Moral Precepts in Islam and Hinduism: A Comparative Study

Abstract

It is a very natural phenomenon that a particular religion is completely different from other because of its dogmatic nature. Nevertheless, it helps to come closer to each other because of its ethical part, since there is a close analogy among the major religions of the world in regard to their moral teachings. As a research fellow and teacher of the Department of Philosophy, I always keep interest in the comparative religious ethics. I adopted this topic “Moral Precepts in Islam and Hinduism: A Comparative Study” as my Ph. D. Thesis, because I thought that this topic is very fascinating as well as worthwhile in this present juncture. I think a study of the practices of moral precepts in two religions like Islam and Hinduism are very essential for the entire mankind to establish human rights and our social development. Statement of the Problem Religion is a matter of belief. It is a feeling of dependence upon some Unseen Power or Powers which control our destiny, accompanied by a desire to come into friendly relations with Him or them. In other words, realization of God or gods, or manifestation of the divinity, which almost all human souls’ desire or hanker after, is the essence of religion. The ultimate definition of religion is ‘obedience to the laws of God’. The word ‘religion’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Re-ligare’, which means ‘to bind together’ or ‘re-unite’. Religion means a bond which unites human life with worldly and other worldly aspirations as well as with social, moral and spiritual values. Religion involves thought and activity as well as believes in values. The goal of religion is not simply to worship or to perform some rituals, but also to help individuals to attain their fulfilment as moral and social beings. Nowadays there are many religions which may be divided mainly into two major groups. They are revealed and non-revealed religions. Religions which are associated with a definite Personality claimed to be its first originator or founder who conveys message from the Almighty to mankind and has a definite religious Text are called revealed religions. Among the revealed religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam are foremost. Among these revealed religions, Judaism is the oldest and Islam is the latest. On the other hand, religions which do not have any definite founder or if they have any founder, they do not claim themselves as the Messengers of any ‘Supreme Divine Being’ or do not have any definite religious Text, fall under the category of non-revealed religions. Among the non-revealed religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are very important. Of all the religions, Christianity has proved to be the most influential religion and has dominated a large number of populations in the world, especially in the western world. About one third of the total populations of the world are Christians. Islam is the second largest religion of the world. About one-fourth of the total world populations are Muslims who predominantly live in the Middle East and in some South and East Asian countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Indonesia. Other main religions which dominate equally a large population of the world are Hinduism and Buddhism. The followers of these religions largely live in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and in East Asian countries. Islam is not a new religion. It is the universal religion coming down from the dawn of human consciousness. Islam means surrendering oneself to Allah in order to gain peace and whoever surrenders himself or herself to Almighty Allah is a Muslim and his religion is Islam. However in special sense, Islam is an independent religion coming directly out of the revelatory experiences of Prophet Mohammad(sm.). Mohammad (sm.) who is the advocate of this religion was born in Arabia in 570 A. D. At that time, Arabia was a land of polytheism. Mohammad (sm.) preached a religion of strict monotheism against the polytheism. He propagated a rigorous disciplined life devoid of brute ritualism or idolatry. At the beginning of his journey, there were very few as his followers and then it spread swiftly. The Qur’an is the sacred revelatory Text of Islam. The teachings of Al-Qur’an were explained by the Prophet himself. The collection of the sayings, deeds, and approvals of Mohammad (sm.) is known as al- Hadith. The Qur’an is the complete code of life. It is a Holy Book that gives us the proper guideline of our living. We can solve our private, social, economical, national and international problems by following this Book. Moreover, the Hadith is a Book that also describes what is good and bad for us. Thus, the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith help us to make our lives peaceful and happy. Hinduism is the oldest of all the living religions. There is no definite date of its origin and no specific founder of Hinduism. Hindu religion does not claim a particular belief or conviction as its sole faith. It is an amalgam of various kinds of beliefs and practices. Moreover, Hindu religion has no book as its own exclusive Text. Nevertheless the Vedas, the Upanisads, the Purans, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita and the Hindu Law books such as Manu Samhita etc. are some of the important religious Texts of Hinduism. All these books explain the service to humanity, perfect purity and brotherhood of man. Thus, Hindu religion also helps us the right way of living and it also helps us to make our lives peaceful. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. The word is commonly used interchangeably with ‘morality’ to mean the subject matter of ethics. It is a study which deals fundamentally with the rules of conduct from moral point of view. It is the normative science of the conduct of human beings living in societies; it is a science which judges this conduct to be right or wrong, to be good or bad. Since there is a close relationship between philosophy and religion, it can be said that religion is also related to ethics. This is because philosophy enquiries into the nature of the universe, the nature of the human soul and its destiny. It also clarifies the nature of God, proofs for the existence of God, God and the Absolute, the relation of God to human personality and the relation between the infinite and the finite. Philosophy also explains the life after death, right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, punishment and reward etc. In a nutshell, philosophy is the logical analysis regarding our lives and the universe. On the contrary, religion is also related to our lives. The subject matter of religion is very close to that of philosophy. The main principle of all the great religions of the world is to guide its followers towards a right way. It also provides a wonderful moral guideline for the mankind. Therefore, it can be seen that religion is closely related to philosophy. Moreover, as ethics is a branch of philosophy, it can be said that ethics is a study which deals fundamentally with the rules of human conduct from moral point of view. Thus, there is a close relationship between religion and ethics. From the above discussion, it can be said that religion and ethics are closely allied to philosophy. In summary, Islam and Hinduism both show us a right path of living. Both deal with many ethical virtues and duties. Islam and Hinduism teach an ethics of perfect purity, the duties of humanity and brotherhood of man. Both religion regard ethical life as a means to liberation. Thus, Islam and Hinduism play an important role in our lives and help to make the nation as well as the world peaceful. Review of Literature Bangladesh has a rich tradition of communal harmony and can take pride for the peaceful co-existence of its different religious communities. The Muslims, the Hindus, the Christians and the Buddhists are its main religious communities of which the former two are the major religious groups. The Muslims form about 86% of our population followed by the Hindus who comprise about12%. The Christians and the Buddhists are the remaining 2% of our population. In Bangladesh, there have been some studies on Islam and Hinduism, but no specific study on moral precepts in Islam and Hinduism have been conducted. A few literatures on different aspects of the moral status of religion are also scatteredly available in Bangladesh. Ali1 (2007) conducted a study on “Moral Codes in Islam and Christianity: A Comparative Study” in his Ph. D. Dissertation. The writer reviews the position of morality in Islam and Christianity in his study. He emphasizes that both religions advise and encourage their respective adherents to exercise and achieve all moral virtues. In this study, the author discusses the status of woman in Islam and Christianity, family ethics, social ethics and so on. The writer also shows that both religions put emphasis to ensure public security and to maintain law and order in the society as well as to approve reward and punishment at different degrees. The author also makes a comparison between these two religions and shows that there are some differences as well as some similarities between Islam and Christianity. The writer also finds that similarities are more emphatic and stronger than the differences between these two religions. Islam2 (2003) conducted a study in Bengali on “The Influence of Miracles in the Origination and Development of Religion”. The writer mainly discusses the definitions and characteristics of different religions. The author also emphasizes on the influence of miracles in the origination and development of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism....................