The Abrahamic and “Eastern” religions vary on many different levels including their philosophies behind postmortem judgment. I wanted to look more closely at the differences between Muslim and Hindu ideologies because large concentrations of these worldviews are relatively close to each other and yet their beliefs are quite contrasting.  

We learned about the Muslim’s holy text the Qu’ran, which contains actual commands from Allah, whom they believe to be the one and only God. Following the commands of Allah as well as adhering to the 5 pillars of Islam are imperative to receiving a good judgment after death.  Muslims believe that after dying the soul leaves the body to be judged.  If the person did a good job of following the 5 pillars, they will receive eternity in a sensual paradise.  However, if the proper burial rituals are not followed or if the person did not live their life according to the Qur’an, they can be left to haunt their relatives as spirits known as “Jinn”.

However in Hindu ideologies, an individual does not meet a final judgment after dying.  Instead, a person is reborn into different levels of new life based on how they lived their previous one.  For Hindu’s, their lives become very ritualistic as they focus to reach “Moksha” to be removed from the cycle of reincarnation. The ideal way of reaching “Moksha is to begin as a student, then work, retreat from life and study.  Following this life path can be very difficult and takes a great amount of discipline.  A person can be reborn many times before they ever reach Moksha. Unlike the one God that Muslim’s worship to show their devotion, Hindus worship and give offerings many Gods in hopes of pleasing them so they my be reborn higher up. 

Although Muslims and Hindus ideas of the afterlife vary greatly, they both agree that there is something more than just our current physical existence. 

 Hindu Gods are pictures in many beautiful pieces of art. 

In Islam, Allah may never be depicted as his Holiness cannot be captured in human art forms.