COMPARISON BETWEEN ANCIENT EGYPT CIVILIZATION WITH ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION IN RELIGIOUS ASPECT

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