Sacred Texts - Zoroastrianism and Islam

Abdullah Alotaibi

Sacred Texts

TRS-202

Islam

I believe that the Ethics or Adab text shows best what Islam follows. It states that Respect and morals are important, however neighbors, friends and families each play a certain role in greeting and treating someone. We must all be morally respecting of one another, however children must still respect their parents and elders since the path to heaven is by following your parents, especially your mother's teachings and how you treat her. By respecting them, you get Allah’s mercy. The Beggar with Two “Blindnesses” is still a good example of Islam, however it only teaches a lesson. It is a more specific story which explain that even if one is given an unfortunate physical flaw such as blindness, even in one eye, sometimes the person's personality is uglier and more flawed than the pain that God put on them. The Al-Baqarah text shows the power of Allah and his sovereignty it states that we must believe in Allah and ignore all other false beliefs and deities. I chose the first one because it explains how people must act in order to earn a place in heaven and Allah’s kindness and forgiveness, the other two just state Allah's power and how we allow ourselves to destroy ourselves and lead ourselves to the wrong path. We must not question what we have, we must respect and be happy with all the Allah gives us.

Zoroastrianism

I believe that The Dadistan-I Denig text best explains Zoroastrianism because in it states that fear must exist in order to respect the higher power, this fear must drive its followers on to caring for the earth that God blessed them with and not take it for granted. By expressing gratitude for the fortune that God gave you, even if it is so simple, you must still treat it as though it is special, and be fearful of it ever being taken away from you or destroyed from the evils and the negativity in the world, do not pollute the Good that you have. This shows the importance of how one must respect God and form a relationship with God. The Festival of Nowruz text also shows the relationship between the humankind and God because in this text, we learn that even Kings still have a mightier power above them that they must also consider. No one on this earth is more powerful than God. The Vendidad is a text on how to be pure and faithful and follow the Good and sacred laws of the mighty. Purity is also important in all religions, however, I believe that in this religion, caring for what God gave you and forming a relationship with him makes you pure, so the Dadistan-I Denig text explains how one can do that.