Zoroastrians

 

In this verse six religious groups or communities have been mentioned— Muslims, Jews, Sabaeans, Christians, Zoroastrians and polytheists (pagans of Makkah).

The Jews owed allegiance to Moses. Similarly, the Sabaeans owed allegiance to John (Yahya), the Christians to Jesus, the Zoroastrians to Zoroaster and the polytheists of Makkah to Abraham. All these communities were initially believers in and worshippers of the one God. But, later on, they distorted their religion. Now they continue to practice this distorted form. The Muslims are not immune to this. They could also in effect err in the same way.

The Quran; Book of Muslims is unaltered and preserved in every detail, yet in this world of trial, Muslims’ hands are not tied: they are not precluded from putting their own self-made interpretations on the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad. They can form a self-styled religion, then by adopting that religion, they presumed to be following God’s true religion.

God’s original and true religion is only one, but on account of personal interpretations, it comes to have different versions. If people were to adhere to the original religion, unity and solidarity would flourish among them. But, with people following their self-made religion, religious differences crop up among them and these differences go on endlessly multiplying. But God is fully aware of everybody’s circumstances, and He will make it clear on Judgement Day as to who was on the right path and who was on the wrong one.

Exploring the Common Ground: A Comparative Analysis of
Zoroastrianism and Islam

Shafi Md. Mostofa*

Abstract
Islam and Zoroastrianism share remarkable similarities in their theological and
eschatological beliefs. They both believe in the oneness of God, with different names
(Ahura Mazda for Zoroastrians and Allah for Muslims) but similar attributes of
omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Both religions acknowledge
archangels, with Zoroastrianism recognizing six and Islam recognizing four, along
with other minor angels. Both religions consider humans as the pinnacle of creation
and emphasize the establishment of justice and truth on earth. They share beliefs
about the nature of the universe as a creation of God, and the role of prophets as
messengers of God. Prayer is considered important in both religions, with similar
practices of five daily prayers (Salat in Islam, Gah Worship in Zoroastrianism) and
similar beliefs about the afterlife, including the immortality of the soul, resurrection
of the dead, balance of judgment, heaven and hell, and the existence of a bridge to be
crossed after death (Chinvat Bridge in Zoroastrianism, Al-Siraat in Islam). Ethical
codes emphasizing purity of mind and body are also similar in both religions. Thus,
this article argues, using intertextuality theory, that Islam is not a new beginning but
rather a continuation of earlier revelations, such as Zoroastrianism. This perspective
further suggests that Zoroastrianism can be categorized within the Abrahamic
traditions.