Examining Judaism from an Islamic Perspective

Judaism is called "Al Yahudiyya" in Arabic. There is no authentic evidence as to decisively decide as to how this name was derived.  Muslim scholars say that it might be derived from the following:

• "Al Hawd"  which means repentance. This is from Musa (AS) statement in the Quran: “We have repented to You”.
• "Tahweed" which means prolonging the sound and chanting. The rabbis used to chant when they recited their book to their people in order to convince them that what they were reciting to the people was from the book. The Quran says: “They change their tongues with the book in order for you to think that it is from the book, but it is not from the book”
• Judah or "Yahuda" who was the brother of Prophet Yusuf (AS). He was the elder son of Yaqoub (AS). The use of this word is not accurate to describe all Jews as the word refers to the children of Judah and not that of his father, Yaqoub (AS).
• "Muhawada"  which means appointment and refers to Allah's meeting with Musa (AS)  for 40 days.

Jews claim to be followers of Musa (AS). The word Jew is not used as a complement in the Quran. The word was not used during the time of Musa (AS). In his time they used the terms Bani Israeel (Children of Israel) and Qawm Musa (People of Musa).

Who are the Jews today?

Today, most people look at Jewishness as a cultural connection to the Israeli people more than a religion and a belief system. There are some Jews who no longer believe in the religious principles and practices but consider themselves as Semitic, ethnic and cultural group that connects with one another to protect and preserve their common heritage and Jewish identity.

Most important  elements of the Jewish religion is the Torah.  In Hebrew the word means“Law”. There are 5 sections /chapters in the Torah. Jews think that Musa (AS) wrote it with his own hand. In the Christian tradition, the Torah includes all the books that are collected together in the Old Testament. These books that describe the prophets of Bani Israel and the history of their judges and kings whether the author is known or unknown. Muslims believe that Torah was the original book written on the tablets that was given to Musa (AS) by Allah. Muslims used to refer to Torah as the books of old times which is not limited to the Torah – included revelations to other prophets of Bani Israel. From the Islamic perspective, the Torah is no longer available in its original and true form. It was distorted in two ways:

• .      Verbal wording of the Torah. The actual words of Allah were replaced by that of humans. “Woe on them who write the books with their own hands and say this is from Allah. In order to exchange a little price for it.”"Do you hope for them to believe you after a party of them used to hear the words of Allah and distorted it after they understood it while they know”
•         Contextually through re-interpretation. The rabbis used to hear the true Torah and changed the words and when they taught it to the people they used to substitute another other meaning. " A party of them would cause their tongues to pronounce differently the words for you to think that it is from Allah, but it is not from Allah and they say of Allah a lie and they know.”

People who looked into the 5 sections of Torah found a great deal of discrepancies confirming that it is not in its authentic form.

The Torah was lost in some part of the Jewish history.  This is not subject to debate among Jews themselves, As Muslims we believe that The Torah was not removed completely but some of it was distorted. There are still some rules in it which are from the authentic Torah e.g. the punishment of stoning of the adulterer and taking the life of a murderer. Nevertheless, the Jews have even ignored these rules. This explains the verses of the Quran to the Jews to apply their book. If the applied their book they would have found agreement with the Prophet (SWAS) and became Muslim. As Musa (AS) said to them:

“And I am giving you a glad tiding of a messenger who will come after me and his name is Ahmed”

The modern Torah contains many distortions and elements of falsehood. These include:

• Calling Ezra the son of Allah.
• Yaqoub (AS) wrestling with Allah.
• Lut (AS) drinking liquor and committing adultery with his daughters.
• David being casted away and disliked by Allah.
• David committed adultery.
• “We have no responsibility towards what we do to the gentiles”
• Allah said: “I shall make the man in my form – in the like of me”
• After Allah created the 7 heavens and earth in 6 days, Allah became tired and rested on the 7^th day. The Quran says: “We certainly created the heavens and the earth wand what is between them in 6 days and We did not become tired” 
• The Torah implies that Allah lacks knowledge about the future. When Allah created man and the evil of man spread on the earth, Allah became sad and regretted His action. This is referred to in Arabic as attributing "Al Badaa" to Allah, i.e. Allah does not know the future before it happens. 

As Muslims, we realize that the above teachings cannot be the authentic word of Allah.

Another major element of Judaism is the Talmud which means “order”. It is a work of jurisprudence of the rabbis. It is considered to be the rules/interpretations/explanations of the Torah. It is composed of two main sections. Some of the derived principles of the Talmud are not true, These include:

• Jews are more beloved to Allah than angels. 
• Jews are made from Allah. 
• One who harms Jews will be harming Allah. 
• A gentile is to be put in a position where his life is to be wasted if he harms a Jew. 
• If it was not for the Jews on Earth, blessings would be removed from it and the sun would be partitioned. 
• Jews are better than the rest of the humanity. 
• The difference of the Jews and gentiles is like man and animal.  
• Gentiles are enemies of Allah. 
• Jews are the chosen people of Allah. 
• They are the children of Allah. 
• They are Allah’s beloved. 
• Allah does not accept worship of anyone except if he is a Jew. 
• Allah gave Jews human form as an honor. The rest are created in Satanic form.

How Should a Muslim Approach the Study of Other Religions?

Let us consider what is the definition of religion from Islamic perspective. Religion is the translation of the word "deen" in Islam. It is a Quranic word to describe the message of Prophet (SWAS) as well as the belief and practices of other religions. Allah describes the religion of Islam in the Quran:

“Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam...” (3:19)

“And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers." (3:85)

Allah also describes the pure messages brought by other messenger by also using the word "deen".

“ And Abraham instructed his sons [to do the same] and [so did] Jacob, [saying], "O my sons, indeed Allah has chosen for you this religion, so do not die except while you are Muslims." (2:132)

Islam is referred to as "deen Allah" – the religion of Allah as well as "deenul haq" - the religion of Truth as it is the final religion to mankind which is still preserved in its authentic form. It is also referred to as "deenul qayyim" - the religion of differentiation - the religion based on which all other religions are to be judged.

It is also useful to study the linguistic meaning of "deen". The root of this word is from "dana/udeenu". The word "dayn" is also derived from the same root. "Dayn" means financial debt or recompense. The Day of Judgement is called "youm addeen" in the Quran when everyone will be recompensed regarding what they did. This word gives the meaning of religion as something which makes us indebted and accountable to Allah through its application and practice.

The beliefs and practices of pre-Islamic Arabia are also called "deen" in the Quran.

“For you is your religion, and for me is my religion" (109:6)

Al Islam is described as the only religion of Allah. The religion based upon which all people will be held accountable. The religion we owe to Allah.

Now let us look at the Western concept of religion. According to the New World Dictionary, 2^nd edition, there are many definitions of religion, including:

• Reverence for the gods, holiness in a system of religious beliefs. 
• Belief in a divine or superhuman power(s) to be obeyed and worshiped as the creator(s) and ruler(s) of the universe. 
• Expression of such a belief in conduct or ritual. 
• Any specific system of belief, conduct, worship, etc. often involving a code of ethics and philosophy, i.e. the Christian religion, the Buddhist religion. 
• Any system of beliefs, practices, ethical values resembling or suggestive of or likened to such a system, e.g. humanism as a religion. 
• The state or way of life in a monastic order or community. 
• Any object of conscientious regard or pursuit. To become very conscientious or earnest about something.

Sometimes one’s hobbies/interests are regarded as a religion, e.g. “football is his religion”.

The definition of religion has evolved much over time in the West. Before the Enlightenment period in West, the population was lost between the autocracy of church and the dictatorship of monarchies. These were the Dark Ages and people like Galileo were persecuted for their "heretic" beliefs. Enlightenment came to free the people of the control of religion. It was a philosophical movement characterized by rationalism, spirit of skepticism and empiricism in social and political thought where everything was questioned. It led to modern era in which reason was given precedence over anything else. It was like the Mutazilite era of Islamic history. People questioned religious beliefs and practices based on reason. Modernism is characterized by several movements aiming to redefine Biblical and Christian dogma and traditional teaching in the light of modern sciences and research. Some Christian sects like Catholic and Eastern Orthodox still condemn this form of approach to religion. The Roman Catholic condemned modernism as a negation of faith in 1907.  Nevertheless, they have fallen to the same trap gradually over time.

In 20^th century, the West entered the post-modern age. With this era, the concept of relativism was adopted. According to it, each and every one has the right to interpret religion in the way of their own understanding. Even an author of book does not have the right to specify the understanding of his book and religious books were not given any exception. Various new religious movements started based on their different understanding of the same text. This introduced relativity of moral values where no religion has the right to dictate moral values. Moral values are subjective and different for every group. The result of such thoughts introduced women rabbis and priests, homosexual marriages blessed by the church, etc.

Having looked at the definition of religion in Islam and that of the modern world, what is the proper approach for a Muslim to study other religions?

It is our belief that Islam is the only true religion and Allah accepts that Islam which is sincerely for Him only. All religions and practices are false and must be rejected. A Muslim does not approach the study of other religions, in a comparative mode as Islam is not comparable to other false religions. He approaches this subject to learn, to increase in conviction and enhance his beauty of Islam. One cannot appreciate the beauty of something except when one contrasts with something inferior. Studying other religions is also important in directing dawah effort to people of those religions in more effective ways. Lastly, the Muslim population is being targeted by evangelism. The efforts to target Muslims have been more concentrated and hideous. All type of media, social work, education, health are being done through missionaries belonging to worldwide organizations. Muslim needs to use this knowledge to show the Muslims who are subjected to these attacks, the weakness and contradictions in their arguments.

Who should learn and study other religions?

Muslims are supposed to learn the required knowledge first. The required knowledge is that which allows us to fulfill our duties to Allah. This is incumbent on everyone - male and female. Someone who has not studied this knowledge, should not spend the time to learn the religions of others. The person should also have strong faith in Islam, so that he stays faithful to Islam and does not become confused. Finally, a Muslim should not look into other religions for the purpose of benefiting from them in his own practices. The Prophet (SWAS) forbade us to do this. Some companions made attempt to read the Torah to benefit from it. The Prophet (SWAS) said:

“Do not ask the People of the Book about anything. Verily they cannot guide you as they have themselves gone astray. Either you will affirm something that is false or you will deny something that is true. Verily if Musa was alive, he would have no recourse except to follow me”

To conclude, a Muslim must approach the study of other religions with great care and awareness. He should have good grounding in Islam. His intentions should be right. He should be well aware of what is meant by religion from an Islamic perspective as well as what religion is perceived by the modern world. He should never seek to learn other religions to enhance his own religious practice.