Abrahamic religions

Abrahamic religions (also known as Abrahamic faiths, Abrahamic traditions, religions of Abraham and semitic religions^[1]) has historically and traditionally been used to designate the world's three primary monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, emphasizing their common origin and values. Recently, some have included the Bahá'í Faith, founded by Baha’u’llah in 1863^[2] and certain smaller religions. For some 1,300 years their histories and thought have been intertwined. They are considered inextricably linked to one another because of a 'family likeness' and a certain commonality in theology.^[3] They are faiths that recognize a spiritual tradition identified with Abraham.^[4][5][6] However, relationships among them have varied from time and place and have often been characterized by mistrust, hatred^[7] and even war/persecution (e.g., the Muslim conquests, the Crusades, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the Inquisition). Phrased another way, the sacred narratives of all four of these religions feature many of the same figures, histories and places in each, although they often present them with slightly different roles, perspectives and meanings.

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613 Mitzvot

The 613 Mitzvot (Hebrew: תרי"ג מצוות‎: Taryag Mitzvot, "613 commandments") are statements and principles of law and ethics contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses. These principles of Biblical law are sometimes called commandments (mitzvot) or collectively as the "Law of Moses" (Torat Moshe, תורת משה), "Mosaic Law", or simply "the Law" (though these terms are ambiguous and also applied to the Torah itself).

Abraham

Abraham (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם, Modern Avraham Tiberian ʾAḇrāhām, Arabic: إبراهيم‎, Ibrāhīm, ʾAbrəham) is the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites and Edomite peoples, as described in the book of Genesis. He is widely regarded as the patriarch of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It is uncertain to what extent Abraham was a mythical figure and to what extent a real historical person.

Abstraction

Abstraction is the process or result of generalization by reducing the information content of a concept or an observable phenomenon, typically to retain only information which is relevant for a particular purpose. For example, abstracting a leather soccer ball to a ball retains only the information on general ball attributes and behaviour. Similarly, abstracting happiness to an emotional state reduces the amount of information conveyed about the emotional state. Computer scientists use abstraction to understand and solve problems and communicate their solutions with the computer in some particular computer language.

Abu Da'ud

Abu Dawood Sulayman ibn Ash`ath al-Azadi al-Sijistani, commonly known as Abu Dawod, was a noted Khurassian collector of prophetic hadith, and wrote the third of the six canonical hadith collections recognized by Sunni Muslims, Sunan Abi Dawood.

Adam

Adam (Hebrew: אָדָם‎, Arabic: آدم‎) is a prominent figure in Abrahamic Religions. He is the first man created by God in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He appears in the Hebrew Bible, in the New Testament, and in the Qur'an. His wife was Eve.^[1]

Adam (Bible)

Adam (Hebrew: אָדָם‎, Arabic: آدم‎) is a prominent figure in Abrahamic Religions. He is the first man created by God in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He appears in the Hebrew Bible, in the New Testament, and in the Qur'an. His wife was Eve.^[1]

Adnan

Adnan (Arabic: عدنان‎) is the traditional ancestor of the Adnani Arabs of northern, central and western Arabia, as opposed to the Qahtani of Southern and south eastern Arabia who descend from Qahtan. Adnan is a descendant of Ishmael (Ismail) through his son Nebaioth (Nabit). His descendants includes the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² (11.7 million sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area.^[2] With a billion people (as of 2009, see table) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.72% of the World's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Not counting the disputed territory of Western Sahara, there are 53 countries, including Madagascar and various island groups, associated with the continent.

Afro-American religion

Afro-American religions (also African diasporic religions) are a number of related religions that developed in the Americas among African slaves and their descendants in various countries of the Caribbean Islands and Latin America, as well as parts of the southern United States. They derive from African traditional religions, especially of West and Central Africa, showing similarities to the Yoruba religion in particular.

Ahl-e Haqq

The Ahl-e Haqq or Yârsân (Kurdish: ﯼاڔﮦساﻥ Yâresân,^[1][2] Persian: اهل حق Ahl-e Haqq "People of Truth"), are members of a religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran.^[3] The total number of members is estimated at around 1,000,000,^[4] primarily found in western Iran and Iraq, mostly ethnic Kurds and Laks, though there are also smaller groups of Luri, Azeri, Persian and Arab adherents. ^[5] Some Yârsânî in Iraq are called Kaka'i.

Al-Aqsa

Al-Aqsa Mosque (Arabic:المسجد الاقصى, IPA /æl'mæsʒɪd æl'ɑqsˁɑ/, al-Masjid al-Aqsa (help·info) translit: "the Farthest Mosque"), also known as al-Aqsa, is an Islamic holy place in the Old City of Jerusalem. The mosque itself forms part of the al-Haram ash-Sharif or "Sacred Noble Sanctuary" (along with the Dome of the Rock), a site also known as the Temple Mount and considered the holiest site in Judaism, since it is where the Temple in Jerusalem once stood.^[1][2] Widely considered as the third holiest site in Islam, Muslims believe that the prophet Muhammad was transported from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to al-Aqsa during the Night Journey.^[3] Islamic tradition holds that Muhammad led prayers towards this site until the seventeenth month after the emigration, when God ordered him to turn towards the Ka'aba.^[4]

Al-Bukhari

Bukhari (بخاري), also spelled as Bokhari, Bukhary and Bukhori, is a common surname in Central and Western Asia, meaning "from Bukhara" (in today Uzbekistan). Its Arabic version Al-Bukhari (Arabic: البخاري‎) was also used in the medieval Islamic world as a nisbat (a specifier which is added at the end of names). The most known Al-Bukhari is Muhammad Ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, the Sunni scholar. The list includes:

Al-Ikhlas

Al-Ikhlas (Arabic: سورة الإخلاص‎) (The Fidelity), aka At-tawhid (سورة التوحيد) (Monotheism) ute unity, consisting of 4 ayat. Al-Ikhlas means "the purity" or "the refining", meaning to remain pure and faithful or a state of purging one's soul of non-Islamic beliefs, such as paganism and polytheism.

Al-Isra

Sura Al-Isra (Arabic: سورة الإسراء‎, Sūratu al-Isrā, "The Night Journey"), also called Sura Bani Isra'il (ie Children of Israel), is the 17th chapter of the Qur'an, with 111 verses.

Al-Tirmidhi

Tirmidhī (ترمذی), also transliterated as Tirmizi, full name Abū Īsā Muhammad ibn Īsā ibn Surat ibn Mūsā ibn ad-Dahhāk as-Sulamī at-Tirmidhī (824-892, ie 209 AH - 13 Rajab 279 AH) was a medieval Arab collector of hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad)

Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink that contains ethanol (commonly called alcohol). Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits.

Allah

Allah (Arabic: الله‎, Allāh, Turkish: Allah, IPA: [ʔalˤːɑːh]  ( listen)) is the standard Arabic word for God.^[1] While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to "God".^[1][2][3] The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.^[4]

Ancient Semitic religion

Ancient Semitic religion spans the polytheistic religions of the Semitic speaking peoples of the Ancient Near East. Its origins are intertwined with earlier (Sumerian) Mesopotamian mythology. As Semitic itself is a rough, categorical term, the definitive bounds of the term "Ancient Semitic religion" are likewise only approximate.

Angel of the Lord

The Angel of the Lord (or the Angel of God) is one of many terms in the Hebrew Bible (also: Old Testament) used for an angel. The Biblical name for angel, מלאך mal'ach, which translates simply as "messenger," obtained the further signification of "angel" only through the addition of God's name, as ("angel of the Lord," or "angel of God", Zech. 12:8). Other appellations for angels are Benei Elohim, "Sons of God," Gen. 6:4; Job 1:6; and k'doshim, "the Holy Ones".

Animism

Animism (from Latin anima "soul, life")^[1][2] is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in other animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment.^[3] Animism may further attribute souls to abstract concepts such as words, true names or metaphors in mythology. Animism is particularly widely found in the religions of indigenous peoples,^[4] although it is also found in Shinto, and some forms of Hinduism and Neopaganism.

Annihilationism

Annihilationism is the minority Christian doctrine that sinners are destroyed rather than tormented forever in "hell" or the lake of fire. It is directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless it is given eternal life. Annihilationism asserts that God will eventually destroy or annihilate the wicked, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality. Some annihilationists believe the wicked will be punished for their sins in the lake of fire before being annihilated, others that hell is a false doctrine of pagan origin.

Anointing

To anoint is to pour or smear with perfumed oil, milk, water, melted butter or other substances, a process employed ritually by many religions. People and things are anointed to symbolize the introduction of a sacramental or divine influence, a holy emanation, spirit, power or god. It can also be seen as a spiritual mode of ridding persons and things of dangerous influences, as of demons (Persian drug, Greek κηρες, Armenian dev) believed to be or to cause disease.

Anthropology of religion

The anthropology of religion involves the study of religious institutions in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures.

Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Examples include animals and plants and forces of nature such as winds, rain or the sun depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse. The term derives from the combination of the Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos), "human" and μορφή (morphē), "shape" or "form".

Apostolic Decree

The Council of Jerusalem (or Apostolic Conference) is a name applied by historians to an Early Christian council dated to around the year 50. Descriptions of the council are found in Acts of the Apostles chapter 15 (in two different forms, the Alexandrian and Western versions) and also possibly in Paul's letter to the Galatians chapter 2^[1]. Some scholars dispute that Galatians 2 is about the Council of Jerusalem (notably because Galatians 2 describes a private meeting) while other scholars dispute the Historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles. Assuming the council did occur, Paul was likely an eyewitness, a major person in attendance, whereas Luke, the supposed writer of Luke-Acts, who was a later follower of Paul, may not have been in attendance, and thus could have written second-hand, about the meeting he described in Acts 15.

Arab-Israeli conflict

Israeli-Palestinian conflict · Israel-Lebanon conflict · Arab League · Soviet Union / Russia · Israel, Palestinians and the United Nations · Iran-Israel relations · Israel-United States relations · Boycott of Israel

Arabic

Egypt: Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo
Iraq: Iraqi Academy of Sciences
Jordan: Jordan Academy of Arabic
Libya: Academy of the Arabic Language in Jamahiriya
Morocco: Academy of the Arabic Language in Rabat
Sudan: Academy of the Arabic Language in Khartum
Syria: Arab Academy of Damascus (the oldest)
Tunisia: Beit Al-Hikma Foundation

Arabic language

Egypt: Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo
Iraq: Iraqi Academy of Sciences
Jordan: Jordan Academy of Arabic
Libya: Academy of the Arabic Language in Jamahiriya
Morocco: Academy of the Arabic Language in Rabat
Sudan: Academy of the Arabic Language in Khartum
Syria: Arab Academy of Damascus (the oldest)
Tunisia: Beit Al-Hikma Foundation

Australian Aboriginal mythology

Australian Aboriginal myths (also known as Dreamtime stories, Songlines or Aboriginal oral literature) are the stories traditionally performed by Aboriginal peoples^[1] within each of the language groups across Australia.

Bahá'í symbols

Bahá'í symbols are symbols that have been used, or are used, to express identification with the Bahá'í Faith. While the five-pointed star is the official symbol of the religion,^[1] being used to represent the human body and Messengers of God, more common symbols include the nine-pointed star, the Greatest Name, and the Ringstone symbol, representing perfection, and the Messengers of God.

Balkans

The Balkans (often referred to as the Balkan Peninsula, although the Balkans is larger than the peninsula itself) is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia. The region has a combined area of 550,000 km² (212,000 sq mi) and a population of about 55 million people.

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism (from Greek baptizo: "immersing", "performing ablutions", i.e., "washing")^[1] is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and as a member of the particular Christian tradition in which the baptism is administered.^{[2] [3]}

Beliefnet

Beliefnet is a large multi-faith e-community that aims to provide a free forum for religious information and inspiration, spiritual tools, and discussions and dialogue groups. Beliefnet provides information about various religious and spiritual beliefs, ranging from Christian denominations to atheism to smaller faiths like Zoroastrianism. It interviews religious figures, offers articles and blogs on various creeds, has collaborated with Newsweek^[1] and Time^[2] and has partnerships with The Wall Street Journal^[3], Chicken Soup for the Soul^[4], and Fox Faith.^[5] Beliefnet is a subsidiary of News Corp Digital Media, a division of News Corporation and is not affiliated with any spiritual organization or movement.

Bible

The Bible, sometimes called the Holy Bible, can refer to one of two closely related religious texts central to Judaism and Christianity—the Hebrew or Christian sacred Scriptures respectively.

Biblical Mount Sinai

The Biblical Mount Sinai is an ambiguously located mountain at which the Hebrew Bible states that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God.^[1] In certain biblical passages these events are described as having transpired at Horeb. Sinai and Horeb are generally considered to refer to the same place although there is a small body of opinion that they refer to different locations.^[2]

Biblical Sabbath

Sabbath in the Bible is a weekly day of rest and time of worship. It is observed differently in Judaism and Christianity and informs a similar occasion in several other faiths. Though many viewpoints and definitions have arisen over the millennia, most originate in the same textual tradition.

Biblical flood

A deluge myth or flood myth is a mythical story of a great flood sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution. It is a widespread theme among many cultures, though it is perhaps best known in modern times through the biblical account of Noah's Ark, the Hindu Puranic story of Manu, through Deucalion in Greek mythology or Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Biblical law in Christianity

Biblical law in Christianity generally refers to a discussion of the applicability of Biblical law in a Christian context. This is also referred to as Mosaic Law, God's Law or Divine Law, and refers to the statements or principles of law and ethics contained in the Pentateuch or Torah (in Hebrew: תּוֹרָה‎^[2], see also Strong's Concordance H8451^[3]), the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, which is incorporated into the Christian Bible, where it is called the Old Testament, a term linked with Supersessionism. There are diverse views of the issues involved with some concluding that none is applicable, some concluding that only parts are applicable, and others concluding that all are still applicable to believers in Jesus and the New Covenant.

Blood transfusions

Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood or blood-based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. Blood transfusions can be life-saving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to trauma, or can be used to replace blood lost during surgery. Blood transfusions may also be used to treat a severe anaemia or thrombocytopenia caused by a blood disease. People suffering from hemophilia or sickle-cell disease may require frequent blood transfusions. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice commonly uses only components of the blood.

Book of Genesis

The Book of Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, "birth", "origin") or Bereshith (Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית, "in the beginning"^[1]) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible, and the first of five books of the Torah, called the Pentateuch in the Christian Old Testament.

Calvary

Calvary or Golgotha (Gòlgəṯẖə) are the English language/Western Christian names given to the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early 1st century walls, ascribed to the crucifixion of Jesus. The name Golgotha is the Greek transcription given by the New Testament, of an Aramaic name, which has traditionally been presumed to be Gûlgaltâ (but see below for an alternative); the Bible glosses it as place of [the] skull - Κρανίου Τόπος (Kraniou Topos) in Greek, and Calvariae Locus in Latin, from which we get Calvary.

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws and regulations made by or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of churches.^[1] The way that such church law is legislated, interpreted and at times adjudicated varies widely among these three bodies of churches. In all three traditions, a canon was initially a rule adopted by a council (From Greek kanon / κανών, Hebrew kaneh / קנה, for rule, standard, or measure); these canons formed the foundation of canon law.

Cantillation

Cantillation is the ritual chanting of readings from the Hebrew Bible in synagogue services. The chants are written and notated in accordance with the special signs or marks printed in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh) to complement the letters and vowel points. These marks are known in English as accents and in Hebrew as טעמי המקרא ta`amei ha-mikra or just טעמים te`amim. (Some of these signs were also sometimes used in medieval manuscripts of the Mishnah.) The musical motifs associated with the signs are known in Hebrew as niggun or neginot (not to be confused with Hasidic nigun) and in Yiddish as טראָפ trop: the equivalent word trope is sometimes used in English with the same meaning.

Cao Dai

Cao Đài (Vietnamese: Cao Đài (help·info)) is a relatively new, syncretist, monotheistic religion, officially established in the city of Tây Ninh, southern Vietnam, in 1926. Đạo Cao Đài is the religion's shortened name, the full name is Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ (Great Religion [of The] Third Period [of] Revelation [and] Salvation). The term Cao Đài literally means "Kingdom of Heaven." Figuratively, it means that highest place where God reigns. Caodaiists often use the term Đức Cao Đài (Venerable Cao Dai) as the abbreviated name for God, the creator of the universe, whose full title is Cao Đài Tiên Ông Đại Bồ Tát Ma-ha-tát (translation: Cao Dai [the] Ancient Sage [and] Great Bodhisattva Mahasattva). According to Caodaiists, the full title was purposefully chosen by God because within it are representations of the Three Teachings: Saint, Sage and Buddha.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a foreign-policy think tank based in Washington, D.C.^[1] The organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States. Founded in 1910 by Andrew Carnegie, its work is not formally associated with any political party.

Cave of the Patriarchs

The Cave of the Patriarchs or the Cave of Machpelah (Hebrew: מערת המכפלה, Me'arat HaMachpela, Trans. "Cave of the Double Tombs"; Arabic: المغارة‎ Al Magharah, "the Cave") is a series of subterranean caves located in a complex called by Muslims the Sanctuary of Abraham or Ibrahimi Mosque (Arabic: الحرم الإبراهيمي‎, Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi (help·info)). The name is either a reference to the layout of the burial chamber, or alternatively refers to the biblical couples, i.e: cave of the tombs of couples.

Cenacle

The Cenacle (from Latin cenaculum), also known as the "Upper Room", is the term used for the site of The Last Supper. The word is a derivative of the Latin word cena, which means dinner.

Cenotaph

A cenotaph is a tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάϕιον (kenos, one meaning being "empty", and taphos, "tomb"). Although the vast majority of cenotaphs are erected in honour of individuals, many of the best-known cenotaphs are instead dedicated to the memories of groups of individuals, such as the war dead of one country or empire.

Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to Afghanisthan in the south. It is also sometimes known as Middle Asia or Inner Asia, and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent.

Chinese folk religion

Chinese folk religion (simplified Chinese: 中国民间宗教 / 中国民间信仰) is a collective label given to various folkloric beliefs that draw heavily from Chinese mythology. It comprises the religion practiced in much of China for thousands of years, which included ancestor worship and drew heavily upon concepts and beings within Chinese mythology. Chinese folk religion is sometimes seen as a constituent part of Chinese traditional religion, but more often, the two are regarded as synonymous. It is estimated that there are at least 394 million adherents to Chinese folk religion worldwide (see Major world religions).