Religion and Theology

Many psychologists and some religious historians have attempted to explain the reasons for the development of religion. Some of them have agreed that religion came up to answer so many questions that arise in this life, for example, how the universe operates. Many agree with the proposition that religion came so that people can have a sense of power over their surroundings and life. Man has always felt insecure and thus religion came to fill the gap. Despite all these, man has always feared death and religion is said to have come to alleviate it by providing beliefs about life after death. Different religions have different doctrines on the issue of death and life after death with so many similarities and differences emerging (Robinson, par 1-3). Islam and Christianity are no exceptions.

The issue of Death
Similarities
The first similarity between the two religions is that, for both of them, death is a form of sleep. For Christians, the word sleep is used in the bible to express the condition or the state of the body in death. They also believe that only the body that dies. This means, the body of man that is placed in the grave is the one that sleeps and thus for them, the spirit is not involved in death (Jackson, par. 3).The word sleep is used in the New testament to mean to lie down. This has been borrowed from the Greek word, Koimaomai. In Greek, the word Koimeterion refers to a place where strangers would stop by and sleep. It is from this word, where the word cemetery originates. Scholars have suggested that using the word sleep in the bible means that, the person who is dead does not cease to exist. Although he is absent physically, those who are still alive can communicate with him. Just like sleep is temporary, so is death in Christian faith (Jackson, par 4). Just like Christianity, Islam also views death as a form of sleep. In Arabic, sleep means the little brother of death (Hanson, par. 16).

The second one is that, in both religions, one is supposed to prepare for death. Prophet Mohammed warns Muslims of the dangers of not preparing for death. Just like Christians, all Muslims are called to prepare for their mortality for they believe that, they will live forever (Hanson, par. 16). For Christians, they believe that, when one dies, there is no opportunity to repent or to be saved. Some Christians have gone against the scriptures by baptizing the dead, a practice which has no basis in the bible and thus a Christian is supposed to prepare for death by believing in Christ and turning away from a sinful life (Jackson, par. 16-18).

Lastly, for sinners, death means the beginning of sufferings. Christians believe that, all those who have rebelled against God, will find themselves in a spirit state characterized by pain and agony (Jackson, par. 15). This also applies to the Muslim faith, because they say that, when in the grave, a sinner will be cursing the life that is ahead of him (Inter-Islam, par 1, 2).
                     
Differences
So many differences emerge between the two religions over the issue of death. The first one emerges when it comes to the Islam belief that, the wealth they will have used in charities and helping people prior to death, will increase after death (Hanson, par 17-18). There is no mention of this in Christianity.
The second one is that Muslims are expected to reflect on death all the time, even mentioning it is very important. This is contrary to the Christian faith in fact, most Christians fear speaking about death. For many centuries, Christians have regarded death as a private affair (Paxton, par. 1). A Muslim is also expected to attend funerals even though they may not know the deceased. They believe that, the moment a person attends a burial, he or she will be greatly rewarded. Prophet Mohammed tells them in Koran to introduce topics on death in their gatherings so that they can reflect on it. This has no basis in Christianity. Thus Muslims have accepted the concept of death and they believe that every one has an appointed time. In other words, one cannot escape from his or her death. Anytime a Muslim survives an experience which would have led to death, he will always be heard saying that, his appointed time had not reached regarding the experience (Hanson, par. 19).

Another difference emerges because Muslims believe that, the dead always hear whatever those who are still alive say and that is why, during burial, there will be always be somebody, mostly a relative, who would be explaining to the deceased whatever is happening during the burial ceremony. They also believe that the person is usually not aware of what is happening to him and that is why it has to be explained to him. Before burying the dead, Muslims usually wash the body, perfume and shroud it. These are then followed by funeral prayers and later, the body is laid to rest without a coffin (Hanson, par. 20). These practices have no foundation in Christianity marking another major difference.

The fourth difference in both religions regarding death emerges in Prophet Mohammeds teachings. He said that, when a bone of the deceased is broken, just like human beings who are alive, he will feel much pain. According to the teachings, a dead person retains his or her consciousness. When the body is put in the grave and if the deceased led a good life, he will be requesting the people to take him or her to the grave first but if he was a sinner, he would be cursing the life that is awaiting him. The prophet also said that apart from human beings, everything else hears laments made by the dead and thus humans have been spared the anguish because they cannot take it (Inter-Islam, par 1-2). All these are not found in the Christian faith, in fact, it contradicts the Christian belief that, death is a departure and that it comes when the body and spirit separate, the latter leaving the body behind. The apostles used the term analuo to refer to death. The word means loosed up and this shows that the body is loosed up at death. When Lazarus died, the scriptures state that his spirit was taken up to Abrahams bosom leaving his physical being behind. This is an evidence to show that spirit actually departs from the physical body (Jackson, par 7-8).

Moreover, when a Muslim eventually dies, the eyelids are supposed to be closed and the person is buried immediately after the funeral prayers are said. Another requirement is that the body should be buried, laid on its right. A ceiling is put on the grave to cover it and then soil is poured on it. The grave may be marked using a stone but no writings. No one is also allowed to build or put up structures on the grave. After the burial, the family is expected to pay all the debts of the dead person as quickly as possible. They are also encouraged to pray for him. Fasting and pilgrimage are always done on behalf of the deceased (Riad, par. 30-31). Christianity has no provision on how a dead person is supposed to be treated.

Another belief in the Muslim world that brings about another difference is that, when a person approaches to die, close friends and the family members are supposed to comfort him using supplications. This helps him or her to renew his commitment to God (Riad, 30). This is contrary to the Christian belief that says when one dies, that is the end of everything. He only awaits judgment. No one can renew his commitment to God in death hence no opportunity for repentance (Jackson, par. 16-18).

Another difference comes from the Christian belief that, death is a state of rest. According to the bible, in the book of Job, man is said to rest from the turmoil and hardships of life when he dies (Jackson, par. 4). This is contrary to the Islam belief that life continues even in the grave (Islam religion, par. 3-4).

The bible also talks of body decomposition. According to the book of Genesis, man was sentenced to immortality after sinning and thus God declared that, since man came from dust, he goes back to dust in his death. Paul vividly explains the nature of decomposition in that our bodies will be dissolved in death. The Greek term for dissolve is kataluo which literally means to loose down and this clearly shows the nature of decomposition expected in death. This does not apply to Muslims, as mentioned earlier they believe that, one retains consciousness in death. Some Christians are known to refuse to go through decomposition, which is their bodys fate, by spending so much money trying to preserve their bodies, hoping to resuscitate later. One thing is a fact medical profession will never achieve physical immortality (Jackson, par. 5-6).

Death is considered a re-union in Christian faith and this happens to those people who loved each other before and they led righteous lives. When people died in the bible, it described them by using the phrase to be gathered to their people and this shows the re-union (Jackson, par 11). In addition, those who die in righteousness will have a re-union with Christ. When Jesus was dying, He told the thief they were with at the cross that they will be together in paradise. Apostles said that, to be dead, is to be with the Lord. The word home means in Greek, to be among ones own people .The word home has been used in the bible too and this shows that, at death, there is fellowship with God (Jackson, par 14). For Islam, re -union does not happen in death, but later, in life after death (Islam religion, par. 8-10).
       
Life after death
Similarities
Both religions believe that there will be resurrection. For Muslims, their lives continue to exist even after death in spirit and physical resurrection (Islam religion, par 3). For them, resurrection of the dead will be preceded by a blow of the horn by an angel. When it blows, all those who will be alive at that time, will all fall unconscious apart from those who will be spared by God. People will resurrect with their original bodies from the graves therefore entering the third and the last phase of their lives. For Christians, they also believe that, just like Jesus who resurrected, they will also resurrect but for them, they are destined either to go to heaven or hell (Fackerrel, par. 6).

In addition, just like the Christians, Muslims also believe true happiness is found in the after life or in heaven for that matter. For Muslims, they believe that, they must live good lives to please their God to ensure they pass through the seven layers of heaven (Allen, 2-3). Heaven is said to be characterized with only happiness. For some Christians, for example the Catholics, they believe that one goes through purgatory before proceeding to heaven but this does not apply to all Christians (Find Your Fate, par. 4).

Differences
For Muslims, when their sins overwhelm their goodness, they are sure to fall into some layers before reaching heaven. Contrary to Christians belief, for Muslims, heaven is divided into 7 layers and when one reaches a particular level, he will face judgment (Allen, par. 2-3). The deeds will be weighed by Allah and the person who is found to have good deeds surpassing the wrong ones will go to heaven. A person reaches heaven the last day when the dead will be resurrected by Allah. They will then proceed to a pilgrimage to heaven by crossing a bridge above hell. Those who will not be able to cross the bridge because of their sins will be left to remain there to suffer torment (Allen, par 4).

Another major difference is as a result of an Islam teaching which emphasizes on the belief in life after death. For Muslims, it is very important and it forms the core of the Muslim faith. The moment one disregards it, his faith will be deemed to be incomplete. When a person dies, he goes through an intermediary section between death and resurrection. Many events will happen and these are called trials of the grave where angels will be questioning people about their religion. Prophet Mohammed described the grave using these words, a garden of paradise or a pit of hell. Different angels visit souls in the grave for example, the angel of mercy will visit the righteous while the other one of punishment will visit the unbelievers (Islam Religion, par 3-4). This contradicts the Christian faith whereby, after death, a person will either go to heaven or hell. There is no teaching in Christianity that talks about life in the grave and angels involvement in the graves. Life in the grave to them is a state of rest (Jackson, par 4).

Moreover, Muslim teachings say that, Allah will gather his people including the believers and non believers, demons and wild animals. The responsibility of the angels would be driving all kinds of human beings to the gathering. These include even the bare footed, the uncircumcised and the naked ones and while there, they will be profusely sweating because of agony but the righteous will be sheltered from all these under the shade of Allahs throne (Islam Religion, par 5-7). This contradicts the Christian faith because they do not believe there are phases to go through before heaven. For them, it is only judgment and whatever follows is either heaven or hell (Miller, par 6,).

In addition, contrary to Christianity, Muslims, who will get to heaven, will find great houses prepared for them and great food at their disposal. They would also be accompanied by companions who are virgins. They believe that Allah is merciful and forgiving and that one day hell will be empty for he would have forgiven the sinners. Hell is meant for the betterment of the person but not for eternal torment. One is just supposed to learn from his or her mistakes and then proceed to light. (Allen, par. 5-6). This contradicts the Christian faith because it states clearly that sinners will suffer eternal torment in hell (Miller, par 6). For them, God will treat people in afterlife according to the way they led their lives before death not after. There is no room for repentance after death (Miller, par 5).

Moreover, the Muslims believe that when conditions become unbearable for the dead, the prophet will intercede for the people. During judgment, records of peoples deeds will be produced. The one who will receive his record using the right hand, will proceed to heaven where he will join his family but the other one who receives it through the left hand, will go straight to hell. God will then proceed to judge and people will be reminded of their deeds. The believers who are the faithful ones will accept their mistakes and be forgiven but the unbelievers, due to their disbelief which is the greatest sin, will not be forgiven (Islam religion, par 8-10).This contradicts the Christian faith where  a person will be judged according to his past life. There will be no forgiveness in heaven. Those who would have led righteous lives will proceed to heaven while those who would have led sinful lives would proceed to hell. There is no opportunity to repent in heaven according to Christians (Jackson, par 16-18).

Today many Christians do not have a problem in believing that spirit is eternal. Many people know about the existence of hell and heaven but the former does not go down well with them. This has made churches to come up with wrong teachings that are vague about hell (Miller, par 4). In Christianity, stories have been documented on how people have had death experiences and still came back to life to testify about their lives in the spiritual realm. They prove that life does not cease in death. What awaits man in the other life will be determined with how he lived before death. One way of getting into heaven is by believing in Jesus Christ and living  a sinless life (Miller, par 5).This is contrary to the Muslims doctrine that states that, only those who believe in Allah are the ones who will see heaven (Islam Religion, par 8-10).

In conclusion, it has been observed that, both Islam and Christian religions have some similarities and differences when it comes to their beliefs concerning death and life there after. It has also emerged that, these are as a result of teachings in both religions concerning death, right from how to treat the body of the dead to life after resurrection.