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What is the difference between Islam and Judaism, given that the Torah is also one of Islam's holy books?
I have little bit knowledge of Abrahamic Religion (Christianity, Islam). When I had seen the community first some questions came to my mind.
I know that Hazrat Musa (a:) (prophet of Muslim) is God of Jews (I had read that in a book. That's why I am not sure of the knowledge (wrong information)). And, Hazrat Isha (a:) (prophet of Muslim) also known as Jesus is God of Christianity (but, some believes Allah is their God and some believes Jesus is), I don't want to criticize about the topic. As Monica mentioned Genesis as Holy Book of Jews in this post, but, I had read somewhere that Genesis is Holy Book of Christianity.
And, I know that Torah is main holy book of Jews. But, Muslim has 4 main holy books;
- Torah (Actually, I usually called it Taorat or, Taorah)
- Jabur (I am not sure if it is called something else in English)
- Ingil (I am not sure if it is called something else in English)
- Quran (It is the main one which Muslim follows)
As Torah is holy book of Muslim than, how it can be holy book of Jews. What's the difference between Muslim and, Jews than? I can't understand the main concept of Judaism. What am I missing?
1 answer
Starting with your main question of what distinguishes Judaism and Islam:
Judaism holds the Torah as part of its Biblical canon, also accepting the books of the Prophets and Writings (that’s the books of Joshua, Judges, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve prophets which Christians often call the “minor prophets”; and Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Esther, Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and I and II Chronicles).
About 1300 years after the Sinaiatic Revelation, and about 350 years (per traditional Jewish dating) after the events of the chronologically later books of the Jewish Bible — Ezra-Nehemiah and some of the “minor prophets” — came Christianity (according to their dating). Another 600 or so years later came Mohammad.
My understanding is that the Christians added on several books to the Bible (the so-called “New Testament” and “Apocrypha”), and that Muslims accept Jesus as a prophet. So I could ask you the same question: What differentiates Christianity from Judaism, since they share holy books, and what differentiates Islam from Christianity, for the same reason?
The answer is that each group has an additional amount added on to the prior ones. Christians (in my understanding) believe that God “changed His mind,” however that works, and swore a new covenant with mankind through Jesus. Muslims (in my understanding) believe that the original Sinaiatic covenant was actually over the tenets of the Quran, that humanity had corrupted it over time, and that God (who they call Allah) revealed Himself to Mohammad to set the record straight. Why each religion rejects the claims of the others is beyond the scope of this thread.
All three religions have their common ground — all believe in the Abrahamic God, for one — a fact that served in all of our favor for many centuries of peace in the right countries, but we also have major differences. Think of it like a three-way Venn Diagram: the Torah is in that little area of overlap between all three circles, but to focus on that trianguloid is to disregard the remainder of the graph.
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