Islam and Sabbath

[Starlight]

• May I ask you why they should follow the sabbath?
• And please state what you mean by sabbath.

When i wrote the Sabbath in the OP i meant the Sabbath the way jews celebrate it

 

[firedragon]

When i wrote the Sabbath in the OP i meant the Sabbath the way jews celebrate it

I get that. No worries.

Anyway, God in the Tanakh created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. Quran doesnt say anything about the 7th day. That said, Muslims as you have been probably repeatedly told in this thread are not instructed to follow a sabbath like the Jews. I think this comment of mine is old news for you so I shall shut up now.

Have a great day.

 

[Starlight]

Allah says in Quran, He asked Jews to keep the Sabbath. Why did He not ask the Arabs to keep the Sabath?

@Vouthon on page one in this tread, post number 15 explain in a good way why muslims do not celebrate the Sabbath the way jews do

 

[Starlight]

I get that. No worries.

Anyway, God in the Tanakh created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. Quran doesnt say anything about the 7th day. That said, Muslims as you have been probably repeatedly told in this thread are not instructed to follow a sabbath like the Jews. I think this comment of mine is old news for you so I shall shut up now.

Have a great day.

Thank you. Have a great day you also

 

[Etritonakin]

Why do not muslims observe/celebrate the Sabbath?

"The" biblical Sabbath was officially given as law to/through Moses -quite a long time after Abraham had Isaac and Ishmael.
Ishmael is said to be an ancestor of Muhammad and much of the Muslim world.
The Sabbath, etc., would not have been a direct concern for those not descended from Jacob/Israel, as Israel was to be "a peculiar nation" in that regard.

(As for Sunday -it was not actually regarded as THE sabbath "officially" -as the Council of Laodicea makes a clear distinction between Sunday [called "the Lord's day"] and the Sabbath....
The Sabbath was not simply moved to a different day -the commandment of God was rejected by men -even instructing that people should work on the actual Sabbath -and was replaced with a different one. Furthermore, it declared that those who did keep the commandment of God were to be "anathema from Christ"......
Canon 29
Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.)

 

[loverofhumanity]

Why do not muslims observe/celebrate the Sabbath?

Each religion has its own Holy Days which usually revolve around their Founder and major events in His Life.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

Firstly, because Muslims are not Jews subject to the mitzvah of the Mosaic covenant, of which sabbath observance is one of the most important religious laws.

Friday is, instead, prescribed in the Qur'an as the day of prayer (not rest, there is no day of rest in Islamic theology so far as I am aware), when Muslims are to cease from trading when they hear the call to prayer and then resume their labours to spread the bounties of God, after the Jumu'ah at the Mosque:

O you who have faith! When the call is made for prayer on Friday, hurry toward the remembrance of God, and leave all business. That is better for you, should you know. And when the prayer is finished, disperse through the land and seek God's grace, and remember God greatly so that you may be successful.

— Qur'an, Surah Al-Jumu'ah (62), Ayahs 9-10​

The fact that the Qur'an assumes, from the outset, that people will be "at business" on Friday when the summons to the prayer sounds, is reflective of the fact that Islam treats Friday - yes as the holiest day of the week but - not as a "sabbath" day of rest akin to the Jewish Shabbat on Saturday and the Christian Sunday.

And that's because the underlying theological basis of the Sabbath in the Hebrew Bible (that God rested from his labours after the six days of creation) appears not to be present or emphasized in the Qur'an.

Secondly, there is a Hadith which further substantiates the Qur'anic designation of Friday as the Day of Prayer, by arguing that Friday was actually the original, primordial holy day that Islam has restored to its obligatory status.

Nevertheless, God had according to this tradition still directed Jews and Christians in prior ages to worship on Saturday and Sunday, respectively:

It is narrated by Abu Huraira and Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

It was Friday from which Allah diverted those who were before us. For the Jews (the day set aside for prayer) was Sabt (Saturday), and for the Christians it was Sunday. And Allah turned towards us and guided us to Friday (as the day of prayer) for us. In fact, He (Allah) made Friday, Saturday and Sunday (as days of prayer). In this order would they (Jews and Christians) come after us on the Day of Resurrection. We are the last of (the Ummahs) among the people in this world and the first among the created to be judged on the Day of Resurrection. In one narration it is: ', to be judged among them".​

Sahih Muslim: Book 4, Hadith 1862​

@Meandflower

All good points. However, if a Muslim believes the same Allah who revealed Laws of Torah, had also revealed the Laws of Quran, they need to reconcile the contradiction here. How come Allah, in Torah said, He rested after six days, and on the 7th day, it is time to rest, and called it Sabbath, but in the Quran, even it confirms that Day of Sabbath was determined by Allah, yet, He does not emphasize to keep the Sabbath?

"And We raised over them the mount for [refusal of] their covenant; and We said to them, "Enter the gate bowing humbly", and We said to them, "Do not transgress on the sabbath", and We took from them a solemn covenant."


Quran 4:154 (Sahih International)

 

[JoshuaTree]

No, Constantine did.

On March 7, 321, Sunday, which was sacred to Christians as the day of Christ's resurrection and to the Roman Sun God Sol Invictus, was declared an official day of rest.

Constantine the Great and Christianity - Wikipedia

Great info, thanks.

I was hinting at Joshua's long day as God changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, guess Constantine made it official.

 

[JerryMyers]

Why do not muslims observe/celebrate the Sabbath?

The word ‘Sabbath’ came from the Hebrew root word ‘Sh-B-T’ meaning ‘to rest’. The Torah only said God ‘works’ for six days and He ‘rests’ on the 7th day – there’s no mention that the six days are referring to Sunday to Friday nor did it say God made Saturday as a rest day for Man. In other words, God does not want Man to work every single day of the week, but He wants Man to set aside a day to rest and keep that day Holy, that is, the 7th day after working 6 days (Exodus 20:8-10).

Which day to rest is not a key factor because The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’. In some Muslim countries, Sundays are the 1st working day of the week, making Friday a day for congregational prayers and Saturdays as full rest days.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Why do not muslims observe/celebrate the Sabbath?

Because they are not Jews?

 

[Truthseeker]

Great info, thanks.

I was hinting at Joshua's long day as God changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, guess Constantine made it official.

Glad you found that agreeable. Wasn't sure where your beliefs lie.

 

[Starlight]

@Meandflower

All good points. However, if a Muslim believes the same Allah who revealed Laws of Torah, had also revealed the Laws of Quran, they need to reconcile the contradiction here. How come Allah, in Torah said, He rested after six days, and on the 7th day, it is time to rest, and called it Sabbath, but in the Quran, even it confirms that Day of Sabbath was determined by Allah, yet, He does not emphasize to keep the Sabbath?

"And We raised over them the mount for [refusal of] their covenant; and We said to them, "Enter the gate bowing humbly", and We said to them, "Do not transgress on the sabbath", and We took from them a solemn covenant."


Quran 4:154 (Sahih International)

Muslims do not worship Sabbath the way jews do it because muslims believe God never rest. According to Islam God never rest. Muslims believe the verse in the Torah about that God did rest on the seventh day is fabricated and wrong.

But muslims do believe God said to Moses that the holiest day in the week was the Sabbath, and because of that they should not do any work on the Sabbath. But muslims believe the reason God commanded the jews to observe the Sabbath was not because God did rest on the seventh day.

And since according to islam God never rest, and muslims believe the verse in the Torah about that God did rest is false and fabricated, and that the reason to observe the Sabbath was misunderstood they believe God commanded the muslims to have a new holiest day in the week, the friday jumuah as the holiest instead of the Sabbath jews have. So in islam the friday (jumuah) is a kind of new sabbath the islamic way. This infomation i learned after reading the answers in this tread.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

Muslims do not worship Sabbath the way jews do it because muslims believe God never rest. According to Islam God never rest. Muslims believe the verse in the Torah about that God did rest on the seventh day is fabricated and wrong.

But muslims do believe God said Moses that the holiest day in the week was the Sabbath, and because of that they should not do any work on the Sabbath. But muslims believe the reason God commanded the jews to observe the Sabbath was not because God did rest on the seventh day.

And since according to islam God never rest, and muslims believe the verse in the Torah about that God did rest is false and fabricated, and that the reason to observe the Sabbath was misunderstood they believe God commanded the muslims to have a new holiest day in the week, the friday jumuah as the holiest instead of the Sabbath jews have. So in islam the friday (jumuah) is a kind of new sabbath the islamic way. This infomation i learned after reading the answers in this tread.

Yes, I agree.

So, as I said before, according to Islam, God can change ordinances. Sabbath is changed to Jumu'ah. Now, regardless, the Quran itself says, when Jews worked on Sabbath, God turned them into Apes. There is a story in the Quran, when some Jews did fishing on Sabbath, God punished them. So, according to Quran, Not Working on Sabbath was such a restricted Law. But Jumu'ah is not really a command not to work. The bottomline is, Quran teaches, God can change Laws and ordinances, though I think most Muslims think God always had a fix Laws, such as fix way of worship, Prayers, etc.

 

[Starlight]

Yes, I agree.

So, as I said before, according to Islam, God can change ordinances. Sabbath is changed to Jumu'ah. Now, regardless, the Quran itself says, when Jews worked on Sabbath, God turned them into Apes. There is a story in the Quran, when some Jews did fishing on Sabbath, God punished them. So, according to Quran, Not Working on Sabbath was such a restricted Law. But Jumu'ah is not really a command not to work. The bottomline is, Quran teaches, God can change Laws and ordinances, though I think most Muslims think God always had a fix Laws, such as fix way of worship, Prayers, etc.

Yes i agree with you. According to the Quran God can change laws and ordinances.

 

[Rival]

Each religion has its own Holy Days which usually revolve around their Founder and major events in His Life.

Many religions have no founders though and there are plenty of Pagan holidays.

 

[danieldemol]

Many religions have no founders though and there are plenty of Pagan holidays.

Do you mean no known founders?

 

[Truthseeker]

Many religions have no founders though and there are plenty of Pagan holidays.

True enough. A slight slip on his part.

 

[Starlight]

Yes, I agree.

So, as I said before, according to Islam, God can change ordinances. Sabbath is changed to Jumu'ah. Now, regardless, the Quran itself says, when Jews worked on Sabbath, God turned them into Apes. There is a story in the Quran, when some Jews did fishing on Sabbath, God punished them. So, according to Quran, Not Working on Sabbath was such a restricted Law. But Jumu'ah is not really a command not to work. The bottomline is, Quran teaches, God can change Laws and ordinances, though I think most Muslims think God always had a fix Laws, such as fix way of worship, Prayers, etc.

Yes many muslims think God always had fix laws, but according to the Quran God can change laws.

 

[BrightShadow]

Why do not muslims observe/celebrate the Sabbath?

If Muslim and Christians are not observing Sabbath then they are taking the right track IMO.

In my opinion Sabbath was meant for only Moses immediate followers who followed him out of Egypt. It was meant those Hebrews (Israelites) only who were escaping Pharaoh with Moses as their leader.
Those Israelites went through a rough terrain for 3 months with very little rest and were exhausted. They had another 40 years of journey through the desert in front of them. After working six hard days in a tough atmosphere they needed a days worth of rest. So the Ten commandments came to Moses at that time and it included "Sabbath".
However once the Israelites reached their promised land - this "Sabbath" practice was supposed to be obsolete and they were supposed to cease from practicing this IMO. But they IMO wrongfully continued to practice Sabbath as if it was God's direction.

Jesus was a Jew and yet my opinion he tried to eliminate this practice by preaching on Saturday morning in front of Synagogue just to convince people that this practice need to be obsolete. As a result he was ridiculed.

In my opinion current days Jews are not required to this practice as a God's directive. Of course you can take a day off from work and relax but not the way Sabbath is observed these days in a Jewish society and the way it is absorbed in their teachings. In my opinion its a misconception and Jesus tried to set this right!

In my opinion, all the prophets (that God sent) had accurate prophecies but their delivery method was primitive because of the centuries they arrived here. So, even though in most cases they were able to convey the message properly to their immediate followers - their message got distorted and corrupted over time due to many reasons and sometimes intentionally. So, the next generation got many things wrong in almost all occasions! The succeeding prophet tried to fix the misconceptions that lingered from the last prophet's era but only succeeded in starting a new religion because some people never believed them to be true prophets and they wanted to hold on to their existing belief despite how little it made sense to them.

 

[Rival]

Do you mean no known founders?

No, I mean they have no founders and are usually descended of folk traditions. Egyptian, Greek, Sumerian, Arabian etc. religions have no founders. Many polytheistic religions have not.