Narrated Abu Huraira

The Prophet said, "Jews and Christians do not dye their hair so you should do the opposite of what they do."

 

 

We believe that Sabbath(saturday) was just a day God chose for Israelites and we are not aware if it has any relation with creation. We do not trust passage of bible which says God rested on 7th day.

In fact Quran denies this claim.

 

50:38 We created the heavens and the earth and all between them in Six Days, nor did any sense of weariness touch Us.

 

Interesting question. I myself never thought about it before,  . . . Cz well, its a jewish tradition. Heres why I think muslims dont follow Sabbath:

 

1. First of all, the concept behind Sabbath itself is against Islamic beliefs i.e. God made the world in 6 days and on the 7th He "rested". Muslims have a completely different concept of God, that He is unique, and does not have limitations. The fact that according to Judaism, God needed to "rest" on the 7th day goes against the "divine" , immortal concept of God. God is beyond human limitations and does not need to rest. Something He states in the Quran explicitly in Surah Baqarah (Chapter of the Cow) Verse 255 - "No slumber can seize Him Nor Sleep" .. and later,  "He feeleth No fatigue in guarding And preserving them (heavens & the earth), For He is the Most High. "

As for ppl who may say that term "rested on the 7th day" is not used literally etc etc . . .Well, the MAJORITY of Christians and Jews take in the literal sense, which is why Jews are supposed to take the Sabbath day off as well. If it wasnt used literally, Jews wouldnt be taking the day off on Saturday and replicate the "rest", that God supposedly took. If "God" is resting, or needs to rest, than this particular being is not God. (This to me seems like a pagan concept of God, associating human-limitations to God, which I believe probably got mixed up somewhere down the road with Jewish beliefs)

 

2. Though Muslims believe in a lot of aspects of Judaism & Christian beliefs, (since we believe that Islam is a continual of these scriptures) . . . we also believe that the scriptures were later polluted by the followers and are no longer in the original form. Hence we dont believe in ALL the rulings of Judaism. There are a lot of practises from original Judaism that Islam continued, an example being circumcision, beards for men, hijab for women etc etc. Judaism and Islam are more alike than any religion out there.

 

3. Islam is a very practical and people-friendly religion. All its commandments are practical, easy and not hard on its followers. Though Islam too has aspects which require self-control, patience etc , they are reasonable and practical and are reasonalbly spaced. The only aspect of Islam that I can think of which require any self-control, patience or out-of-ordinary acts are Fasting and Hajj the Pilgrimage. But even then, Fasting is only for a couple of hours , for one month ONCE each yr. And the Pilgrimage is only for ONCE in a LIFETIME. And that too, only if the muslim meets the ability criteria. Numerous times thr Prophet was quoted telling the Muslims not be hard on themselves, etc.

          And Sabbath is clearly impractical and unreasonable. Every WEEK for a DAY, a person is asked not to perform daily, neccessary acts. They cannot light fires, switch on lights, use transport, perform paid labour etc etc. A lot of problems can arise from this. Especially in todays day and age (which stresses how Judaism is niether universal NOR timeless) And that doesnt even achieve any purpose, ppl simply turn on thier lights before Sabbath begins, pre-cook etc. So its not like they are actually learning any lesson in selfcontrol or good. The only good is that they are supposed to spend some spiritual time.

     The Prophet once said (in my own words) that Allah made Islam easy on its believers.

 

As for you commenting on the Jewish take on Sabbath, that only Jewish ppl shd observe sabbath, i completely agree with you there. If God created the world for evryone, then why is sabbath only for Jews??? Which brings me to the problem I have with Judaism , that it is an elitist, racist and non-universal religion.

 

I think Im gonna look up actual Islamic injunctions on Sabbath . . . Those were just my personal opinions.

 

Firstly, I want you to know that Islam does establish that the Sabbath was commanded to the people of Israel. In 4:54, it says, " We raised the Mount over them for (breaking) their covenant and said,'Enter the gate(of Jerusalem) with humility.' We also warned them,'Do not break the Sabbath' and took from them a firm covenant." However, in 16:123-124, it is said," We revealed to you: 'Follow the faith of Abraham, who wasn't a polytheist'. The Sabbath was ordained for those who disputed(the faith of Abraham). Surely, your lord will judge between them regarding their disputes." Thus, it is safe to say that the Sabbath was ordained for the people of Israel. According to Islamic narrations, people were not allowed to work,not even fish or collect wood, or light fire(which means people had to stay in the dark during the night of Friday) on the day of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a day reserved only for prayer. People of contemporary times just cannot adhere to such strict rules. In fact, according to the Bible, people during the time of Jesus were no longer obliged to obey the strict rules of the Sabbath as stated in Matthew 12:1-14, Mark 2:23-28, 2:1-6, Luke 6:1-11, 13:10-17, 14:1-6, and John 5:1-18. Technically, Muslims do have a "Sabbath hour." In 62:9, it is said, "When the call for prayer is proclaimed on Friday, hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of God, and leave off all of your businesses." However, we do not believe Allah rested on the seventh day after the beginning of the creation of the universe. It's just that the creation was completed in six days. Indeed, in 7:54, it was said, "Indeed, your Lord is Allah who created the heavens and the Earth in six days," but there is no statement where it is said that Allah rested. In fact, God never needs rest. In 2:255, it is emphatically said, "There is no god except him, Allah, the ever-living and all-sustaining. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes him." Thus, we Muslims think that God resting on the seventh day of creation is a fabrication by the people of previous scriptures. Sabbath does mean rest in both Hebrew and Arabic. However, the rest refers to us, the followers of God, not our creator himself. Fun fact: Sabbath also means Saturday in both Hebrew and Arabic. Our prophet stated that God allocated the day of prayer for the Jews on Saturday, the Christians on Sunday, and the Muslims on Friday. It will the order in which we will be resurrected. Interestingly, according to Sahih Bukhari Volume 2, Book 21, Hadith Number 284 and 285, our prophet would go to the Mosque of Quba every Saturday and perform prayers in it.

Q 7:166

I find it interesting that YHWH would sanction the Sabath as a day of rest in the Bible.

Then came Muhammad 1 000 years after the Old Testament, and tells us that Allah was so disgusted with Jews who fished on the Sabbath, that he turned them into apes!

Then Allah went further, and made the Friday a holy day.

It seems as if Allah changes his mind often.