Baha'ism compared to Islam? (Jesus, ritual, Earth, Torah, Kingdom)

[Salaam]

I've been researching this religion a bit lately, and it seems that the reliigon of the "Bab" and Baha'ullah is nearly identical to Islam, except that the Baha'i teachings believe in th eteachings of Hinduism and Buddhism while Islam teaches that only Judaism, Christianity and Islam are from Allah(swt).

what I was wondering was, is it not true that the Baha'i religion and Islam and nearly identical fundamentally? they both revolve around one God, complete surrender to Him, being a good person, praying, and fasting. and thats all there is to them both, to my knowledge. unlike Christianity in which you have to accept certain men and certain events in order to be saved, the Bahai religion teaches that all you must do is believe in the one true God, Allah, and surrender ones self to God and pray, fast, and be merciful and kind, and this is our redemption.

thing is, this is identical to Islam, and Islam too accepts all monotheistic religions, or atleast the ones that come from Abraham PBUH and his offspring PBUT.

so what is the difference between them? Islam came only to correct the Jewish denial of Jesus PBUH, and correct the Christian's straying fro mthe monotheistic and Godly path. why do Baha'is believe Allah(swt) revealed a whole nother text? is there any guidance whatsoever in the Baha'i text that wasnt already in the holy Qur'an?

[Popeyesays]

Originally Posted by Salaam

I've been researching this religion a bit lately, and it seems that the reliigon of the "Bab" and Baha'ullah is nearly identical to Islam, except that the Baha'i teachings believe in th eteachings of Hinduism and Buddhism while Islam teaches that only Judaism, Christianity and Islam are from Allah(swt).

what I was wondering was, is it not true that the Baha'i religion and Islam and nearly identical fundamentally? they both revolve around one God, complete surrender to Him, being a good person, praying, and fasting. and thats all there is to them both, to my knowledge. unlike Christianity in which you have to accept certain men and certain events in order to be saved, the Bahai religion teaches that all you must do is believe in the one true God, Allah, and surrender ones self to God and pray, fast, and be merciful and kind, and this is our redemption.

thing is, this is identical to Islam, and Islam too accepts all monotheistic religions, or atleast the ones that come from Abraham PBUH and his offspring PBUT.

so what is the difference between them? Islam came only to correct the Jewish denial of Jesus PBUH, and correct the Christian's straying fro mthe monotheistic and Godly path. why do Baha'is believe Allah(swt) revealed a whole nother text? is there any guidance whatsoever in the Baha'i text that wasnt already in the holy Qur'an?

Gleanings from the Writings of Baha`u'llah, pg. 90:

"XLI: God is My witness, O people! I was asleep... 1God is My witness, O people! I was asleep on My couch, when lo, the Breeze of God wafting over Me roused Me from My slumber. His quickening Spirit revived Me, and My tongue was unloosed to voice His Call. Accuse Me not of having transgressed against God. Behold Me, not with your eyes but with Mine. Thus admonisheth you He Who is the Gracious, the All-Knowing. Think ye, O people, that I hold within My grasp the control of God's ultimate Will and Purpose? Far be it from Me to advance such claim. To this I testify before God, the Almighty, the Exalted, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Had the ultimate destiny of God's Faith been in Mine hands, I would have never consented, even though for one moment, to manifest Myself unto you, nor would I have allowed one word to fall from My lips. Of this God Himself is, verily, a witness. "

God demanded of Muhammed that He speak. God demanded of Jesus that He speak. Baha`u'llah spoke not as He willed, but as God willed.

"Baha`i" means "Follower of Glory", as Muslim means "One who submits"
Bahai Faith is the proper term. Baha`i'ism is like sayhing Chritanityism or "Islamism".

Feel free to ask any questions and we'll do our best to answer.

Regards,

Scott

[arthra]

Salaam wrote:

I've been researching this religion a bit lately, and it seems that the reliigon of the "Bab" and Baha'ullah is nearly identical to Islam, except that the Baha'i teachings believe in th eteachings of Hinduism and Buddhism while Islam teaches that only Judaism, Christianity and Islam are from Allah(swt).

My comment:

Welcome to the Baha'i Faith forum here at RE! I hope you will return soon and ask more questions!

As you begin your study the Baha'i Faith you will find very few references to Hinduism and Buddhism so it does not in my view "belieev in the teachings of Buddhism and HInduism"... Baha'is don't for instance believe in reincarnation.

The distinction you will find with the Baha'i Faith is that it's principles of world unity and the elimination of prejudices which are the bases of racism and inequality of men and women are really the hallmark of our Faith.

If you are an Arabic speaker you can find the following site informative:

البهائية - الدين البهائي

or visit:

The Bahá'ís

Thanks for your post!

- Art

[Salaam]

thaks for your replies. and I apologize for mispronouncing the name of the Baha'i faith.

I was under the impression that the Baha'i faith teaches that Buddha, Krishna, and the rest were all considered manifestations of God Himself?

I really only had one question tha tI wouldnt be able to figure out just from study of the faith itself, is what is the ultimate difference between the Baha'i faith and Islam? from some verses that were apparently from the Baha'i teachings people of other faiths are supposed to accept and join the Baha'i faith, and in this case, it is no different than Islam, the Qur'an in its stance that the previous texts were from God, but that the people had gone astray and that Allah clarified this in the new Revelation and that the believers must accept God's Revelation and "submit".

the unity concept I understood from the beginning to be the Baha'i faith's foundation, but the unity that the Baha'i aith teaches is the same exact unity that Islam teaches, save that the Prophets PBUT were "manifestations of God" as opposed to "servants of God". and discluding the little bit of acceptance of Buddhism and Hinduism which I have learned about, I don't know to which extent, but this is all according to Baha'i websites and not the teachings itself for me.

so again, I apologize if I seem persistent or if it may seem like I'm ignoring the brief answer above for my question. but in all honesty I cannot, for the lifeof me, see any significant difference between the Baha'i faith and Islam except for those that I mentioned.

if you have studied Islam, you will know that we consier anyone who believes in the one true God and does good, a believer, while not a Muslim per se, we do consideer them believers, and we do believe they will recieve their reward from Allah(swt). so it is not a hostile religion to me, the Baha'i faith, because it does teach of one God, and to be good, and to pray to God. I can't speak for its founders , except that one of them to my knowledge was a Muslim prior to forming the faith.

so my question is still, what is the difference between the Baha'i faith and Islam? the unity , they both profess the same form of unity excluding Hinduism and Buddhism. they both teach of one God, the both accept the holy Qur'an, the Bible, and the Torah. they both teach to pray, they both teach to fast, I don't know about charity for Baha'i's. but it seems to me they are identical.

so, what is the difference? thank you for answering my questions and for being so hospitable. esselamu aleykum.

[Popeyesays]

"so my question is still, what is the difference between the Baha'i faith and Islam? the unity , they both profess the same form of unity excluding Hinduism and Buddhism. they both teach of one God, the both accept the holy Qur'an, the Bible, and the Torah. they both teach to pray, they both teach to fast, I don't know about charity for Baha'i's. but it seems to me they are identical"

Essentially we believe that Revelatipon from God and the Covenant between man and God require renewal from time to time.

We do not believe that any Revelation is the last one, including Baha`u'llah's.

It is not just social laws that require change, but the basic spiritual information needs to be reiterated and re-described to bring God's Kingdom into being.

We often express it lightly as "The Kingdom of God (Some Assembly Required)".

God's Revelation simply cannot be complete, because man is not God and has limitations to what man can and cannot comprehend.

Regards,
Scott

[arthra]

Salaam,

Probably your issues should be more properly posed on the Comparative Religion forum

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum...tive-religion/

as that's where we discuss commonalities and similarities of world religions..

I would say though for many of the Muslims that I've met the crucial question for them is whether there is truly an end to the Prophets and Messengers of God and was Prophet Muhammad the "last" Prophet?

Baha'is believe the prophecies about the Mahdi and the Return of the Twelfth Imam were fulfilled with the proclamation of the Bab in 1260 AH or 1844 CE ... about a hundred and sixty four years ago...

If you believe Prophet Muhammad was the last Prophet and there will be no more...then you are still a Muslim.

Here are some of the distinct teachings I believe of Baha'u'llah:

Baha'u'llah abrogated Jihad or Holy War defending one's religion by use of arms.

He also said begging is forbidden and that we should reduce the extremes of wealth and poverty.

Another principle Baha'u'llah brought was the equality of men and women, this principle is really a first in a world that has long suppressed women and tried to keep women out of the work force and major universities.

Baha'u'llah issued Tablets to the Rulers of the world around 1868-1871 and recommended they stop raising large armies and taxing their subjects to pay for expensive weapons systems and set up a representative world parliament to settle their differences and bild a peaceful world and so on..

- Art

[oneness]

Dear Salaam, thank you for your questions and your interest. If it is alright to address them here, I would like to add the following.

Baha'is believe that the spiritual essence of all religions are really one and rather than being considered different religions, they should be regarded as different REVELATIONS of the one Cause of God in accordance with our comprehension, and challenges and needs of time. In that respect there are commonalities among ALL of these revelations that appeared at different times to different people to the extent that NO people were left without divine guidance. This is called progressive revelation in the Baha'i Faith which means God teaches us His Will deeper with every revelation, much like grade school that one learns more in each grade which complements the previous learning. However, in accordance with the needs and challenges of our time, there are substantial differences between the social teachings some of which include:

-Abolition of the "rule of the sword" by the "power of the Word" that Baha'u'llah has mentioned that it is worthy of our time to beat our swords into pens. No violence is allowed in the Baha'i Faith even in self-defence as He says: "It is better for ye to be slain than to slay", a principle that Baha'is have exemplified in the face of heavy persecution in its birthplace at the hands of Islamic clergy.

- Baha'i children must investigate the truth independently and if they wish, at maturity declare their faith in Baha'u'llah as the Manifestation of God.

- Equality of women and men is an important principle of the Baha'i Faith and the two have been likened to the two wings of one bird, equal development of which is required for sustained flight.

- As well, slavery has been abolished by Baha'u'llah and all humans deemed as equal.

- Also polygamy has been abolished and Baha'is can only have one wife.

- There is no clergy in the Baha'i Faith, rather democratically elected assemblies from amongst the believers look after the affairs of the community. These assemblies are elected every year without nomination, campaigning and electioneering.

- There is no veil in the Baha'i Faith and both men and women are to dress with modesty and propriety.

- "Bid to do good" and "forbidding of evil" (Amr be maaroof and nahy az monkar) have also been abolished in the Baha'i Faith as all are responsible for their deeds and drawing closer to God.

- While on a personal level, religions always teach us how to develop our spiritual qualities and draw closer to God, for every age and every "revelation" there is a purpose. Baha'is believe the purpose today is to unify and pacify all the peoples of the world under one common Cause, and to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.

- There are large number of principles which Baha'u'llah revealed for the first time in order to unify the peoples of this world and establish world peace. For the first time in human history, this is not only possible, but inevitable since all its requirements are in place and the writings of Baha'u'llah provide the blue print for its establishment.

- In brief, they include harmony of science and religion, one universal auxiliary language and script, elimination of all forms of prejudice including racial, sexual, religious, national, etc., elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty, spiritual solutions to economic problems, formation of a federated world government, a world tribunal for resolving the disagreements among the nations, and many more which will usher in the long awaited "Kingdom of God" on earth as promised and prophesied in past dispensations.

[BruceDLimber]

For the record, Scott, the saying is:

"The Kingdom of God ON EARTH (some assembly required)."

:-)

Bruce

[Salaam]

thanks for the detailed replies guys! I mean me personally I am still Muslim and will Inshallah will remain one until and beyond death. my reason for asking about the religion is just so I can haev a personal stance TOWARDS the Baha'i faith and not rely on second hand and negatively biased information.

I see a few differences now, although still nothing significant from what I can see. in Islam everybody was encouraged t ofree as many slaves as possible, so applying that princiupel today it would be possible to free all slaves considering the lifestyles we haev today. men and women are somewhat equal, although it is still clear, whether it be in Islam, Christianity or Judaism or the Baha'i faith, that men are stronger and more capable of certain tasks, while women are more capable and responsible for certain tasks, husbands and wives were encouraged to discuss and give each other mutual advice, but as far as being completely equal on all terms I can't see how that would be possible.

see the "no violence whatsoever" part I was misinformed about, thisi s why I am askign these questions and studyign the faith, I was under the impression that some of teh Baha'i teachings were to spreade the faith until all were converted to the religion, and even to kill some under circumstances I forget. the holy Qur'an to oin some verses teaches that it s best for us in soem cases to be killed rather than kill, the story of Cain and Abel, when th e one brother allowed his brother to kill him ratehr than intend to kill him as well. and when some hadith said that if two believers were fighting whether in self defense or however, both would feel hell, because surely both intended the other's death. but Jihad, holy struggle for the Faith is and was allowed as we all know.

the difference in wives I now understand. Islam follows the tradition of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, who to my knowledge had three wives?

"bid to do good", I'm sorry brother I don't know what you mean by that, I mean it is an obligatio non us to be good nad dutiful to God, btu as you know we are born Muslims, according to Islam, and it is the worldly negativity that draws us away fro mGod, we are born good, and we remain good until we sin, and even then, God forgives us, doing good is just a characteristic of a Muslim, as you said, we are all responsible for our own deeds, this is why I say I respect the Baha'i principles, because many are very similar to Islamic principles, faith in one God, piety, surrender. I'm not sure of repentance btu I woudl imagine it to be the same.

as for a clergy, I again dont know what you mean by this, the prophet Muhammad salallahu alayhi wasalam explained to us how our nations would live, and how there would be peace, while our Ummah is not united under one Muslim leader, there will never be peace.

so, I very much so appreciate the kind answers from al of you. I see the differences between our faiths. the significant principles of the Baha'i faith seem to be very similar to Islam, while the smaller and more personal principles seem to differ.

may I ask, was the reason many of you chose the Baha'i faith over Islam, as Scott stated? and you felt that you needed a new explanation about God, or were there other reasons for acceptbign the Baha'i faith? What I am meanign to ask is, have many of ou accepted the Baha'i faith first, and acknowledged Islam by doign so, or have any of you studied the Qur'an prior to accepting the Baha'i faith?

and I'm sorry Arthra for typing this in the wrogn forum, I'll be sure to keep this in mind. thanks again.

[ayani]

Originally Posted by Popeyesays

"so my question is still, what is the difference between the Baha'i faith and Islam? the unity , they both profess the same form of unity excludi