Islam and Sikhism

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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Islam is an Abrahamic religion founded in Arabian peninsula, while Sikhism is a Dharmic religion founded in South Asia. Islam means "submission" (to Allah), and also carries meanings of peace and safety.[1][2] The word Sikh is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning 'disciple', or one who learns.[3]

Both religions are strictly monotheistic ('One' God), although Sikhs believe that the 'One' creator permeates creation.[4][5] Islam believes that Muhammad was the last prophet, to whom Quran was revealed by God in 7th century CE, and it restricts its primary source of teachings to the Quran and the Hadiths.[6] Sikhism was founded in 15th century CE by Guru Nanak and Guru Granth Sahib is the scripture followed by Sikhs as "The Living Guru".[4][7]

In Islam, the legal system based on the Quran and the Sunnah is known as Sharia; there is no such legal system mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib. Islam does not allow apostasy.[8] Sikhism allows freedom of conscience and apostasy.[9] Daily prayers are one of the pillars of Islam and mandatory for Muslims.[10] Baptized Sikhs read the five banis (prayers) as part of their daily routine, Nitnem. Islam requires annual zakah (alms giving) by Muslims, while Sikhism encourages alms giving but does not compel it.,.[11] Selfless service (Sewa) and sharing with others (Vand Chhako) are fundamental to Sikhism. Pilgrimage (to Mecca) is a crucial part of Islam, while Sikhism denounces pilgrimages and rituals. (Guru Nanak says "My places of pilgrimage are the Word, contemplation and divine knowledge within me. Penance, fasting, austerity, alms-giving are all inferior to truth; right action is superior to them all.")

Comparison

Belief

God

Sikhism believes that God does not take any human forms, and rejects the idea of gods.[4] Sikhism has been called a form of pantheism,[5] as well as monotheism.[4]

Islam believes in monotheism, called tawḥīd (Arabic: توحيد).[12]

Guru and Messengers

Sikhism believes that there were countless rightful messengers, include Krishna, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed and the ten human Gurus of Sikhs.[4]

Islam believes that before Muhammad there were many messengers of God, Muhammad was the last messenger, and Quran was the last revelation to the last prophet.[6][13]

Duties/Articles of Faith

The Five Pillars of Islam are duties incumbent on every Muslim. These duties are Shahada (testimony that "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God"),[8] Salat (prayers), Zakat (Giving of Alms), Sawm (Fasting during Ramadan) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). These five practices are essential to Sunni Islam; Shi'a Muslims subscribe to eight ritual practices which substantially overlap with the five Pillars.[14][15]

The three duties of Sikhs are Naam Japna (mindful of God's name at all times), Kirat Karni (earn honest living) and Vand Chakna (sharing one's earning with others).[16]

Social beliefs

Sikhism has an ambivalent attitude towards miracles and rejects any form of discrimination within and against other religions.[17][18] Sikhism does not believe in rituals, but is permissive of traditions.[7]

Sikhism rejects asceticism and celibacy.[19] Sikh Guru Nanak accepted reincarnation.[19] Adi Granth of Sikhism recognizes and includes spiritual wisdom from other religions.[7]

[20][page needed] Islam warns against wrongful innovation (bid‘ah) to what is revealed in the Quran and the Hadiths.[7]

Wahhabi Islam does not inherently recognize and accept spiritual wisdom from other religions.[7][21][22]

Islam itself allows for contemplation of other religions as paths toward God as long as those paths do not ascribe partners to Allah ( blasphemy). This concept of inclusiveness is overlooked by the Wahhabi school of Islamic thought. Forced conversion and Missionary work was not a tenet nor used as a framework to propagate the theology during its early establishing years. This is demonstrated by the following verse and injunction of the Quran.

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Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.

— Holy Qu'ran 2:256. (Yusuf Ali translation)

Islam also rejects asceticism and celibacy.[23] Islam believes in miracles and a final judgment day (Qiyama).[24] Islam believes that there is severe punishment in the afterlife (akhirah)for the wrongdoers as there is a reward for those who did good.

Apostasy

Apostasy, that is abandonment of Islam by a Muslim and conversion another religion or atheism, is a religious crime in Islam punishable with death.[8][25] Sikhism allows freedom of conscience.[9]

View on other religions

Sikhism teaches that all religious traditions are valid, leading to the same God, and it rejects that any particular religion has a monopoly regarding absolute truth for all of humanity.[26]

Islam teaches that non-Islamic religious traditions have been distorted by man to suit their desires.[27][28]

Predestination

Islam believes in predestination, or divine preordainment (al-qadā wa l-qadar), God has full knowledge and control over all that occurs.[29][30] According to Islamic tradition, all that has been decreed by God is written in al-Lawh al-Mahfūz, the "Preserved Tablet".[31][full citation needed]

Sikhism also believes in predestination, and what one does, speaks and hears is already pre ordained, and one has to simply follow the laid down path per God's fiat or Hukum.[32]

Practice

Grooming and dress

The Khalsa panth among Sikhs are guided by the five Ks. They keep their head hair long (kesh) and men wear turbans (head hair cover). They carry a wooden comb, wear an iron bracelet, wear a cotton underwear, and carry a kirpan (steel sword).[33] Sikh women are free to dress as they wish in Sikhism. Sex segregation is not required in public places or Sikh temples by Sikhism.[34]

Muslim males are encouraged to grow their beards and trim the moustache.[35] Men in some Muslim communities wear turban (head cap).[36] Muslim men , as well as women, must dress modestly. Muslim women are required to cover their hair and body in public,[37] with some Islamic scholars stating that the Islamic Hadiths require covering the face too.[38][39] These restrictions are called 'Hijab'. Islam encourages gender segregation in public, and Muslim men and women do not usually mix in public places such as mosques. These restrictions are part of 'Adab'.[35]

Circumcision

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Further information: Khitan (circumcision) and Religious views on female genital mutilation

Sikhism does not require circumcision of either males or females, and criticizes the practice.[40]

Circumcision is mandatory for Muslim males, and clitoral circumcision has been historically believed to be mandatory or preferred for Muslim females, depending on the fiqh of Islam.[41][42][43] Modern Islamic scholars, however, have questioned whether female circumcision is indeed mandatory or preferred under Islam.[44][45]

Food

Islam has Quranic restrictions on food, such as how the meat is prepared.[46] Halal meat is required in Islam, prepared by ritual slaughter that involves cutting the jugular veins of the animal with a sharp knife. This leads to death, through bleeding, of the animal.[47] Meat from animals that die of natural causes or accident is not allowed, unless necessary.[46] Beef is a sought after meat among Muslims, but they strictly avoid pork and alcohol.[48] Muslims fast for the month of Ramadan.

Sikhs are prohibited from eating Islamic halal or Jewish kosher style meat because this manner of obtaining meat involves a ritualistic component and a slow death of the animal.[49][50] Charity meals distributed at a Sikh Gurudwara, called a langar, is only lacto-vegetarian to respect the dietary concerns of other religions (Hindus don't eat beef and Jewish and Muslims people don't eat pork).[49] Some sects[51] of Sikhism disagree with the consumption of meat altogether. The official Sikh Code of Conduct Sikh Rehat Maryada only forbids the consumption of Kutha meat and instead suggests Jhatka style of preporation.[50][52] In practice, most Sikhs avoid beef due to cultural reasons in India, and some Sikhs are strict lacto-vegetarians.[50]

Jizya

Islam, in its history and unlike Sikhism, compelled the payment of a special tax called Jizya from dhimmi, those who refuse to convert to Islam but live in a Muslim state. Dhimmis were excluded from having to pay Islamic religious tax such as zakat and excluded from observing other Islamic religious obligations. [53][54] Jizya was a tool of social stratification and treasury's revenue from non-Muslims.[54] Jizya was a reminder of subordination of a non-Muslim under Muslims, and created a financial and political incentive to convert to Islam.[54][55]

Sikhism has never required a special tax for non-Sikhs.

Holy sites

The Harmandir Sahib (also known as the Golden Temple).

The Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar, India is not only a central religious place of the Sikhs, but also a symbol of human brotherhood and equality. The four entrances of this holy shrine from all four directions, signify that people belonging to every walk of life are equally welcome. The Golden Temple is a holy site for Sikhs and is welcome to people of any faith.[56]

Masjid al-Haram Mecca.

Mecca in Saudi Arabia is the central religious place in Islam.[57][58] Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in Islam,[59] and a pilgrimage to it, known as the Hajj, is one of the pillars of Islam. Non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the city.

Pilgrimage

Sikhs do not believe in pilgrimages; Muslims, in contrast, consider Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) a crucial part of the faith.

History

Guru Arjan was executed by a Mughal emperor in 1606 CE, amid rising persecution of Sikhs.[60] The execution is considered a watershed event in the history of Sikhism.[60]

During the Mughal Empire, Sikh gurus were persecuted along with other non-Muslims. The fifth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Arjan was executed by Jahangir.[61] There were occasional exceptions to the historical persecution. During Mughal Emperor Akbar's rule, for example, Sikhism and diverse religions were temporarily accepted. Akbar visited the third Sikh Guru, Guru Amardas at Goindwal, ate at the Langar kitchen, and offered donations for Langar.[62][63]

In other periods, Sikhs were persecuted during the Islamic rule of South Asia. Guru Arjan was tortured and executed by Mughal emperor Jahangir. Guru Hargobind, (sixth Guru of the Sikhs), after the martyrdom of Guru Arjan saw that it would no longer be possible to protect the Sikh community without the aid of arms.[64] He built Akal Takhat the Throne of the Immortal and it is the highest political institution of the Sikhs and he also wore two swords of Miri and Piri.[65]

Guru Tegh Bahadur (ninth Guru) was tortured and beheaded by Aurangzeb at Chandni Chowk in Delhi,[66] for refusing to convert to Islam and for protecting Kashmiri Hindus who were being forced to convert to Islam.[67][68][69] His fellow devotees Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das and Bhai Dayala were also tortured and executed, while Guru Tegh Bahadur was forced to watch.[70][71] Tenth Guru Guru Gobind Singh formed Khalsa known as Army of Akal Purakh (Immortal) and Gave 5 Ks to Khalsa. Two of the younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh aged 9 and 7 were bricked up alive by the Muslim governor Wazir Khan in Sarhand (Punjab). When Guru Gobind Singh was in South India, he sent Banda Singh Bahadur to chastise the tyrannical Mughal faiy`dar of Sirhind. Banda Singh captured Sirhind and laid the foundation of Sikh empire.[72][73]

Recent relations

During the partition of India in 1947, there was much bloodshed between Sikhs and Muslims, there was mass migration of people from all walks of life to leave their homes and belongings and travel by foot across the new border, on trains and on land people were killed in what was felt to be revenge attacks.[74] Millions of Sikhs left Pakistan and moved into India, while millions of Muslims left India and moved into Pakistan.[74]

Since 9/11 Sikhs in America have been endured hate crimes, denial of employment, bullying in schools and profiling in airports.[75]

In the UK, there have some instances of tension between Sikhs and Muslims on allegations that some Sikhs have been forced to convert to Islam.[76][77]

In 2009, the Taliban in Pakistan demanded that Sikhs in the region pay them the jizya (poll tax levied by Muslims on non-Muslim minorities).[78]

In 2010 the Taliban, an Islamic terrorist group) attacked many minorities including Sikhs resulting in two beheadings.[79]

Sufi Muslims and Sikhs

Sufi Muslims, a minority group of mystical ascetics in Islam, considered to be one of its many sects,[80][81] have been long considered to be heretics and blasphemous in Wahabi and Salafi Islam.[82][83][84] The Sikh Gurus had cordial relations with many Muslim Sufi Saints.[85]

In December 1588, a Sufi saint of Lahore, Mian Mir, visited Guru Arjan Dev at the initiation ceremony before the construction of the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple).[86]

Ahmadiyya Muslims and Sikhs

Ahmadiyya, a minority reform sect that arose within Islam, believe in prophets after Muhammad and consider themselves to be Muslims.[87] They are, however, not recognized as Muslims by mainstream Sunni and Shia Islam, and are treated as blasphemous and persecuted.[87][88] Since the 18th century, Ahmadi Muslims have had cordial relations with Sikhs, and they fought with Sikhs to resist the persecution by Sunni-based Mughal rule in South Asia.[89]

See also

References

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  29. ↑ See:
    • Quran 9:51
    • D. Cohen-Mor (2001), p.4: "The idea of predestination is reinforced by the frequent mention of events 'being written' or 'being in a book' before they happen: 'Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us…" ' "
    • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.: The verb qadara literally means "to measure, to determine". Here it is used to mean that "God measures and orders his creation".
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  56. ↑ The Sikhism Home Page: Sri Guru Granth Sahib
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  77. ↑ Protest march over 'conversions'
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Further reading

External links

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