Religion+Zoroastrianism+and+Islam

Zoroastrinism By Stacy Marchant   Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion of the Persian Empire, and was established around the year 1000 to 600 B.C (Keter, 278). It is considered to have influenced Islam, Christianity and Judaism, and is one of the oldest religions of the world ( Keter, 278). Even though Zoroastrianism has influenced many of the world religions today there are still differences in each and in Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism is named after the man who founded it. Zoroaster was “born to a family of royals and some scholars think they may have been nomadic”(Keter, 278) In zoroaster’s thirties he had a revelation in which he saw an angel who told him that there is only one true god and that God’s name was Aura Mazda (Keter 278). The life of Zoroaster is mostly legendary including many fantastic stories about his early life; scholars often debate these stories. The basic beliefs of Zoroastrianism are the belief in the one true God Aura Mazda, who fights the evil Angra Manya spirit with the help of Spenta Mainyu, a day of judgment, and they have a holy book of prayers and rituals, as well as afterlife (Stepinants, par. 5). While Zoroastrianism is monotheistic, some scholars believe because of the two competing figures in the religion it is dualism, but most take it that Spenta Mainyu is helping Aura Mazda fight Angra Manya, like how God has angels to help people fight of the devil. And while there may be a dualism to the religion most believe that is monotheistic in practice. Aura Mazda is often shown as a breaded man, very similar to pictures of Jesus that we see in churches today. Zoroaster also accounts for six archangel types that help Aura Mazda revel himself to Zoroaster (Keter, 279). These archangels help Aura Mazda in his battle against Angra Manya, as well as help the followers with their own fight against Angra Manya every day. There are three feminine angels and three masculine angels; they represent righteousness, divine kingdom, good mind, devotion, perfection and immortality (Dhalla, 39). The official book of Zoroastrianism is called the Gathas and is the sacred writings of Zoroastrianism (Clark, 183). This book holds the prayers, rituals, hymns, and manthras scared to Zoroaster, and is written in Avestan, an Iranian language (Boyce, 4). This holy book is also divided into five parts, the Ahunavaiti Gatha, the Ushtaviti Gatha, the Spentamainyu Gatha, the Vohukshathra Gatha, and the Vahishtoishti Gatha (Clark, 11). These five books tell of different prayers that show the different philosophies that Zoroastrianism holds dear. Some of these philosophies are choice, happiness, and purpose in life (Dhalla, 196). While some of the prayers are confessional, penitential, benedictory, and supplicatory prayers (Dhalla, 379). These philosophies are very important to followers of Zoroastrianism, and much like Muslims hold true to the articles of faith so to speak. According to Zoroastrianism every person is responsible for his or her own actions and free will is a big part of the philosophy of Zoroastrianism (Keter, 279). Aura Mazda followers are tempted by evil everyday and must choose to resist or must choose to give in. This is another showing of free will in Zoroastrianism.

 The official symbol of Zoroastrianism is called a faravahar and it is of a figure standing on feathers holding a ring with the sun in the background (Clark, 53). The figure is a representation of the spirit of human beings and the wings of the feathers are good deeds, good words and good reflections (Keter, 280). The lower half of the feathers are bad words, bad deeds, and bad reflections. The ring represents faithfulness and loyalty, which is a main base of Zoroastrianism.



Fire is another symbol sacred to Zoroastrianism; it signifies God as an ever burning light and is a source of goodness. There are three different grades of fire, the Adur Farnburg fire, the Adur Gushnasp fire, and the Adur Burzen-Mihr fire. The Adur Farnburg fire is kept burning in a fire temple, tended by priests and is considered the most sacred of fires (Boyce, 124). The Adur Gushnsap fire is especially for warriors and the Adur Burzen-Mihr fire is the fire of farmers (Boyce, 124). To most Zoroastrians fire is the light of god and should be treated as such (Clark 145). Water is also an important part of Zoroastrianism, like fire; water is used for purification, and used for ritual to cleanse the body of impurities before praying or entering a fire temple (Boyce, 130). Cleanliness is very important to Zoroastrians and is a very big component in the religion. Although the only temple that Zoroastrians have is the fire temple they do not worship fire, as some believe, Zoroastrians can pray anywhere they wish, they have no specific area of worship like Muslims do (Keter, 280). There are no special diet needs of zororasters; they are allowed to eat anything unlike followers of Islam who do not eat pork.

The special religious garb the followers of Zoroastrianism must wear are called kushti, and sudrehs, which are a belt and type of shirt that has a pocket respectively (Boyce, 31). Zoroastrians” tie and untie the kushti when praying many times and is worn close to the skin unless bathing” (Boyce 32). The pocket on the shirt holds the good deeds for the day. “The cord is tied around the waist three times and represent the good deeds, good thoughts, and good words: (Boyce, 32). Both men and women wear this garb, but the men wear a somewhat modified version with a v-neck while the women’s looks more like a dress (Boyce, 33).

The places that Zoroastrians place their dead are called “towers of silence or Dakhma, and because death is considered evil they do not bury or cremate their dead” (Clark, 116). “Instead the dead is placed atop this tower and the sun and birds of prey take care of the corpse by either eating or having the sun disinegrate the remain features” (Clark, 116).  Islam Zoroastrianism influenced Islam a very old religion in many ways, but there are also differences. “Islam was restored by the prophet Muhammad in 610 AD” (Sardar, 13). When the angel Gabriel came to Muhammad and said that he should recite the world of God and spread the word to others (Ali, 56). After many years of struggle Muhammad gained converts and after his death in 632 AD, his followers wrote down what we now know as the Qu’ran (Watt, 115). The main principles of Islam are the five pillars of Islam, which are the declaration of faith, prayer, charity, ramadan, and pilgrimage (Keter, 445). The declaration of faith or the Shadada, and says that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet (Keter 442). Prayer is expect five times a day for Muslims and they are to clean themselves before prayer like Zoroastrians and “prayer is always towards Mecca”(Keter, 444). Charity is important because it helps the community and the wealth of a person ignores the social and spiritual dimensions of ones faith (Watt, 125). The month of Ramadan is a month of fasting from sunrise to sun set. This fasting helps teach followers self-discipline, and to understand the less fortunate (Keter, 445). ”This fast does not apply to the elder, people who are traveling, and mothers with infants” (Keter, 445). Pilgrimage to Mecca if one is able and can afford it should be done at least once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage is an important aspect of the five pillars because it is considered an extreme spiritual experince in the life of a Muslim (Sardar, 26). Educational pilgrimages are also important to Muslims and many often made it apart of their travel plans (Ali, 100). The Qu’ran, the bible of Islam is 114 chapters and is the word of god directly from God, and is considered the final word of God (Keter, 447). There are four main books encompassed in the Qu’ran and they tell of monotheism, prophethood, the afterlife and the Day of Judgment (Ali, 108).    The types of places Muslims worship at are called mosques and are for more communal prayer than actual worship, unlike Christian churches where there is actual worship. All mosques are facing towards Mecca and the prayers are also in that direction. “The religious wear is of modest design and should be covering most of the body from the chest to knees for men and head to toes according to some traditions for women”(Ali, 208). There are some food restrictions for Muslims, pork is forbidden to eat because the animal is unclean in its eating habits, and they must keep a fast during Ramadan. The food one eats must also be cut in a certain way, like in Judaism (Watt, 214). “They also do not drink alcohol as it spiritually destructive and anything that is destructive should not be consumed”(Keter, 283). The “burial practices of Muslims consist of washing the body of the deceased and shrouding it with a linen cloth” (<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Sardar, 45). The “body is then buried and place facing towards Mecca and a prayer is said in the honor of the dead for forgiveness” (<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Sardar, 45). Zoroastrians is different from Islam in many respects but influenced it to a degree, according to Mary Stepinants in her article “The Encounter of Zoroastrianism in Islam.While Islam and Zoroastrianism both believe in a one true God, in an afterlife, a day of judgment, in the devil, both have a holy scripture, both have religious garb the faithful must wear, and both present cleanliness as an aspect important to the religion. The differences are somewhat extreme in both religions. Zoroastrianism use fire as a representation of god’s light and being, and in Islam that would be considered idolatry. And idolatry of any kind besides God in Islam is considered blasphemy. While both do have religious garb and modesty is ever present, women in Zoroastrianism do not have to be covered from head to toe like Muslim women do. The worship practices are also different, Muslims go to mosques for communal prayer, must pray five times a day and pray towards Mecca, while Zoroastrians pray in front of a fire and there is no minimum amount of times that they must pray a day. The food habits are also very different; Muslims must fast during Ramadan, and are forbidden to eat pork or drink alcohol, while Zoroastrians do not have any food restrictions. The differences between the two groups is quite wide, but the influence on Islam from Zoroastrianism is seen today and in some of the dogma of the religion. <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> Bibliography Ali Kecia and Oliver Leaman. Islam : the key concepts. London ; New York : Routledge, 2008. Boyce, Mary. Zoroastrians : their religious beliefs and practices. London ; New York : Routledge, 2001.

Clark, Peter. Zoroastrianism : an introduction to an ancient faith. Brighton [England] ; Portland, Or. : Sussex Academic Press, 1998. Dhalla, Maneckji Nusservanji. History of Zoroastrianism. New York : AMS Press, 1977] c1938. Reprint of the ed. published by Oxford University Press, New York Sardar, Ziauddin. ** The ** **no**-**nonsense** **guide** **to** **Islam**. London : ni ; Verso, 2004. Stepaniants Marietta. The Encounter of Zoroastrianism with Islam. Philosophy East and West, Vol. 52, No. 2 (Apr., 2002), pp. 159-172. University of Hawai'i Press <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Watt, W. Montgomery. What is Islam? <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">London, New York : Longmans; Beirut, Librairie du Liban, 1979.