Ancient
Egypt Civilization
Ancient
Egypt was an ancient civilization in northeastern Africa. This civilization was
centered along the mid to of the Nile River which reached its power at about
the 2nd century BC, during the period known as the New Kingdom. The region
covered area of the Nile Delta in the north, to the Jebel Barkal at the
Fourth Cataract Nile. At some particular time, Egypt civilization extended to
the southern Levant, Eastern Desert, Red Sea coast, the Sinai Peninsula and the
Western Desert (centered at the several oases).
Ancient
Egypt civilization developed for more than three and a half centuries. Started
with the beginning of the unification the groups that existed in the Nile
Valley around 3150 BC. Then this civilization is traditionally considered ended
at about 31 BC during the early Roman Empire conquered and absorbed the Egypt
Ptolemy as the part of the Roman province. Even though this was not the first foreign
occupation of Egypt, the period of Roman rule led to a change of political and
religious gradually in the Nile Valley, effectively marked the end of the
development of the independent Egypt civilization.
Ancient
Egypt civilization was based on the balance control between natural and human
resources, characterized primarily by:
• Well-organized irrigation of the Nile Valley
• Mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding
desert regions
• The beginning of the development from the independent
writing system and literature
• Organization of collective projects
• Trade with eastern Africa and central and eastern
Mediterranean
• Military activities that showed a strong characteristic
hegemony and cultural domination toward the neighbor regions in the several
different periods.
Management
of those activities were carried out by the social elite, the political,
economic that achieved social consensus through a complex system based on
religious belief under the figure of a semi divine. This semi divine was
usually men through a succession of dynastic rulers that known in the world
wide as a polytheistic belief.
On the
map of Ancient Egypt, the southern part of Egypt they call the new Egypt and
the northern Egypt they call old Egypt. In Egypt there was a valley of the
Kings, the cemetery of Tuthankhamen. In the old Egypt, there was Giza, the
location of the biggest pyramids.
Belief
in supernatural powers and the existence of life after death held for
generations. The temples are filled by the gods that had supernatural powers
and became a place for ask protection. But the gods are not always seen as a
good figure, Egyptians believed the gods need offering to remove the anger.
This structure may change, depending on the person in power at the time.
The gods
worshiped in a temple that managed by a priest. In the center of the temple
there are usually gods statue. Temples are not used as a place of worship for
the public, but only on certain days the statue in the temple to be worshiped
by the people. General public worshiped their private statues in their homes,
equipped amulet which is believed to protect from danger. After the New
Kingdom, the Pharaoh's role as a spiritual mediator began to be declined with
the rise of customs to worship God directly, without mediator. On the other
hand, priests developed an oracle system to communicate directly desire gods to
the public.
Egypt
Society believed that every human being consists of physical and spiritual.
Besides the body, humans also have the shadow, personality, soul, and name. The
heart is believed to be the center of thought and emotion. After death, the
spiritual aspects will be separated from the body and could move, but they
require their physical bodies or can be replaced with a statue as a place to go
home. The main goal of those who died is to reunite personality and soul to
become blessed spirits. To achieve this condition, they are dead will be
judged, the heart will be weighed with fur honesty. If the reward is enough,
the spirit is allowed to stay in the earth in spiritual form.
In Egypt
there are many gods. These are 13 gods in Ancient Egypt:
1.
Ra
Ra (often pronounced as Rah, but
more accurately as Re) is the Ancient Egypt sun god. In the fifth dynasty he
became a major deity in ancient Egypt religion, identified primarily with the
mid-day sun, with other deities representing other positions of the sun. Ra
changed over time and in one form or another, then he said to represent the sun
at any time of the day. Then called Heliopolis, which means "City of the
Sun" by the Ancient Greeks.
Furthermore, Ra joined the Horus, as
Re-Horakhty. When reached an important position in the ranks of Egypt, he
believed to lead the heavens, the earth, and under the ground. He was
associated with the eagle, the symbol of the sun god who protects the Pharaohs.
After paired with pharaonic deities, Hathor's children considered as a father by Ra.
2.
Osiris
Osiris is described using a crown
which is similar to the white crown of Egypt. He also carries a crook and whip.
The crook is thought to represent Osiris as a shepherd god. The whip symbol
defined to whip shepherd and fly sweep. He is usually described with green
which is mean the color of rebirth or black which referring to the fertility of
the Nile flood plains.
3.
Amon
Amon was a god in Egypt mythology in
the form of Amun-Ra that became the focus of the most complicated systems in
Ancient Egypt. As the creator god, he was the champion of the poor and the
center of personal piety. Amon created alone without mother and father and
during the New Kingdom he became the greatest expression of god in Egypt
theology. Amun-Ra as well as the creator god, not physically created the world.
His position was as a god king. Besides Osiris, Amun-Ra is the most widely
recorded in the Egypt gods.
4.
Isis
Isis was a goddess in Ancient Egypt
religious beliefs, the worship that spread throughout the Greek and Roman. She
worshiped as the ideal mother, wife, protector of the nature and magic. She was
a friend of slaves, sinners, artisans, the downtrodden, and the listener of
prays from the rich people, girl, nobleman and ruler. Isis was the mother
goddess and fertility.
5.
Hathor
Hathor was an Ancient Egypt goddess
who personified the principles of feminine love, motherhood and joy. She was
one of the most important and popular goddess throughout the history of Ancient
Egypt. Hathor worshiped by the common people in the grave that described as
"the leader of the West" welcoming the dead people into the next
life. Other roles, she was a goddess of music, dance and helped women in
childbirth.
6.
Horus
Horus was one of the oldest of the
gods and most important in ancient Egypt religion which worshiped at least
almost the end of the predynastic through the Greek and Roman world. Various
forms of Horuses recorded in history and these were treated as distinct gods by
Egyptologists. The earliest form is Horus Falcon who was the protector of
Nekhen in Egypt.
7.
Maat
Maat is the ancient Egypt goddess
with the concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality and justice. Goddess
Maat was also considered as the Goddess that govern stars, seasons and the
actions of both humans and the gods which governs the world from chaos. Besides
her role in the creation and protect the world from chaos, her primary role in
Egypt mythology was dealing with the weighing of souls that happens in the
underworld, the fur that determines whether the souls of the dead people will
reach heaven safely.
8.
Nephthys
Nephthys was a goddess that the
origin had not been determined. Her name means "Lady of the House".
She was the goddess of "housewife".
9.
Anubis
Anubis was the god to protect from
death and bring the people to the afterlife. He was usually described as half
man, half wolf, or in the form of a complete wolf holding a whip in his hand. Wolf
was strongly related to the cemeteries in ancient Egypt, but the color of
rotting flesh and with the black soil of the Nile valley, symbolizing rebirth.
10. Torn
In ancient Egypt, the god Sobek
described as an ordinary crocodile or as a man with the head of a crocodile.
When considered as a protector of Pharaohs army, he was shown with a symbol of
royal authority. He was also shown as a cross that represent his ability to
annul evil and heal the disease. He ever became Sobek-Ra and shown with the sun
disk on his head as Ra the sun god.
11. Thoth
Thoth is considered as one of the
important gods in the Egypt. Heoften described with the head of an Ibis. His
head was in Khemennu shrine, where he led the local community. Then renamed
Hermopolis by the Greeks.
12. Sekhmet
In ancient Egypt, Sekhmet described
as a lioness, the fiercest hunter known to the Egypt. He was regarded as the
protector of the Pharaohs and led him in the warfare. Moreover, Sekhmet was
regarded as the mother Maahes, a god who was appeared during the New Kingdom.
He looked like a lion prince, the son of the goddess.
13. Khnum
In Ancient Egypt, Khnum was one of
the earliest Egypt gods. He was originally the god of the source of the Nile
river. Since the annual flooding of the Nile river which brought silt and clay
and bring life to the surrounding water, he was regarded as the creator of the
human body the children who performed at the potter's wheel, clay, and placed
their mothers' womb.
Islamic Civilization
Islamic
civilization is modesty, morals, manners, and literary that set according
Islamic law. Al-Hujwiri assert that Islamic civilization is a lesson and
education about the virtues which are part of the foundations of faith.
Beauty
and the feasibility of a business, both religious affairs and the affairs of
the world are so dependent on the height of the level of education. It contains
human values which sublime. Values such as abiding devotion to follow the
Sunnah of the Prophet and love of virtue. All of them are based on moral
education. Man who ignore moral education will not be able to achieve the
degree of piety, as Prophet Muhammad was said, "Moral education (education
about the virtues) is a primary requirement for people who loved God". In
another history that told when the Prophet was sitting then came the angel
Gabriel, and said, "O Muhammad, sit like a servant who is sitting next to
his master."
Al Rozi
stressed that Islamic civilization is the extent of social relationships and
the best attitude is to maintain self-respect and follow the Sunnah of the
Prophet. Friendship between human beings should be promoted based on the
interests of God, not by interests and personal gain.
Thus,
the Islamic civilization is the parts of the Islamic culture covering various
aspects such as morals, art and science, and includes also the culture whose
systems technology, architecture, art, and wide science state system. Nowadays,
the general definiton of Islamic civilization is part of the culture that
purpose to facilitate and improve the life of the world and the life hereafter.
Religious
Basic
beliefs of Islam can be found in two sentences shahadah ("two sentences
testimony"). Those two sentences are "asyhadu an-laa ilaaha
illallaah, wa asyhadu anna muhammadan rasuulullaah", which means "I
testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah ". The essencial is the principle of the unity of God
and the recognition of the prophethood of Muhammad. Then if a person believes
and say the shahadah, he can be considered become a Muslim in the status of
converts (who recently converted from old beliefs).
Muslims
believe that Allah SWT sent Muhammad as the last prophet after the coming of
the Prophet Isa 6 centuries before. Islam holds that the Qur'an and the Sunnah
as the source of law and fundamental rule of life. They do not regard Muhammad
as a creator new religion, but as a reformer successor and monotheistic beliefs
which was revealed to Ibrahimm, Musa, Isa, and the prophets of the same God.
Islam insists that the Jewish religion and Christian after the departure of the
prophets have deflect revelation that God has given to the prophets by changing
the text in the Bible and introducing a false interpretation.
Muslims
believe the Al-Qur'an was also given by Allah SWT to Muhammad through the
medium of the Angel Gabriel is perfect and there is no doubt in it (Surat
al-Baqara verse 2). In the Al-Qur'an, God has also promised to keep the
authenticity of the Qur'an until the end of time.
Stated in
the Qur'an, Muslims are obliged to have faith, believe in the truth of
scripture, and Allah SWT words that revealed before the Al-Qur'an (Psalms, the
Torah, the Gospel and the other prophets) through the prophets before Muhammad.
Muslims also believe that in addition to the Al-Qur'an, the words of Allah SWT
throughout history have changed by humans. Referring to the above sentence,
then Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the only book of Allah SWT that is
completely original and as a complement previous books.
Muslims
believe that the religion professed by all the prophets and messengers of Allah
SWT messengers since Adam is the same religion (monotheism with the same God).
Thus, the Prophet Ibrahim also embraced monotheism as Hanif or pure that made
him as a Muslim. This perspective was put Islam together with Jewish and
Christian believe in clumps of Prophet Ibrahim. In the Al-Qur'an, the Jews and
Christians are often referred as the people who hold the doctrine in the holy
books or the people who were given the holy books.
Five Pillars
of Islam
Islam
gives a lot of religious practice. Muslims are generally encouraged to hold the
Five Pillars of Islam, the five pillars unite Muslims as a community.
Additional of the Five Pillars, Islamic law (shariah) has built a tradition of
commands that have been touched on almost every aspect of life and society.
This tradition encompasses everything from practical things like halal,
banking, jihad and zakat.
The
contents of the five pillars of Islam are:
1. Say the shahadah (two sentences testimony) and believe
that no right to be obeyed and worshiped properly except Allah SWT, and believe
that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah SWT.
2. Establish obligatory prayers five times a day.
3. Fasting in the month of Ramadan.
4. Paying zakat.
5. Pilgrimage or Hajj to Mecca for those who are able.
Six Pillars of
Faith
Muslims
also believe in the Five Pillars of Faith consisted of 6 cases, namely:
1. Faith in Allah SWT
2. Faith in Allah SWT angels
3. Faith in the Holy Books of Allah SWT (Al-Qur'an,
Bible, Torah, Psalms)
4. Faith in the Prophets and Messengers of God
5. Faith in the Day of Judgement
6. Faith in Qada and Qadar
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