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.

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Jewish Literature

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...

Japanese illustration depicting white lotuses in Chapter 25: "Universal Gateway" of the Lotus Sutra. Text inscribed by Sugawara Mitsushige, Kamakura period, c. 1257, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Lotus Sutra

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...

Tang dynasty Zhuangzi manuscript preserved in Japan (1930s replica)

Zhuangzi (Book)

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Scholarly Interpretation Of Gospel-elements

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Liturgical Books

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Jesus In The Hadith

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A Bible open to the Book of Isaiah

Exegesis

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Tanwir al-Miqbas

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Tafsir Anwar-ul- Bayan

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Maariful Quran

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Tafsir-i Ibn Kathir

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Tafhim-ul-Quran

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Al Quran

Qur’an On Non-Muslims

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Canonization Of Islamic Scripture

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Abul A'la Maududi

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Ali Ünal Ali Unal

Ali Ünal

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The Four Books

Al-Istibsar

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A Hadith from page 369, Tahdhib Al-Ahkam

Tahdhib Al-Ahkam

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Man La Yahduruhu Al-Faqih

Man La Yahduruhu Al-Faqih

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Kitab Al-Kafi

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