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By Ijaz Chaudry
Difference between
Shinto and Islam, Islamic point of view;
Shinto;
Shinto is not a way of
explaining the world. What matters are rituals that enable human beings to
communicate with kami.
Kami are not God or
gods. They are spirits that are concerned with human beings - they appreciate
our interest in them and want us to be happy - and if they are treated properly
they will intervene in our lives to bring benefits like health, business
success, and good exam results.
Islam;
Islam recognizes the
fact that there are spirits which are called Jinn's in Arabic in the language
the Quran was revealed. Quran is the Final Testament from God. Jinn's are part
of the human being and are born when the human being dies. The following verses
are talking about Jinn's who is herder in a sense that eggs you on the devils
path and also a witness (like conscious and sub-conscious and the sub-conscious
would be Jinn);
[50:21] Every
soul comes with a herder and a witness.
[50:22] You used to be oblivious to this. We now remove your
veil; today, your vision is (as strong as) steel.
[50:23] The
companion said, "Here is my formidable testimony."
So how do we know the
herder and a witness is the devil. The following verse is talking about devil
being companion of the disbelievers;
[43:36] Anyone who disregards the message of the Most
Gracious, we appoint a devil to be his constant companion.
When we add verses from (50:21) where the herder is described
and (43:36) where the devil is the companion we get 21 + 36 = 57 which is 19 x 3
a complete multiple of 19 the miracle of the Quran. Position 3 describes
Principal or Rule clarified, thus here a rule is clarified in (50:21) with the
help of (43:36) and the code (57).
God tells us in the
Quran that God pairs the humans with Jinn's according to what their intentions
might be. God knows our future and the past thus He can judge us and pair us
accordingly;
[7:27] O children of Adam, do not let the devil dupe you as
he did when he caused the eviction of your parents from Paradise, and the
removal of their garments to expose their bodies. He and his tribe see you,
while you do not see them. We appoint the devils as companions of those who do
not believe.
Since Jinn's preborn
life is long (about 70 to 90 years an average human life expectancy) Jinn's live
hundreds of years but they die like humans. Jinn's are invisible to humans but
they can see us and they are more powerful than humans an example of their power
is where Solomon asked a Jinn to bring Sheba's castle in a blink of an eye;
Faster Than the Speed
of Light
[27:38] He said, "O you elders, which of you can bring me her
mansion, before they arrive here as submitters?"
[27:39] One a frit from the jinn’s said, "I can bring it to
you before you stand up. I am powerful enough to do this."
[27:40] The one who possessed knowledge from the book said,
"I can bring it to you in the blink of your eye." When he saw it settled in
front of him, he said, "This is a blessing from my Lord, whereby He tests me, to
show whether I am appreciative or unappreciative. Whoever is appreciative is
appreciative for his own good, and if one turns unappreciative, then my Lord is
in no need for him, Most Honorable."
Muslims are told to
stay well away from Jinn's because majority of Jinn's are not believers and they
are used by men to breakup marriages. Jinn's and Human's both will be judged on
the Day of Judgment. Worshiping Jinn's is common in the world but it is a great
sin as well;
[6:128] The day will come when He summons all of them (and
says): "O you jinn's, you have claimed multitudes of humans." Their human
companions will say, "Our Lord, we enjoyed each others' company until we wasted
the life span You had set for us." He will say, "Hell is your destiny." They
abide therein forever, in accordance with GOD's will. Your Lord is Wise,
Omniscient.
[15:27] As for
the jinn's, we created them, before that, from blazing fire.
[6:100] Yet, they set up beside GOD idols from among the
jinn's, though He is the One who created them. They even attribute to Him sons
and daughters, without any knowledge. Be He glorified. He is the Most High, far
above their claims.
As for thinking that
Jinn is God, it is totally absurd. God is more powerful and the Creator of the
Heavens and Earth and Jinn's themselves, so there is no comparison between
Jinn's and God;
[6:102] Such is GOD your Lord, there is no god except He, the
Creator of all things. You shall worship Him alone. He is in control of all
things.
[36:81] Is not the One who created the heavens and the earth
able to recreate the same? Yes indeed; He is the Creator, the Omniscient.
It has been foretold in
the Quran that people will worship the devil;
[34:41] They will
answer, "Be You glorified. You are our Lord and Master, not them. Instead, they
were worshiping the Jinn's; most of them were believers therein."
However, only God is
worthy of worship;
[51:56]
I did not create the Jinn's and the humans except to worship Me alone.
One of the attribute of
God is that He is All Powerful and only God can help us, it might seem others
are helping us, but the ultimate helper is God because He has control over all
things;
[3:109] To GOD
belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth, and all matters are
controlled by GOD.
Shinto;
Shinto teaches
important ethical principles but has no commandments
Islam;
Quran (The Final
Testament) teaches us ethical principles and has commandments.
Quran teaches us how to live righteous lives and the most fundamental
command in the Quran is not to set up idols as gods and to only Worship God the
creator of the Heavens and the Earth.
The following verses stipulate this clearly;
Righteousness
Defined
[2:177] Righteousness
is not turning your faces towards the east or the west. Righteous are those who
believe in GOD, the Last Day, the angels, the scripture, and the prophets; and
they give the money, cheerfully, to the relatives, the orphans, the needy, the
traveling alien, the beggars, and to free the slaves; and they observe the
Contact Prayers (Salat) and give the obligatory charity (Zakat); and they keep
their word whenever they make a promise; and they steadfastly persevere in the
face of persecution, hardship, and war. These are the truthful; these are the
righteous.
Discouraging
Capital Punishment*
[2:178] O you who
believe, equivalence is the law decreed for you when dealing with murder - the
free for the free, the slave for the slave, the female for the female. If one is
pardoned by the victim's kin, an appreciative response is in order, and an
equitable compensation shall be paid. This is an alleviation from your Lord and
mercy. Anyone who transgresses beyond this incurs a painful retribution.
**2:178 The Quran
clearly discourages capital punishment. Every kind of excuse is provided to
spare lives, including the life of the murderer. The victim's kin may find it
better, under certain circumstances, to spare the life of the murderer in
exchange for an equitable compensation. Also capital punishment is not
applicable if, for example, a woman kills a man, or vice versa.
[2:179]
Equivalence is a life saving law for you, O you who possess intelligence, that
you may be righteous.
The above were ethical
commandments of how to live righteous life, the following verse stipulates that
we should follow these commandments;
[2:189] They ask
you about the phases of the moon! Say, "They provide a timing device for the
people, and determine the time of Hajj." It is not righteous to beat around the
bush;* righteousness is attained by upholding the commandments and by being
straightforward. You shall observe GOD, that you may succeed.
Shinto;
Shinto has no God
Islam;
Quran is over whelmed
with proofs regarding the existence and greatness of God.
A very simple example of manifestation of God is this Universe.
This Universe and the Earth we live on did not exist always, God created
it;
The Big Bang
Theory Confirmed*
[21:30] Do the
unbelievers not realize that the heaven and the earth used to be one solid mass
that we exploded into existence? And from water we made all living things. Would
they believe?
*21:30 The Big Bang
Theory is now supported by the Creator's infallible mathematical code
Thus, it is no longer a theory; it is a law, a proven fact.
[41:11] Then He
turned to the sky, when it was still gas, and said to it, and to the earth,
"Come into existence, willingly or unwillingly." They said, "We come willingly."
God is the One who
expands the Universes;
"Expansion of the
Universe Theory" Confirmed
[51:47]
We constructed the sky with our hands, and we will continue to expand it.
God produced
for us crops to eat from and a source of sustenance;
[2:22] The One
who made the earth habitable for you, and the sky a structure. He sends down
from the sky water, to produce all kinds of fruits for your sustenance. You
shall not set up idols to rival GOD, now that you know.
There are so many
examples of manifestation of God that we cannot encompass it;
[6:103] No
visions can encompass Him, but He encompasses all visions. He is the
Compassionate, the Cognizant.
[14:34] And He
gives you all kinds of things that you implore Him for. If you count GOD's
blessings, you can never encompass them. Indeed, the human being is
transgressing, unappreciative.
[16:18] If you
count GOD's blessings, you cannot possibly encompass them. GOD is Forgiver, Most
Merciful.
Shinto;
Shinto does not accept
that human beings are born bad or impure; in fact Shinto states that humans are
born pure, and sharing in the divine soul.
Islam;
Quran explains that
there was a feud in Heavens well before this Universe and Earth was created.
Before this feud all creatures lived happily together in the High Heaven
near God. The culprit who started
this feud was a creature called Satan.
He wanted to see if he could rule the world, all those sided with him
were sent to earth, and he and his companions were given respite until the Day
of Judgment. Within this feud there
were many who were unsure but wanted to try this world experience, some of them
were righteous who could redeem themselves to Heaven, while existing in this
world. Hence, when we are born, it
is already established if we are bound to Heaven or Hell, either we a pure or
not pure. However, we do not know
our destiny and prove our way as we live here.
God knows who should be admitted to Heaven (based on what we decided in
feud in the Heavens), thus God distributes these souls to the situations where
they can grow and make it to Heaven.
The following verses confirm the feud and who was responsible for it and the
rest is history;
[38:69]
"I had no knowledge previously, about the feud in the High Society.*
*38:69 The feud in the
High Society was triggered by Satan's challenge to God's absolute authority.
This is definitely the most important event in the history of the human race. We
failed to make a firm stand regarding God's absolute authority. This life
represents the third and final chance to redeem ourselves (See the Introduction
and Appendix 7).
[38:70]
"I am inspired that my sole mission is to deliver the warnings to you."
[38:71]
Your Lord said to the angels, "I am creating a human being from clay.
[38:72] "Once I design him, and blow into him from My spirit, you shall fall prostrate before him."
[38:73] The angels fell prostrate, all of them,
[38:74] except Satan; he refused, and was too arrogant unappreciative.
*Obviously
God knew beforehand that Satan will reject, and in what our hearts intended.
Thus this test came later where God designed human being and asked angels
to assist them symbolically by prostrating to it, but Satan refused.