Hinduism vs. Islam

Hinduism and Islam are the third and second most popular religions in the world respectively. They differ in many respects - including idol worship, monotheism and their history.

Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion, founded by Prophet Muhammad in the Middle East in the 7th century CE. Hinduism on the other hand is religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent in the pre-classical era (1500–500 BCE) and does not have a specific founder.

Comparison chart

Hinduism versus Islam comparison chart

Hinduism

Islam

Place of worship

Temple (Mandir)

Mosque/masjid, any place which is considered clean by Islamic standards.

Belief of God

Many gods, but realize that they all come from Atman.

Only one God (monotheism). God is the one True Creator. God has always existed, none existed before him and will exist forever. He transcends life and death. No part of His creation resembles Him, He cannot be seen, but sees all.

Five pillars: Testament that there is one God and Muhammad is his messenger (shahadah); prayer five times daily; fast during Ramadan; charity to the poor (zakat); pilgrimage (Hajj).

Place of origin

Indian Subcontinent

Arabian Peninsula, Mecca at Mount Hira.

Means of salvation

Reaching enlightenment by the Path of Knowledge, the Path of devotion, or the Path of Good Deeds.

Belief in one God, remembrance of God, repentance, fear of God and hope in God's mercy.

Goal of religion

To break the cycle of birth, death and reincarnation, and attain salvation.

Fulfill gift and responsibility of this life through following the guidance of Holy Quran and Hadith, striving to serve mankind through compassion, justice, trustworthiness, and love for all of God's creation

Use of statues and pictures

Common

Images of God or prophets not permitted. Art takes the form of calligraphy, architecture etc. Muslims distinguish themselves from other groups by not drawing lifelike human works, which could be mistaken as idolatry. No image is representative of God

Life after death

A constant cycle of reincarnation until enlightenment is reached.

All beings created with reason will be accountable to God Almighty on the Day of Judgement. They will be rewarded for every atom's weight of good, and either forgiven or punished for evil deeds.

Founder

Not credited to a particular founder.

Prophet Muhammad. According to Islamic scripture, all people who follow God's revealed guidance and the messengers sent with it 'submit' to that guidance, and are considered Muslims (ie. Adam, Moses, Abraham, Jesus, etc.).

Human Nature

Depends on sects.

Humans are born pure and innocent. Upon reaching adolescence, you are responsible for what you do, and must choose right from wrong. Islam also teaches that faith and action go hand-in-hand.

The followers of Vedas are called as Arya, noble person. Arya is not a dynasty, ethnicity or race. Anyone who follows the teachings of Vedas is considered Arya.

Islam is derived from the Arabic root "Salema": peace, purity, submission and obedience. In the religious sense, Islam means submission to the will of God and obedience to His law. A Muslim is one who follows Islam.

Scriptures

Vedas, Upanishad, Puranas, Gita. Smrti and Sruti are oral scriptures.

The Qur'an, and traditions of the Holy Last messenger Muhammad, called 'Sunnah' which is found in narrations or 'hadiths' by the men around him.

Marriage

Man may marry one woman. However, kings in mythology often married more than one woman.

Islam is totally opposed to monasticism and celibacy. Marriage is an act of Sunnah in Islam and is strongly recommended. Men can only marry the "people of the book" i.e., Abrahamic religions. Women can only marry a Muslim man.

Repentance for unintentional sins are prescribed, but intentional sins have to be repaid through karmic consequences.

Forgiveness must be sought from God, there is no intermediary with him. If any wrong is done against another person or thing, forgiveness must first be sought from them, then from God, as all of God's creation have rights that must not be infringed

View of the Buddha

Some Hindu sects claim Buddha was an avatar of Vishnu. Others believe he was a holy man.

Shariah law (derived from Quran and Hadith) governs prayers, business transactions, and individual rights, as well as criminal and governmental laws. Religious debate, or 'Shura' is utilized for practical solutions to contemporary issues

Geographical distribution and predominance

Mainly in India, Nepal and Mauritius. Has significant population in Fiji, Bhutan, UAE, etc.

There are 1.6 billion. By the percentage of the total population in a region considering themselves Muslim, 24.8% in Asia-Oceania, 91.2% in the Middle East-North Africa, 29.6% in Sub-Saharan Africa, around 6.0% in Europe, and 0.6% in the Americas.

Population

1 Billion.

1.6 billion Muslims

Symbols

Om, Swastika, etc.

Muhammad's name in calligraphy is common. There is also the black standard that says "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the last messenger of God" in Arabic. The star and crescent is not Islam per se; it is inspired by the Ottoman empire.

Status of women

Women can become priestesses or nuns. Women are given equal rights as men.

The prophet said "Do good to and serve your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father, then the near relatives and then those who come after them." Islam's honoring women is the great status of the mother in Islam.

Some scriptures say the path they describe is the only path to God and salvation. Other scriptures are more philosophical than religious. Beliefs vary. Some believe that all spiritual paths lead to the same God.

Christians and Jews are regarded as the people of the book, who hold a great deal of respect over materialists but are disbelievers far from the correct path.

About

Devotion to the various gods & goddesses of Hinduism.

Islam consists of individuals who believe in Allah, a deity whose teachings its followers—Muslims—believe were recorded, verbatim, by the god's last prophet, Muhammad.

Day of worship

Orthodox schools prescribe three prayer times a day: at dawn, noon and dusk.

Prayer five times daily is obligatory. Friday is the day of congregational prayer, obligatory for men, but not for women.

You are judged according to your efforts to do good and avoid sinful behaviors, oppression, etc. God will judge your deeds and intentions. A person must believe in God and follow His commandments.

Second coming of Jesus

N/A.

Affirmed

Status of Muhammad

N/A.

Deeply loved and revered in Islam. The last Prophet, but is not worshipped. Only God (the creator) is worshipped in Islam; God's creation (including prophets) are not considered worthy of worship.

Belief

Diverse beliefs depending on sects.

Belief in one God, who has sent messengers with revelation and guidance for humanity so they may be guided to good & who have came with both good news and a warning, the last & final messenger being Muhammad صلى الله علي

Definition

The word Hindu has geographical significance and was used originally for those people who lived beyond the river Sindhu or the region watered by the river Indus. Hindus themselves, call their religion "Sanatana Dharma, " meaning "Eternal Law."

Islam is an Arabic word for "Submission or surrender in Ultimate Peace". Muslim means a believer in One God (Al-Illah or Allah)

Time of origin

circa 3000 B.C.E

600 C.E.

Status of Vedas

Vedas are generally regarded as sacred in Hinduism. Post-Vedic texts like the Gita are also revered.

N/A

Position of Mary

N/A.

Mary (Mariam/Miriam) receives significant admiration from Muslims. She is said by the Prophet Muhammad to be one of the four best women that God created. She is free of sin as the mother of Jesus.

Prophets

No prophets, but Rishis could be considered equivalent in Vedic times. Avataras of Vedic God are different from human reincarnations, but could be considered equivalent to Christian idea of God in flesh.

God sent thousands of divinely inspired messengers to guide mankind. These include Adam, Solomon, David, Noah, Abraham, Ismail, Issac, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. There are 124,000 prophets, who were sent to all the world's nations.

imams identified as

N/A.

Shiites believe they are the successors of Ali; Sunnis regard them as their clergy.

Jesus

N/A.

Muslims believe Jesus to be a perfect, sinless, highly revered Prophet and a messenger of God. His name in Arabic is Isa ibn Mariam (Jesus the son of Mary). Jesus was immaculately conceived through God, but is not God or the son of God.

Abrahamic Lineage

N/A.

The ancestor of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is Abraham (Ibrahim) through his son Ismael.

Position of Abraham

N/A.

A great prophet and a perfect, sinless example of the divine guidance of God.

Virtue on which religion is based upon

Follow righteousness.

Tawheed (oneness of God); Peace

No. of Gods and Godesses

33 Crore (330 million)

1 God

Angels

The concept of angels does not apply in Hinduism. Some mythological stories include rishis, who sometimes serve as the messengers of God.

Angels are created from light and remain unseen as they worship and follow God's commands.

Concept of God

God is in everything and everything is God.

Ninety nine names and attributes of Allah (God) who is infinite supreme, Sublimely one, all are dependent on him yet he depends on none. Self sufficient. without beginning and without end, and there is nothing comparable to him.

Status of Adam

N/A.

Free from all major sins and faults. Adam is the first prophet and man on earth as sent by Allah and he is the father of Humanity, and Muhammad is the last prophet in Islam.

View of Oriental religions

Buddhism and Jainism were considered sister religions by traditional Hindu schools. Buddhists do not consider Buddha an avatar of Vishnu and believe that Hindu priests made that claim to stem the spread of Buddhism, which threatened Hinduism.

Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Shino are not from following the right path. But, “… And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning).” [al-Israa’ 17:15].

View of Dharmic religions

Believe that Buddhism, Jainism, & Sikhism should reunite with Hinduism.

N/A

Use of statues

Allowed, but not compulsory

Not allowed

Status of Brahman

God

N/A

Status of Brahma

Creator

N/A

Status of Shiva

Destroyer

N/A

Related Religions

Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism

Christianity, Judaism, Baha'i faith

Holy Days

Diwali, Holi, Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti, Ganesh Chaturthi, etc. There are many holy days in Hinduism which differ from region to region.

Ramadan (month of fasting), Eid-ul Adha (feast of the sacrifice), Eid-ul Fitr (sweet festival at the end of Ramadan).

On Clothing

Differ from region region.

Women must present themselves modestly to cover hair and body shape. Men must be modestly dressed and covered from waist to knee. In most Muslim culture, women wear a form of the hijab; in some, they must wear the full-body cover known as the burqa.

On Women

Mainly women are considered equal to men and there are many Goddesses in Hinduism.

Varies. Some Muslims view women as equal, while others believe women should be subservient. Clothing is usually controlled (e.g., hijab, burqa); health choices may be restricted. Surat An-Nisa 4:34 allows for "light beating" of "disobedient" wives.

Further Reading

For further reading, there are several books available on Amazon.com on Hinduism and Islam:

Comments: Hinduism vs Islam

Anonymous comments (5)

HINDUSAM BY SUPRIME ACHARYA OF HINDUSAM KRIPALU MAHAPRABHU.
From all the scriptures we need to understand the answers to three questions to get the Essence of philosophy of Divine Love:

What is our relationship with God?
What is the means for establishing that relationship?
What final goal will we attain once that relationship has been established?
These questions are addressed by Shree Maharajji’s philosophy which has been summarized as below as :

Philosophy of Divine Love

Every living being is incessantly searching for happiness. This search is natural to our being, since we are an eternal part of God, who is the ocean of Divine Bliss. The search for happiness is the search for God, except that is unknown to our mind and intellect. Hence, God-realization is the goal of our lives.
We cannot know God by our senses, mind, and intellect. These instruments of knowledge of ours are material, and cannot fathom the Divine nature of the Supreme Being.
The only means of knowing God is through his Grace, whereby He Himself bestows His Divine knowledge upon the soul
If we wish to receive that Divine Grace, we must surrender ourselves to Him. This surrender is not an external act; it should be from within. True surrender is that of the mind.
The difficulty in surrendering our mind to God is that at present, it is attached to the world; we must first detach it from here, only then can we attach it to God.
At this stage, we need a Guru, or a Spiritual Master who can explain to us on the basis of the scriptures how to detach the mind from the world and attach it to God. The qualification of a genuine spiritual Master is that he must be God-realized himself.
Although the Vedas mention the three means of karm, gyana, and bhakti, our goal of God-realization can be accomplished through bhakti alone. Karm needs the addition of bhakti to make it karmyog; gyan needs the addition of bhakti to make it bhakti to it to make it gyanyog; while bhakti is by itself bhaktiyog.
This bhakti or devotion must be performed selflessly, without the desire for any material rewards. Even the desire for liberation is an inferior desire, since liberation is an automatic by-product of attaining devotion.
Shree KrishnaIn this devotion, we can establish five kinds of relationships with the Supreme Being. We can look upon Him as our King, our Master, our Friend, our Child, or our Beloved. Amongst these, worshipping God as our Beloved, in the mood of the gopies of Vrindaban, is the highest.
Longing for our Divine Beloved develops by the practice of Roop-dhyan, or meditation on the personal form of God. Along with this, we must learn to remember Him throughout the day, by feeling His Divine presence with us at all times.
When our heart is perfectly cleansed by the practice of devotion, we will receive another kind of devotion by the Grace of our Spiritual Master, called perfect devotion or Divine Love. This Divine Love is an eternal power of God; it is such a power that God Himself becomes captivated by the devotee who possesses it. With that Divine Love, we will engage in the eternal loving service of the Supreme Lord, and upon leaving this body, we will enter His eternal Divine leelas & finally achieve unlimited happiness & Divine Love.

“Whenever there is decay of righteousness O! Bharatha and a rise of unrighteousness then I manifest Myself!”
or whenever and wherever there is decline of dharma (righteousness) and ascendance of adharma (unrighteousness), at that time I manifest Myself in visible form. For the protection of the righteous and destruction of the wicked, and for the sake of establishing dharma again, I incarnate Myself on earth ages after ages.

— 203.✗.✗.116

3

June 17, 2014, 4:54pm

For hindu brother who have commented on
September 26, 2013, 5:37.
You r chalanging to DR ZAKIR NAIK at back,y dont u went to ask him these question?
I dont dont know much more about ur religion but ur best scripture is SHRUTI.
In ur veda there mention of only 1 god,whom there no image.
Remember DAYA SHANKAR who says
"GO BACK TO VEDAS"