Osteochondrosis 

World religions list of major religions. The religion of all the prophets - what did all the prophets teach? Ancient signs of the birth of religions

Religion is a certain worldview, seeking to know the higher mind, which is the root cause of everything that exists. Any belief reveals to a person the meaning of life, his destiny in the world, helping to find a goal, and not an impersonal animal existence. There have always been and will be many different worldviews. Thanks to the eternal human search for the root cause, the religions of the world were formed, the list of which is classified according to two main criteria:

How many religions are there in the world?

Islam and Buddhism are recognized as the main world religions, each of which is divided into numerous large and small branches and sects. It is difficult to say how many religions, beliefs and beliefs there are in the world, due to the regular creation of new groups, but according to some information, there are thousands of religious movements at the present stage.

World religions are called so because they have gone far beyond the borders of the nation, the country, have spread to a huge number of nationalities. Non-worldly confessions within a smaller number of people. The basis of the monotheistic view is the belief in one God, while the pagan view suggests the presence of several deities.

The largest world religion that arose 2,000 years ago in Palestine. It has about 2.3 billion believers. In the 11th century there was a division into Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and in the 16th century Protestantism also separated from Catholicism. These are three large branches, there are more than a thousand other small ones.

The main essence of Christianity and its distinctive features from other religions are as follows:

Orthodox Christianity has adhered to the tradition of faith since apostolic times. Its foundations were formulated by the Ecumenical Councils and dogmatically enshrined in the Creed. The teaching is based on Holy Scripture (mainly the New Testament) and Holy Tradition. Divine services are performed in four circles, depending on the main holiday - Easter:

  • Daily.
  • Seven.
  • Movable annual.
  • Fixed annual.

In Orthodoxy, there are seven main Sacraments:

  • Baptism.
  • Chrismation.
  • Eucharist (Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ).
  • Confession.
  • Unction.
  • Wedding.
  • Priesthood.

In the Orthodox understanding, God is one in three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The ruler of the world is interpreted not as an angry avenger for the misdeeds of people, but as a Loving Heavenly Father who takes care of his creation and bestows the grace of the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments.

Man is recognized as the image and likeness of God, with free will, but fallen into the abyss of sin. Those who wish to restore their former holiness, to get rid of passions, the Lord helps on this path.

Catholic teaching is a major trend in Christianity, spread mainly in Europe, Latin America and the United States. This creed has much in common with Orthodoxy in understanding God and the relationship between the Lord and man, but there are fundamental and important differences:

  • the infallibility of the head of the church of the Pope;
  • Holy Tradition is formed from 21 Ecumenical Councils (the first 7 are recognized in Orthodoxy);
  • the distinction between the clergy and the laity: people in dignity are endowed with Divine Grace, they are assigned the role of shepherds, and the laity are herds;
  • the doctrine of indulgence as a treasury of good deeds done by Christ and the Saints, and the Pope, as the vicar of the Savior on earth, distributes the forgiveness of sins to whom he wants and who needs it;
  • adding your understanding to the dogma of the Holy Spirit emanating from the Father and the Son;
  • introduction of dogmas on the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary and Her bodily ascension;
  • the doctrine of purgatory as the average state of the human soul, cleansed from sins as a result of severe trials.

And there are also differences in the understanding and performance of some Sacraments:

It arose as a result of the Reformation in Germany and spread throughout Western Europe as a protest and a desire to transform the Christian Church, getting rid of medieval ideas.

Protestants agree with Christian ideas about God as the Creator of the world, about human sinfulness, about the eternity of the soul and salvation. They share the understanding of hell and heaven, while rejecting the Catholic purgatory.

Distinctive features of Protestantism from Catholicism and Orthodoxy:

  • minimizing church sacraments - until Baptism and Communion;
  • there is no division into clergy and laity, every well-prepared person in matters of Holy Scripture can be a priest for himself and for others;
  • worship is held in the native language, is based on joint prayer, reading psalms, sermons;
  • there is no veneration of saints, icons, relics;
  • monasticism and the hierarchical structure of the church are not recognized;
  • salvation is understood only by faith, and good deeds will not help to be justified before God;
  • recognition of the exclusive authority of the Bible, and each believer interprets the words of Scripture at his own discretion, the criterion is the point of view of the founder of the church organization.

The main directions of Protestantism: Quakers, Methodists, Mennonites, Baptists, Adventists, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons.

The youngest world monotheistic religion. The number of believers is about 1.5 billion people. The founder is the prophet Mohammed. Holy book - Koran. For Muslims, the main thing is to live according to the prescribed rules:

  • pray five times a day;
  • observe the fast of Ramadan;
  • give alms 2.5% per year of income;
  • make a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

Some researchers add the sixth duty of Muslims - jihad, manifested in the struggle for faith, zeal, diligence. There are five types of jihad:

  • inner self-perfection on the way to God;
  • armed struggle against unbelievers;
  • struggle with your passions;
  • separation of good and evil;
  • taking action against criminals.

Currently, extremist groups use the jihad of the sword as an ideology to justify their bloody activities.

A world pagan religion that denies the existence of a Deity. Founded in India by Prince Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha). Briefly boils down to the teaching of the four noble truths:

  1. All human life is suffering.
  2. Desire is the cause of suffering.
  3. To conquer suffering, one must get rid of desire with the help of a specific state - nirvana.
  4. To free yourself from desire, you need to follow eight basic rules.

According to the teachings of the Buddha, to acquire a calm state and intuition, to clear the mind will help:

  • a correct understanding of the world as a lot of suffering and sorrow;
  • gaining a firm intention to curtail your wishes and aspirations;
  • control of speech, which should be friendly;
  • performing virtuous deeds;
  • trying not to harm living beings;
  • the expulsion of evil thoughts and the mood for good ones;
  • the realization that human flesh is evil;
  • perseverance and patience in achieving the goal.

The main branches of Buddhism are Hinayana and Mahayana. Along with it, there are other religions in India, spread to varying degrees: Hinduism, Vedism, Brahminism, Jainism, Shaivism.

What is the oldest religion in the world?

The ancient world was characterized by polytheism (polytheism). For example, the Sumerian, ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman religions, druidism, asatru, Zoroastrianism.

Judaism is considered one of the ancient monotheistic beliefs - the national religion of the Jews, based on the 10 commandments given to Moses. The main book is the Old Testament.

Judaism has several branches:

  • Litvaks;
  • Hasidism;
  • Zionism;
  • orthodox modernism.

There are also different types of Judaism: Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Humanistic and Renovationist.

Today it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question "What is the oldest religion in the world?", as archaeologists regularly find new data to confirm the emergence of different worldviews. We can say that beliefs in the supernatural have been inherent in mankind at all times.

The huge variety of worldviews and philosophical beliefs since the emergence of mankind does not make it possible to list all the religions of the world, the list of which is regularly updated with both new currents and branches from existing world and other beliefs.

Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu! Which in Arabic means- May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be with you.

With the name of Allah, the Gracious and Merciful (BismILLAH Rahmani Rahim).

The Almighty, at His Will, created the slaves of His own 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 slave-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 was no accomplice or helper (and this is wrong, it is a sin that in the west in the church a pastor cleanses their grihi for people behind the partition. He cannot forgive them sins, because the person himself is not without sin. And only God (Allah) can do this) to the Creator and that He, and only He, has absolute, perfect virtues, and there is nothing similar 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 new and youngest religion, and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be with him) is the founder of Islam. Truly, this is not so.

The Muslim religion is based on faith in the One and only God, Who is not like anyone else 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 - submissive to God. After the arrival of the last Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the sending down of the Holy Book-Quran in Arabic, these words naturally began to be used in the language of the Koran. Consequently, Islam is a religion of submission to God.

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 (God bless 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 Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) will come, 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, that is, 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 brothers -Muslims. Also, 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 the One God-Allah, and there is no He has an accomplice). 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 creation, because this would be paganism and delusion, from which they saved 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 God alone and taught the true faith of his children. Subsequent prophets also called on 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 Holy Scriptures. Some deliberately, others for selfish purposes, others by virtue of their own This is how various beliefs arose that distort the true teaching. And every time people departed from 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 of the prophet Shisa (peace be upon him) son of Adam (peace be upon him). Then the prophet Idris (Enoch) (peace be upon him) was sent to instruct 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: creeds and Sharia. The foundations of faith, such as: faith in Allah, in His angels, in the Holy Scriptures, in the prophets, on the Day of Judgment and in the predestination of fate, have never changed and do not change. In 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, then this 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, then the knowledge about Him, about His attributes is unchanged. 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 who professed the one true religion and called people to this. 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."

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.

The basic principles of the laws of all the prophets were the same. For example, the prohibitions on murder, lies, 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 of human society. Here are some examples:

1. According to the Shariah of Adam (mirem), believers were required to perform one prayer per day. A similar instruction was preserved 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 previous Shariahs, it is allowed to pray in any clean place. Previously, this was only allowed 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. unlike other Scriptures, it remained unchanged, since the Almighty Himself promised to keep it until the Day of Judgment.

The 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 purifies 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: "Oh, 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 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 Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon laha 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 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 Sharia sent down to 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 vices and their followers were waiting for the last Messenger-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 narratives 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.

The truth always resonates in the heart of every partial person who seeks the truth. Thus, 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 converted to Islam. His next immortal saying remained: "I testify before Allah that this is the Prophet whom 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 on whom they placed hopes 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, is being improved as human society develops. 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 was the most necessary knowledge, the alphabet 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 mankind such concepts, as a system of fair government, rules of trade, introduced the concepts of measure and weighing, 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 to observe 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 is the last prophet, the Prophet of all Prophets-Muhammaf (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ) brought to humanity the completed rules of life, by which people should be guided until the End of the World. He, as it were, offered us questions for graduation tests and informed us that there would be no more teachers and new subjects and we need to prepare for 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: prepare 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 true religion at all times - to teach, educate and to save a person is the most beloved intelligent creation of Allah Almighty. For this, prophets were sent, and they received instructions in the form of scriptures. : "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: "Truly, there is no other religion, we accept oh Lord, except for the religion of humility and obedience to Him. "(i.e. Islam).

(not global, but all).

The world religion is a religion that has spread among the peoples of different countries around the world. The difference between world religions from national and national-state religions in that in the latter the religious connection between people coincides with the ethnic connection (the origin of believers) or political. World religions are also called supranational, as they unite different peoples on different continents. History of World Religions always closely connected with the course of the history of human civilization. List of world religions small. Religious scholars count three world religions which we will briefly review.

Buddhism.

Buddhism- oldest world religion, which originated in the VI century BC in the territory of modern India. At the moment, according to various researchers, it has from 800 million to 1.3 billion believers.

In Buddhism there is no creator god, as there is in Christianity. Buddha means enlightened. In the center of religion, the teachings of the Indian prince Gautama, who left his life in luxury, became a hermit and ascetic, thought about the fate of people and the meaning of life.

In Buddhism there is also no theory about the creation of the world (no one created and no one controls it), there is no concept of an eternal soul, there is no expiation of sins (instead of this - positive or negative karma), there is no such a multicomponent organization as the church in Christianity. Buddhism does not require absolute devotion and rejection of other religions from believers. It sounds funny, but Buddhism can be called the most democratic religion. Buddha is something like an analogue of Christ, but he is not considered either a god or a son of God.

The essence of the philosophy of Buddhism- striving for nirvana, self-knowledge, self-contemplation and spiritual self-development through self-restraint and meditation.

Christianity.

Christianity arose in the 1st century AD in Palestine (Mesopotamia) on the basis of the teachings of Jesus Christ, which were described by his disciples (apostles) in the New Testament. Christianity is the largest world religion in geographical terms (it is present in almost all countries of the world) and in terms of the number of believers (about 2.3 billion, which is almost a third of the world's population).

In the 11th century, Christianity split into Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and in the 16th century, Protestantism also broke away from Catholicism. Together they make up the three major currents of Christianity. Smaller branches (currents, sects) are more than a thousand.

Christianity is monotheistic, although monotheism a little non-standard: the concept of God has three levels (three hypostases) - Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The Jews, for example, do not accept this; for them God is one, and cannot be binary or ternary. In Christianity, faith in God, service to God and a righteous life are of paramount importance.

The main manual of Christians is the Bible, which consists of the Old and New Testaments.

Both Orthodox and Catholics recognize the seven sacraments of Christianity (baptism, communion, repentance, chrismation, marriage, unction, priesthood). Main differences:

  • the Orthodox do not have a Pope (single head);
  • there is no concept of "purgatory" (only heaven and hell);
  • priests do not take a vow of celibacy;
  • slight difference in rituals;
  • holiday dates.

Among Protestants, anyone can preach, the number of sacraments and the importance of rites are reduced to a minimum. Protestantism is, in fact, the least strict branch of Christianity.

Islam.

AT islam also one god. Translated from Arabic means "subjugation", "submission". God is Allah, the prophet is Mohammed (Mohammed, Mohammed). Islam ranks second in terms of the number of believers - up to 1.5 billion Muslims, that is, almost a quarter of the world's population. Islam originated in the 7th century on the Arabian Peninsula.

The Koran - the holy book of Muslims - is a collection of Muhammad's teachings (sermons) and were compiled after the death of the prophet. Of considerable importance is also the Sunnah - a collection of parables about Muhammad, and Shariah - a code of conduct for Muslims. In Islam, observance of rituals is of paramount importance:

  • daily five times prayer (prayer);
  • fasting in Ramadan (9th month of the Muslim calendar);
  • distribution of alms to the poor;
  • hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca);
  • pronouncing the main formula of Islam (there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet).

Previously, the number of world religions also included Hinduism and Judaism. This data is now considered obsolete.

Unlike Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are related to each other. Both religions are Abrahamic religions.

In literature and cinema, such a concept as "one universe" is sometimes encountered. The heroes of different works live in the same world and may one day meet, like, for example, Iron Man and Captain America. Christianity and Islam take place in "the same universe". Jesus Christ, Moses, the Bible are mentioned in the Koran, and Jesus and Moses are prophets. Adam and Chava are the first people on Earth according to the Quran. Muslims in some biblical texts also see the prophecy of the appearance of Muhammad. In this aspect, it is interesting to observe that especially severe religious conflicts arose precisely between these religions close to each other (and not with Buddhists or Hindus); but we will leave this question for the consideration of psychologists and religious scholars.

Many people today believe that the world's three monotheistic religions are truly divine religions. However, many of them ask: Why did God create different religions? Why did He create Judaism, Christianity and Islam by sending Moses, Jesus and Muhammad? May Allah bless and greet them all.

Wouldn't it be better to give people only one religion, so that there would be no inter-religious conflicts on earth, and so that people would live in peace and tranquility?

Indeed, if God is one, why then did He not create one religion, so that all people, together, equally worship Him?

On this extremely important question, with the permission of the Almighty, we will try to answer in this article.

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

Think for what purpose did all the prophets come? In fact, many do not know the correct answer to this fundamentally important question. Many believe 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 purpose of the prophets was to teach people sacred commandments, such as "do not steal", "do not kill", or to teach their followers various rituals of worship: Jews must observe the Sabbath, Christians are baptized, and Muslims pray 5 times a day. day.

However, this may surprise you, but this is not what all the prophets came for!

Think for yourself: civilizations and peoples, to which many different prophets came, were they atheists and believed in the theory of evolution? Of course not! On the contrary, as can be clearly seen from the history books of various civilizations, almost all peoples believed that the creator of the entire universe is only one God. 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 all believed that only one God created this entire universe. See what the Qur'an says about the idolater Arabs: "If you ask them, 'Who created the heavens and the earth and subdued the sun and the moon?' - they will surely say: "Allah." How they are turned away from the truth!” (Holy Quran, Surah "Spider": 61)

It turns out that faith in the only creator of God was not the main call of all the prophets!

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

To understand what was the purpose of all the prophets, as an example, we can consider the prophetic period of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), who preached for a total of 23 years (13 of them in Mecca and 10 in Medina). If you conduct a survey of the population today, including the Muslim population, asking them: "Why did Islam come?", then many of the respondents will mistakenly point to the obligatory five times prayer, fasting in the month of Ramadan, zakat - the 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, did you know that in the first 10 years of Islam, Muslims were not ordered to perform any religious rites? The obligatory five times prayer, fasting in the month of Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca and others - all this was not known to the first Muslims. Moreover, did you know that the ban on alcohol, pork, usury, the order for a woman to wear a hijab - all this became part of Islam only in the last years of the prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)? In simpler terms, all those attributes of Islam that are today, in the eyes of many, an integral part of a Muslim, in fact, became the attributes of a Muslim only in the last years of the prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

Then a natural question arises: what then called the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) all this time? What was he calling for that was more important than praying five times and banning alcohol and pork? Think about it, Muslims during this period did not perform five daily prayers and consumed alcohol, but Islam did not forbid them to do 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 this 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 or 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, while saving their religion and their lives.

What did the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) call for and for the sake of what the first Muslims were ready to endure any suffering and trials? On the other hand, 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

It may seem that we are contradicting ourselves: in the beginning we say that many nations, to which the prophets came, believed in the One and only Creator and that calling for this is not the main goal of all the prophets. Now, we say that the main goal of all the prophets was a call to monotheism. Isn't that a contradiction?!

In fact, the whole problem lies in understanding the term "monotheism". Therefore, we have made an emphasis in the title of the chapter, pointing precisely to "true monotheism."

The fact is that many people today understand the words "monotheism" or "monotheism" as "the belief that everything that exists has only one Creator." However, we have already seen in the previous chapter 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 to him as a partner. 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. “holy 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 all the prophets had the same mission throughout all ages, starting from the prophets Adam, Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham) and ending with Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad - peace be upon them all and the blessing of the Almighty. All these messengers came to this world from the same Creator God and with a single "message" for all mankind: "Worship only one God 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 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. After all, isn’t true Monotheism and obedience to God the essence of the religion of all the prophets: 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 purpose - for all mankind to be freed from the slavery of everything worldly and completely submit to God alone, not equating anyone and nothing to Him as partners.

However, at the same time, the Supreme Lord prescribed certain distinctive rites of worship to his messengers, allowing something to one messenger and forbidding it to another. Thus, each messenger of God either came with a new scripture (code of laws), or confirmed and adhered to the old scripture, calling his people to it. Among the prophets who came with the new scriptures are Musa (Moses), to whom the Torah was sent down, Isa (Jesus) - the Gospel, Davud (David) - the Scrolls of David, Muhammad - the Koran, and others. 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 God's new messenger showing clear signs and wonders according to God's will should follow this prophet.

However, the following questions arise: Why did God act this way? Was it not possible for all the prophets to prescribe the same religious rites and commandments? Why could not all the prophets have 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.

Firstly, the All-Knowing Lord, sending his new messengers, thus tests the believers: can they, for the sake of the Most High God, leave the old code of laws and follow the new prophet? After all, if they do, they will lose their respect in the eyes of many of their relatives and friends, and may even endanger their lives.

The Almighty God 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 sura“ Meal ”: 48)

Thus, believers will have to prove whether they are following God's will by following the new prophet, or whether they are following their passions. After all, each next God's messenger confirms the previous prophecies and shows clear signs and wonders to prove his prophecy.

Remember the prophet Isa (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 dead people, 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? Not at all! Out of their arrogance, and out of fear of being persecuted by the authorities of the Roman Empire, many Jews 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 according to the merit of everyone who deliberately brings lies to His religion!

Secondly, each nation or civilization, to which new God's messengers came, existed in certain historical periods, and had its own geographical and climatic conditions. You should know that there was no such people to which the Almighty Lord would not send his prophet and who would not call his people to worship the One Creator, without betraying anyone and nothing to Him as partners. Allah Almighty says: “We sent a messenger to every community: “Worship Allah and avoid Taghut” (Holy Quran Surah “Bees”: 36)

Allah Almighty also says: “And there is not a single people to whom a warning warner would not come” (Holy Quran sura “Creator”: 24)

And since 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 such a people. Thus, the All-Knowing Lord could allow one people what he forbade another. So, for example, God allowed the sons of Adam to marry their sisters, because at that time there were no other women on earth, and humanity had to multiply. When humanity multiplied, the All-Knowing God forbade marriages between brothers and sisters.

Thirdly, all of humanity cannot immediately, in one moment, completely change and turn into an ideal society. In order for mankind to adapt to a new social system and legal order, it needs time and consistency. Those. years must pass, and sometimes even centuries. Even studying world history, we see that throughout the history of its existence, various civilizations have gradually moved from one social system to another. Slave system, feudal, 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 humanity more than two thousand years to relatively improve and modernize the social order created by man, then what can be said about the divine legal order? Without a doubt, humanity needs an even longer period of time to gradually adapt and reach the stage when it can understand, realize and put into practice the last divine law.

For this reason, in order to send down his last statute, suitable for all peoples and for all times, with the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the All-Knowing Lord prepared all mankind for a long time for this. 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 were before me is like a man who built a strong and beautiful building, without completing only one brick. After that, people, bypassing 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 all need to realize the important fact that the religion of all God's prophets is one - it is obedience to the one and only God, not giving Him partners in anything. And the fact that God prescribed different rites of worship for each prophet does not mean at all 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 those who seek the pleasure of Allah Almighty to the straight path. Amen.

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 is based on the belief in the magical abilities of man. 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 types of 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 gained special distribution 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 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 teaching spread to the countries of Southeast, South, Central Asia and the 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, new creeds still continue to appear in the modern world. 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.

Have questions?

Report a typo

Text to be sent to our editors:

Send