Ma`rifat-e Adyan
Year:2022 | Volume:13 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

Prayer is an inner covenant between human being and the Almighty God and is the link between his heart and the Creator, and is a common matter among Abrahamic religions, suthat every believer feels that one cannot understand the sweet taste of faith in the unseen (ghaib) without prayer. Due to the special position of prayer, this article presents a comparative study of the pillars of prayer in the Holy Qur'an and the Bible. This research is useful in prayer researches on the one hand, and in inter-religious discussions on the other hand. The authors' method is to comprehensively compare and explain the commonalities to take another step towards proximity of religions. Thus various aspects related to the pillars of prayer have been examined in three sections: the pillars of prayer in the Old Testament, the pillars of prayer in the New Testament and the pillars of prayer in the Qur'an. Then I have compared and evaluated them. In the course of the research, I have found some commonalities that indicate the unity of heavenly religions in their source from the Almighty God, to move towards a comprehensive and new civilization.

Religious constructions have a common goal in various religions: creating a spiritual space for prayer. This work takes place in the shadow of religious beliefs and the support of each religion and it appears in unique forms. The purpose of this research is to compare the physical space of the church and the mosque based on the anthropological foundations of Christianity and Islam. The main issue here is to find a meaningful relationship between the position of human in the teachings of Christianity and Islam, and the physical space of the church and the mosque; and how this connection can be used to reveal the hidden and effective aspects and factors on the formation of the physical space of the church and the mosque. My research method is descriptive-analytical and using a library research method, I have collected the information from the sacred texts and religious sources of the two religions. In addition, the physical space of "Gothic" churches and the mosques of the "School of Isfahan", as examples of the most prominent schools of religious architecture, form the body of this research. Based on the findings of my research, the architecture of the church emphasizes the distance and greatness of the Lord and his dominion over the sinful and polluted servant, while the architecture of the mosque seeks this greatness in the unity between God and the pure worshiper.

Abrahamic religions consider nature to be disposed for humans. Therefore, they have been accused of environmental crises. This article presents a comparative analysis of the moral dignity of the environment from the perspective of Islam and Christianity. Definitely an independent moral dignity cannot be proved for environment in Christianity and Islam; rather only a non-independent moral dignity may be proved for environment, because it is desirable on the one hand - which is one of the features of moral values – and because of the moral responsibility that human undertake in both religions, on the other hand. Referring to the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity, I found that Islam has acted more comprehensively and accurately in proving the non-independent moral dignity of the environment. My result is that I reject the mentioned accusation against Abrahamic religions and I prove the superiority of Islam in this field.

The crime of adultery is considered one of the major sins in the Holy texts of the Jews, the Holy Qur'an and the Imamiyyah narrative and jurisprudential books and carries heavy punishments. I have compared the common points and differences of the crime of adultery in the sources of the two mentioned religions in this research, with a legal approach, using a descriptive-analytical method. This research shows that adultery is one of the crimes against public chastity in the Jewish law and it has different types such as incest, rape, adultery and adultery with a virgin. The same division can be seen in the Imami jurisprudence with the exception of the last case. In the Jewish criminal law, adultery carries severe punishments such as stoning, burning in fire and suffocation, and it is proved by the testimony of witnesses and the law of "suspicion"; and in the Imami religion, this crime has punishments such as killing, stoning, and whipping, and it is proved by confession, evidence, and knowledge of the judge. The religion of Islam, in general, and the school of Imamiyya, in particular, does not have - based on the results of this research - some of the exaggerations and understatements of the Jewish rules, but has chosen a more proportionate and moderate approach in relation to the crime and punishment of adultery.

The issue of intercourse during menstruation is considered in the holy texts (the Bible and Qur’an) of Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and some rules, in this regard, are legislated in these texts with different approaches. This article clarifies, using a descriptive, analytical, and comparative method, that the Old Testament approach of the present Bible to this issue is a strict approach and prohibits most of the normal and sexual relations between men and women during the days of menstruation. On the other hand, there is no restrictions in this regard in the New Testament and Christianity. In verse 222 of Surah Al-Baqarah, the Holy Qur'an merely forbids intercourse during these days, which, according to the content of this verse and some other narrations, it is discovered that the main purpose of this prohibition is to observe hygiene and ensure health; which is confirmed by modern medical knowledge.

Discussing the political authority in the life of human society is actually the inspection of the owners of sovereignty and authority in that society. Although the emergence of Zionism and the formation of a state with the symbol of Jewish sovereignty, was a new start for this society, especially regarding political authority - of course with the veil of secularism - but the important question is that in the traditional Jewish text, what is the reality of political authority in terms of the roots of its authenticity and the limits of its authority? And what is the role of people in this case? This article tries to answer these questions, using a documentary-analytical research mehtod, and clarifies that the Jewish religion considers the original and essential sovereignty for God, so that without God's permission, no authority has legitimacy and authenticity. From this point of view, God chose the prophets and then their successors for religious and political leadership in order to manifest the Divine authority to the public, and then the different sects of scholars continued the series of the Divine authorized persons in the exercise of authority in the Jewish community. According to Jewish political thought, the role of the people is not to create legitimacy, but to give objectivity to the sovereignty of the Divine authorized people.

The similarities and differences between religions have created the two "convergent" and "divergent" approaches in the dialogue and proximity of the followers of religions. Both approaches have their own reasons. After presenting the introductory discussions, this article has introduced two main approaches in the proximity of religions and has examined the reasons for the "divergent" approach; such as the nature of human being, the difference in the foundations of religions, the difference in the origin of the proximity of religions, and some narrational reasons. Then the axiological bases of proximity, the intrinsic or non-intrinsic value of proximity, the desirability of action and motivation in the "convergent" approach are discussed, and this approach is strengthened. This research shows, with a descriptive-analytical approach, that the function of the convergent approach is beyond solving misunderstandings, and is an important factor of mobilizing opportunities and abilities, and this capacity should be considered as a feature of human’s monotheistic nature towards human perfection and a religious society.

The difference between the theories and approaches of religious researches should be sought in their ontological aspects. The reflection of the researcher's view about the world, religions, and its nature leads to specific strategies, methods, and theories, and different ontological circumstances, produces different discourses, and consequently, different results. Two discourses prevail in the space of comparative religious studies today. First is Mircea Eliade’s discourse of "creative hermeneutics and phenomenology with undisputed authority" and the other is the "postmodern and historical approach of passing through Eliade" represented by Jonathan Zittell Smith, who has a major contribution in systematizing the academic discipline of "history of religions". Introducing, analyzing and expressing the ontological confrontation prevailing the theories of the two prominent religious scholars, this article provides a more accurate evaluation and a better understanding of the methodical study of religious structures and phenomena in interreligious researches.