How are they similar and how do they differ from one another?

The concept of religion and the prerequisites for its appearance

The word "religion" comes from the Latin religio (piety, shrine). This is a worldview, behavior, actions based on faith in something that surpasses human understanding and supernatural, that is, sacred. The beginning and meaning of any religion is faith in God, regardless of whether he is personified or impersonal.

There are several prerequisites for the emergence of religion. First, from time immemorial, man has been trying to go beyond the boundaries of this world. He seeks to find salvation and consolation outside of it, sincerely needs faith.

Secondly, a person wants to give an objective assessment of the world. And then, when he cannot explain the origin of earthly life only by natural laws, he makes the assumption that a supernatural force is applied to all this.

Thirdly, a person believes that various events and occurrences of a religious nature confirm the existence of God. The list of religions for believers is already a real proof of the existence of God. They explain it very simply. If there were no God, there would be no religion.

The oldest types, forms of religion

The birth of religion took place 40 thousand years ago. It was then that the emergence of the simplest forms of religious beliefs was noted. It was possible to learn about them thanks to the discovered burials, as well as rock and cave art.

In accordance with this, the following types of ancient religions are distinguished:

Totemism. A totem is a plant, animal or object that was considered sacred by a particular group of people, tribe, clan. At the heart of this ancient religion was belief in the supernatural power of the amulet (totem).

Magic. This form of religion, based on belief in magical abilities person. The magician with the help of symbolic actions is able to influence the behavior of other people, natural phenomena and objects from a positive and negative side.
Fetishism. From among any objects (the skull of an animal or a person, a stone or a piece of wood, for example), one was chosen to which supernatural properties were attributed. He was supposed to bring good luck and protect from danger.
Animism. All natural phenomena, objects and people have a soul. She is immortal and continues to live outside the body even after his death. All modern views religions are based on the belief in the existence of the soul and spirits.
Shamanism. It was believed that the head of the tribe or the clergyman had supernatural powers. He entered into conversation with the spirits, listened to their advice and fulfilled the requirements. Belief in the power of the shaman is at the heart of this form of religion.

List of religions

There are more than a hundred different religious trends in the world, including the most ancient forms and modern trends. They have their own time of occurrence and differ in the number of followers. But at the heart of this long list are the three most numerous world religions: Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Each of them has different directions.

World religions in the form of a list can be represented as follows:

1. Christianity (almost 1.5 billion people):

Orthodoxy (Russia, Greece, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia);
Catholicism (the states of Western Europe, Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and others);
Protestantism (USA, Great Britain, Canada, South Africa, Australia).

2. Islam (about 1.3 billion people):

Sunnism (Africa, Central and South Asia);
Shiism (Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan).

3. Buddhism (300 million people):

Hinayana (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand);
Mahayana (Tibet, Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam).

National religions

In addition, in every corner of the world there are national and traditional religions, also with their own directions. They originated or became widespread in certain countries. On this basis, the following types of religions are distinguished:

Hinduism (India);
Confucianism (China);
Taoism (China);
Judaism (Israel);
Sikhism (Punjab state in India);
Shinto (Japan);
paganism (Indian tribes, peoples of the North and Oceania).

Christianity

This religion originated in Palestine in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Its appearance is associated with faith in the birth of Jesus Christ. At the age of 33, he was martyred on the cross to atone for the sins of the people, after which he resurrected and ascended to heaven. Thus, the son of God, who embodied the supernatural and human nature became the founder of Christianity.

The documentary basis of the doctrine is the Bible (or Holy Scripture), which consists of two independent collections of the Old and New Testaments. The writing of the first of them is closely connected with Judaism, from which Christianity originates. The New Testament was written after the birth of religion.

The symbols of Christianity are the Orthodox and Catholic crosses. The main provisions of faith are defined in dogmas, which are based on faith in God, who created the world and man himself. The objects of worship are God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit.

Islam

Islam, or Moslemism, originated among the Arab tribes of Western Arabia at the beginning of the 7th century in Mecca. The founder of the religion was the prophet Muhammad. This man from childhood was prone to loneliness and often indulged in pious reflections. According to the teachings of Islam, at the age of 40, on Mount Hira, the heavenly messenger Jabrail (Archangel Gabriel) appeared to him, who left an inscription in his heart. Like many other world religions, Islam is based on the belief in one God, but in Islam it is called Allah.

Holy Scripture - Koran. The symbols of Islam are the star and the crescent. The main provisions of the Muslim faith are contained in dogmas. They must be recognized and unquestioningly fulfilled by all believers.

The main types of religion are Sunnism and Shiism. Their appearance is connected with political disagreements between believers. Thus, the Shiites to this day believe that only the direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad carry the truth, while the Sunnis think that it should be an elected member of the Muslim community.

Buddhism

Buddhism originated in the 6th century BC. Homeland - India, after which the doctrine spread to the countries of Southeast, South, Central Asia and Far East. Considering how many other most numerous types of religions exist, we can safely say that Buddhism is the most ancient of them.

The founder of the spiritual tradition is Buddha Gautama. He was an ordinary man, whose parents were granted a vision that their son would grow up to be a Great Teacher. The Buddha was also lonely and contemplative, and turned to religion very quickly.

There is no object of worship in this religion. The goal of all believers is to reach nirvana, the blissful state of insight, to be freed from their own fetters. Buddha for them is a kind of ideal, which should be equal.

Buddhism is based on the doctrine of the four Noble Truths: on suffering, on the origin and causes of suffering, on the true cessation of suffering and the elimination of its sources, on the true path to the cessation of suffering. This path consists of several stages and is divided into three stages: wisdom, morality and concentration.

New religious currents

In addition to those religions that originated a very long time ago, in modern world still new creeds continue to emerge. They are still based on faith in God.

The following types of modern religions can be noted:

scientology;
neo-shamanism;
neopaganism;
Burkhanism;
neo-Hinduism;
raelites;
oomoto;
and other currents.

This list is constantly being modified and supplemented. Some types of religions are especially popular among show business stars. For example, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, John Travolta are seriously passionate about Scientology.

This religion originated in 1950 thanks to science fiction writer L. R. Hubbard. Scientologists believe that any person is inherently good, his success and peace of mind depend on himself. According to the fundamental principles of this religion, humans are immortal beings. Their experience is longer than one human life, and their abilities are unlimited.

But everything is not so clear in this religion. In many countries, it is believed that Scientology is a sect, a pseudo-religion with a lot of capital. Despite this trend is very popular, especially in Hollywood.

The Almighty, by His Will, created His servants in this world, endowed them with innumerable blessings in it, and commanded them, by His mercy, to observe all the laws of God and be obedient to Him. Observance of God's laws leads to happiness in this and the next world, and their violation leads to suffering and torment.

To bring and explain His laws, the Almighty sent His chosen servants - prophets to people, so that on the Day of Judgment we would be among the saved and forever become inhabitants of the Gardens of Eden prepared by the Creator for the God-fearing. All the prophets taught the true faith, the basis of which is Monotheism. All of them claimed: "There is nothing worthy of worship except God (Allah)", and called people to Monotheism, bringing to them that there is no accomplice or helper (and this is wrong - it is a sin that in the West in the church a pastor purifies them sins behind the partition. He cannot forgive them sins, because the person himself is not without sin. And only God (Allah) can do this) the Creator and what He has, and only He has absolute, perfect virtues, and there is nothing like To him. They called for the worship of the Almighty, explaining to people that idols, animals, people are not worthy of worship, because they themselves were created: that is, they have a beginning and an end. There is a widespread misconception that Islam is the newest and youngest religion, and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is the founder of Islam. Indeed, it is not so.

The Muslim religion is based on faith in the One and only God, Who is not like anyone and nothing is like Him. In Arabic this religion is called "Islam", in Russian - "submissiveness" a word "Muslim" means "a man who is obedient to God alone." Each nation in its own language called religion obedience, and its followers - those who submitted to God. After the arrival of the last Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and sending down to him the Holy Book - the Quran in Arabic, these words naturally began to be used in the language of the Quran. Therefore, Islam is a religion of submission to the Almighty.

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is not the founder of this religion. He revived the creed of previous prophets and messengers (peace be upon them). The first prophet was our forefather Adam (peace be upon him), the last Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him). The messengers who possessed the highest moral qualities than the rest, and the most perfect knowledge, intelligence and patience, are the Prophet Muhammad, Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus), Nuh (Noah), peace be upon them. All the Prophets knew that the last Prophet would come - Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and there was absolute continuity between all of them. The one who submits to God is obliged to believe in all the prophets and messengers and recognize their mission, otherwise he is not a Muslim. All the prophets were obedient to God, i.e. Muslims. The Almighty in the Quran commanded those who follow the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to believe in Allah and in what He sent down with all the prophets, i.e. the Quran and other Scriptures, and there is no difference between them: they are all Muslim brothers . Similarly, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The best words that I and all the prophets before me uttered are:“ La ilaha illallah ”(There is nothing worthy of worship except God Alone - Allah, and He has no partner Therefore, Muslims recognize, believe, love and revere all the prophets.

Yes, it is necessary to recognize all the prophets, but none of them can be deified, for they are the slaves of Allah, created by Him. None of the prophets taught that people worship him or any other creature, because that would be paganism and delusion from which they were saving people.

Why are there so many different beliefs now, if all the prophets professed one religion?

Initially, mankind had one religion - the religion of obedience (in Arabic - Islam). Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) worshiped only One God and taught the true faith to his children. Subsequent prophets also urged their peoples to worship the One Creator and be obedient to Him. But after the prophets left this mortal world, some people began to distort the faith, introducing their own views into the scriptures. Some deliberately, others for selfish purposes, others because of their ignorance. Thus, various beliefs arose that distorted the true teaching. And whenever people departed from the faith, the Almighty sent them a new prophet in order to direct them on the right path. The first signs of paganism appeared after the departure from this world of the prophet Shis (peace be upon him) - the son of Adam (peace be upon him). Then the prophet Idris (Enoch) (peace be upon him) was sent to instruct the people, then the prophet Nuh (Noah) (peace be upon him) and all other prophets. Each of the prophets was sent to any one specific people, and only the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sent to all mankind, completing the mission of prophecy. Islam is the optimal norms and rules of life on Earth, sent down to us by the Almighty, taking into account all the subtleties of psychology and human capabilities. It consists of two components: creed and Sharia. The foundations of faith, such as: faith in Allah, in His angels, in the Holy Scriptures, in the prophets, in the Day of Judgment and in the predestination of fate, have never changed and will not change. The hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says: "All the prophets are brothers in faith, they have one religion - Islam, and the laws of God - Sharia - differed from each other depending on time, place and conditions." Indeed, this is so, and it cannot be otherwise. Because if God sent prophets with different knowledge about Himself, it would be absurd, because it would lead to a different understanding of the Essence of God. Also, since God is Eternal and all His attributes are also eternal, the knowledge about Him, about His attributes is unchangeable. This means that the foundations of faith were the same, regardless of when they were transferred - at the dawn of mankind to the prophet Adam (peace be upon him) or in later times to the prophets Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, peace be upon them all. Thus, all the prophets were fellow believers, professing the one true religion and calling people to this. Therefore, even today the true religious dogma should in no way contradict the foundations of the faith of all the prophets and messengers. Therefore, the opinion of some people that "all existing religions with all the contradictions with each other are correct" and that "they were all sent down by the Creator in this form" is incorrect.

As for the laws (i.e. Sharia), only some of them can change over time due to changes in the way of life of people, etc. Therefore, there were different Heavenly Scriptures sent down at different times to different peoples.

1. According to the Sharia of Adam (mirem), believers were required to perform one prayer per day. This instruction survived until the time of the people of Israel. The people of Israel were prescribed two prayers, then in the time of Moses it was 50. In our time, 5 prayers per day.

2. In the Shariah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), unlike the previous Shariahs, it is allowed to pray in any clean place. Previously, this was allowed only in places specially designated for prayer.

Sharia was given to each new messenger through the Revelation from the Almighty, which annulled some previous laws that ceased to be relevant from that moment on. The last Law, which has already been sent down to the whole world, and will be in force until the End of the World, is the Law set forth in the Holy Quran. The Koran, unlike other Scriptures, remained unchanged, since the Almighty Himself promised to keep it until the Day of Judgment.

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) revived the doctrine that was set forth in the Torah, and in the Gospel and in other scriptures. Therefore, the adoption of Islam does not mean at all that a person changes or betrays the faith of his ancestors. On the contrary, he cleanses his faith from distortions and returns to the true religion of his ancestors - the prophets Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, for all previous prophets (peace be upon them) told their communities about the coming of the last Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and bequeathed to follow him and help him. For example, the prophet Isa (Jesus, peace be upon him) said: "O sons of Israel! I am a messenger to you from God, confirming the truth of what was sent down before me in the Torah and proclaiming to you about the Messenger who will come after me, whose name - Ahmad (one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), which in translation into Russian means "Praised")". This is written in the Koran, and in the Torah, and in the Gospel. In the Bible, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is called the word "Periklitos", which in exact translation from Greek means "Praised" (i.e. Ahmad). Closer to the End of the World, by the will of Allah (He is Almighty and Great), Jesus (peace be upon him), who was raised alive and unharmed by the Almighty to heaven, where he remains to this day, will be lowered to earth. He will come to people not as a messenger and not with another Sharia, but as a follower and scientist - the theologian of Islam to confirm the messenger mission of the last Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He will call on people to observe the Shariah sent down to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and when he dies, they will bury him in the city of Medina, where the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is buried.

At all times, the prophets and their followers have been waiting for the last Messenger - the Seal of all the prophets. And all the true followers of the prophets Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them), who were waiting for the appearance of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) followed him, because in the Torah and the Gospel they read detailed stories about him. They mentioned the characteristic features of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the place of his appearance, his name, the main provisions of his sermons, etc.

Truth always finds a response in the heart of every impartial person who seeks the truth. So, Negus, the king of Christian Ethiopia, accepted the word of truth with which the Messenger of Allah - Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) addressed him through the Koran. He called Negus to faith and encouraged him to accept Islam. And the king accepted Islam. His next immortal saying remained: "I testify before Allah that this is the Prophet whom the people who have the Scriptures are waiting for." It entered the annals of history as evidence of the justice of man and another proof that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was the Prophet and Messenger, who was expected and hoped for the salvation of mankind.

The history of religion, as well as the history of mankind, can be compared with the school system: religion, like the rules of human life, improves as human society develops. So, for example, the prophet Adam (peace be upon him) - the first person on earth - is like the first teacher, and in those ten Scriptures (scrolls) that he received, there were the most necessary knowledge, the ABC of relationships. His son, the prophet Shis (peace be upon him), is like a teacher of the 2nd grade, who, having received 50 Holy Scrolls, for the first time gave humanity such concepts as a system of fair government, rules of trade, introduced the concepts of measure and weighing, and began mining. Their descendant Idris (Enoch, peace be upon him) is like a 3rd grade teacher who, having received an additional 30 Holy Scrolls, expanded the horizons of his followers. He first introduced the concept of counting, writing, began observing celestial bodies and began to sew clothes.

Further Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus) (peace be upon them all), and finally, the graduating class and the last teacher - the last prophet, the Prophet of all Prophets - Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) brought to mankind the completed rules of life, which people should be guided by until the End of the World. It was as if he offered us the questions of final tests and informed us that there would be no more teachers and new subjects and we needed to prepare for the exams.

He left us the Koran and hadiths (a description of the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)) and said that there will be no more prophets: get ready for the Day of Judgment, when the good and bad deeds of each person will be weighed with perfect accuracy and our earthly life. And the one of us who has more good deeds will be rewarded in eternal life and the one who has more bad deeds will be justly punished. This is the whole essence and content of the true religion at all times - to educate, educate and preserve a person - the most beloved rational creation of Allah Almighty. Prophets were sent for this, and they received instructions in the form of scriptures. Each Scripture confirmed the truth of the previous one and announced the next. Therefore, one of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says: "All the prophets are brothers, and their religion is one." And in the last Holy Scripture - the Koran there is an ayat, the meaning of which is as follows: "Verily, there is no other religion accepted by the Lord, except the religion of submission and obedience to Him." (i.e. Islam).