“Windows To Spirituality”
Sacred Texts
Religious texts, or Sacred texts also known as scripture, scriptures, holy writ, or holy books, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or of central importance to their religious tradition. Many religions and spiritual movements believe that their sacred texts are divinely or supernaturally revealed or inspired.
Sacred texts may be used to provide meaning and purpose, evoke a deeper connection with the divine, convey religious truths, promote religious experience, foster communal identity, and guide individual and communal religious practice. Religious texts often communicate the practices or values of a religious traditions and can be looked to as a set of guiding principles which dictate physical, mental, spiritual, or historical elements considered important to a specific religion. The terms ‘sacred’ text and ‘religious‘ text are not necessarily interchangeable in that some religious texts are believed to be sacred because of their nature as divinely or supernaturally revealed or inspired, whereas some religious texts are simply narratives pertaining to the general themes, practices, or important figures of the specific religion, and not necessarily considered sacred by itself. A core function of a religious text making it sacred is its ceremonial and liturgical role, particularly in relation to sacred time, the liturgical year, the divine efficacy and subsequent holy service; in a more general sense, its performance.
It is not possible to create an exhaustive list of religious texts, because there is no single definition of which texts are recognized as religious.
Jewish Literature Jewish literature includes works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works written in Jewish languages on various themes, and literary works in any language written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature and rabbinic literature. Medieval Jewish literature includes not only rabbinic literature but also ethical literature, philosophical literature, mystical literature, various...
Lotus Sutra The Lotus Sutra or Lotus Sūtra (सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, ‘Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma’) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. It is the main scripture on which the Tiantai, Tendai, Cheontae, and Nichiren schools of Buddhism were established. It is also influential for other East Asian...
Zhuangzi (Book) The Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzŭ) is an ancient Chinese text from the late Warring States period (476–221 BC) which contains stories and anecdotes that exemplify the carefree nature of the ideal Taoist sage. Named for its traditional author, “Master Zhuang” (Zhuangzi), the Zhuangzi is one of the two foundational texts of Taoism, along with...
Scholarly Interpretation Of Gospel-elements In this article, we examine the Scholarly Interpretation of Gospel-elements. Scholars have given various interpretations of the elements of the Gospel-stories. Chronology Main article: Chronology of Jesus The approximate chronology of Jesus can be estimated from non-Christian sources, and confirmed by correlating them with New Testament accounts. The baptism...
Liturgical Books Under this name we understand all the books, published by the authority of any church, that contain the text and directions for her official (liturgical) services. It is now the book that forms the standard by which one has to judge whether a certain service or prayer or ceremony is official and liturgical or...
Jesus In The Hadith Jesus, son of Mary, is mentioned in 93 verses in The Quran. We have collected prophet Muhammad’s sayings and actions called “Jesus In The Hadith“. According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, a hadith (plural ahadith) is an account of what Muhammad said or did, or of his tacit approval of something...
Exegesis Exegesis (“to lead out”) is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. Traditionally, the term was used primarily for work with religious texts, especially the Bible. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretations of virtually any text, including not just religious texts but also philosophy, literature, or virtually any other genre of writing....
Tanwir al-Miqbas Tanwir al-Miqbas or Tanwīr al-Miqbās min Tafsīr ibn ʿAbbās (تنوير المقباس من تفسير بن عباس) is a tafsir, attributed to Abd-Allah ibn Abbas, but which contains much atypical content for a tafsir of the sahabah. It is said to have been collected by Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Yaqub al-Fayruz Aabadi (1329–1414)....
Anwar Ul Bayan Tafsir Anwar Ul Bayan is a five-volume commentary (exegesis) on the Quran that was written by Ashiq Elahi Bulandshahri. It was written in Urdu. Major features of this Tafsir are that it provides: simple and easy-to-understand language, complete explanation including virtues of each surah, the theme of the surah,...
Maariful Quran Maariful Quran or Ma’ariful Qur’an (معارف القرآن) is an eight-volume tafsir (exegesis) of the Quran written by Islamic scholar Mufti Muhammad Shafi (1897–1976). Originally written in Urdu, it is the most prominent work of its author. Background About the background and start of the Ma’ariful Qur’an, Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani has written in the foreword of the English...
Tafsir Ibn Kathir Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim (تفسير القرآن العظيم, lit. ‘Exegesis of the Great Qur’an’), also known as Tafsir Ibn Kathir, is a tafsir by the 14th-century Islamic scholar, exegete, muhaddith, historian Abu al-Fiḍā ‘Imād Ad-Din Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Umar ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī Al-Damishqī, known as Ibn Kathir. Background Tafsir Ibn Kathir references other verses of...
1. Surah Al Fatihah (The Opening) Name This Surah Al-Fatihah is named because of its subject-matter. Fatihah is that which opens a subject or a book or any other thing. In other words, Al-Fatihah is a sort of preface. Period of Revelation It is one of the very earliest Revelations...
Qur’an On Non-Muslims This article covers verses from the Qur’an on non-Muslims. The Qur’an has many verses on Kafir or “those who reject faith”. One Arabic language analog to the infidel, referring to non-Muslims, is kafir (“kaafir”, “kufr” or “kuffar”) from the root K-F-R, which connotes covering or concealing. The term KFR may...
Canonization Of Islamic Scripture This article covers the answer to the question: “What is the Canonization of Islamic Scripture?“ Canonized Islamic scripture is texts which Muslims believe were revealed by God through various prophets throughout humanity’s history — specifically the Quran and Hadith. Muslims believe the Quran to be the final revelation of God to mankind and...
Abul A’la Al-Maududi Abul A’la Al-Maududi (ابو الاعلی مودودی, Abul Alā Al-Mawdūdī – alternative spellings of last name Maudoodi, Mawdudi; 25 September 1903 – 22 September 1979) was an Islamic scholar, Islamist ideologue, Muslim philosopher, jurist, historian, journalist, activist, and scholar active in British India and later, following the partition, in Pakistan. Described by Wilfred Cantwell...
Ali Ünal Ali Ünal is a renowned scholar, Muslim philosopher, journalist, and prolific translator of works with an Islamic theme into English. He has written for many periodicals and is a columnist for Zaman daily newspaper. His published books include Living in the Shade of Islam, Islamic Perspectives on Science,...
Al-Istibsar Al-Istibsar (ٱلِٱسْتِبْصَار فِيمَا ٱخْتَلَف مِن ٱلْأَخْبَار; Al-Istibsar fi-ma ikhtalafa min al-Akhbar lit. Reflection Upon the Disputed Traditions or The Perspicacious or The Book of Insight) is a Hadith collection, by the famous Twelver Shia Hadith scholar Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Hassan Tusi, commonly known as Shaykh Tusi. This work is included in The Four Books of Shia Islam. It includes the same subjects as Tahdhib al-Ahkam (lit. Rectification...
Tahdhib Al-Ahkam Tahdhib Al-Ahkam (تَهْذِيب ٱلَأَحْكَام فِي شَرْح ٱلْمُقْنِعَه) (Tahdhib al-Ahkam fi Sharh al-Muqni’ah lit. Rectification of the Statutes in Explaining the Disguised or The Refinement of the Laws) is a Hadith collection, by Twelver Shia Hadith scholar Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibn Hasan Tusi, commonly known as Shaykh Tusi. This work is included among the four books of Shia Islam. It is a...
Man La Yahduruhu Al-Faqih Man La Yahduruhu Al-Faqih (مَنْ لَا يَحْضُرُه ٱلْفَقِيه, ‘He Who has no Jurisprudent’ with Him) is a Hadith collection by the famous Twelver Shia Hadith scholar Abu Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAli ibn Babawayh al-Qummi, commonly known as Ibn Babawayh or Sheikh al-Saduq (lit. The Truthful Scholar). This work is included among the Four Books of...
Kitab Al-Kafi Kitab Al-Kafi is a Twelver Shia hadith collection compiled by Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni. It is divided into three sections: Uṣūl al-Kāfī, dealing with epistemology, theology, history, ethics, supplication, and the Qurʾān, Furūʿ al-Kāfī, which is concerned with practical and legal issues, and Rawdat (or Rauda) al-Kāfī, which includes miscellaneous traditions, many of which are lengthy letters and speeches transmitted...
