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Islam And Sikhism Similarities

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When one thinks of the religion of Sikhism, they usually think it is almost as though it is a combination of Islam and Hinduism yet most fail to realize that Sikhism is a whole other religion on its own. Some say that Sikhism has more differences than similarities compared to Islam because of Sikhism’s lack of belief in hell and heaven as well as its belief in karma and reicarnation. However when comparing Sikhism’s beliefs to Islamic beliefs on the nature of god, a believer’s responsibility in this life, and ethics (such as abortion and such), Sikhism does in fact have more similarities than differences with Islam. In Islam, belief in ONE god is mandatory, making it a monotheistic religion. Sikhism also is a monotheistic religion. Both …show more content…

Sikhs pray and connect spiritually to god. Most Sikhs follow instructions from their holy book/ scripture in which specific details on how to worship are addressed. In Sikhism, it is recorded that there are five daily prayer that are recommended to be done but don’t have to be. Unlike Muslims, Sikhs are not restricted to certain times a day to pray to God, nor do they have set out times to worship; rather, they can pray and worship at any time they please do to so. Sikhs also do not have to go to a Gurdwara to worship. Similar to Islam, in Sikhism, praying is acceptable in any place. Sikhs tend to wake up early, take a bath/ shower, and try to start the day by meditation, whereas Muslims wake up at dawn, and pray Fajr …show more content…

Take abortion for example. In Sikhism it is completely forbidden as, “…it interferes with the creative work of god…” It is said that once conception has occurred, then it is forbidden to have an abortion.[8] In Islam most people say that abortion is haram no matter what. That is in fact not the case. Unlike in Sikhism, there are certain circumstances in which aborting the embryo is actually allowed; these include if giving birth to the fetus endangers the mother’s health in anyway and if it is done before the soul is blown into the fetus (usually about 4 months or 120 days). Another ethic worth mentioning is that of war. In Sikhism there is the term “Just War” which is known to Sikhs as “Dharam Yudh” which means “defense of righteousness.”[9] According to Sikhism, there are laws and precautions they must take before engaging in war. They are: the war must be the last resort - all other ways of resolving the conflict must be tried first, the motive must not be revenge or enmity, the army must not include mercenaries, the army must be disciplined, only the minimum force needed for success should be used, civilians must not be harmed, and there must be no looting, territory must not be annexed, and any property taken must be returned.[9] With such rules as above, the proved to be true stereotype about Sikhs is that Sikhism is a very peaceful religion. In Islam, many of these same rules apply

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